ASML, the chip manufacturing equipment supplier, said the semiconductor industry was on track to recover in the second half of the year, even as it reported a 21 per cent drop in sales and lower-than-expected orders.
First-quarter net sales at the Netherlands-based electronics group fell to €5.3bn, down from €6.7bn in the same period a year earlier and €7.2bn in the fourth quarter but in line with its guidance.
Net income was down 37 per cent year on year to €1.2bn. Net bookings, which includes orders placed by ASML’s chipmaker customers but not yet delivered, dropped from €9.2bn in the fourth quarter of 2023 to €3.6bn in the first quarter of this year, below analysts’ estimates of more than €5bn.