TSMC CHIPS IN WITH 88% REVENUE RISE

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company reported an 87.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter increase in revenue for the three months to June yesterday, underscoring the speed with which the technology sector has rebounded from its worst crisis in recent years.

TSMC, the world's biggest contract chipmaker, commands half of the contract chip market.

It is seen as a bellwether for the high tech industry because its chips go into products from computers to mobile phones to machinery for companies such as Qualcomm and Advanced Micro Devices.

被过滤广告The company suffered one of its worst drops in revenue in the first quarter as the impact of the slowdown moved up the complex technology supply chain.

Chipmakers such as TSMC, which sit at the head of that chain, suffered outsized losses as customers chose to run down their inventory stock rather than continue to place orders.

With high tech brands and manufacturers restocking and with rising Chinese demand for electronics from Beijing's stimulus measures, TSMC and United Microelectronics, its smaller rival, saw an influx of new orders in the second quarter.

The company said the “second quarter saw a sharp rebound in the demand for semiconductors across all applications”, which helped boost revenue to T$74bn ($2.25bn) and profits to T$24.4bn.

This was 15 times more than the first-quarter profit but short of the T$28.8bn recorded a year ago.

Morris Chang, the TSMC chairman and chief executive who returned to run the company in June, said that he expected the improvement in conditions to last through the third quarter but expressed concern that the fourth might be slightly worse than the third.

Bill Lu, an analyst with Morgan Stanley, said doubts remained about whether the recovery could be sustained.

“We believe investors are waiting for data on back-to school demand to determine whether growth can be sustained post 3Q,” Mr Lu wrote.

TSMC's results come a day after Taiwan's UMC, the second biggest contract chipmaker, reported greatly improved results.