Taiwan chipmaker TSMC says quarterly profit $6 billion

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the biggest contract manufacturer of processor chips, reported Thursday its quarterly profit rose 16.4% over a year earlier to $6 billion amid surging demand for chips for smartphones and other electronics.

Revenue in the final three months of 2021 rose 21.2% to 438.2 billion New Taiwan dollars ($15.8 billion), TSMC announced. Profit was 166.2 billion New Taiwan dollars. TSMC, headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, makes processor chips for major brands including Apple Inc. and Qualcomm Inc.

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Chipmakers have benefited from demand for next-generation telecoms, high-performance computing and chips for use in products from cars to medical devices. TSMC announced plans last year to invest $100 billion over the next three years in manufacturing and research and development. Most semiconductors used in smartphones, medical equipment, computers and other products are made in Taiwan, South Korea and China.

TSMC announced plans in October to build its first chip factory in Japan. The company and Sony Corp. later said they would jointly invest $7 billion in the facility.

Outside Taiwan, TSMC also operates a semiconductor wafer fabrication facility in Camas, Washington, and design centers in San Jose, California, and Austin, Texas. The company has announced plans for a second U.S. production site in Arizona as concern grows over American reliance on sources in Asia for high-tech components.