Taiwan chipmaker TSMC reported a record quarterly profit on Thursday. In a statement, it posted net profit of NT$166.23 billion for the fourth quarter of last year, up 16.4% from the same period the previous year. Over the whole of 2021, TSMC’s earnings per share hit NT$23, driven by soaring global demand for semiconductors. The chipmaker expects production capacity to remain tight throughout this year.

Voice of C.C. Wei
TSMC chief executive
We see a structural increase in long-term market demand, due to the multi-year industry megatrend of 5G, HPC and digitalization. As well as some of the short term imbalance that interruption of the supply chain brought about by COVID-19 and geopolitical tension.

Voice of Mark Liu
TSMC chairman
Start an overseas fab, there are many, many considerations. Among the top few is, first, is our customers’ needs. Every TSMC fab, no matter where it is located, will serve all the customers from around the world.

TSMC said it plans to expand to meet client demand. Construction is slated to start soon at new projects in Japan, Kaohsiung, and the Hsinchu Science Park. The chipmaker expects to increase capital expenditure by nearly 40% year-on-year, spending as much as US$44 billion in 2022.