Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (0981) on Thursday reported a 123.4 percent year-on-year surge in third-quarter net profit to US$428.4 million (HK$3.34 billion), as strong domestic demand pushed revenue to a record high.
Revenue for the three months ended September jumped 33.9 percent year-on-year to US$3.19 billion. Gross margin expanded to 29.9 percent from 25.3 percent in the previous quarter, driven by an improved product mix and a near-full capacity utilization rate of 97.3 percent.
While profit from operations climbed 32.9 percent quarter-on-quarter to US$710 million, overall net profit fell 10.6 percent sequentially. The drop was largely due to a US$32.1 million net loss in other income, primarily stemming from decreased fair value gains in its investment portfolios.
Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, the chipmaker expects revenue to grow 4 to 6 percent sequentially, though gross margin is projected to soften to a range of 26 to 28 percent.
SMIC’s reliance on the domestic market deepened, with revenue from China rising to 90.8 percent of the total, while the US market share shrank to 7.8 percent.
Wafers accounted for 95.9 percent of total revenue, a further increase from the previous quarter and the same period last year. Other services, such as photomask manufacturing and testing, accounted for 4.1 percent.
Consumer electronics remained the largest source of revenue, accounting for 40.6 percent. In a structural shift, demand for industrial and automotive chips, as well as computers and tablets, outpaced the smartphone sector, where demand declined to 14.3 percent.
