Taiwan's TSMC posts record profit, revenue in Q4

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co said Thursday its fourth quarter net profit and revenue both hit record highs thanks to strong demand for chips used in mobile devices, reported to include Apple's iPhone 6.

TSMC, the world's biggest contract microchip maker by revenue, said profit in the three months to December rose 78.5 percent year-on-year to Tw$79.99 billion ($2.58 billion).

Revenue also reached a record Tw$222.52 billion, up 52.6 percent from the same period last year, it said in a statement.

"The strong demand for TSMC's advanced technologies continued into the fourth quarter. Our 20-nanometer production was ramped-up at record speed and reached 21 percent of our fourth quarter revenue," chief financial officer Lora Ho said.

Currently 20-nanometer technology -- a manufacturing process that makes chips higher-speed and more power efficient -- is the most advanced method used by TSMC and reportedly produced the "A8" chips for Apple's iPhone 6 models.

The company refuses to officially confirm that it supplies chips for Apple phones but it is widely reported by local media, based on supply chain sources.

In the fourth quarter, chips for communication -- such as smartphones -- accounted for 65 percent of the company's revenue, up 18 percent from the previous quarter, while industrial chips made up 19 percent of revenues and computer chips nine percent.

For the 2014 full-year, net revenue rose 27.8 percent Tw$762.81 billion from a year earlier while net profit was up 40.3 percent to Tw$263.90.

TSMC announced the hiring of 2,200 engineers in the fourth quarter to keep pace with expansion, which Taiwanese media has attributed to surging demand from clients including Apple and US computer chip giant Qualcomm.

For the 2015 first quarter, TSMC said it expected revenue to be between Tw$221 billion and Tw$224 billion, with a targeted gross profit margin of 48.5-50.5 percent and operating profit margin of 38.5-40.5 percent, according to the statement.

The company further expects the capital expenditures for 2015 to be between $11.5 billion and $12 billion.