FILE PHOTO: Employees are seen working on the final assembly of ASML's TWINSCAN NXE:3400B semiconductor lithography tool with its panels removed, in Veldhoven, Netherlands, in this picture taken April 4, 2019. Bart van Overbeeke Fotografie/ASML/Handout via REUTERS
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -ASML, the largest supplier of equipment to computer chip makers, on Wednesday reported first-quarter earnings of 1.22 billion euros ($1.30 billion), and a worse-than-expected inflow of new bookings of 3.6 billion euros.
Net income was down from 2.05 billion euros in the fourth quarter of 2023. Sales were 5.29 billion euros, down from 7.24 billion euros.
Analysts had forecast net income at 1.08 billion euros on sales of 5.38 billion, according to LSEG data, while analysts polled by Reuters had seen new orders at about 5.4 billion euros.
"Our outlook for the full year 2024 is unchanged, with the second half of the year expected to be stronger than the first half, in line with the industry's continued recovery from the downturn," CEO Peter Wennink said in a statement, describing 2024 as a "transition year."
The company expects full-year sales in 2024 to be roughly unchanged from 2023 levels of 27.6 billion, but it is gearing up for strong growth in 2025.
($1 = 0.9414 euros)
(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Tom Hogue and Jamie Freed)
