TSMC Q3 profit falls 24.9%, beats market forecasts

TAIWANESE chipmaker TSMC posted a 24.9 per cent fall in third-quarter net profit on Thursday (Oct 19) as global economic woes hit demand for chips used in applications from cars to cellphones and servers and coming off a high base last year.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple supplier, saw July-September net profit fall to T$211 billion (S$8.95 billion) from T$280.9 billion a year earlier.

The profit beat a T$195.5 billion LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted towards forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

TSMC, Asia’s most valuable listed company, said third-quarter revenue dropped 14.6 per cent to US$17.3 billion, in line with the company’s previous forecast of US$16.7 billion to US$17.5 billion.

Capital expenditure in the third quarter was US$7.1 billion, TSMC said, compared with US$8.17 billion in the previous quarter.

As the biggest maker of advanced chips, TSMC must navigate an uncertain industry outlook and a US-China chip spat that could make it vulnerable.

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TSMC’s Taipei-listed shares fell 27.1 per cent in 2022, but are up around 22 per cent so far this year, giving the chipmaker a market value of US$432.3 billion. The stock rose 1.1 per cent on Thursday versus a flat benchmark index. REUTERS