AMSTERDAM (ANP) – ASML fell 5 percent on the Amsterdam stock exchange on Wednesday. The chip machine maker saw turnover and profit decline in the first quarter compared to the strong results in the last quarter of 2023. The company also received far fewer new orders than a quarter earlier. In the first three months of this year, customers ordered 3.6 billion euros worth of new machines. In the fourth quarter of 2023, this was still 9.2 billion euros.
ASML has noticed that the chip industry is in a slump and expects the sector to recover next year. The company sees this year as an interim year in which turnover will not increase, but significant investments are required for the expected growth of the chip sector after 2025. ASML therefore previously announced cost savings. The company also warned that it is looking at further expansion outside the Netherlands, because the business climate here threatens to become too unfavorable.
Shortly after the market opened, the AEX index was 0.6 percent lower at 869.55 points, led by ASML. The main index already lost 1.1 percent a day earlier. The MidKap fell 0.4 percent to 916.78 points. The stock exchanges in Frankfurt and Paris climbed up to 0.5 percent. London lost a fraction. British inflation stood at 3.2 percent in March. That was a little more than expected.
