Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SEHK: 00981; SSE STAR MARKET: 688981), one of the leading semiconductor foundries in the world, today announced its consolidated results of operations for the three months ended December 31, 2021.
2021 Fourth Quarter Highlights
- Revenue was $1,580.1 million in 4Q21, an increase of 11.6% QoQ from $1,415.3 million in 3Q21, and 61.1% YoY from $981.1 million in 4Q20.
- Gross profit was $552.8 million in 4Q21, an increase of 18.2% QoQ from $467.9 million in 3Q21, and 212.7% YoY from $176.8 million in 4Q20.
- Gross margin was 35.0% in 4Q21, compared to 33.1% in 3Q21 and 18.0% in 4Q20.
First Quarter 2022 Guidance
The following statements are forward looking statements based on current expectations and involved risks and uncertainties. The Company expects (in accordance with IFRS):
- Revenue to increase by 15% to 17% QoQ.
- Gross margin to range from 36% to 38%.
SMIC management commented: “The year 2021 is an exceptional year in SMIC’s development history. The global shortage of chips and the strong demand for local and indigenous manufacturing brought the Company a rare opportunity, while the restrictions of the “Entity List” set many obstacles to the Company’s development. Focusing on the primary task of ensuring operation continuity, meeting customer demand, and alleviating the supply chain shortage, the Company rose to the challenge, tackled difficulties precisely and achieved sound performance.
The Company’s single-quarter revenue exceeded US$1.5 billion for the first time, and the annual revenue was US$5.4 billion, an annual increase of 39%, making us the fastest growing company among the top four pure-play foundries in the world that year, and many financial indicators such as gross margin, operating margin, and net margin also hit record highs.
There are opportunities and challenges in 2022, and there is a gradual shift from capacity shortage across the board to a phase of structural shortage. SMIC’s product platforms and capacity built up over the years are concentrated in the industry’s structural gaps. The Company will consistently adhere to compliant operations, continuing internationalization and deeply integrate into the global ecosystem, in order to service customers across the globe, seek progress in a steady manner, continue to strengthen strategic cooperation with customers and suppliers, and steadily advance capacity expansion projects. Under the dual preparation effect of diversified customer base and multi-product platforms, the Company will secure the existing volume, expand incremental volume, and build our competitive advantage in the IC ecosystem on higher ground.
Under the assumption of a relatively stable external environment, the growth rate of annual revenue is expected to be better than the average of the foundry industry, and the gross margin is expected to be higher than our level in 2021. In order to continuously expand the existing fabs and roll out of the three new projects, it is still a high-investment year in 2022. The Capex is expected to be about $5.0 billion, and the incremental production capacity is expected to be higher than last year.
