Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) sales in May hit the upper end of a previous target, climbing 30.1 per cent from a year earlier, benefitting from soaring demand for server AI processors, which it forecast to more than double this year.

The contract chipmaker’s revenue in May reached TWD229.6 billion ($7.1 billion), with sales in the first five months of the year up 27 per cent year-on-year to nearly TWD1.1 trillion, ahead of a full-year forecast in January targeting 20 per cent to 25 per cent growth.

In April, CEO C.C. Wei, who was named chairman earlier in the week, predicted Q2 revenue to grow by up to 30 per cent.

Q1 net profit improved 9.8 per cent to TWD225.5 billion, with revenue up 16.5 per cent to TWD592.6 billion, driven by demand for high-end chips supporting AI applications.

The company is a key supplier to Nvidia and Apple.