Investing.com — Shares of Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) rose nearly 5% on Friday after the Chinese chipmaker reported better-than-expected third-quarter results, with higher wafer shipments and improved factory utilisation driving stronger revenue and margins.
Shares climbed 4.7% to HK$51.05 in early Hong Kong trading, outperforming the broader Hang Seng Index, which fell 0.6%.
SMIC published its results at 17:40 HKT on Thursday, after Hong Kong markets had closed, making Friday the first full trading session following the announcement. The stock had ended Thursday down 0.5% at HK$48.74, despite reaching an intraday high of HK$51.55.
Net profit attributable rose 123.4% year-on-year to $428.4 million in the three months ended September 30, beating the LSEG analyst consensus of $418.4 million. Revenue increased 33.9% to $3.19 billion, also exceeding expectations of $3.09 billion.
Gross profit surged 82.3% to $953.2 million, while gross margin expanded to 29.9% from 22% a year earlier and 25.3% in the previous quarter.
The improvement reflected stronger wafer shipments, which increased 5.7% sequentially to 3.03 million eight-inch equivalent wafers. Monthly production capacity expanded 1.8% to 1.12 million equivalent wafers, while factory utilisation improved to 97.3% from 93.7% in the second quarter.
China accounted for 90.8% of third-quarter revenue, up from 90.2% in the previous quarter, underscoring the company’s reliance on its domestic market.
Capital expenditure declined to $1.09 billion from $1.84 billion in the second quarter.
For the fourth quarter, the company expects revenue to increase 4% to 6% sequentially, while gross margin is forecast at 26% to 28%, below the third-quarter level of 29.9%.
SMIC said it would continue expanding production capacity in response to customer demand and developing higher-value-added products to support sustainable growth.
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SMIC shares rise nearly 5% after third-quarter earnings beat estimates
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