TSMC bracing for gloomy prospects in 4Q08, say investment banks
A number of investment banks, including Friedman Billings Ramsey (FBR), HSBC and Merrill Lynch, have issued a conservative guidance over the prospects for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) in the fourth quarter of this year.
FBR expects an 8-10% sequential decline in TSMC shipments in the fourth quarter due to order cuts from a number of sectors, including games consoles, digital video equipment, STBs, DVDs, flat panels as well as Bluetooth chips. TSMC is likely to see its shipments continue to decline 5-10% sequentially in the first quarter of 2009, FBR added. HSBC expects TSMC’s capacity utilization rate to fall to 75% in the fourth quarter and further decline to 65% in the first quarter of 2009 the lowest level in recent years.
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