TSMC posts 16.3% rise in second-quarter net profit

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's top contract microchip maker, said Thursday net profits in the second quarter rose 16.3 percent from a year ago to Tw$41.81 billion ($1.4 billion). Net profit rose 24.9 percent from the previous quarter. The company attributed the double-digit growth to strong demand for mobile computing related applications, with revenue for chips for communication equipment rising 27 percent from the previous quarter. Revenue in the April-June period came in at Tw$128.1 billion, a rise of 15.9 percent year-on-year and an increase of 21.4 percent from the previous quarter. North America remained the leading overseas market, representing 68 percent of sales, although that is down from 70 percent the previous year. The company expected growth in the third quarter to come mainly from demand for high-end products.