TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC posted a 2% rise in first-quarter net profit on Thursday beating market expectations but still the smallest quarterly growth in almost four years as global economic woes dented demand for chips.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple Inc supplier, saw January-March net profit rise to T$206.9 billion ($6.76 billion) from T$202.7 billion a year earlier.
That compared with the T$192.8 billion average of 21 analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv.
TSMC, Asia’s most valuable listed company, said first-quarter revenue dropped 4.8% year-on-year, in line with the company’s previous forecast.
Analysts said TSMC sales will be under pressure in the second quarter, which is traditionally a slow season for electronics manufacturers and as major clients cut back on orders.
TSMC’s share price fell 27.1% in 2022, but is up around 14% so far this year giving the chipmaker a market value of $433.9 billion. The stock rose 0.6% on Thursday versus a 0.4% fall in the benchmark index.
($1 = 30.6210 Taiwan dollars)
(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Sarah Wu; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
