TSMC sees multi-year growth ahead, to boost chip spending in 2022
Taiwanese chip firm TSMC expects strong growth to accelerate in coming years due to booming semiconductor demand, as the tech giant on Thursday reported a record quarterly profit and said it plans to spend at least a third more than last year.
Soaring demand for semiconductors used in smartphones, laptops and other gadgets during the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an acute chip crunch, forcing automakers and electronics manufacturers to cut production but keeping order books full at TSMC and other chipmakers.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC) , a major Apple Inc (AAPL.O) supplier that also has customers such as Qualcomm Inc (QCOM.O), posted a 16.4% rise in fourth-quarter profit.
The company said it expects to lift capital spending to between $40 billion and $44 billion this year. Last year it spent $30 billion.
TSMC announced in 2021 a $100 billion expansion plan over the next few years, as new technologies such as fifth-generation (5G) telecommunications technology and artificial intelligence applications also drive chip demand. read more
The company is entering "a period of higher structural growth", Chief Executive C. C. Wei told an online earnings briefing.
TSMC, Asia's most valuable listed firm and globally the largest contract chipmaker, expects capacity to remain tight this year and demand to be sustained in the long term, Wei said.
"With fully-loaded foundry capacity, TSMC's near-term order outlook remains healthy," analysts at Taipei-based Fubon Research wrote in a note in early January
With what it calls a "multi-year industry megatrend" of strong chip demand boosted by new technologies, TSMC raised its compound annual growth rate targets for revenue over the next several years to 15%-20% from 10%-15%. Read More…
