ASML on track for major growth in 2017
ASML has published its 2017 second-quarter results.
- Q2 net sales of EUR 2.10 billion, gross margin 45.0 percent
- 8 additional EUV orders in Q2
- EUV backlog grows to 27 systems valued at EUR 2.8 billion
- ASML expects Q3 2017 net sales around EUR 2.2 billion and a gross margin 43 percent
- ASML will resume its 2016-2017 share buyback program
1As per January 1, 2017, ASML presents net sales with respect to metrology and inspection systems as part of Net system sales instead of Net service and field option sales.
2Our systems backlog and net bookings include all system sales orders for which written authorizations have been accepted (for EUV starting with the NXE:3350B). As per January 1, 2017 our systems backlog and net bookings also include metrology and inspection systems.
ASML President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink statement
"With these strong results in the second quarter, ASML is on track to achieving net sales growth of about 25 percent for the full year. This is driven by sales to memory customers, expected to grow about 50 percent from last year especially driven by DRAM, and sales to logic customers that are expected to grow about 15 percent. Our entire product and services portfolio is driving this growth. Our DUV sales are expected to grow off a strong base in 2016. Our EUV backlog, which grew to 2.8 billion euros in the second quarter, indicated that preparation for high-volume manufacturing is well underway in both logic and DRAM. Our Holistic Lithography sales are expected to grow about 50 percent from last year. Installed Base Management sales, finally, are expected to grow about 20 percent this year, driven by our performance upgrades business. Our current view is that the positive business trends that we are seeing in 2017 are likely to continue as we enter 2018,"
Product and Business Highlights
In DUV lithography, we announced a new immersion system, the TWINSCAN NXT:2000i, which includes several hardware innovations that will enable on-product overlay of 2.5 nanometers in mix-and-match use with EUV for the 7/5 nanometer nodes. Demand from 3D NAND customers for KrF "dry" systems continued to be high, with more than 20 TWINSCAN XT:860 systems in the backlog. The increased productivity of the XT:860 platform was proven in production with 5,300 wafers per day exposed on one system.
In Holistic Lithography, we began to ship the new YieldStar 375F metrology system, which features new optics technology that generates more accurate metrology data, faster.
In EUV lithography, we have integrated an upgraded EUV source into a TWINSCAN NXE:3400B lithography system in our Veldhoven facility and achieved the throughput specification of 125 wafers per hour on this system. Now, with all key performance specifications demonstrated, we focus on achieving the availability that is required for high-volume manufacturing as well as further improving productivity.
In the second quarter, ASML also completed the acquisition of a 24.9% interest in Carl Zeiss SMT, to strengthen the long-standing and successful partnership and to facilitate the development of the future generation of EUV lithography systems.
Following the successful completion of the acquisition of a 24.9% interest in Carl Zeiss SMT, ASML will resume its current share buyback program. As a result of the pause in the program from July 20, 2016 until July 19, 2017, this program will likely not be completed for the full amount. The current program may be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time.
Outlook
For the third-quarter of 2017, ASML expects net sales around EUR 2.2 billion which includes approximately EUR 300 million EUV revenue, a gross margin around 43 percent, R&D costs of about EUR 315 million, other income of about EUR 24 million -- which consists of contributions from participants of the Customer Co-Investment Program, SG&A costs of about EUR 105 million and an effective annualized tax rate around 14 percent. We expect three NXE:3400B shipments in the third-quarter of 2017.
