Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) has reported higher-than-expected quarterly revenue, signalling the chipmaker benefited from the global chip shortage that was ignited by the pandemic. The Covid pandemic boosted the sales of smartphones and laptops. Also, the high consumption of advanced chips in data centres and electric cars proved to be a plus point. 

TSMC, Apple Inc’s major chip supplier and also the world’s largest chipmaker, reported an 80% jump in net profit for the third quarter on Thursday. The net profit for the July-September quarter stood at T$280.9 billion ($8.81 billion), the company reported. The reported profit is the company’s highest in the past two years.

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The revenue for this quarter jumped 36% to $20.23 billion, against its earlier estimate of $19.8 billion to $20.6 billion.

The chip makers other than TSMC recently warned that they were facing a slump in the market as inventories are built up and orders were being cut by data centres and consumer tech clients. Micron Technology Inc. and Kioxia Holdings Corp. were cutting production to rebalance supply and prevent a price crash, Bloomberg reported.

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TSMC said that demand for its chips was “firmly in place” and it has seen a very minor impact of the current slump in the chip market. The company made its capacity to remain intact on the back of long-term demand.

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The chip giant said that its business would sustain its boost by a “mega-trend” in the industry, which refers to the surging demand for high-performance computing chips for 5G networks and data centres. The increasing use of chips in gadgets and vehicles is also part of the trend, it added.

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TSMC’s shares plunged over 31% in the past year. The stock fell by 0.63%, while the market fall was reported at 2.1% on Thursday. TSMC, headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, is Asia’s most valuable listed firm and makes chips for brands including Qualcomm Inc. and Apple Inc.