2021 was a bumper year for Chinese chip maker Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC).
SMIC was propped by a global chip shortage as revenues and profits soared despite pressure from U.S. sanctions.
Sales for calendar 2021 were up 39% on the year at a record of $5.4 billion, the company’s strongest growth in annual revenue since 2010.
Profit from operations for the year reached $1.4 billion, a roughly four-fold increase from 2020.
Sales ballooned in 2021 after a global chip shortage that began in late 2020, driving up prices and bringing a jump in orders.
SMIC is pushing ahead with expansion despite U.S. sanctions that have shaken plans to move into high-end chip manufacturing.
Late in 2020, Washington put SMIC on the Department of Commerce’s entity list over concerns it had ties to China’s military, requiring U.S.-based suppliers to obtain licenses to deal with the company.
SMIC has denied having such ties.
