Major Chinese chip contractor SMIC provided a gloomy outlook for the fourth quarter of 2022 as it predicted a revenue decline of 13% to 15% in the period. The guidance came as SMIC reported revenue of $1.9 billion, a 0.2% quarterly growth, for the third quarter of this year. That figure meant the firm’s revenue was up by 34.7% compared with the same quarter last year, hitting the goal it set in the previous quarter. Profits attributed to SMIC were $470.84 million in the third quarter of 2022, an 8.5% quarterly fall but a 46.5% yearly growth. The company’s capacity utilization saw a decrease from 97.1% to 92.1% in the third quarter of this year. At the same time, SMIC said it expects yearly capital expenditures to rise 32% to $6.6 billion for 2022 and explained that its more pessimistic guidance for the fourth quarter is due to the weak demand for mobile phones and other consumer electronics. SMIC also pointed to some clients’ need for more time to incorporate the newly released US export controls as a contributing factor. [SMIC]