TSMC May sales up 37.2 pct on yr ago, topping UMC
TAIPEI, June 9 (Reuters) - TSMC (2330.TW: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest contract chip maker, said on Friday its May sales had risen 37.2 percent from a year earlier, topping rival UMC's (2303.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) gain, after new consumer products spurred demand for chips.
The global chip industry has recovered steadily from a slump in early 2005 as new-generation mobile phones, game machines and flat-screen televisions have gained popularity.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. (TSMC) (TSM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) reported sales of T$26.777 billion (US$824 million) for last month, up from T$19.508 billion in May last year and marking its ninth straight annual gain.
TSMC garnered sales of T$27.162 billion in April.
By comparision, United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) (UMC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) posted a 31.5 percent year-on-year gain in May sales on Wednesday.
Both TSMC and UMC count Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) (TXN.N: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's top supplier of mobile phone chips, as major clients.
TSMC's result came right after the close of trade in Taipei on Friday, when its ordinary shares jumped 4.65 percent to T$58.50, outpacing the main TAIEX share index's <.TWII> 1.78 percent. UMC shares ended up 2.13 percent at T$19.20.
TSMC has forecast second-quarter sales up 2.2 to 4.8 percent from the first quarter, with gross profit margin rising as much as 1.6 percentage points
That guidance was more conservative than that of UMC, which expected second-quarter shipments to rise 5 to 6 percent from the January-March quarter. TSMC saw lower growth of 3 percent growth in shipments in the current quarter. (US$=T$32.5)
