Shares in ASM International fall on 'underwhelming' updated targets
By Victor Goury-Laffont and PierreJohn Felcenloben
(Reuters) -Dutch chip equipment maker ASM International raised its revenue expectations for 2025 on Tuesday, betting on its transition to newer semiconductor technologies, although shares fell about 6% as the updated target failed to excite analysts.
The company now expects revenue to reach 3 billion euros to 3.6 billion euros ($3.81 billion) in two years, up from a previous estimate of 2.8 billion to 3.4 billion euros.
Jefferies analysts described the new target as "somewhat underwhelming," but underlined management's tendency to opt for conservative forecasts, especially in the current environment of weak equipment demand.
TSMC, the number one semiconductor manufacturer in terms of revenue and an ASMI client, recently asked its suppliers, including the Amsterdam-listed group, to delay the delivery of equipment due to concerns over customer demand.
"Despite the weakening in economic conditions and softening in the semiconductor equipment market this year we believe we remain on track to deliver on our targets," ASMI Chief Executive and President Benjamin Loh said in a statement.
The group confirmed its expectations for the single-wafer atomic layer deposition (ALD) market to reach $3.1 billion to $3.7 billion in 2025 and $4.2 billion to $5 billion by 2027, of which it targets a market share of more than 55%.
ALD, a technique in semiconductor manufacturing using ultra-thin layers of material, accounted for more than half of the company's revenue from equipment sales in 2022.
"The new guidance underlines that the ALD market growth is going to accelerate beyond 2025", ING's Marc Hesselink wrote in a note, echoing the general sentiment among analysts that ASMI's ALD operations are a strong area for future growth.
The group also confirmed its overall sales target for the upcoming quarter at between 580 million and 620 million euros.
($1 = 0.9449 euros)
(Reporting by Victor Goury-Laffont and Pierre John Felcenloben; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Kirsten Donovan and Anil D'Silva)
