Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) and Vanguard International Semiconductor (VIS) are scheduled to hold investors meetings soon, and announced third-quarter results and fourth-quarter forecasts.
TSMC chairman Morris Chang recently revealed that both revenues and profit will hit new records in 2010, and customers are still lining up for its capacity. Fourth-quarter revenues could exceed expectations and decline slightly by 4-5% to NT$105.88 billion (US$3.43 billion) thanks to strong demand from the smartphone and tablet PC sectors.
Since UMC has not broken into Apple's supply chain, fourth-quarter orders are generally on the decline and revenues are projected to dip about 10%. Utilization of 12-inch capacity should remain full in the fourth quarter, yet utilization for 6- and 8-inch capacity will decrease due to seasonal effects. For the third quarter, analysts expect UMC to report a 33% gross margin due to a stronger emphasis on its high-end production process.
Specialty IC foundry VIS is conservative about the fourth quarter and could see a double-digit percentage drop in revenues.
UMC, TSMC and VIS investors meeting will be held on October 27, 28 and 29, respectively.