TAIWANESE chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) posted a 19 per cent drop in fourth-quarter net profit on Thursday (Jan 18) as global economic woes hit demand for chips used in applications from cars to cellphones and servers, but still beat market forecasts.

TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple and Nvidia supplier, saw October to December net profit drop to NT$238.7 billion (S$10.2 billion) from a particularly strong NT$295.9 billion a year earlier.

The profit beat a NT$226.4 billion LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted towards forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

TSMC, Asia’s most valuable listed company, said fourth-quarter revenue slipped 1.5 per cent year-on-year to US$19.62 billion, in line with the company’s previous forecast of US$18.8 billion to US$19.6 billion.

Capital expenditure in the fourth quarter was US$5.24 billion, TSMC said, compared with US$7.1 billion in the third quarter.

For the full year, capital expenditure came in at US$30.45 billion, less than a prior forecast of US$32 billion for 2023 and a total of US$36.29 billion spent in 2022.

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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.

TSMC’s Taipei-listed shares surged 32 per cent last year. The stock rose 1.2 per cent on Thursday ahead of the results versus a 0.4 per cent gain for the benchmark index, giving the company a market value of US$478.3 billion. REUTERS