After eleven years, Peter Wennink will step down as CEO of ASML in 2024. Successor Christophe Fouquet will have difficulty emulating his success. Politics in particular can get in the way. NU.nl lists the most important challenges.
1. Expats krijgen steeds meer kritiek
ASML groeide de afgelopen jaren uit zijn voegen. Vooral tijdens de coronacrisis en het chiptekort dat daaruit voortkwam, waren de machines bij het techbedrijf uit Veldhoven niet aan te slepen. Om aan al die vraag te voldoen en om nieuwe technologie te blijven ontwikkelen, is personeel nodig. Veel personeel, dat bovendien hooggeschoold is. En dat is er in Nederland niet genoeg.
Daarom haalt het bedrijf van over de hele wereld techneuten naar Brabant. Maar die moeten ergens wonen. En dat wringt, want ook in de regio Veldhoven zijn te weinig huizen. Daar komt bij dat expats belastingkorting krijgen. Geeft ze dat geen voordeel als ze op een huis bieden? Jawel, vond de huidige Tweede Kamer. Die besloot dit najaar – vlak voor de verkiezingen – om het belastingvoordeel in te perken.
Het is maar de vraag of het daarbij blijft. Zo vinden twee partijen die mogelijk in het nieuwe kabinet komen, PVV en NSC, dat het aantal migranten omlaag moet. En ook hooggeschoolde arbeidsmigranten ontspringen die dans vermoedelijk niet. ASML is bezorgd over een mogelijke rem op arbeidsmigranten. Ook het beperken van het aantal buitenlandse studenten ziet het bedrijf niet zitten.
ASML voelde waarschijnlijk al nattigheid en haalde onlangs oud-staatssecretaris Frank Heemskerk binnen. Hij zal als lobbyist ongetwijfeld de deur plat lopen in Den Haag. Daar kan hij wellicht aankloppen bij het nieuwe NSC-Kamerlid Femke Zeedijk-Raeven. De nummer twaalf op de lijst van de partij van Pieter Omtzigt werkt al zo’n tien jaar bij ASML en komt hoogstwaarschijnlijk straks in de Tweede Kamer.
2. US and China have a falling out
ASML is caught between two fires on the world stage. The US absolutely does not want knowledge of advanced chip machines to end up in Chinese hands. The Americans fear that China will use that knowledge for defense equipment.
This year it turned out that Washington is serious. Prime Minister Mark Rutte was visiting American President Joe Biden and even there ASML was a topic of discussion. The Dutch cabinet was kindly but urgently requested to limit the export of ASML machines. The cabinet did that neatly.
It meant that the people of Brabant were no longer allowed to sell their DUV machines to Chinese companies. The export of the even more modern EUV machines had already been restricted. ASML had no choice but to accept the restrictions.
3. The chip shortage is over
During corona times, companies were desperate for chips. We had to work from home and to make that possible, we ordered a lot of devices that contain a lot of chips. In the meantime, regular demand remained stable, for example from car manufacturers.
The chip makers could not cope with this, causing major shortages. Almost all car makers had to shut down their factories. Waiting times for electronics, such as boxes, increased considerably.
But things have been in a mess for some time now. For example, TSMC, the world’s largest chip manufacturer, said that sales are falling sharply. Samsung also notices that customers are less interested. And ASML itself is not immune to declining demand.
Only 2.6 billion euros worth of orders were received in the third quarter, less than a third of the 8.9 billion a year earlier. The company therefore sees next year as a transition year.
4. Wennink was extremely successful
It will be difficult for Fouquet to match the performance of his predecessor. Since Wennink started in 2013, ASML’s turnover has increased fivefold. Revenues are expected to exceed 25 billion euros this year. Ten years ago the counter was stuck at just over 5 billion euros.
The share price even increased tenfold, to 633 euros per share. The total stock market value of ASML now amounts to more than 250 billion euros. This makes Veldhoven the most valuable tech company in Europe. En passerby shouted EW Magazine CEO Wennink named Man of the Year this week.
An additional setback is that one of the company’s technical minds, Martin van den Brink, is also leaving next year. He was even there when ASML was split from Philips in 1984.
Yet there are high expectations. The company wants to grow again from 2025. And by 2030, turnover should be more than twice as large as this year. With a looming brake on migration and a possible return of Donald Trump to the White House, who wants to take tougher action against China, this would be a major achievement.
2023-12-03 05:35:10
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