Chipmaking kit maestro ASML generated almost half of its sales from China in calendar Q1, amid a wider downturn in orders and plunging profits. The ph

ASML profits plunge 40% amid dip in chipmaking tool orders

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2024-04-17 14:30:07

Chipmaking kit maestro ASML generated almost half of its sales from China in calendar Q1, amid a wider downturn in orders and plunging profits.

The photolithography giant reported a 40 percent dive in net profit to €1.2 billion ($1.3 billion) for the three months ended March 31, off the back of a 25 percent drop in revenue to €3.966 billion ($4.22 billion)

Revenue was about the midpoint of ASML’s earlier guidance, however, new order bookings worth €3.6 billion ($3.8 billion) fell short of analyst expectations, and were considerably down from the record $9.1 billion ($9.6 billion) in Q4 of last year, attributed by some to Chinese chipmakers hurrying to get orders in before new export restrictions landed.

Those latest restrictions, imposed by the Dutch government at the behest of the US administration, effectively banned ASML from selling some of its deep ultraviolet (DUV) lithography machines to China from January.

"There has been quite some speculation around the order intake for ASML," CFO Roger Dassen said in a video interview. "I think it's important to recognize that the order intake over the past six months, if you take the Q4 and the Q1 order intake together, you're looking at nearly €13 billion [$13.83 billion], which is a pretty significant number," he claimed.