China-based Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) raised its H1 revenue guidance, after demand for smartphone chips resulted in it beating its forecast for Q1.

CFO Gao Yonggang tipped H1 revenue to reach $2.4 billion, up from a target of $2.1 billion issued in February. In SMIC’s earnings statement, the executive cited positive developments in the semiconductor market, but noted there are still risks and uncertainties related to the company’s placement on a US trade blacklist.

Out of “an abundance of caution”, SMIC won’t provide exact figures for its revised H2 and full year forecasts, he stated.

The company stated capacity will continue to be fully loaded until the end of the year, with fresh volume scheduled to be added in the second half.

Net profit in Q1 more than doubled year-on-year to $115.9 million, with revenue growing 22 per cent to $1.1 billion. Smartphone chips accounted for 48.3 per cent of total sales, up from 35.2 per cent in Q1 2020.

The percentage of sales in mainland China and Hong Kong rose to 61.6 per cent from 55.6 per cent.

Capex dropped 31.3 per cent to $534 million, with $4.3 billion earmarked for the full year.