UPDATE 4-ASML's profits surge on demand for smartphone chips
Wed Jan 19, 2011 6:51am EST
reuters.com
* Year net profit 1.022 bln euros, vs. 151 mln loss in 2009
* Q4 profits, sales, orders beat analysts' forecasts
* Q4 net profit of 407 mln euro, 8 times the year-ago figure
* Announces 1 bln-euro share buyback, doubles dividend
* Q4 sales 1.521 bln euros, up from 581 mln a year ago
* Upcycle shows no sign of abating - CEO
* Share price dips
(Adds further comments by CFO, CEO)
By Roberta Cowan
VELDHOVEN, Netherlands, Jan 19 (Reuters) - Profits at Dutch electronic chip-making equipment group ASML Holding (ASML.AS) hit a record 1.02 billion euros ($1.37 billion) last year, with sales driven by strong demand for iPhones and other smartphones, tablet computers and digital cameras.
ASML, the world's largest maker of lithography systems that map out electronic circuits on silicon wafers, also said on Wednesday it sees further growth this year on demand for machines with the latest technology, but its shares fell more than 1 percent on concerns over the notoriously volatile nature of demand in the semiconductor industry.
"We may be getting into a semiconductor cycle driven by technology, which is extremely positive," said ASML's chief executive Eric Meurice in a results news conference.
"Cycles for the past 15 years, if you look at them, usually an up-cycle can last three years or more. We've seen enough of a mix of technology that an up-cycle which includes 2012 is clearly on the cards. I can't judge the macro data but we can say that we are in an up-cycle with no sign of (that) abating."
The shares were down 1.3 percent at 29.57 euros at 1126 GMT, having gained more than 50 percent since September when the market started to price in an industry upturn.
ASML made a net profit of 1.022 billion euros in 2010 on net sales of 4.5 billion euros, and predicted sales in 2011 could rise to more than 5 billion euros. In 2009 it had sales of just 1.6 billion euros and made a net loss of 151 million euros.
"Most of the good news for 2011 had been largely anticipated. Will the market collapse or not in 2012 ? This is what people want to know and nobody has the answer yet," said analyst Jerome Ramel of Exane BNP Paribas.
As the electronics industry moves to producing ever smaller, cheaper and more energy-efficient semiconductors, ASML, whose equipment produces flash memory and other chips, said it has tripled output.
Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Tuesday landed blockbuster results and a strong outlook on dazzling sales of the iPhone and iPad, reassuring investors that visionary CEO Steve Jobs' medical leave will have no impact on growth. [ID:nLDE70I02P]
Intel Corp (INTC.O) also said earlier this month that it would spend more to increase its chipmaking capacity, buoying the shares of AMSL and other chip equipment makers such as Applied Materials (AMAT.O), KLA Tencor (KLAC.O) and Novellus (NVLS.O).
"The fourth quarter was a strong close to a remarkable year in the history of ASML during which we achieved record sales, profit and bookings," said ASML's chief executive Eric Meurice.
"The overall macro-economic drivers are still mixed since the end of the summer, but the semiconductor market is sustained by a very rich leading-edge technology mix, which in turn justifies the large backlog for our products."
SHARE BUYBACK
ASML also announced on Wednesday a 1 billion-euro share buyback programme over the next two years, and doubled its dividend for 2010 to 0.4 euros per share.
The company said it had 1,950 million euro in cash and cash equivalents at year end, up from 1,548 million euros at the end of the third quarter.
It made a net profit in the fourth quarter of 407 million euros, up from 50 million euros in the same period a year earlier when demand for ASML's technology was only just starting to recover after the global financial downturn.
Analysts in a Reuters poll were expecting net profit to come in at 319 million euros.
NEW TECHNOLOGY IN 2012
Wennink said that ASML will start shipping in 2012 its first EUV production tools, which refers to the new generation of lithography machines employing improved optical etching technology, with output rising in 2013 and 2014.
"Clearly in 2012 we will have a new source of income called EUV (extreme ultraviolet), because the technology transitions will happen, like we saw in 2010 and 2011."
"We booked more than 2 billion euros worth of orders in the fourth quarter of 2010, leading to a record year-end backlog of 3.9 billion euro of systems shippable in 2011," Meurice said.
"This record-breaking (order) backlog and the additional expected Q1 bookings 2011 confirm a potential for more than 5 billion euros of net sales in 2011," he said. ($1=.7425 euros) (Additional reporting by Greg Roumeliotis; Editing by Sara Webb, Greg Mahlich) |
