TSMC reports record March, Q1 sales

Taipei, April 10 (CNA) Chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) published on Thursday record high sales figures for March and the first quarter, thanks to strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) technology, the company said.

In a statement, the world's largest contract chipmaker said its consolidated sales for March totaled around NT$285.96 billion (US$8.70 billion), while revenue for the January-March period totaled NT$839.25 billion.

Sales in March increased 10 percent from February and rose 46.5 percent from a year earlier, TSMC said, noting that first quarter revenue showed 41.6 percent year-on-year growth.

TSMC said the record sales figures are in line with expectations, citing strong demand for AI technology as the main driving force behind the year-on-year growth.

The chipmaker will hold an investor conference on April 17 to detail its first quarter results and give guidance for the second quarter.

In early February, TSMC said its revenue forecast for the first quarter of 2025 is anticipated to be closer to the lower end of the guidance range of US$25 billion and US$25.8 billion due to the impact of the Jan. 21 earthquake that struck Tainan and Chiayi in southern Taiwan.

In the company's January revenue report published on Feb. 10, TSMC said it had to scrap a certain number of wafers in process because of the earthquake and several aftershocks.

The company previously said the business outlook was made based on an expected exchange rate of US$1 to NT$32.8.

Since then, the chipmaker announced on March 4 a new plan to increase U.S. investment in advanced semiconductor manufacturing by US$100 billion for its ongoing US$65 billion investment in Phoenix, Arizona.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on April 2 sweeping tariffs on imported goods in a bid to address what he called an imbalance in trade facing the United States and to rebuild domestic manufacturing.

Meanwhile, TSMC saw its stock price fall below NT$1,000 on March 10 and on Thursday it closed at NT$863.00, while the U.S. dollar strengthened to above NT$33 before ending Thursday's trading in Taipei at NT$32.868.