TSMC's third-quarter net profit falls 7.1 percent, beats estimates

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Apple Inc supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd on Thursday said net profit fell 7.1 percent in the three months through September, slightly better than analyst estimates.

The world’s largest contract chipmaker booked third-quarter profit of T$89.925 billion ($2.98 billion), from T$96.76 billion in the same period a year earlier. The result compared with the T$88.19 billion average of 21 analyst estimates, Thomson Reuters Eikon showed.

Revenue rose 1.5 percent from a year earlier to $8.32 billion, slightly better than the $8.12 billion to $8.22 billion forecast TSMC issued in July.

The results come just days before the chipmaker celebrates its 30th anniversary and about a week before pre-orders begin for Apple’s latest iPhones, which are widely expected to carry TSMC-made chips.

They are the first results since Chairman Morris Chang - widely regarded as the father of Taiwan’s chip industry - said he would retire in June. He will be succeeded by current co-Chief Executive Officer Mark Liu, leaving C.C. Wei as sole CEO.

Following his announcement in early October, Chang told Reuters that TSMC would increase capital spending by 5 to 10 percent over the next five years.

Just over a week earlier, TSMC said it would build a new fabrication plant in Taiwan.

Shares of TSMC closed up 1.5 percent ahead of the earnings announcement.