No slackening in demand for litho tools

Author: EIS Release Date: Apr 29, 2022


Demand for chip manufacturing equipment is showing no sign of weakening, says ASML CEO Peter Wennink.
 
ASML EUV
“We’re just looking at the data points, they just point to a market that is significantly short of semiconductor manufacturing capacity. This year and next year,” said Wennink yesterday on the company’s Q1 results call.
 
“Currently we see no signs of any weakening in our customer base. Zero, and even if demand weakens, there is a big gap between the demand and our capacity,” said Wennink.
 
Nearly all ASML’s customers are in the market for older litho machines as well as the ones who are buying the latest machines, stated Wennink.
 
Q1 sales came in at €3.5 billion. 9 EUV machines were shipped  and the company recognized €591 million revenue from three systems this quarter. Gross margin was 49%. Profit was €695 million.
 
R&D expenses were  €739 million, and SG&A  was €208 million. The company has cash, cash equivalents  and short-term investments of €4.7 billion.
 
The company is looking at the feasibility of increasing its annual capacity by 2025 to around 90 EUV 0.33 NA systems and 600 deep UV systems.