LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / January 23, 2018 / Active-Investors.com has just released a free earnings report on Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd (NYSE: TSM) ("TSMC"). If you want access to this report all you need to do is sign up now by clicking the following link www.active-investors.com/registration-sg/?symbol=TSM. TSMC reported its fourth quarter and fiscal 2017 operating and financial results on January 18, 2018. The chip manufacturer outperformed top- and bottom-line expectations and provided guidance for the upcoming quarter. Register today and get access to over 1,000 Free Research Reports by joining our site below:

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Active-Investors.com is focused on giving you timely information and the inside line on companies that matter to you. This morning, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing most recent news is on our radar and our team decided to put out a fantastic report on the company that is now available for free below:

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Earnings Highlights and Summary

For the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2017, TSMC reported net revenue of NT$277.57 billion, representing a 5.9% growth compared to revenue NT$262.23 billion in Q4 2016.

In US dollars, TSMC's Q4 2017 revenue was $9.21 billion, which increased 11.6% compared to revenue of $8.25 billion in Q4 2016. The Company's revenue numbers came in ahead of analysts' expectations.

For full year 2017, TSMC's net revenue was NT$977.45 billion, representing a 3.1% growth on a y-o-y basis. In US dollar terms, the Company's net revenue increased 9.1% to US$32.11 billion in 2017.

During Q4 2017, TSMC's gross margin was 50.0%, 2.3% lower than Q4 2016. The Company's operating margin was 39.2% in the reported quarter, down 2.7% compared to the year ago same period. TSMC's non-operating items were a gain of NT$2.78 billion in Q4 2017 compared to a gain of NT$2.14 billion in Q4 2016.

For Q4 2017, TSMC's net income attributable to shareholders of the parent company was NT$99.29 billion, down 0.9% from NT100.20 billion in Q4 2016. The Company's diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the reported quarter was NT$3.83 (US$0.64 per ADR unit) versus NT3.86 (US$0.61 per ADR unit) in the year earlier same quarter. The drop in net income and EPS were mainly due to the strong appreciation of NT dollars, which affected the operating profit margin rate negatively by about two percentage points. TSMC's earnings came in ahead of Wall Street's estimates by NT0.08.

Revenue Details

During Q4 2017, TSMC's shipments of 10-nanometer accounted for 25% of total wafer revenue, 16/20-nanometer process technology accounted for 20% of total wafer revenue and advanced technologies, defined as 28-nanometer and more advanced technologies, accounted for 63% of total wafer revenue.

From a geographic perspective, TSMC's revenue from customers based in North America accounted for 67% of total net revenue in Q4 2017, while revenue from Asia/Pacific, China, Europe, Middle-East, and Africa (EMEA), and Japan accounted for 7%, 13%, 7%, and 6% of total net revenue, respectively, in the reported quarter.

Liquidity Analysis

At the end of Q4 2017, TSMC's net working capital was NT$498.49 billion and current ratio was 2.4x. The Company's days of receivable decreased 5 days in the reported quarter to 40 days from 45 days in Q4 2016, as net revenue increased on a y-o-y basis and average accounts receivable decreased y-o-y. The Company's days of inventory increased 11 days, mainly due to 10nm ramping and increase in raw wafers.

TSMC's net cash reserves increased NT$138.93 billion on a q-o-q basis to NT$435.39 billion in Q4 2017, reflecting the increase of NT$147.58 billion in cash and marketable securities, offset by the increase in short-term loans. During the reported quarter, the Company's cash generated from operating activities totaled NT$204.13 billion, including NT$111.68 billion from income before income tax, NT$70.81 billion from depreciation & amortization (D&A) expenses, and NT$21.64 billion from other operating sources. TSMC's net cash position increased NT$145.31 billion sequentially to NT$553.39 billion at the end of 4Q17.

TSMC's free cash flow was NT$142.95 billion in Q4 2017, reflecting an increase of NT$87.88 billion on a sequential basis, due to higher operating cash flow. The Company's total free cash flow generated in 2017 was NT$254.73 billion, an increase of NT$42.94 billion from NT$211.79 billion in 2016, also due to higher operating cash flow.

Outlook

For the first quarter fiscal 2018, TSMC is forecasting revenue to be in the range of US$8.40 billion and US$8.50 billion. The Company is estimating gross profit margin to be between 49.5% and 51.5% and operating profit margin in the band of 38% and 40%.

Stock Performance Snapshot

January 22, 2018 - At Monday's closing bell, Taiwan Semiconductor's stock climbed 3.83%, ending the trading session at $46.38.

Volume traded for the day: 8.32 million shares, which was above the 3-month average volume of 5.21 million shares.

Stock performance in the last month ? up 17.90%; previous three-month period ? up 12.93%; past twelve-month period ? up 54.24%; and year-to-date ? up 16.97%

After yesterday's close, Taiwan Semiconductor's market cap was at $240.53 billion.

Price to Earnings (P/E) ratio was at 20.66.

The stock has a dividend yield of 2.50%.

The stock is part of the Technology sector, categorized under the Semiconductor - Integrated Circuits industry. This sector was up 1.0% at the end of the session.

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