Taiwan's TSMC posts 13.8% rise in Q3 profit on global chip demand surge

[TAIPEI] Taiwan chip giant TSMC posted a 13.8 per cent jump in third quarter profit on Thursday on the back of booming demand for semiconductors to power smartphones and other gadgets during the Covid-19 pandemic amid a supply crunch.

July-September net profit for TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker and a key supplier to Apple, came in at T$156.3 billion (S$7.5 billion), well ahead of the T$149 billion average of 22 analyst estimates compiled by Refinitiv.

Advanced chips made by TSMC, formally known as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, are used in everything from high-end smartphones like Apple's newly unveiled 5G iPhone 13, to artificial intelligence, cars and a wide variety of lower-end consumer goods.

TSMC and Taiwan in general have also become central in efforts to resolve a pandemic-induced global chip shortage that has forced automakers to cut production, and hurt manufacturers of smartphones, laptops and even consumer appliances.

TSMC's revenue for the quarter climbed 22.6 per cent to US$14.88 billion, in line with the company's prior estimated range of US$14.6 billion to US$14.9 billion.

Shares of TSMC have risen about 8.5 per cent so far this year, giving it a market value of US$526.3 billion, more than double that of competitor and client Intel.

REUTERS