Taiwan's TSMC and China's SMIC both report revenue surge in April

Taiwan's TSMC and China's SMIC both report revenue surge in April
by AFP Staff Writers
Taipei (AFP) May 9, 2025

Taiwanese chipmaking titan TSMC said Friday that revenue soared in April, after US President Donald Trump's global tariff blitz spurred companies to stock up in case higher levies were in the pipeline.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company is the world's largest contract maker of chips that have become the lifeblood of the global economy, powering everything from smartphones to missiles.

The chipmaker of choice for tech giants Nvidia and Apple reported sales of NT$349.6 billion (US$11.6 billion) for April, up 48.1 percent from a year earlier and 22.2 percent from March.

Trump announced hefty tariffs against America's trade partners on April 2 before pausing them for 90 days, prompting companies in the United States to ramp up imports.

TSMC's sales in March had risen 10 percent on the previous month, Bloomberg News reported.

Revenue in the first four months of the year rose 43.5 percent on-year to NT$1.2 trillion, the company said.

The firm has been in the crosshairs of Trump, who has accused Taiwan of stealing the US chip industry.

There had been hopes TSMC's plan to invest an additional US$100 billion in the United States would shield Taiwan from new tariffs.

Trump still imposed a 32 percent duty on Taiwanese imports as part of his sweeping tariffs, but excluded semiconductors.

Washington has launched "national security" probes into the sector, which could pave the way for levies on semiconductors and chipmaking equipment.

The recent surge of the Taiwan dollar could also pressure TSMC's margins as most of its business is done in US dollars.

China's SMIC reports surge in first-quarter profit
Beijing (AFP) May 8, 2025 - China's top chipmaker SMIC said Thursday its first-quarter profit surged, despite a punishing trade war and tensions between Beijing and Washington over key technologies.

China has sought to increase its self-reliance in the field of semiconductors, which are used in everything from televisions and cars to weapons and supercomputers.

The United States has taken steps to stop Chinese firms from accessing its advanced technology and tightened curbs on exports of state-of-the-art chips and the equipment to make them.

SMIC reported in a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday that first-quarter profit attributable to owners of the company stood at $188 million, up 161.9 percent compared to the equivalent period last year.

The Shanghai-based company said revenue rose 28.4 percent year-on-year to $2.2 billion.

These results marked an improvement for the company after annual profits plunged 45.4 percent last year compared to 2023.

The company said it expected revenue to decrease four to six percent in the second quarter, adding that it saw "both opportunities and challenges" in the second half of the year.

"The company will enhance its adaptability and risk resilience capability," it said.