VELDHOVEN, Netherlands ASML Holding NV, an equipment supplier of computer chip makers, reported better than expected fourth quarter earnings and forecast sales growth of more than 25 per cent in 2023.
Europe's largest technology company, which has struggled to meet demand as top customers TSMC, Samsung and Intel are all engaged in major expansions, said its order backlog has grown to a record 40 billion euros $43.62 billion at the end of the year.
The outlook for 2023 is clouded by worries over the economy and growing semiconductor inventories, but customers also see conditions improving toward the end of the year and China's economy recovering after the end of COVID 19 curbs, according to CEO Peter Wennink.
That means that demand is higher than what we can make, he said.
The numbers came a week after U.S. President Joe Biden and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte discussed possible new export restrictions on sales of ASML's older equipment to customers in China due to security concerns. In October, Wennink said that nothing has changed since the U.S. imposed new export restrictions on its own companies.
We can still ship older DUV tools to mainland China, which rivals with the U.S. as the company's third-largest market after Taiwan and South Korea, Wennink said.
The Veldhoven, Netherlands based firm reported fourth-quarter net profit of 1.82 billion euros, up from 1.77 billion euros in the same period a year earlier, on revenue of 6.43 billion euros.
According to Refinitiv data, analysts had predicted net profit of 1.70 billion euros on sales of 6.38 billion euros.