When summing up the results of the first quarter, TSMC management complained about the insufficiently high degree of utilization of production lines, citing a drop in demand for smartphones, the components for which form about 62% of the company's revenue. At the same time, computer components still provide no more than 10% of TSMC's revenue, although Taiwanese publications at every opportunity repeat that in the second half of the year many large companies, including AMD and NVIDIA, will become TSMC customers in the direction of the 7nm process technology. Moreover, even an Intel division named Mobileye did not break old production ties for the period of integration into the structure of the parent corporation and orders the production of EyeQ processors using 7-nm technology from TSMC.
At anniversary events, AMD representatives have repeatedly emphasized that 2019 will be an unprecedentedly rich year for the company in the premiere of new products, and many of them will be produced using 7nm technology by TSMC. Vega generation accelerators and graphics solutions have already moved to 7nm technology, and more affordable Navi-based graphics solutions will join them in the third quarter. AMD starts deliveries of 7nm EPYC processors of the Rome family this quarter, although the formal announcement will take place only in the third. Finally, the announcement of the third-generation 7nm Ryzen processors is close, but the head of AMD promised to talk about them at a gala dinner dedicated to the company's fiftieth anniversary in the “coming weeks”.
TSMC will handle orders AMD to release 7nm products
With such an abundance of new products, the question of TSMC's ability to meet AMD's demand was brewing by itself, and at the solemn it was voiced by one of the guests of the event. Lisa Su said without hesitation that she has full confidence in TSMC's ability to supply AMD with 7nm products in the required quantities. In addition, she noted, Zen 2 CPUs are not entirely produced using 7nm technology. A crystal with memory controllers and I/O interfaces based on 14nm technology will be produced for them by GlobalFoundries, and this specialization will partially offload TSMC's capacities.
AMD made a bet on 7nm technology a few years ago, as explained by the technical director of the company Mark Peypermaster (Mark Papermaster). It was decided in advance to use the so-called "chiplets". Decisions like this are not made at the last minute, and Mark urged the public to be aware of the length of the design cycle for new products.
Lisa Su added that the 7nm process itself does not determine a winner or loser in the current situation. Only in conjunction with the adopted architectural decisions, he is able to provide AMD with a "unique competitive position."
For sustainable development AMD Should Maintain High Average Prices
We have already that in the first quarter the company managed to raise the average selling price of products by 4%, although it does not specify the share of each category of products in this impact. A course has also been taken to increase the rate of return, according to the results of the current year, it should reach a level above 41%. In the coming years, AMD will aim to bring this figure closer to 44%, as noted by CFO Devinder Kumar (Devinder Kumar).
On a wave of emotional upsurge, Lisa Su at the gala dinner said that AMD must remain a "great company", it needs to release "great products", but in order to do this, it will have to maintain an adequate level of average prices and profit margins. Development requires money, and their company receives not only from creditors and shareholders, but also through profit. But the head of the company has no doubts about the ability of AMD processors to get better year by year. Brand products should become more popular and more recognizable. Ideally, AMD would like to become the market leader in high-performance computing.
Consumers should understand, as Lisa Su assured, that AMD is their best partner. The executive director of the company greatly appreciates the ability of enthusiasts to understand the nuances of technology, in all the technical characteristics of products. The company tries to constantly maintain feedback with customers, as has been noted more than once. However, it does not forget about shareholders either, trying to increase the financial return from its activities.
Source: 3dnews.ru