Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest chip foundry, said on Thursday that there are signs that a difficult year for the chip industry may be coming to an end.
With the decline in chip sales for smartphones and high-speed computing, TSMC's revenue for the quarter from July to September decreased by 11% year-on-year. The company's net profit decreased by 25% compared to the same period last year.
However, during a conference call with investors on Thursday, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei stated that he believes the industry is nearing a bottom.
Wei Zhejia said that TSMC has identified early signs of improved demand in consumer electronics industries such as smartphones and personal computers, which is one of TSMC's largest businesses. He stated that given its strong technological leadership and extensive customer base, the company is confident in achieving healthier growth in 2024.
TSMC stated that high-performance computing materials will become one of the strongest growth drivers in the coming years. The company also mentioned strong demand for AI applications and stated that cutting-edge chip manufacturing technologies such as the 3 nanometer node used by Apple's latest iPhone will continue to drive sales.
Wei Zhejia warns that as customers are still carefully managing their inventory, it is too early to expect a significant rebound now.
TSMC stated that compared to last year's record high of $36.3 billion, this year's capital expenditure will reach $32 billion, consistent with previous forecasts. The company stated that approximately 70% of it will be used to increase the production capacity of state-of-the-art process semiconductors.
When discussing the recent tightening of export restrictions on AI related chips from the United States to China, Wei Zhejia stated that the short-term impact on TSMC is controllable, but the company is still evaluating the long-term impact.
In addition, the company stated this week that it will not build a new advanced process chip manufacturing factory in Taiwan after protests from local residents.