Taipei: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) on Friday reported its highest-ever sales for April, up more than 17 percent from a year earlier, with analysts attributing the growth to strong global demand for artificial intelligence.

According to Focus Taiwan, in a statement, the world's largest contract chipmaker said it posted NT$410.73 billion (US$13.08 billion) in consolidated sales in April, marking a 17.5 percent increase from the previous year. However, April revenues, the second-highest for any month in the company's history, were slightly down by 1.1 percent from March, when the sales figure stood at NT$415.19 billion.

In the first four months of this year, TSMC's consolidated sales soared 29.9 percent from a year earlier to NT$1.54 trillion. Market analysts noted the slight month-on-month sales dip in April largely resulted from a stronger Taiwan dollar, which appreciated 1.05 percent against the U.S. dollar despite the central bank's intervention to smooth volatility in the foreign exchange market.

Analysts highlighted that TSMC continued to benefit from the current AI boom, as evidenced by the almost 30 percent year-on-year sales growth in the first four months of this year. They pointed out that global demand for chips made on TSMC's advanced processes remained strong due to increasing needs for computing capacity.

At an investor conference held in mid-April, TSMC projected its second-quarter sales to range between US$39.0 billion and NT$40.2 billion, indicating an estimated 10 percent rise from the previous quarter and a 32 percent increase from a year earlier. TSMC used an exchange rate of NT$31.7 to US$1 to make the sales estimate. In Taiwan dollar terms, second-quarter sales are expected to range between NT$1.24 trillion and NT$1.27 trillion, suggesting TSMC is likely to post more than NT$410 billion in consolidated sales on average in May and June, analysts said.

TSMC has forecast its 2026 sales will grow by more than 30 percent in U.S. dollar terms from a year earlier, an upgrade from its earlier estimate in January, when the company predicted sales growth would be closer to 30 percent.