Expects capital spending 2832 bln for 2024
Q4 profit T238.7 bln vs T226.4 bln analyst view
Q4 capex 5.24 bln vs Q3 capex 7.1 bln
Sees healthy growth this year

TAIPEI, Jan 18 Reuters Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC projected on Thursday steady capital spending for the current year and upwards of 20 revenue growth driven by demand for artificial intelligence.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd TSMC , the world39;s largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple Inc and Nvidia supplier, also reported a quarterly net profit that beat market expectations.

Looking ahead, TSMC said it plans to expand its global manufacturing footprint, with construction at its fab plant in Germany expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year. It forecast capital spending at 2832 billion for this year, in line with 2023.

TSMC posted a 19 drop in net profit for the OctoberDecember quarter to T238.7 billion 7.6 billion from a particularly strong yearago quarter as global economic woes hit demand for chips used in applications from cars to cellphones and servers.

The profit, though, beat a T226.4 billion LSEG SmartEstimate, which is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more consistently accurate.

Our fourth quarter business was supported by the continued strong ramp of our industryleading 3nanometer technology, said Wendell Huang, chief financial officer of TSMC.

He said the current quarter would be impacted by seasonlity of the smartphone business, which would be…