TSMC August sales hit new high, UMC issues drop
Sep 11, 2013
Taipei, Sept. 10 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chip maker, said Tuesday that its consolidated sales for August hit a new record high, with market analysts attributing the growth to solid demand from consumer electronics makers.
However, rival United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) reported a month-on-month decline in its consolidated sales for August, while analysts said UMC's clients had cut orders to lower inventories during the month.
In August, TSMC posted NT$55.09 billion (US$1.85 billion) in consolidated sales, up 5.7 percent from the previous month and also up 11.2 percent from a year earlier.
In the first eight months of this year, TSMC's consolidated sales totaled NT$395.84 billion, up 19.3 percent year-on-year.
TSMC released its August sales report after the local bourse closed. In fact, before the sales data was released, its share price was up 1.46 percent to close at NT$104.50 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange, as investors were hoping that the chip maker would report another record high in sales amid speculation of orders from Apple Inc.
Analysts said the launch of Apple's new iPad and iPhone is expected to boost chip demand and help cushion TSMC from the impact of inventory adjustments in the global integrated circuit market for the second half of this year.
TSMC's sales for September are expected to continue to grow on the back of Apple's orders, they said.
For the July-August period, TSMC's consolidated sales reached 107.19 billion. Analysts said that riding the ongoing uptrend, the chip maker will achieve its third-quarter sales guidance of NT$161 billion to NT$164 billion, up 3.28-5.2 percent from the second quarter.
For its part, UMC posted NT$10.998 billion in consolidated sales for August, down 4.84 percent from a month earlier on falling orders from smartphone makers. However, the August figure rose 6.22 percent from a year earlier.
In the first eight months of the year, UMC's consolidated sales rose 6.31 percent from a year earlier to NT$82.24 billion.
As the accumulated revenue for the July and August period reached NT$22.56 billion, analysts said it is likely that UMC will achieve its goal of posting 3-4 percent sequential sales growth in the third quarter from the second quarter's NT$31.91 billion.
Before the release of the August sales, UMC shares rose 2.88 percent to close at NT$12.50 on the main board as buying in TSMC shares spread to other IC stocks.
Source: FOCUS TAIWAN NEWS CHANNEL