ASML Holding NV plans to raise prices for its chipmaking equipment, setting up a potential clash with its biggest customer, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), The Information reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.TSMC is already pushing back against the Dutch toolmaker’s plans, The Information reported.TSMC declined to comment.
ASML’s logo is displayed at the company’s booth at the China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Nov. 5 last year.
A representative for ASML pointed to comments by its chief financial officer, Roger Dassen, during its earnings call on Wednesday about pricing, but declined to comment further.ASML makes the cutting-edge extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography machines that are necessary for chipmakers to manufacture advanced semiconductors and is experiencing a surge in demand driven by artificial intelligence (AI).
During the call, Dassen floated the possibility of price changes for the company’s less advanced version of the tool, low numerical aperture (NA) EUV.“We keep on increasing the productivity of the low NA tools so, of course, that gives us a pretty strong runway for potential price improvements going forward,” he said.Long order lead times for ASML’s kit mean any price changes do not “translate into pricing effects tomorrow,” Dassen said.Booming results among ASML’s customers, including TSMC, Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc, means the environment is “ripe” for raising prices, RBC Capital Markets analysts wrote on Monday.The Dutch company said one of its customers, Intel Corp, is using its most advanced machine for chip production, a development that ASML chief executive officer Christophe Fouquet said was a positive indication of commercial viability.That comes after TSMC said that the machines fetch upward of 350 million euros (US$410 million) each and are too expensive to use for production, although it does use them for research.ASML on Wednesday lifted its annual sales forecast for the second time this year and laid out plans to increase production as it tries to keep up with demand for its machines.Net sales will grow to between 43 billion euros and 45 billion euros this year, the company said, comfortably beating analyst estimates.
