TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) said the earthquakes of magnitude 6 and 6.3 centered in Hualien on Tuesday morning (April 23) had little impact on operations.

The situation did not meet the criteria for factory evacuation, but as a precaution, a small number of cleanroom staff were evacuated. No structural damage to facilities was observed, and factory operations and safety systems quickly returned to normal, per CNA.

United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), a smaller contract chipmaker, said its wafer plants in Hsinchu Science Park and Southern Taiwan Science Park also remained unaffected by earthquakes early Tuesday morning.

On April 18, TSMC announced the 7.2-magnitude earthquake on April 3 led to second-quarter losses of NT$3 billion (US$92 million) after deducting insurance claims. TSMC said the Hualien earthquake was the strongest in 25 years, registering magnitude 5 in Hsinchu, Longtan, and Zhunan science parks and magnitude 4 at Taichung and Tainan science parks, per CNA.

TSMC said experience in earthquake response and disaster prevention, along with regular safety drills, allowed 70% of wafer fab equipment to return to normal operations within 10 hours of the quake. Furthermore, no power outages or damage affected high-end extreme ultraviolet (EUV) machines.

TSMC estimated the April 3 earthquake would affect gross profit margin by about 0.5% in the second quarter due to wafer damage and material losses. The company still expects full-year revenue growth between 21-26%.