SMIC’s 14nm chip yield has reached industry production level.
Future Publishing | Getty Images
China’s biggest chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. posted record revenue in 2022, despite ongoing U.S. sanctions, but warned of a tougher 12 months ahead given a slump within the semiconductor industry.
SMIC said Thursday that 2022 revenue totaled $7.2 billion, up 34% 12 months on 12 months while its gross margin stood at a record 38%. That is the second 12 months of sales growth above 30% for the corporate.
Nonetheless, SMIC said revenue in the primary quarter is forecast to diminish by between 10% and 12% versus the December quarter.
“Looking forward to 2023, in the primary half of the 12 months, the industry cycle continues to be at the underside, the impact of external uncertainties continues to be complex,” the corporate said in a press release.
SMIC is one in all China’s most significant chip firms. It’s the country’s largest foundry, which is an organization that manufacturers chips that other firms design. It is a competitor to the likes of Taiwan’s TSMC and South Korea’s Samsung but SMIC’s technology is several generations behind.
The corporate was thrown on a U.S. trade blacklist called the Entity List in 2020, which has cut SMIC off from key foreign technology that may allow it to make more advanced chips.
Demand for certain chips that go into consumer products has slumped, akin to memory, which has badly impacted SMIC in addition to greater firms like Samsung.
SMIC has been investing aggressively to expand capability in China. The corporate said its capital expenditures in 2023 are expected to remain roughly similar to the $6.35 billion it spent in 2022.
SMIC said mass production at one in all its plants generally known as SMIC Jingcheng can be postponed by one to 2 quarters attributable to “the delay of bottleneck equipment.”
The corporate didn’t mention whether the recent sweeping U.S. export controls, which aim at cutting China off from obtaining or manufacturing key chips and components, was behind the equipment delays.
