ASM International has posted €710 million (+40 percent) in its revenue and €647 million (–6 percent) in its orders during the first quarter of 2023.
Revenue of ASM exceeded previous guidance of €660-700 million due to systems that were delivered in Q1 instead of Q2 at the request of customers, and supported by the strong order backlog at the end of Q4.
Gross margin of ASM increased to 51 percent due to an exceptionally strong mix. With operating expenses under control, operating profit increased by 17 percent compared to previous quarter to a record high of €221 million, said Benjamin Loh, President and CEO of ASM.
ASM said demand in the memory market weakened in Q1 and is expected to remain at low levels in the remainder of the year. Logic/foundry demand for the advanced nodes is relatively more resilient, but recently we have also seen a number of push-outs in this segment reflecting softer end-market conditions and some delays in new customer fab readiness.
“These push-outs will impact our expected orders in Q2 and Q3. Following expected growth in the first half of the year, we expect a decrease in the second half sales of 10 percent or more compared to the first half, which is a lower level of revenue in the second half than we previously projected,” Benjamin Loh said.
ASM expects revenue of a €650-690 million for Q2. ASM expects revenue to show a single digit increase, including the consolidation of LPE, for 2023. This compares to wafer equipment spending which is now forecasted to decline by approximately a high-teens percentage this year.
ASM said wafer fab equipment (WFE) is expected to drop by a high teens percentage in 2023, down from a previous forecast of a mid to high teens percentage drop. ASM expects to again outperform the WFE market this year.
ASM said memory WFE is expected to decline by a significant double-digit percentage.
In the logic/foundry market, spending on the advanced nodes is expected to be at a good level in 2023, but lower than previously expected, particularly in the second half of the year. This is offset by stronger market spending in the older node segments of the logic/foundry market, ASM said.
