Almere, The Netherlands February 25, 2025, 6 p.m. CET
Eighth consecutive year of double-digit full-year growth, outperforming WFE in 2024
ASM International N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: ASM) today reports its Q4 2024 results (unaudited).
Financial highlights
€ million
Q4 2023
Q3 2024
Q4 2024
New orders
677.5
815.3
731.4
yoy change % at constant currencies
(14%)
30%
8%
Revenue
632.9
778.6
809.0
yoy change % at constant currencies
(7%)
26%
27%
Gross profit margin %
47.2 %
49.4 %
50.3 %
Adjusted gross profit margin 1
47.9 %
49.4 %
50.3 %
Operating result
131.5
215.2
222.3
Operating result margin %
20.8 %
27.6 %
27.5 %
Adjusted operating result 1
141.0
219.9
227.0
Adjusted operating result margin 1
22.3 %
28.2 %
28.1 %
Net earnings
90.9
127.9
225.8
Adjusted net earnings 1
100.3
133.6
231.5
1 Adjusted figures are non-IFRS performance measures. Refer to Annex 3 for a reconciliation of non-IFRS performance measures.
New orders of €731 million in Q4 2024 increased YoY by 8% at constant currencies (also 8% as reported), with the increase again mainly driven by solid demand for gate-all-around (GAA) and high-bandwidth memory (HBM) DRAM.
Revenue of €809 million increased by 27% at constant currencies (increased by 28% as reported) from Q4 of last year and at the upper end of the guidance (€770-810 million).
YoY improvement in adjusted gross profit margin is due to strong mix.
Adjusted operating result margin increased to 28.1%, compared to 22.3% in Q4 2023 mainly due to higher gross margin and a moderation in SG&A, partially offset by higher investments in R&D.
Revenue for Q1 2025 is expected to be in the range of €810-850 million.
Comment
“ASM continued to deliver a solid performance in 2024. Sales increased by 12% at constant currencies, outperforming the wafer fab equipment (WFE) market which increased by a mid-single digit percentage in 2024. This marks our company’s eighth consecutive year of double-digit growth.” said Hichem M’Saad, CEO of ASM. “Revenue in Q4 2024 increased to €809 million, up 27% year-on-year at constant currencies and at the top end of our guidance of €770-810 million. The revenue increase in Q4 was driven by higher sales in leading-edge logic/foundry. Q4 bookings of €731 million increased, at constant currencies, by 8% from Q4 2023. Bookings were down from the level in Q3 2024, which was in part explained by order pull-ins from Q4 2024 to Q3 2024, as communicated last quarter. GAA-related orders increased strongly from Q3 to Q4, but this was offset by a drop in China demand. The gross margin came in at 50.3% in Q4 2024. Operating margin of 28.1% increased by nearly 6% points compared to Q4 2023.
Growth in the WFE market was uneven in 2024: AI-related segments continued to increase strongly, but other parts of the market showed a mixed performance. For ASM, this meant strong momentum in our GAA-related applications. With the mix shifting from pilot-line to high-volume manufacturing, both quarterly GAA-related sales and orders increased strongly in the course of 2024. We also saw a surge in demand for HBM-related, high-performance DRAM applications in 2024. This fueled a rebound in our total memory sales from a relatively low level of 11% in 2023 to a very strong level of 25% in 2024. Sales from the Chinese market remained strong in 2024, but dropped from the first half to the second half and also from Q3 to Q4, as expected. Sales in the power/analog/wafer market dropped by a significant double-digit percentage in 2024, reflecting the cyclical slowdown in the automotive and industrial end markets. Our SiC Epi increased by a mid-single digit percentage in 2024. While this was below our prior expectation of double-digit growth, we believe it was still a robust performance in view of significant weakening of the SiC market in 2024.
Financial results were again strong in 2024. Adjusted gross margin increased to 50.5% in 2024, supported by mix, a continued substantial contribution from the Chinese market, and improvements in our operations to reduce costs. In 2024, adjusted operating profit increased by 17%. We further stepped up adjusted net R&D spending (+20%) in view of our growing pipeline of opportunities, while the increase in adjusted SG&A expenses moderated (+3%), reflecting ongoing cost control. Free cash flow increased by 23% in 2024 to a record-high level of €548 million.
We remain on track towards our strategic targets and continue to invest in our people, in innovation and expansion, including in our planned new facilities in Hwaseong, Korea, and Scottsdale, Arizona. We also made further strides in accelerating sustainability. We published our Climate Transition Plan last year, and, as a first milestone, we achieved our target of 100% renewable electricity in 2024, which contributed to a 52% drop in our combined Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions.”
Outlook
Market conditions continue to be mixed looking into 2025, with WFE spending expected to increase slightly. Leading-edge logic/foundry is expected to show the highest growth in 2025. There have been some further shifts in capex forecasts among customers in this segment, but overall our forecast for a substantial increase in GAA-related sales in 2025 is unchanged. In memory, we expect healthy sales in 2025, supported by continued solid demand for HBM-related DRAM, although it is too early to tell if memory sales will be at the same very strong level as in 2024. The power/analog/wafer segments are still in a cyclical correction with no signs of a recovery in the near term. In SiC Epi, the outlook further weakened. Taking into account the recently announced new U.S. export controls and as communicated in our press release of December 4, 2024, our China revenue is expected to decrease in 2025, with equipment sales from this market falling in a range of low-to-high 20s percentage of total ASM revenue.
We confirm our target for revenue in a range of €3.2-3.6 billion in 2025, but it is too early to provide a more specific forecast due to market uncertainty and as visibility for the second half of the year is still limited. At constant currencies, we expect revenue for Q1 2025 to be in a range of €810-850 million, with a projected further increase in Q2 compared to Q1.
Share buyback program
ASM announces today that its Management Board authorized a new repurchase program of up to €150 million of the company's common shares within the 2025/2026 time frame. This repurchase program is part of ASM's commitment to use excess cash for the benefit of its shareholders.
Dividend proposal
ASM will propose to the forthcoming 2025 Annual General Meeting on May 12, 2025, to declare a regular dividend of €3.00 per common share over 2024, up from €2.75 per common share over 2023.
Modification in spares & service revenue reporting definition
Effective 2025, ASM will include installation and qualification revenue as part of spares & services revenue aligning with our business organization structure at ASM. Further details of the quarterly and full-year impact on 2024 revenue can be found in annex 4.
About ASM
ASM International N.V., headquartered in Almere, the Netherlands, and its subsidiaries design and manufacture equipment and process solutions to produce semiconductor devices for wafer processing, and have facilities in the United States, Europe, and Asia. ASM International's common stock trades on the Euronext Amsterdam Stock Exchange (symbol: ASM). For more information, visit ASM's website at www.asm.com.
Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements: All matters discussed in this press release, except for any historical data, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to, economic conditions and trends in the semiconductor industry generally and the timing of the industry cycles specifically, currency fluctuations, corporate transactions, financing and liquidity matters, the success of restructurings, the timing of significant orders, market acceptance of new products, competitive factors, litigation involving intellectual property, shareholders or other issues, commercial and economic disruption due to natural disasters, terrorist activity, armed conflict or political instability, changes in import/export regulations, epidemics, pandemics and other risks indicated in the company's reports and financial statements. The company assumes no obligation nor intends to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future developments or circumstances.
This press release contains inside information within the meaning of Article 7(1) of the EU Market Abuse Regulation.
Quarterly earnings conference call details
ASM will host the quarterly earnings conference call and webcast on Wednesday, February 26, 2025, at 3:00 p.m. CET.
Conference-call participants should pre-register using this link to receive the dial-in numbers, passcode and a personal PIN, which are required to access the conference call.
A simultaneous audio webcast and replay will be accessible at this link.
