TSMC (TWSE: 2330, NYSE: TSM) announced consolidated revenue of NT$361.53 billion, net income of NT$142.77 billion, and diluted earnings per share of NT$5.51 (US$0.97 per ADR unit) for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2020.
Year-over-year, fourth quarter revenue increased 14.0% while net income and diluted EPS both increased 23.0%. Compared to third quarter 2020, fourth quarter results represented a 1.4% increase in revenue and a 4.0% increase in net income. All figures were prepared in accordance with TIFRS on a consolidated basis.
In US dollars, fourth quarter revenue was $12.68 billion, which increased 22.0% year-over-year and increased 4.4% from the previous quarter.
Gross margin for the quarter was 54.0%, operating margin was 43.5%, and net profit margin was 39.5%.
In the fourth quarter, shipments of 5-nanometer accounted for 20% of total wafer revenue; 7-nanometer and 16-nanometer accounted for 29% and 13% respectively. Advanced technologies, defined as 16-nanometer and more advanced technologies, accounted for 62% of total wafer revenue.
“Our fourth quarter business was supported by strong demand for our industry-leading 5-nanometer technology, driven by 5G smartphone launches and HPC-related applications,” said Wendell Huang, VP and Chief Financial Officer of TSMC. “Moving into first quarter 2021, we expect our business to be supported by HPC-related demand, recovery in the automotive segment, and a milder smartphone seasonality than in recent years.”
Based on the Company’s current business outlook, management expects the overall performance for first quarter 2021 to be as follows:
- Revenue is expected to be between US$12.7 billion and US$13.0 billion;
And, based on the exchange rate assumption of 1 US dollar to 27.95 NT dollars,
- Gross profit margin is expected to be between 50.5% and 52.5%;
- Operating profit margin is expected to be between 39.5% and 41.5%.
The management further expects the 2021 capital budget to be between US$25 billion and US$28 billion.
