*

TSMC Q1 net profit T$225.5 bln vs T$218.1 bln analysts

forecast

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Stock price has surged on chip demand for AI applications

(Recasts with results)

TAIPEI, April 18 (Reuters) - Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC

posted a 9% rise in first-quarter net profit on

Thursday that beat market expectations as it rides a wave of

demand for semiconductors used in artificial intelligence

applications.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd ( TSM ) ,

the world's largest contract chipmaker and a major Apple Inc ( AAPL )

and Nvidia ( NVDA ) supplier, has benefited from a

surge towards AI that has helped it weather the tapering off of

pandemic-led electronics demand and pushed TSMC's stock to a

record high.

TSMC saw January-March net profit rise to T$225.5 billion

($6.98 billion) from T$206.9 billion a year earlier.

The profit beat a T$218.1 billion LSEG SmartEstimate, which

is weighted toward forecasts from analysts who are more

consistently accurate.

TSMC, Asia's most valuable listed company, said

first-quarter revenue rose 13% year-on-year to $18.87 billion,

better than the company's previous forecast of $18 billion to

$18.8 billion. The company last week announced first quarter

revenue in Taiwan dollars, coming in at T$592.64 billion.

Capital expenditure in the first quarter was $5.77 billion,

TSMC said, compared with $5.24 billion in the fourth quarter of

2023.

TSMC's Taipei-listed shares have surged 36% so far this

year. The stock was flat on Thursday ahead of the results versus

a 0.4% gain for the benchmark index.

The company will provide updates on its outlook for the

current quarter and the rest of the year on an earnings call

starting at 0600 GMT, including capital expenditure which it has

previously guided as being in the range of $28 billion to $32

billion this year, compared with last year's $30.45 billion.

On Wednesday, ASML, the largest supplier of

equipment to computer chip makers like TSMC, reported weaker

than expected first-quarter new bookings, though sales to China

held up despite U.S.-led restrictions.

($1 = 32.3190 Taiwan dollars)