It’s a good time to be the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC). The ongoing chip shortage means that the company, one of the world’s largest chip-makers, has all the business it can handle. Literally. The company’s order books are full.

This was borne out by the company’s most recent financial results. The company posted a 16.4% rise in quarterly profits at the end of 2021, setting a record for the company. This isn’t surprising, given that companies around the world are slurping up semiconductors as fast as they can be made.

Everyone, to TSMC: ‘Another one’

TSMC posted quarterly revenues for Q4 2021 of about $16 billion (R250 billion), along with profits for the quarter of around $6 billion (R92 billion). Analysts were expecting the Taiwanese manufacturer to do well, but even they called the results a little on the low side.

Expected profits were, according to analysts, T$161.6 billion. Instead, the company chalked up T$166.2 billion (which is that R92 billion we just talked about). And don’t expect these record profits to abate any time soon.

The company expects the chip shortage to continue till the end of this year at the very least. It’s planning to expand production, investing R1.5 trillion into creating more semiconductors over the next few years. But it’s also signing all sorts of new contracts, with auto-makers looking to make their own chips. Some smartphone makers, like Oppo, are also teaming up with TSMC to ensure they have enough semiconductor hardware to go around.

Source: Reuters