(Recasts, provides particulars)
TAIPEI, April 10 (Reuters) – Taiwan chipmaker TSMC reported a 16.5% rise in first-quarter income on Wednesday, beating market expectations and on the excessive finish of the corporate’s personal steering as its gross sales increase on demand for synthetic intelligence functions.
The world’s largest contract chipmaker, whose clients embody Apple and Nvidia, has benefited from a surge in direction of AI that has helped it climate the truly fizzling out of pandemic-led demand and pushed TSMC’s inventory to a document excessive.
Income within the first three months of this 12 months got here in at T$592.64 billion ($18.54 billion), up from $16.72 billion within the year-ago interval.
That was in direction of the upper finish of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) earlier prediction for first-quarter income to vary between $18 billion and $18.8 billion.
The consequence beat an LSEG SmartEstimate of T$581.45 billion drawn from 23 analysts, weighted towards those that are extra persistently correct.
The primary half of the 12 months is historically quieter for Taiwanese tech companies, coming after the end-of-year vacation rush for items like tablets and smartphones in main Western markets, however the AI development is boosting demand even within the off season.
For March alone, TSMC reported income rose 34.3% year-on-year to T$195.21 billion and was up 7.5% from the earlier month.
TSMC, Asia’s most useful publicly listed firm with a market capitalisation of $662 billion, didn’t present any particulars or ahead steering in its temporary income assertion.
It’s scheduled to report first quarter earnings on April 18, the place it can additionally replace its outlook for the present quarter and the 12 months.
TSMC is predicted to report a 4% rise in first quarter internet revenue, in response to an LSEG SmartEstimate.
TSMC’s Taipei-listed shares closed down 0.5% on Wednesday forward of the discharge of the gross sales information. The broader market ended down 0.2%.
The chipmaker’s shares have surged 37% to date this 12 months, in contrast with a 16% acquire for the broader market. (Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Religion Hung; Modifying by Kim Coghill and Jamie Freed)
