ASML Raises 2021 Guidance as 1Q Profit Soars

   By Adria Calatayud 
 

ASML Holding NV on Wednesday raised its revenue guidance for 2021 due to a significant increase in demand, and said that net profit for the first quarter of the year soared on net sales that came in ahead of its forecasts.

The Dutch maker of semiconductor equipment made a quarterly net profit of 1.33 billion euros ($1.60 billion) compared with EUR390.6 million for the same period last year.

Net sales for the first quarter increased to EUR4.36 billion from EUR2.44 billion a year before, with a gross margin of 53.9%.

The company had guided for first-quarter net sales of between EUR3.9 billion and EUR4.1 billion, and for a gross margin of between 50% and 51%.

"We now expect revenue growth towards 30% in 2021 compared to last year," ASML President and Chief Executive Peter Wennink said.

The company had previously said it expected 2021 to be a year of double-digit sales growth.

ASML also said it expects an early completion of its EUR6 billion share-buyback program launched in January 2020, as its expected cash generation will enable significant share repurchases in the coming quarters.

Write to Adria Calatayud at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 21, 2021 01:35 ET (05:35 GMT)

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