TSMC CEO
TSMC CEO
In an investors conference, which was watched closely by the equity markets at home and abroad, C.C. Wei TSMC's chief executive officer, said the company is expected to benefit from solid demand for smartphones, high performance computer devices, the Internet of Things related applications and automotive electronics this year.
Wei said he expects TSMC's advanced 7 nanometer process, the latest technology which the chipmaker has begun mass producing, will continue to make a big contribution to the company's sales by accounting for more than 30 percent of the total revenue for 2020.
TSMC is scheduled to launch mass production of the more sophisticated 5nm process in the first half of this year. Wei said the 5nm is expected to make up about 10 percent of the company's total sales for 2020.
He said while the global pure foundry industry is estimated to see sales rising 17 percent in 2020, TSMC is expected to perform better and surpass the growth of the entire pure foundry industry by "several percentage points."
Excluding memory chip sales, the global semiconductor industry is expected to post a year-on-year increase in sales of around 8 percent in 2020, Wei said.
Before Wei spoke, TSMC released its latest earnings results which showed net profit for the October-December period was
TSMC's record high net profit had been widely expected after the chipmaker posted a new high of
TSMC's fourth quarter earnings per share (EPS) stood at
For 2019, TSMC's net profit stood at
TSMC said due to expected strong demand for 5G smartphones, the company is expected to see a mitigation in slow season effects in the first quarter, estimating its sales for the January-March period will fall only 1.3 percent from a quarter earlier to range between
Its gross margin -- the difference between revenue and cost of goods sold -- for the first quarter is expected to range between 48.5 percent and 50.5 percent, compared with 50.2 percent in the previous quarter, TSMC said.
The chipmaker said its operating margin -- the difference between sales, the cost of goods sold and operating expenses -- for the January-March period is expected to range between 37.5 percent and 39.5 percent, compared with 39.2 percent a quarter earlier.
To meet rising demand from its clients, TSMC said, its capital expenditure for 2020 is expected to range between
TSMC said it will assign 80 percent of the capex to develop the 3nm, 5nm and 7nm technology, 10 percent of the spending in advanced packaging and testing technology development and 10 percent in special process development.
The 3nm process is expected to begin commercial production in 2022.
© Pakistan Press International, source