Dow Jones Newswires: TSMC first-quarter net profit beat analysts’ estimates

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Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported its first-quarter results on Thursday. Here is what you need to know.

NET PROFIT: TSMC’s net profit for the quarter ended March 31 rose 45% from a year earlier to 202.73 billion Taiwan dollars (US$6.99 billion). That exceeded the estimate for a net profit of NT$183.53 billion from a poll of analysts by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

REVENUE: First-quarter revenue increased 36% from a year earlier to a record-high NT$491.08 billion.

WHAT WE WATCHED:

–CAPEX: TSMC said it spent US$9.38 billion in capital expenditure in the first quarter. That compares with the annual capex plan it disclosed in January of US$40 billion-US$44 billion.

–2Q GUIDANCE: TSMC expects revenue to be between US$17.6 billion and US$18.2 billion and operating profit margin to stay between 45% and 47% in the second quarter.

–BUSINESS SEGMENTS: While first-quarter revenue from smartphones only rose 1% from the previous quarter, revenue from high-performance computing increased 26%. TSMC Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang said the company’s business is likely to be supported by high-performance computing and automotive-related demand in the second quarter.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com