TSMC sees lower growth on poor smartphone demand and cryptocurrency uncertainty

Taiwanese foundry TSMC adjusted its revenue growth forecast for 2018 to 10 percent, down from a previously-anticipated 10 to 15 percent. While still a decent growth rate, the company is less optimistic than before because of soft demand for high-end smartphones as well as the uncertainty surrounding the cryptocurrency mining market. More at DigiTimes.

TSMC forecast revenues in US dollars will register an about 10% increase in 2018. The pure-play foundry estimated previously a larger 10-15% growth. The downward revision was due to smartphone weakness and uncertainty in crypto mining demand, said company co-CEO CC Wei at an April 19 investors meeting.

TSMC's revenues in US dollars will likely grow by about 10% on year in the second quarter of 2018, Wei indicated. Demand for smartphones remains "soft," partially offset by strength in sales generated from the high performance computing (HPC) segment during the quarter, Wei said.

TSMC also said it expects 7nm sales will account for 20 percent of revenue in Q4 2018. The foundry is confident that its 7nm node leads the industry in terms of performance, power, area density, and schedule.