TSMC's Q3 net profit hits new high

Taipei, Oct. 17 (CNA) Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world's largest contract chipmaker, said on Thursday its net profit in the third quarter of this year hit a record high for the company.

With market analysts attributing the growth to solid global demand for artificial intelligence applications and an increase of orders placed by Apple Inc., TSMC said in a statement that it posted NT$325.26 billion (US$10.10 billion) in net profit in the July-September period, up 31.2 percent from the previous quarter and also up 54.2 percent compared with the same period last year.

The third quarter earnings per share (EPS) stood at NT$12.54, compared with NT$9.56 for the previous quarter and NT$8.14 for last year's third quarter.

In the third quarter this year, TSMC generated US$23.5 billion in consolidated sales, beating an earlier estimate of US$22.4 billion to US$23.2 billion.

In Taiwan dollar terms, the chipmaker's third quarter consolidated sales reached a new high of NT$759.69 billion, up 12.8 percent from the second quarter and up 39.0 percent compared with last year's third quarter.

Due to its efforts to boost capacity utilization and improve cost efficiency, TSMC said its gross margin -- the difference between revenue and the value of goods sold -- for the third quarter hit 57.8 percent, higher than an earlier forecast of between 53.5 percent and 55.5 percent.

TSMC said that its latest 3 nanometer (nm) technology accounted for about 20 percent of total sales in the third quarter with the 5nm and 7nm processes representing 32 percent and 17 percent, respectively.

The chipmaker said that, compared with the previous quarter, sales posted by its high-performance computing device division rose 11 percent, sales generated by its smartphone division grew 16 percent, and its Internet of Things division saw sales grow 35 percent.

In addition, TSMC's automotive division recorded a 6 percent quarter-on-quarter increase in sales, but its digital consumer electronics division suffered a 19 percent quarter-on-quarter decline.

In the first nine months of this year, TSMC's net profit totaled NT$798.59 billion, up 33.1 percent compared with the same period last year, with EPS at NT$30.8.