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進入《TAIPEI TIMES》 TSMC stays on track for record budget
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co logo is pictured at the firm’s headquarters in Hsinchu on Jan. 11. Photo: Cheng I-Hwa, Bloomberg
NO DOWNTURN FEARS: Slower sales in the inflation-hit consumer electronics market would be offset by gains in the high-performance computing segment, TSMC said
By Lisa Wang / Staff reporter
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co （TSMC, 台積電） yesterday kept its record capital expenditure budget of more than US$44 billion unchanged as it believes that robust demand for high-performance computing （HPC） applications and increases in semiconductor content in 5G smartphones would fuel revenue growth, offsetting weakness in handsets and PCs on accelerating inflation.
The world’s biggest contract chipmaker yesterday revised upward its revenue growth outlook for this year to as high as 29 percent annually in US dollar terms, compared with a mid to high-20s percent growth estimate in January.
Responding to investors worried about mounting risks of economic or industry downturns, TSMC said it expects high inflation to affect consumer behavior, leading to lower unit shipments of smartphones, PCs and tablets this year, but other segments would still thrive.
“We expect HPC platform to be the strongest-growing platform in 2022 and the largest contributor to our growth, fueled by the structural mega-trend, driving increasing needs for greater computing power and energy-efficient computing,” TSMC CEO C.C. Wei （魏哲家） told an online investors’ conference.
TSMC’s HPC and automotive segments would this year grow more strongly than overall sales, while the Internet of Things and smartphone segments would grow on par with the overall trend, the chipmaker said.
More importantly, increases in silicon content in 5G smartphones, PCs, servers, and networking and automotive applications are driving strong semiconductor demand, Wei said.
TSMC would not adjust its capacity expansion plans if a short-term downturn occurs, he said.
The company’s capacity expansion plans are based on customer demand profiles, and factors in a potential order cancelation by Intel Corp, he said.
Intel is stepping up its efforts to regain ground in the foundry sector.
TSMC would not cut prices if demand dipped, Wei said.
Customers continue to build up inventory to higher levels than seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, seeking to avoid disruptions due to shortages caused by disease prevention measures or escalating geopolitical tensions, he said.
“If you look at the unbalance in the supply chain, particularly in the microcontroller unit and power management IC sides, we still see very strong demand,” Wei said.
As a result, TSMC expects capacity to remain tight for the whole of this year, he said.
TSMC said the development of its next-generation 3-nanometer process technology, which is expected to enter mass production in the second half of this year, is progressing faster than expected.
Maintaining its technology upgrade cycles, TSMC said it is planning to start mass production on 2-nanometer technology in the second half of 2025.
To ensure that its capacity expansion is on track, TSMC said it is working closely with equipment and tool suppliers to solve the issue of longer lead times expected for equipment to be delivered next year and beyond.
TSMC expects revenue to hit a new record of US$17.6 billion to US$18.2 billion this quarter, representing quarterly growth of 0.17 to 3.59 percent from US$17.57 billion last quarter.
The HPC segment contributed 41 percent to TSMC’s revenue last quarter, replacing smartphones as the largest revenue source, it said.
Gross margin is expected to climb further to a new record of 56 to 58 percent this quarter, from 55.6 percent last quarter, TSMC said.
Last quarter’s gross margin and revenue have exceeded the company’s expectations.
During the quarter ended March 31, net profit surged 45.1 percent to NT$202.73 billion （US$6.99 billion）, compared with NT$139.69 billion in the first quarter of last year. On a quarterly basis, net profit expanded 22 percent from NT$166.23 billion.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
