BEIJING, Aug 7 (Reuters) - Semiconductor Manufacturing

International Corp reported a 59.1% fall in

second-quarter net profit on Thursday though the result from

China's largest chip foundry beat expectations.

SMIC reported $164.6 million in unaudited profit

attributable to owners for the three months to June 30, topping

the $103.8 million expected by analysts polled by LSEG, while

revenue rose by 21.8% to $1.9 billion, also beating forecasts.

The results reflect signs of recovery in the global

semiconductor industry after a prolonged slump that began in

late 2022.

Global semiconductor sales rose 18.3% to $149.9 billion in

the second quarter, with the Chinese market growing 21.6%,

according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

While SMIC primarily produces basic chips for less

sophisticated electronics, it gained attention after a Huawei

smartphone teardown revealed an SMIC-made chip among the most

advanced produced in China.

However, advanced chip production remains limited,

constraining SMIC's ability to fully capitalize on the AI boom

driving growth for some rivals.

Industry leader TSMC reported a 40% increase in

second-quarter revenue, largely attributed to strong demand for

advanced chips in AI and high-performance computing.

SMIC forecast a 13% to 15% quarter-on-quarter revenue

increase for the current quarter.

Capital expenditure was $2.25 billion in the quarter.

(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; editing by Jason Neely and

Emelia Sithole-Matarise)