TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) reported a consolidated revenue of approximately NT$592 billion (US$18 billion) in Q1 and expects sales to increase by 6% in Q2, the company said in a press release on Thursday (April 18).

Revenue for Q1 increased by 16.5% compared to a year earlier, while net profit after tax and earnings per share increased by 8.9%, TSMC said. Compared to the previous quarter, revenue decreased by 5.3%, and net profit after tax decreased by 5.5%.

Driven by strong demand for 3 nm and 5 nm advanced processes, TSMC expects Q2 revenue to reach US$19.6 billion to US$20.4 billion, in line with market expectations, CNA reported.

Benefiting from AI demand, TSMC CEO C.C. Wei (魏哲家) said, “Almost all the AI innovators are working with TSMC to address the insatiable AI-related demand for energy-efficient computing power,” per Reuters.

Wei said that despite slow recovery for smartphones and PCs, “AI-related data center demand is very, very strong.”

Expressing caution, TSMC Finance and Chief Financial Officer and spokesperson Wendell Huang (黃仁昭) said, “Although TSMC’s performance in the first quarter of 2024 was affected by seasonal factors in the smartphone market, this impact was partially offset by demand related to high-performance computing (HPC).”

“As we enter the second quarter of 2024, we expect that despite the continued impact of seasonal factors in the smartphone market, strong demand for our leading-edge 3-nanometer and 5-nanometer technologies will support TSMC’s performance,” the CFO added.

TSMC plans to build a third plant in Arizona, bringing its U.S. investment up to more than US$65 billion, per Nikkei Asia. The plant will produce 2 nm or more advanced chips.