ASML Holding NV’s share price down, posts increasing Q2 results, while FY sales forecast trails estimates

ASML Holding NV, which is currently the biggest semiconductor-equipment supplier on the territory of Europe, forecast full-year sales that trailed analysts estimates, as the company postponed the deliveries of its newest product.

ASML Holding NV made an official statement today, predicting that its full-year revenue will reach about 5.6 billion euros (7.6 billion dollars), trailing the 6.13 billion-euro median analysts forecast.

The company also shared that its net profit over the second quarter increased by 81% due to the fact the lithography systems of ASML were sold at a price higher than average. ASML Holding NV also added that the next generation of its products development is currently going according to plan.

The semiconductor equipment manufacturer, which is also one of the major suppliers of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co., said that its net profit over the second quarter of the current financial year was 398.7 million euros (542.3 million dollars) in comparison to a net profit of 220.8 million euros posted a year ago.

ASML Holding NVs sales over the second three months of the year rose by 39% from 1.19 billion euros over the same period a year earlier to 1.64 billion euros.

Mr. Guenther Hollfelder, who is an analyst at Baader Bank, commented on the forecast, saying that it “comes as a surprise”, because a recovery in orders is expected in Q4, mainly driven by Intel Corps growing number of orders. The company revealed that its ultraviolet lithography technologys development is right on track to reach the target of 500 wafers on a daily basis by the end of 2014. The technology is extremely important to the companys future due to the increased customers demand for smaller chips on account of increased capacity and speed.

ASML Holding NV lost 0.55% to trade at 66.59 euros per share by 10:34 GMT, marking a one year change of +0.17%. According to the information published on the Financial Times, the 35 analysts offering 12-month price targets for ASML Holding NV have a median target of 74.00, with a high estimate of 96.00 and a low estimate of 45.00. The median estimate represents a 10.51% increase from the last price of 66.96.