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ASM etches strong 2000
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January 18, 2001: 8:05 a.m. ET
Dutch chip equipment maker quadruples 2000 profit, warns of softening demand
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Dutch chip equipment maker ASM Lithography said Thursday its profit quadrupled in 2000, although it warned conditions were getting tougher.
ASML, which makes equipment for chip firms such as Intel (INTC: Research, Estimates), said net profit rose to  347 million, up from 81 million in 1999. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast profit of 318 million.
Earnings amounted to 80 euro cents per diluted share, against 19 cents per share a year earlier. Revenues rose 82 percent to 2.2 billion.
ASML gained 1.8 percent to 30.53 in Amsterdam after saying demand, while weaker, would still exceed its production capacity in 2001. The stock had gone as high as 32.20 earlier in the session.
"In 2000, we saw customer demand accelerate beyond previous expectations," said CEO Doug Dunn in a statement, but he warned, "We have seen customer demand soften over the last two months, a trend that will be closely monitored."
Dunn said he still expected demand in 2001 to outstrip ASML's production capacity, although a clearer indication of the demand trend would emerge in the next few months.
Intel, the world's largest chipmaker, warned this week that its revenues in the first quarter of 2000 would be far lower than Wall Street analysts had expected.
Behind the 2000 improvement, ASML credited rising demand, cost control measures, better utilization rates and higher sales volumes, which all boosted profit margins.
"The average selling price, number of units sold and operational and gross margin were all better than expected," analyst Marco Schram at Delta Lloyd Bank told Reuters.
ASML, whose stepper and scanner machines map chip circuitry on silicon wafers, also saw its order backlog rise to 255 machines at the end of 2000, up from 207 units at end June.
-- from staff and wire reports 
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ASM Lithography
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