TAIPEI: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd (TSMC), the world's largest contract chip manufacturer, reported third-quarter net profit of T$76.3 billion ($2.51 billion) on Thursday, as the firm's main smartphone clients geared up for the year-end holiday shopping rush.

During the July-September period, the company beat profit expectations of T$72.9 billion from 21 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters.

TSMC had reported net profit of T$59.7 billion in the second quarter and T$52 billion in the same three months of 2013.

Shares of TSMC ended flat ahead of the earnings release, versus a 0.25 percent fall in the broader TAIEX index.

Copyright Reuters, 2014