Semiconductor material and equipment suppliers are poised for brisk sales in the months ahead, buoyed by a number of factors, including an upward revision of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC's) first-quarter guidance and high capacity utilization rates at 8- and 12-inch fabs in Taiwan, according to industry sources.

　　Thanks to a surge in orders from chipset makers including Qualcomm, Broadcom and MediaTek, TSMC now expects its sales to grow 0.8% sequentially compared to a 5-7% drop forecast previously, the sources noted.

　　TSMC may see its revenues expand 20% sequentially in the second quarter of 2014, the sources estimated.

　　UMC has also benefited from the ongoing recovery in the semiconductor industry, with the capacity utilization rates of its 8- and 12-inch fabs running high, added the sources.

　　Semiconductor material distributor Topco Scientific has seen its shipments of silicon wafers, photoresists and quartz tubes to TSMC and UMC increase sharply and is expected to see its March revenues surpass the NT$1.39 billion (US$45.68 million) recorded in January, said the sources.

　　Fellow distributor Wah Lee Industrial is also expected to perform better in the first quarter of 2014 as compared to a year earlier, buoyed by orders for photoresists used in the 20nm process node and other chemicals, revealed the sources.

　　Feedback Technology, which distributes equipment and parts for semiconductor and optoelectronics industries, has also enjoyed a rebound in orders for ion implantation materials from Taiwan's top-2 foundry houses, added the sources.