Dutch high tech group ASML reports profit fall, sees pick-up
Dutch company ASML, which supplies computer chip making systems, reported a big fall in quarterly profit on Wednesday but said it expected business to bounce back later this year, driven by growing demand for smartphones and tablets.
ASML is regarded as a global high-tech bellwether company
Net profit stood at 221 million euros ($290 million) in the second quarter, down by 24.3 percent from 292 million euros in the second quarter of 2012, ASML said.
The results included the effects of a deal to buy the San Diego-based Cymer corporation for 1.95 billion euros, finalised in May.
ASML is one of the world's leading makers of lithography systems used by the semiconductor industry to make integrated circuits and microchips, while Cymer makes the light sources used in the lithography systems.
Based in Veldhoven, southern Netherlands, ASML said that net sales fell by 6.5 percent to 1.15 billion euros with the result matching expectations by analysts.
Despite the dip ASML remained optimistic, saying it expected increased sales to towards the end of 2013, boosted by demand for direct random access memory (DRAM) chips on the back of growing global appetites for new smartphones and a myriad of new touch-screen tablets.
DRAM is the memory used in computers to make instant calculations and loses its data quickly when the device is switched off.
"During the second quarter we started to see additional demand from DRAM customers, driven by a healthy mobile DRAM memory market, which could potentially drive 2013 sales to a level of five billion euros, excluding Cymer sales," Peter Wennink, ASML's chief executive said in the statement.
Headquartered just outside the city of Eindhoven, ASML operates in 16 countries and is considered a good indicator of conditions in the microprocessing industry.
It employs about 12,400 people and counts world high-tech leaders such as Samsung and Intel among its customers.
© 2013 AFP
