(Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported better-than-expected profit, aided by voracious demand for new iPhones and chips that power everything from TVs to cars.

The chipmaker said Thursday net income for the December quarter rose 16% to a record NT$166.2 billion ($6 billion), versus the average analyst estimate of NT$161.4 billion. Sales reached NT$438.2 billion, also a record, based on previously released monthly revenue numbers.

Now into its third year, the global pandemic has led to persistent shortages of the vital semiconductors produced by suppliers like TSMC, the world’s largest foundry. With the global chip crunch showing no signs of abating, Asia’s most valuable company has been running in high gear for the past year, investing heavily in new fabs, including in Japan and the U.S., and manufacturing lines to meet customer demand.

Delivery times for chips increased by six days to about 25.8 weeks in December compared with November, according to research by Susquehanna Financial Group. That lag marks the longest wait time since the firm began tracking the data in 2017.

What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s 4Q sales of $15.81 billion, which exceed the company’s guidance by $110 million, indicates stronger-than-expected revenue from the most advanced 5-nanometer (nm) node process for smartphones and high-performance computer chips. 

--Charles Shu, analyst

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Analysts now also expect TSMC to further boost its capital expenditure plans to increase supply. The company has said investments in a Japan fab for more mature technologies will be “incremental” to the $100 billion spending it had previously announced.  

“TSMC is most likely to raise its $100 billion capex plan for 2021-23E to meet its increasing customers’ demand,” Citigroup analysts wrote in a note this week. “TSMC is on track to become the largest semiconductor company worldwide in terms of revenue before 2024E with continuous rise in earnings and increasing returns to investors.”

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