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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sun Tzu who wrote (39072)	11/2/2000 9:07:29 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

ASM Litho CEO comfortable with forecasts By Philip Blenkinsop VELDHOVEN, Netherlands, Nov 2 (Reuters) - Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML (NasdaqNM:ASML - news) said on Thursday it was comfortable with analysts' forecasts that it would sell 320-330 machines this year and 400-440 next year. ``From what I can see, it's in the right area,'' Chief Executive Officer Doug Dunn told Reuters. Dunn also said he saw ``no reason why ASML's gross margin should not be in the low 40s'' in the second half of this year and for 2001. ASML's gross margin for new systems sold rose from 29.2 percent in the first half 1999 to 42.4 percent in the first half of this year. Dunne also said none of his customers had cancelled orders or pushed them back. Typically ahead of a market slowdown, semiconductor makers scale back on equipment purchases. Dunn said he believed growth in the equipment suppliers market was likely to fall from this year's eighty percent to a ``more normal level towards 22-25 percent.'' He said he saw the market making a relatively soft landing towards the end of 2002, or start of 2003 with growth in the low teens before taking off again. ASML is set to become the world's largest maker of scanners and steppers when it completes the purchase of Silicon Valley Group Inc. (NasdaqNM:SVGI - news). The all-share deal, announced a month ago is currently valued at 1.5 billion euros. Scanners and steppers map out semiconductor circuitry on silicon wafers. ASML's more advanced duv (deep ultra-violet) scanners sell for about nine million euros. Philips Electronics holds a minority stake in ASML.