The sales of 16.81 billion Taiwan dollars (483 million US), compared with 15.2 billion dollars in the same month of 2002, was 10.1 percent higher than April of this year, a company spokesman said.

"The month-on-month rise in sales reflected shipment growth and a wider product portfolio," he said.

In the first five months of this year, TSMC's sales rose 10.9 percent to 71.4 billion dollars from 64.4 billion dollars a year earlier.

In an investor conference in April, TSMC maintained a guidance on a growth trend for the second quarter.

The company's capacity utilisation in the first quarter of this year rose to 67 percent from 61 percent in the fourth quarter of last year.

Company chairman Morris Chang said in the conference he expected the capacity utilisation rate to improve to 80 percent in April-June.

TSMC has recently signed investment contracts with Shanghai authorities to kickstart its 898 million US dollar investment in China.

The project involves the construction of an eight-inch (200 millimetre) wafer plant in Shanghai's Songjiang Science Park with a monthly capacity of 35,000 wafers using 0.25 micron technology.

SPACE.WIRE