Tech war: China’s top chip foundry SMIC posts record revenue despite US sanction warning

The Shanghai-based chipmaker reported a 34 per cent year-on-year increase in third-quarter revenue to US$2.17 billion

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SMIC continues to lead the domestic market in advanced processes for semiconductor production Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 9:44pm, 7 Nov 2024Updated: 12:04am, 8 Nov 2024

China’s top chip foundry, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC), on Thursday posted record quarterly revenue on the back of strong domestic demand for “legacy chips”.

The Shanghai-based chipmaker said its third-quarter revenue rose 34 per cent from a year earlier to US$2.17 billion.

Net profit for the quarter reached US$148.8 million, up 58.3 per cent from a year earlier.

“The company achieved for the first time more than US$2 billion in quarterly revenue during the third quarter, representing a record high,” SMIC said in a statement on Thursday.

The strong results show how SMIC continues to lead the domestic market in advanced processes for semiconductor production, while also remaining the only fab operator on the mainland that can process 7-nanometre chips.

People walk past the front gate of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp’s fabrication facility in Shanghai. Photo: EPA-EFE

The chipmaker shipped a total of 2,122,266 eight-inch equivalent wafers last quarter, as its capacity utilisation rate – a measure of semiconductor fabrication activity – rose to 90.4 per cent, the company’s highest reading over the past six quarters. Its monthly capacity increased to 844,250 eight-inch equivalent wafers in the third quarter.