Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest contract chipmaker, reported a record quarterly profit on Thursday with its net profit for the July-September period rising 79.7 percent on the year, but signaled wariness about slowing demand going forward.
TSMC also posted record quarterly sales, up 47.9 percent from the same period last year. But with the United States announcing last Friday new export controls on advanced computer chips to China, the company reduced its capital investment target for this year amid uncertainty in the chip market.
The chipmaker posted solid earnings even as surging prices of goods have dragged down the world economy, crimping demand for computer chips.
C.C. Wei, TSMC's chief executive, said the company will continue to grow despite risks of a slowdown in the chip industry in 2023.
Regarding the new U.S. export controls, which are aimed at restricting China's ability to access certain high-end chips, Wei said TSMC's initial assessment is that its impact on the company is "limited and manageable."
The company said it has received a one-year authorization to establish a chip-manufacturing facility in the Chinese city of Nanjing.
TSMC also said construction of its foundry plant in the southwestern Japan prefecture of Kumamoto is on track, and that production would commence by the end of 2024.
Wendell Huang, the company's chief financial officer, said short-term market uncertainty has driven the company to lower its capital investment target for this year to $36 billion from between $40 billion and $44 billion announced in January.
TSMC posted NT$280.8 billion ($8.8 billion) in net profit for the three months through September on NT$613.1 billion in sales.
