TSMC has reported a rise in its profits slightly better than the cocaine nose-jobs of Wall Street expected.

The company said that the first-quarter net profit rose 18 per cent from a year earlier to $1.32 billion as strong demand from smartphone and tablet makers for high-performance chips boosted profitability. The world's largest contract chip manufacturer by revenue said gross margin was 45.8 percent, slightly above its guidance for 43.5 percent

TSMC plans to spend a record amount in capital expenditure this year as it grows in tandem with rising consumer demand for smartphones and tablets. The company has allocated $9 billion to increase production capacity for new generation chips, up from $8.3 billion spent in 2012.