TSMC foresees 30 percent higher revenue for 2020

It's not a secret that TSMC is firing on all cylinders. World's leading semiconductor foundry not only offers cutting-edge process technology but also has an impressive track record. DigiTimes writes strong demand for TSMC's products will result in a massive revenue boost this year. The Taiwanese foundry expects this year's total revenue will be about 30 percent higher than a year ago.

In US dollars, TSMC's third-quarter revenue came to US$12.14 billion representing increases of 29.2% on year and 16.9% sequentially. Company CFO Wendell Huang credited the positive performance to strong demand for the foundry's advanced technologies and specialty technology solutions for 5G smartphones, HPC and IoT-related applications.

"Moving into fourth quarter 2020, we expect our sequential growth to be supported by strong demand for our industry-leading 5-nanometer technology, driven by 5G smartphone launches and HPC-related applications," Huang continued.

Last quarter, 7nm technology accounted for 35 percent of TSMC's revenue. The new 5nm accounted for 8 percent and the older 16nm process pulled in another 18 percent of TSMC's revenue.

Smartphones account for the bulk of TSMC's revenue. About 46 percent of the firm's total wafer revenue was generated by smartphone chips. HPC devices accounted for another 37 percent and IoT chips for 9 percent.