Taiwan Semiconductor profit up 21pc in Q1

TAIPEI, Apr 17 (AFP): Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said Thursday its first-quarter net profit rose 21 percent year-on-year, boosted by stronger than expected demand for chips used in smartphones and tablets.

The world's biggest contract chip maker said net profit rose to Tw$47.87 billion ($1.6 billion) in the January-March period, while revenue grew 11.6 per cent to Tw$148.22 billion from a year earlier.

Net profit and revenue rose 6.8 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively, from the fourth quarter last year, the company said in a statement.

The figures exceeded a forecast TSMC made last month when raising its first-quarter guidance on robust demand for sophisticated chips used in mobile devices.