TSMC fourth-quarter profit up 0.7 percent, in line with market forecasts

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC),, the world's largest contract chipmaker, posted on Thursday a 0.7 percent rise in fourth-quarter net profit amid fears that sluggish demand for smartphones could hurt its bottom line.

TSMC, whose clients include iPhone maker Apple Inc, said October-December profit was T$99.984 billion ($3.24 billion). That compared with the T$98.94 billion average forecast drawn from 22 analysts, according to Refinitiv data.

Revenue rose 10.7 percent to $9.40 billion, compared with the company's own estimate of $9.35 billion-$9.45 billion and the average $9.37 billion estimate of 23 analysts, according to Refinitiv data.

($1 = 30.8540 Taiwan dollars)

 

(Reporting By Yimou Lee; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)