Pure-play foundry TSMC has reported revenue of NT$243.2 billion (US$7.52 billion) for October 2023, up 34.8% sequentially and 15.7% on year.
The October revenue exceeded the previous all-time high of NT$222.71 billion achieved in November 2022. Market watchers credited the positive performance to robust 3nm chip demand.
TSMC's cumulative 2023 revenue through October totaled NT$1.78 trillion, down 3.7% on year.
TSMC previously estimated fourth-quarter revenue at between US$18.8 billion and US$19.6 billion, representing an 11.1% sequential increase at the midpoint.
Fellow company United Microelectronics (UMC) saw its October revenue climb to a nine-month high of NT$19.19 billion. Revenue for the first 10 months of 2023 came to NT$186.77 billion, down 20.6% on year.
UMC previously stated that its capacity utilization rate will fall to 60-63% in the fourth quarter, down from 67% in the third, when wafer shipments are expected to drop 5% despite stable ASP growth.
Specialty IC foundry Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) announced October revenue of NT$3.24 billion, down 5.8% sequentially and reaching a four-month low. VIS' cumulative 2023 revenue through October fell 30.3% from a year earlier to NT$31.84 billion.
Looking into the fourth quarter, VIS expects to post an 8-10% sequential decline in wafer shipments and an up to 2% ASP drop. "Due to the weak macro-economy and slow demand recovery, customers remain cautious in order placement. We expect the inventory digestion to continue," commented VIS VP and CFO Amanda Huang regarding the outlook.
