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TSMC net profit tops NT$1 trillion for 1st time in 2022, up over 70%
 

01/12/2023

Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported on Thursday that its net profit for 2022 surpassed NT$1 trillion (US$32.89 billion) for the first time, up more than 70 percent from a year earlier, after the company posted record high net income in the fourth quarter of last year.

Data released by TSMC right before an investor conference showed the chipmaker raked in NT$1.01 trillion in net profit in 2022, up 70.4 percent from a year earlier, with the company's earnings per share at NT$39.2 compared with NT$23.01 seen in 2021.

TSMC enjoyed a strong showing in the fourth quarter despite traditional slow season effects during the period due to a favorable exchange rate and cost controls that boosted its gross margin, market analysts said.

During the October-December period, TSMC's net income stood at NT$295.9 billion, up 5.4 percent from a quarter earlier and also up 78.0 percent from a year earlier, with EPS at NT$11.41, compared with NT$10.83 a quarter earlier and NT$6.41 a year earlier.

In the fourth quarter, TSMC posted NT$625.53 in consolidated sales, up 2 percent from the third quarter and also up 42.8 percent from a year earlier, while its gross margin -- the difference between revenue and the cost of goods sold -- rose to 62.2 percent, beating the company's previous estimate ranging from 59.5 percent to 61.5 percent.

In the fourth quarter, gross margin also rose from 60.4 percent in the third quarter and 52.7 percent a year earlier, TSMC's data showed.

In U.S. dollar terms, TSMC's consolidated sales for the fourth quarter hit US$19.93 billion, meeting the company's previous estimate of between US$19.9 billion and US$20.7, according to the chipmaker.

TSMC said sales generated by chips used in high performance computing (HPC) devices and chips used in automotive electronics also grew 10 percent from a quarter earlier, while sales posted by chips used in smartphones, the Internet of Things, and consumer electronics bucked the upturn, falling 4 percent, 11 percent and 23 percent, respectively, from the previous quarter.

The advanced 5 nanometer process accounted for 32 percent of TSMC's total sales in the fourth quarter, up from 28 percent in the third quarter, while the 7nm process made up 22 percent of total sales, down from 26 percent a quarter earlier, TSMC said.

Following the 5nm process, TSMC started mass production of the 3nm process on Dec. 29, which is likely to make an important contribution in 2023.

For 2022, TSMC's consolidated sales totaled NT$2.26 trillion, up 42.6 percent from a year earlier with its gross margin at 59.6 percent, up 8 percentage points year-on-year, the data showed.

 

(By Chang Chien-chung and Frances Huang)

 

Source, https://focustaiwan.tw/business/202212270019

 

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