SMIC expects revenue to fall in 2023

Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp warned that its revenue for 2023 to "decline by low-teens percentage year-over-year," as the slowing demand for electronics weigh on the business of the biggest chip maker in the Chinese mainland.

That marked a break for continual growth SMIC has seen in past two years. In 2022, SMIC's total revenue reached $7.23 billion, up 33.6 percent from 2021.

In its financial filing on Wednesday night, SMIC said its net income last year hit $1.82 billion, a 6 percent year-on-year increase, while sales in the final quarter of 2022 hit $1.62 billion, about 2 percent year-on-year and marginally below analyst expectations.

Gross profit over the same period fell slightly, hitting $518.7 million down from $552.8 million the year prior.

However, citing an industry downturn and complex external uncertainties, the company said that revenue could drop between 10 percent and 12 percent in the first quarter of 2023. And even if the external environment remains stable, revenue is likely to drop by a low-teens percentage on a yearly basis.

"Looking forward to 2023, in the first half of the year, the industry cycle is still at the bottom and the impact of external uncertainties is still complex," SMIC said in the filing.