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ASML orders triple in fourth quarter amid soaring demand for advanced chip gear, especially in China

  • Order bookings rose to €9.19 billion in the fourth quarter from €2.6 billion in July to September in a sign of recovery for the chip industry
  • ASML benefited from strong demand from China last year as chip makers rushed to get lithography machines ahead of new export restrictions

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The ASML logo seen near a computer motherboard in this illustration taken January 8, 2024. Photo: Reuters
ASML Holding NV orders more than tripled last quarter from the previous three months as demand for its most-sophisticated machines soared, in a sign that the semiconductor industry may be recovering.
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Order bookings rose to €9.19 billion (US$9.98 billion) in the fourth quarter from €2.6 billion in July to September, Europe’s most valuable technology company said in a statement on Wednesday. That compares with an average estimate of €3.6 billion by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Bookings of its most-advanced extreme ultraviolet lithography machines in the period was €5.6 billion.

“The inventory levels in the end markets are improving and are definitely at a better level than they were a couple of quarters ago,” chief financial officer Roger Dassen said in a statement accompanying the earnings result.

ASML is the only company that produces equipment needed to make the most sophisticated semiconductors, and demand for its products are a bellwether for the industry’s health. Late last year, it started shipping major parts of the first of its newest chip-making machine to Intel.
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