TAIPEI, OCT 17 – Taiwanese chip giant TSMC announced bigger-than-expected profit for the third quarter and continued to forecast growth this year due to ‘very robust’ demand for AI technology.
TSMC controls more than half of the world’s chip output in applications ranging from Apple’s iPhone to Nvidia’s advanced artificial intelligence (AI) hardware.
Taipei- and New York-listed TSMC — said net profit in the three months to September reached US$10.1 billion, up 54.2 percent from the same period last year.
Profit in the period rose 36 percent year-on-year to US$23.5 billion, the firm said in a statement.
TSMC chairman CC Wei said AI-related demand from customers was ‘very robust’.
“Our business in the third quarter was supported by strong smartphone and AI-related demand for our three-nanometer and five-nanometer technologies,” Wei said in a briefing.
“Going into the fourth quarter, we expect our business to continue to be supported by strong demand for our advanced process technology.”
TSMC said it expects full-year revenue to rise nearly 30 percent.
Taiwan’s largest company raised its forecast for 2024 profit in July, highlighting expectations for continued spending on AI infrastructure from companies such as Microsoft and Amazon.
“The demand (for AI) is real and I believe it is only the beginning of this demand. It will continue for many years,” Wei added. – AFP
