(Yicai Global) Aug. 28 -- China's largest semiconductor maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International boosted its net profit more than expected at six times in the first half due to a rising demand for its increasingly pricey semiconductors.

SMIC's net profit soared 556 percent to USD202 million in the six months from a year ago, based on International Financial Reporting Standards, the dual-listed firm said in its earnings report released yesterday. But according to Shanghai's Star Market accounting standards, its net profit widened by more than four times to CNY1.4 billion (USD203.9 million).

The company's revenue climbed 26 percent to USD1.8 billion during the first six months of the year, according to IFRS rules. The figure rose 29 percent to CNY13.2 billion, according to the Star Market accounting principles.

SMIC issued equity on Shanghai's Star Market on July 16, raising about CNY52.5 billion (USD7.6 billion) in the largest share offering on the one-year-old tech board. Founded in 2000, the Shanghai-based firm counts Huawei Technologies's chip affiliate HiSilicon as one of its clients.

In the third quarter, SMIC expects its revenue to rise by 1 to 3 percent from the second quarter, the company added in the report. Its gross profit margin will stand between 19 percent and 21 percent. Revenue should climb as much as 19 percent in the second half from a year ago.

This year, the global macroeconomic situation faces many uncertainties so it is necessary to accelerate innovation and gradually expand output, Chairman Zhou Zixue wrote in the report.

By the end of this year, the firm will increase its monthly production capacity by 30,000 8-inch wafers and 20,000 12-inch wafers. SMIC delivered 2.8 million 8-inch equivalent wafers in the first half, rising 20 percent, while the average price was hiked 8 percent to CNY4,631 (USD674).

The company's capacity utilization rate remains high, and the demand for its products such as complementary metal oxide semiconductor image sensors, power management integrated circuits, fingerprint sensors, and specialty memory has been strong, SMIC added. But its products are also entering the fields of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and automobiles.

The domestic market made up 65 percent of the firm's total revenue at CNY8.5 billion, rising 52 percent. North American and European clients brought in CNY3 billion and Asian ones CNY1.6 billion.

SMIC's Star Market stock price [SHA:688981] closed 0.7 percent down at CNY66.78 (USD9.70). Its Hong Kong-listed shares [HKG:00981] rose 0.2 percent to HKD25.75 (USD3.30).

Editor: Emmi Laine