(Yicai Global) April 1 -- Shares of China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International rose after the enduring industry leader reported more than doubled net profit last year despite its purchasing limitations in the US.

SMIC's Hong Kong-listed stock [HKG: 0981] jumped as much as 4.4 percent in value to HKD25.80 (USD3.30) intraday this morning. Its Shanghai-listed shares [SHA: 688981] climbed as much as 3.6percent to CNY56.29 (USD8.60). It listed its equity on Shanghai's Star Market in July 2020.

Net profit reached CNY4.3 billion (USD655 million), rising by 142 percent from 2019, the Shanghai-based company said in its earnings report yesterday.

In February, the chipmaker had warned its investors that its 2021 earnings may be affected after the firm was added to the US commerce department’s so-called Entity List in December 2020, effectively limiting its purchases of US-made technologies.

In the first half of 2021, SMIC’s revenue target is CNY13.9 billion (USD2.1 billion), up 5.6 percent from the same period of last year. Capital expenditures during the 12 months of 2021 should be CNY28.1 billion, mainly used for expanding production.

SMIC's output fails to meet the rising chip demand driven by new artificial intelligence and Internet of Things devices, said Chairman Zhou Zixue. Moreover, equipment procurement has been delayed so expansion may happen slower than expected, he added.

The semiconductor giant will continue seeking export licenses to enlarge its production quickly, the firm added. Some American suppliers have obtained export licenses from the US government to provide equipment to SMIC, an industry insider said in a we-media article on March 1.

Revenue increased by almost 25 percent to CNY27.5 billion in 2020, according to the earnings report. China's mainland was SMIC's biggest market, making up nearly 64 percent of core business revenues. But North America and Europe both logged double-digit growth too.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi