Oct 30 (Reuters) - Chipmaking equipment supplier KLA

Corp ( KLAC ) forecast second-quarter revenue above Wall Street

estimates on Wednesday, betting on growing demand for chips to

support artificial intelligence workloads.

Shares of the Milpitas, California-based company rose 2.1%

in after-hours trading.

New orders for chipmaking equipment are expected to grow

as chip bellwether firm Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co ( TSM )

and Samsung Electronics ( SSNLF ), among others, are

investing heavily in AI chips.

TSMC, which accounted for over 10% of KLA's total revenue in

the fiscal year 2024, recently raised its annual revenue growth

expectations and said AI chips would account for a mid-teen

percentage of its full-year revenue.

"While some customers are facing near-term challenges, we

are optimistic about continued semiconductor market growth in

the fourth calendar quarter of 2024 and into calendar 2025," CEO

Rick Wallace said in a statement.

KLA forecast revenue to be in a range of $2.95 billion plus

or minus $150 million, in the second quarter ending in December,

compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.86 billion,

according to data compiled by LSEG.

The company expects adjusted profit per share between $7.75

plus or minus 60 cents in the second quarter, compared with

estimates of $7.41 per share.

KLA posted first-quarter revenue of $2.84 billion, beating

estimates of $2.76 billion. Excluding items, profit came in

at$7.33 per share, beating estimates of $7.05 per share.