Sales at Taiwan's contract chipmakers grew in the first three months of this year, as demand for hi-tech chips used in smartphones and tablets continued to grow. On a consolidated basis, TSMC's net sales for March 2013 were approximately NT$44.13 billion, an increase of 7.2 percent from February 2013 and an increase of 18.9 percent over March 2012. Revenues for January through March 2013 totaled NT$132.76 billion, an increase of 25.7 percent compared to the same period in 2012.

During the same period, UMC posted a 6.5 percent rise compared with the previous quarter.

TSMC supplies Qualcomm, Texas Instruments and Nvidia. Rival UMC also makes chips for Texas Instruments. These firms sell chips to Apple, Samsung Electronics and HTC Corp.

TSMC Chairman Morris Chang has predicted full-year revenue growth of 15-20 percent.

TSMC and UMC will announce first-quarter earnings on April 18 and May 8 respectively.