AMSTERDAM : Shares in Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML fell 7 per cent on Thursday after its biggest customer Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) cut its forecasts for capital spending by 10 per cent this year, citing in part equipment delays.
Half of the reason for TSMC’s cut was due to medium term planning and “the other half is due to continued tool delivery challenges,” TSMC Chief Financial Officer Wendell Huang told reporters on a media call.
ASML, Europe’s largest technology company, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company’s shares were down 7.0 per cent at 385.10 euros ($371.93) at 1259 GMT.
ASML, which dominates the market for the lithography tools used by chipmakers such as TSMC, Samsung and Intel to create the circuitry of computer chips, has struggled to meet demand for its products.
In 2021 44 per cent of ASML’s sales were to customers in Taiwan.
At its second quarter earnings release in July, the company said it had registered record bookings but CFO Roger Dassen warned that the company was facing “increasing supply chain restraints”.
ASML has forecast third quarter sales of 5.1 billion -5.4 billion euros ($4.93 billion-$5.22 billion). It is due to report third quarter earnings on Oct. 19.
($1 = 1.0354 euros)
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