SMIC. Photo: VCG

Chinese chipmaker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) reported a 22 percent year-on-year growth in revenue to $1.1 billion in the first quarter, which was slightly higher than market expectations. The company has continued expanding production capacity and has gained more income from higher-end chip products, despite US restrictions.

The company's first-quarter profit rose 125.9 percent year-on-year to $116 million, according to its financial report released on Thursday. The gross profit rate in the first three months of 2021 was 22.7 percent, compared with 18 percent in the fourth quarter of 2020 and 25.8 percent in the same period last year. 

SMIC also said it expects second-quarter revenue to expand by 17 to 19 percent, with gross profit rising by between 25 and 27 percent, and its first-half revenue is estimated to hit 2.4 billion, higher than market expectations.

SMIC's revenue from higher-end 14-nm and 28-nm products accounted for 6.9 percent of the total for the first quarter, up from 5 percent in the fourth quarter but still down substantially from 14.6 percent in the third quarter. 

The chipmaker's monthly capacity jumped to 540,750 8-inch equivalent wafers in the first quarter from 520,750 8-inch equivalent wafers in the previous quarter, primarily driven by its capacity expansion during the first quarter, according to its financial report.

SMIC announced in March an extension of its deal to buy chip manufacturing equipment from Dutch firm ASML. The announcement came shortly after a report by ijiwei.com claiming that SMIC had received US licenses to import equipment for use in advanced processes. Licenses involving technologies for 14nm chips and above have been granted, but for 10nm and below, the licenses have not yet been issued, according to the report.