Critical chip firm ASML posts profit beat but sales miss expectations with 22% drop

ASML on Monday said first quarter profit beat expectations while sales missed forecasts, with the compant sticking to its full-year outlook.

Here’s how ASML did versus LSEG consensus estimates:

• Net sales: 5.29 billion euros ($5.62 billion) versus 5.39 billion euros expected.
• Net profit: 1.22 billion euros versus 1.07 billion euros exepected.

Net sales fell 21.6% year-on-year while net income dropped 37.4%. ASML’s net sales fell in the middle point of the company’s guidance.

“Our outlook for the full year 2024 is unchanged, with the second half of the year expected to be stronger than the first half, in line with the industry’s continued recovery from the downturn,” Peter Wennink, CEO of ASML said in a statement.

“We see 2024 as a transition year with continued investments in both capacity ramp and technology, to be ready for the turn in the cycle.”

Net bookings for ASML’s machinery, a closely watched booking, totaled 3.6 billion euros in the first quarter, down 4% year-on-year but plunging nearly two thirds versus the December quarter.

ASML is one of the most important semiconductor firms in the world, producing tools known as extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, which are required to manufacture the most advanced chips globally.

Last year, weak demand for consumer electronics such as smartphones and laptops hit chipmakers that produce semiconductors for those devices. That has in turn led to slightly weaker call for ASML’s gear.

However, various semiconductor firms across the board, such as memory chipmaker Samsung, are seeing a rebound in demand.

ASML has previously said it expects net sales for 2024 to be similar to 2023 and reiterated this projection on Monday. ASML reported net sales of 27.6 billion euros in 2023.