#1asml

[christopherporreca01]

UPDATE 1-ASML expects to announce new share buyback plan in Jan – CFO * Company to ship systems to 5 Chinese customers next year * Sees bottleneck in EUV systems in 2019, will ship 30…

[maggieasmulvane-blog]

UPDATE 1-ASML reiterates sees record 2011

* Q4 bookings seen above Q3 level of 514 mln euros* Reiterates FY net sales of record 5.5 billion euros (Adds details, quote)By Roberta CowanAMSTERDAM, OCT 12 - Dutch chip-equipment maker ASML said on Wednesday it expects fourth-quarter orders to exceed those booked in the third quarter but warned that customers are still holding back from placing new orders.ASML -- the world's largest maker of semiconductor lithography machines, which map out electronic circuits on silicon wafers -- said fourth-quarter orders are currently valued above the third-quarter level of 514 million euros. Analysts surveyed by Reuters see fourth-quarter bookings between 500 and 700 million euros."Despite the current turbulent macro-economic environment, ASML's strong business model and the industry need for the latest lithography technologies enable us to reiterate our expectation of 2011 revenues of about 5.5 billion euros," in line with initial guidance, ASML's chief executive, Eric Meurice, said in a statement."It is too early to understand how overall demand for semiconductors will contribute to our business in 2012, but we believe that a sustained need for leading-edge systems ... will likely result in increased fourth-quarter bookings, compared with Q3," Meurice added.ASML's order book development serves as a barometer for expectations of big chip makers such as Intel Corp , the world's largest, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing , the world's biggest contract chip maker. Intel reports xx quarter results on Tuesday October 18 and is expected to report revenue at the low end of its guided range.ASML said it expects fourth-quarter sales to be above 1.1 billion euros.The Dutch firm reported third-quarter net profit of 355 million euros, up from 269 million euros a year ago, while sales rose to 1.459 billion euros, from 1.176 billion euros a year ago.ASML competes with Japan's Nikon Corp. and Canon Inc. , and has a global market share of about 70 percent. It counts Samsung Electronics , Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing and Intel among its customers.Intel reports third-quarter earnings on Tuesday October 18 and is expected to report revenue at the low end of its guided range.