ASML’s sales to surge 30 percent this year

Already the global chip shortage is driving up ASML’s revenue. The Veldhoven-based semiconductor equipment manufacturer reported Q1 sales of 4.4 billion euros, above the 3.9-4.1 billion euros guided. The main reason for this better-than-expected result, CEO Peter Wennink explained, is that chipmakers rushed to upgrade the software of their tools to increase productivity. “That’s the most effective and efficient way to increase wafer output,” Wennink said in a video posted on his company’s website. ASML’s Installed Base Management (IBM) business grew to 1.24 billion euros in Q1, up from 1.06 billion euros in Q4.

For the remainder of the year, however, Wennink doesn’t expect IBM to grow faster than originally anticipated. “The software upgrades have been pulled in. What has been installed you don’t need to install the rest of the year.” Hardware upgrades would increase productivity even more, but they’re not very popular right now, since they require the tools to go offline. “In a time where you can’t make enough wafers, you don’t want to put the tool down. This is why we don’t see a lot of opportunity above the 10 percent that we guided before.”