TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) released its fourth quarter financials on Thursday (Jan. 18).

It announced a consolidated revenue of NT$625.53 billion (US$19.92 billion) and net income of NT$238.71 billion for the fourth quarter ending on Dec. 31. Fourth quarter revenue decreased 19.3% compared to a year earlier.

Compared to the third quarter last year, fourth-quarter results represented a 14.4% jump in revenue and a 13.1% increase in net income. The gross margin for Q4 was 53%, the operating margin was 41.6%, and net profit margin was 38.2%.

The company said that during the fourth quarter, 3 nm shipments accounted for 15% of wafer revenue, 5 nm chips made up 35%, and 7 nm silicon for 17%. Older process technologies, defined as 7 nm and higher, accounted for 67% of wafer revenue.

“Our fourth quarter business was supported by the continued strong ramp (up) of our industry-leading 3-nanometer technology,” said Wendell Huang (黃仁昭), vice president and CFO of TSMC. “Moving into the first quarter 2024, we expect our business to be impacted by smartphone seasonality, partially offset by continued HPC-related demand.”

Looking ahead, TSMC said it expects first-quarter revenue this year to come in between US$18-US$18.8 billion. Meanwhile, TSMC’s capital expenditure for the year is expected to be between US$28–US$32 billion.