By Michael Gold
TAIPEI, July 16 (Reuters) - Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world's No.1 contract chipmaker, said macroeconomic headwinds will dampen its prospects in the third quarter, even if its main client Apple Inc releases a new iPhone.
TMSC said July-to-September revenue will rise at most by 2.2 percent from the second quarter, to T$207 billion to T$210 billion ($6.75 billion).
This is largely due to weak demand in emerging markets, particularly China, for inexpensive smartphones.
"The outlook for this year has continued to deteriorate," TSMC Chairman Morris Chang said during the company's quarterly investor conference on Thursday.
Pricey new iPhones and high-end phones powered by Google Inc's Android operating system will boost fortunes in the second half of 2015, co-Chief Executive Mark Liu said.
Industry watchers expect Apple to release a new version of its wildly popular iPhone this autumn, though analyst estimates TSMC's share of its chips vary from 30 to 60 percent.
TSMC reiterated expectations that it will achieve "double-digit" revenue growth this year, though this will likely slow dramatically from the near-30 percent increase in 2014.
TSMC shares closed 1.44 percent lower on Thursday, compared with a 0.13 percent fall in the overall TAIEX index.
SLOWING GROWTH
China's smartphone market, the world's largest, shrank in early 2015 for the first time in six years.
Against this backdrop, the global semiconductor industry will only grow 3 percent this year, TSMC said.
TSMC also cut its estimate of semiconductor manufacturing growth, to 6 percent from 10 percent previously.
Despite the slack in the smartphone market, phones demanding more and pricier chips will help TSMC earn more money per phone sold, the company said.
Chief Financial Officer Lora Ho said TSMC will earn $19.70 next year from phones which sell for $350 and above, up from $17.80 this year.
New growth drivers, like the so-called Internet of Things, in which everyday objects like washing machines and smoke detectors connect to the internet, remain nascent for now.
This market is compelling leading chip design companies into an acquisition spree, a trend that TSMC said won't affect its prices.
"When large companies merge there are synergies and there are savings, but that does not mean we have to save for them," Chang said. ($1 = 31.0890 Taiwan dollars) (Reporting by Michael Gold; Editing by Ryan Woo)