Taipei, Jan. 12 (CNA) Despite the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 940 companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) as a whole reported a new high in sales in 2020, the exchange said Tuesday.

Data compiled by the TWSE, which operates the local main board, showed that the 946 companies, including 76 overseas firms that launched their initial public offerings in Taiwan, posted an aggregate NT$33.13 trillion (US$1.16 billion) in consolidated sales, up 1.12 percent from a year earlier.

The data indicated that a total of 446 firms reported a year-on-year increase in sales in 2020, while 500 others reported a decline.

In December alone, the TWSE-listed firms generated NT$3.43 trillion in consolidated sales, a monthly record high, up 14.13 percent from a year earlier, with 601 of them reporting a year-on-year increase, the exchange said.

Market analysts said global solid demand for high-tech devices on the back of a booming stay-at-home economy, as well as the presence of emerging technologies, such as 5G applications, helped the local electronics sector fend off the economic fallout from COVID-19 and register a new high in sales in 2020.

A year-end buying spree in the U.S. and European markets boosted the momentum of many tech companies, paving the way for their higher sales growth in December, analysts said.

Among the major industries, the semiconductor industry scored the highest sales of NT$3.17 trillion in 2020, up 22.21 percent from a year earlier, according to the TWSE.

The exchange said semiconductor suppliers benefited largely from strong global demand for 5G and high-performance computing devices throughout the year.

Among them, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, posted NT$1.33 trillion in consolidated sales in 2020, a historic high, up 25.2 percent from a year earlier, on the back of strong shipment growth posted by its high-end 7 nanometer and 5nm processes.

In addition, integrated circuit designer MediaTek Inc. generated NT$322.15 billion in consolidated sales in 2020, also a record high in the company’s history, up 30.84 percent from a year earlier, in the wake of large shipments of its 5G smartphone chips.

The construction and building material industry also enjoyed growth, thanks to higher residential and commercial property transactions, posting NT$375.97 billion in consolidated sales in 2020, up 14.46 percent from a year earlier, the TWSE said.

The electronics distribution industry, which benefited from higher shipments in notebook computers, servers and cloud-based devices, posted NT$1.91 trillion in sales, up 9.94 percent from a year earlier, the TWSE added.

Bucking the uptrend, he tourism industry suffered a steep decline in sales due to a fall in tourist numbers caused by border controls in 2020, when its revenue tumbled by 36.06 percent from a year earlier to NT$65.6 billion.