| SAN JOSE, Calif. — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. said that net sales for February totaled NT$17.2 billion ($558 million), an 17.5 percent drop from January and down 6.4 percent from the like period a year ago. Lora Ho, TSMC vice president and chief financial officer, blamed the results on few working days in the month. "Due to fewer working days as well as fewer wafer shipments, net sales for February 2005 decreased by 17.5 percent compared to January 2005. On a year-over-year basis, net sales for February 2005 decreased 6.4 percent," Ho said in a statement. "TSMC's January and February results were exactly in line with our internal estimations. Our first quarter 2005 guidance, which was announced on January 27, remains unchanged," Ho added. Rival silicon foundry provider United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) posted its weakest monthly sales in two years following a downturn in the IC sector. On Tuesday (March 8), UMC (Hsinchu, Taiwan) said that sales hit NT$6.14 billion ($199 million) in February, down 23.5 percent from the same month last year to its lowest since February 2003. Sales were down 14 percent sequentially, according to UMC. Analysts were pessimistic about the company, the world's second largest foundry, next to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. "We see them reaching the bottom, but we don't see a strong recovery, especially in communications," said KGI Securities analyst Tiffany Chen, in a report from Reuters. | 
