TSMC’s highest profit in 2 years as high-tech chip sales swell

TAIPEI, Oct 13 (Reuters) – Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC ( 2330.TW ) posted an 80% jump in third-quarter net profit on Thursday, the strongest growth in two years, boosted by strong sales of advanced chips used in data centers. Electric cars.

TSMC’s business has soared due to a global chip shortage fueled by the pandemic’s worsening sales of smartphones and laptops. The shortage has eased and as companies including AMD ( AMD.O ) and Micron Technology Inc ( MU.O ) have warned of weakening demand, analysts say TSMC’s dominance in making some of the world’s most advanced chips has kept its order book full.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to Apple Inc ( AAPL.O ), said net profit rose to T$280.9 billion ($8.81 billion) in the July-September period, compared with T$265.64 billion. Billion averages 21 analyst estimates compiled by Refinitive.

Revenue for the quarter rose 36 percent to $20.23 billion, beating TSMC’s prior estimate of $19.8 billion to $20.6 billion.

Shares of TSMC have fallen about 36% this year, giving it a market value of $323.7 billion. The stock fell 0.6% on Thursday, compared with a 2.1% decline in the benchmark index (.TWII).

TSMC said it saw little impact from the down cycle in the chip sector and expected capacity to remain tight because long-term demand for TSMC’s chips was “reliable.” Read more

Asia’s most valuable company, whose clients include chips such as Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ), has repeatedly said its business will continue to grow amid a “mega-trend” in the industry. It will increase the use of chips for high-performance computer chips for 5G networks and data centers, as well as in appliances and vehicles.

($1 = 31.8870 Taiwan dollars)

Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Sarah Wu; Edited by Christian Schmollinger, Edmund Claman and Anna Nicolasi da Costa

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