ASML of the Netherlands, regarded as the world's largest semiconductor corporations, posted record results last year. The semiconductor market is in a super-boom, and sales of the latest lithography equipment have begun to be fully recognized as revenue.
ASML said on the 28th that last year's net sales rose 15.6% from a year earlier to 32.667 billion euros (about 55.8 trillion won). Net profit also jumped 26.9% in the same period to 9.609 billion euros (about 16.4 trillion won), hitting an all-time high. The gross margin was 52.8%.
In the fourth quarter of last year, net sales were 9.718 billion euros (about 16.64 trillion won) and net profit was 2.84 billion euros (4.86 trillion won), up 4.9% and 5.6%, respectively, from a year earlier. The gross margin was 52.2%. As of the end of last year, the order backlog stood at 38.797 billion euros (about 66.3 trillion won).
ASML said it expects total net sales of 8.2 billion to 8.9 billion euros (about 14.034 trillion to 15.232 trillion won) in the first quarter of this year. It guided a gross margin of 51% to 53%. The company said, "We plan to implement a new share buyback program of up to 12 billion euros (about 20.5375 trillion won) through Dec. 31, 2028," adding, "We will streamline our technology and IT organizations to further sharpen our focus on engineering and innovation."
In the fourth quarter of last year, sales of two next-generation extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines (High-NA EUV) were recognized as revenue. Each unit costs more than 500 billion won. Compared with existing equipment, it can control the wavelength of light more precisely, providing higher resolution. It is essential for ultra-fine processing, so major corporations are moving to secure it.
Christophe Fouquet, ASML's chief executive officer (CEO), said, "Based on the outlook that demand related to artificial intelligence (AI) will continue, many customers over the past few months have assessed midterm market conditions considerably more positively than before," adding, "These assessments have translated into clear upward revisions to customers' midterm capacity plans and unprecedented order intake for ASML."