A return to form
ASML Holding has reported a business pick up above previous guidance resulting mainly from the short- and mid-term needs in the DRAM memory and Logic segments. This will translate into Q3 and Q4 2009 net sales of above EUR 500 million each and Q3 2009 bookings significantly above that level. Previous guidance issued on July 15 was for Q3 2009 net sales of around EUR 450 million.
This news was a counterpoint to the report on first quarter results which were unsurprisingly described as difficult. Q1 2009 net sales were EUR 184 million versus Q4 2008 net sales of EUR 494 million while Q1 2008 net sales were EUR 919 million. The net loss for the quarter was EUR 117 million, or 63.8 percent of net sales, after a Q4 2008 net loss of EUR 88 million or 17.8 percent of net sales. Q1 2008 saw a net income of EUR 145 million or 15.8 percent of net sales.
"As expected, semiconductor equipment demand collapsed in the first quarter of 2009 as customers went through inventory corrections and production capacity adjustments," said Eric Meurice, president and Chief Executive Officer of ASML. "In spite of these exceptional circumstances, ASML was able to generate cash, thanks to the execution of our cost savings program and a more than EUR 300 million working capital reduction. While we exercised some operational savings in research and development (R&D), we maintained all our strategic investments and were able to deliver on significant new product milestones; in particular, we proved Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) imaging with the first full field 28 nanometer (nm) dense lines presented at the SPIE Advanced Lithography conference in February and confirmed EUV pre-production system deliveries in 2010, while we introduced a new suite of Lithography-aware design and manufacturing tools, helped by our Brion subsidiary. To further support the financing of our R&D and infrastructure investments in EUV, we secured a EUR 200 million loan facility from the European Investment Bank at favorable terms, which can be drawn over the next 18 months."
