ASML ASML Holding NV

--ASML Holding's second-quarter net profit rose but missed expectations

--The Dutch company said its growth expectations for 2020 haven't changed despite the pandemic

--ASML said the impact of the recession triggered by the coronavirus pandemic is unclear

By Adria Calatayud

ASML Holding NV said Wednesday that net profit for the second quarter rose sharply, but missed forecasts, and that its growth expectations for 2020 haven't changed despite the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dutch maker of semiconductor equipment said the rollout of its most advanced chip-making technology, called extreme ultraviolet lithography or EUV, has continued during the pandemic. However, analysts said a fall in new orders and cautious comments on the outlook for next year suggest ASML's customers may take longer to confirm deliveries as they adapt to the economic difficulties caused by the pandemic.

"We don't know what the impact of the recession will exactly be," ASML President and Chief Executive Peter Wennink said.

For the second quarter, the company made a net profit of 751 million euros ($856.2 million) compared with EUR476 million for the year-earlier period. Analysts expected a profit of EUR863.1 million, according to a FactSet-provided consensus.

ASML said net sales for the second quarter rose to EUR3.33 billion from EUR2.57 billion a year before, but this fell short of analysts' expectations. The company had previously said revenue it wasn't able to recognize in the first quarter would shift to the second and third quarters.

ASML shipped nine extreme ultraviolet lithography, or EUV, systems--its most advanced technology--in the quarter, but booked revenue from seven.

"The miss essentially stems from a delay in revenue recognition for two EUV shipments that ASML expects to recognize in the second half of 2020," Frederic Yoboue, analyst at investment bank Bryan Garnier, said in a note to clients.

The company said its operational capabilities are now largely back to normal. In the second quarter, ASML received new orders worth EUR1.1 billion, down from EUR3.09 billion in the previous quarter, it said.

The company, which hadn't provided guidance for the second quarter in light of uncertainty caused by the pandemic, said it expects sales for the third quarter to be between EUR3.6 billion and EUR3.8 billion, with a gross margin of between 47% and 48%. In the second quarter, ASML's gross margin was 48.2%.

"Our 2020 growth expectations are largely unchanged relative to our view at the start of the year," Mr. Wennink said.

ASML said it has agreed to acquire Berliner Glas, a privately held manufacturer of ceramic and optical modules. Financial details of the deal won't be disclosed, it said.

Shares at 1010 GMT were down 0.6% at EUR341.20.

Write to Adria Calatayud at adria.calatayud@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 15, 2020 07:13 ET (11:13 GMT)

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