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Asml, the Dutch maker of equipment for the chip industry, reported a decline in year-on-year net profit in the first quarter of 2024 amid international tensions with China. Net profit fell to 1.2 billion euros from nearly 2 billion in the first quarter of 2023 but still beat analysts’ expectations.
ASML shares fell 7.3% on Tradegate from Tuesday’s close in Amsterdam.
CEO Peter Weennink recalled that 2024 is a “transition year” for the group before the “significant growth” expected for 2025. “Our outlook for the full year 2024 remains unchanged,” he added, “the second half of the year is expected to be stronger than the first, in line with the continued recovery of the sector after the economic slowdown.” Revenue stood at 5.3 billion – in line with expectations – with a gross margin 51% above expectations, Weennink underlined.
The group recorded a drop in orders in one year, to 3.6 billion compared to 3.75 billion in the same period last year. In the last quarter of 2023 they amounted to 9.2 billion. These orders are lower than the expectations of analysts who had forecast orders of around 5 billion.
Asml, based in Veldhoven in the southern Netherlands, is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of equipment to make cutting-edge chips that power many products from mobile phones to cars. But the semiconductor industry is at the center of a geopolitical battle with China.
