Asm soars in Amsterdam after accounts and guidance above expectations

(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Asm International soared on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, closing up 5% and driving the entire sector, with purchases also made by Asml (+3.3%), Be Semiconductor (+5.3%), StMicroelectronics (+2.4%) and Infineon (+5.4%). Driving this are the better-than-expected fourth quarter and full-year 2025 accounts and guidance for the current three months, again above expectations, driven byinvestments in artificial intelligence and the expectation of solid demand in China. For the first quarter, the company expects revenues of EUR 830 million, better than the consensus of EUR 767 million. Asm also expects second-quarter sales to be higher than in the first quarter and sales to accelerate in the second half of the year, exceeding those of the first six months. In addition, orders of EUR 803 million recorded in the fourth quarter grew by 19% compared to the same period last year, showing a solid recovery, driven by strong demand in the advanced logic market and the recovery of demand from Chinese customers at the end of the quarter. In detail, Asm reported fourth-quarter profits of EUR166.1m (down from EUR225.8m), but above consensus expectations, and revenues of EUR689m (down 7%), above the company's guidance of between EUR630m and EUR660m, while gross margin was solid at 49.8% in the quarter to a record 51.8% for the full year.

"2025 was another year of strong growth for Asm. Sales increased by 12% on a constant currency basis, marking our ninth consecutive year of double-digit growth," said CEO, Hichem M'Saad, emphasising that the group is "ready to support and empower customers in expanding their capacity and fostering innovation to meet the multi-year peak in demand for AI data centres".

So in Milan the purchases also rewarded St, which was already benefiting from the market's appreciation for the new investments announced on the eve. The company in fact confirmed the centrality of the Agrate-Castelletto pole for production, technological research and development and product research and development activities. These are all activities that will see a growth or mix change in the coming years (2025-2034). Moreover, while investments of USD 1.5 billion are confirmed for the period 2025-2027, for 2028-2034 investments of USD 2.8 billion are planned for the growth of production capacity, which accelerates to add the target of 14,000 slices by 2034, and for research. For Fiom-Cgil, the outlook to 2034 is 'a step forward', but 'we need binding guarantees for employment and development'. Compared to the past months, 'we are facing a clear change of step, because the company has illustrated a structured project, with investments, growth in production capacity and strengthening of research and development activities'.