December sales at leading chip foundry Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) were NT$49.68 billion (about $1.66 billion), an increase of 12.1 percent from November 2013 and an increase of 33.7 percent over December 2012.
As a result TSMC's fourth quarter sales were NT$145.81 billion (about $4.86 billion in the middle of the forecast given as part of TSMC's third quarter financial results. Revenues for all of 2013 totaled NT$597.02 billion (about $19.90 billion), an increase of 17.8 percent compared TSMC's sales in 2012.
The robust end to the year provides evidence that previously predicted inventory correction, thought mainly to be in the smartphone and tablet computer markets, has been relatively short and mild.
This is also supported by a report from power management and mixed-signal fabless chip vendor Dialog Semiconductor plc (Kirchheim, Germany). Dialog has reported 4Q13 sales of about $352 million, considerably above previous guidance and up 31 percent year-on-year. The company said the latest upgrade was driven by stronger than anticipated demand for mobile chips during December.
United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) a local rival pure-play foundry also based in Hsinchu, reported December 2013 sales of NT$9.905 billion (about $330 million) up 13.7 percent on the same month in 2012. UMC's full year sales were NT$123.81 billion (about $4.13 billion), up 7.0 percent on the same period in 2012.
Related links and articles:
News articles:
Dialog Raises Revenue Forecast on Mobile Strength
November Sales Dip Steeply at TSMC
