The iPhone 12 chip is also made by TSMC
TSMC widens the gap with Samsung... "The iPhone 12 chip is also made by TSMC"
TSMC, sales of $310.6 billion in the first quarter of this year.
More than expected and 42% jump from the first quarter of last year.
Taiwan's "TSMC," the world's No. 1 foundry (conductor consignment production) industry, posted 42% more sales in the first quarter of this year than last year despite the Coronavirus outbreak.
The Taipei Times reported on the 13th (local time) that TSMC recorded sales of $310.6 billion (about 12.58 trillion won) in the first quarter of this year. The figure is up 42 percent from the first quarter of last year. It fell 2.09 percent from the previous quarter, the fourth quarter of last year. It exceeded TSMC's quarterly sales target of $304.98 billion to $307.97 billion. TSMC is planning to unveil its detailed performance such as operating profit through a conference call for its performance announcement on the 16th.
The semiconductor industry believes that TSMC has exceeded expectations even when the world is in an emergency due to the coronavirus. Some analysts say that TSMC was relatively less affected by the Coronavirus situation due to the characteristics of the foundry industry, which produces chips by receiving orders in advance. Taiwan, in particular, is one of the countries with low Coronavirus damage. Due to the Cironavirus outbreak, TSMC's plant has never been temporarily shut down.
In particular, only two TSMC and Samsung Electronics are allowed to use micro-processes that are less than 5 nanometers. An official from the semiconductor industry said, "Even if demand for entire foundry drops due to Coronavirus outbreak, customers who visit TSMC will continue."
TSMC is the industry's No. 1 player with 52.7 percent of foundry market share as of the fourth quarter of last year. Samsung Electronics ranked second with 17.8 percent, which is quite different. As TSMC achieved positive results in the first quarter, there are rumors in the semiconductor industry that Samsung Electronics' pursuit of TSMC may become more difficult.
Currently, Samsung Electronics and TSMC are competing for technology production of chips that are applied with micro-processes below 5-nano. TSMC is planning to mass-produce chips from 5-nano process in first half of this year and Samsung Electronics is planning to mass-produce chips from second half of this year. "Apple recently ordered 'A14 Bionic' chips, an iPhone 12 mobile AP, from TSMC," said Taiwanese media such as Taiwan Economic Daily on the 13th (local time). "This chip will be manufactured on the TSMC 5-nano line."