ASM International N.V. (Euronext Amsterdam: ASM) today reports its third quarter 2018 operating results (unaudited) in accordance with IFRS.
FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
EUR million
Q3 2017 (restated) Q2 2018 Q3 2018
New orders 160.4 175.9 258.0
Net sales 178.1 208.7 195.7
Gross profit margin % 38.8 % 42.1 % 40.9 %
Operating result 20.8 38.3 28.0
Result from investments (excluding amortization intangible assets resulting from the sale of ASMPT stake in 2013) 32.1 21.6 16.8
Amortization intangible assets (resulting from the sale of ASMPT stake in 2013)
(5.4 ) (3.0 ) (3.1 )
Result from sale of ASMPT shares - - -
Net earnings 37.3 59.4 39.1

Normalized net earnings (excluding amortization intangible assets resulting from the sale of ASMPT stake in 2013 and result from sale of ASMPT shares)
42.6 62.4 42.2

2017 results were restated for the effects of IFRS 15.

New orders received of €258 million, at the highest level in history, increased 47% compared to Q2 2018 and were 61% higher compared to Q3 of last year.
Net sales for the third quarter 2018 were €196 million, a decrease of 6% compared to the previous quarter and an increase of 10% compared to Q3 last year.
Gross profit margin was 40.9% in Q3 2018 compared to 42.1% in the previous quarter and 38.8% in Q3 of last year.
Operating result decreased to €28 million compared to the previous quarter. The decrease is mainly the result of the lower sales level.
Normalized net earnings for the third quarter 2018 decreased by €20 million compared to Q2 2018.

COMMENT
Commenting on the results, Chuck del Prado, President and Chief Executive Officer of ASM International said:
"In Q3 we realized sales of €196 million and an order intake of €258 million. Sales were within our guidance of €180-200 million while order intake was well above the € 200-230 million that we earlier indicated and was 25% above our former highest level. The high order intake is driven by logic, foundry and analog. The gross margin in Q3 remained in the range of low to mid 40's. During the third quarter we returned approximately €380m to our shareholders in the form of share buybacks and a tax efficient capital return."

OUTLOOK
For Q4, on a currency comparable level, we expect sales of €220-250 million and an order intake of € 240-260 million. Q4 still reflects some uncertainty around the exact timing of individual tools.

For 2018, general expectations for growth of the wafer fab equipment market remain at mid to high single digits. Based upon this current market development we expect to outgrow the wafer fab equipment market in 2018.

SHARE BUYBACK PROGRAM AND CAPITAL REPAYMENT

On June 5, 2018, ASMI announced the start of a new share buyback program of its common shares for an amount of up to €250 million. On September 30, 2018, 83.7% of the program was repurchased. We completed this 2018 share buyback program on October 11, 2018. In total, we repurchased 5,443,888 shares at an average price of €45.92, including expenses, under the 2018 program.

This share buyback program was executed by a third party. ASMI has the intention to reduce its issued share capital by withdrawing the shares repurchased as part of the 2018 share buyback program, save for such number of treasury shares as maybe necessary to fund ongoing share and option programs for employees and board members. This withdrawal of shares is intended to be proposed to the Annual General Meeting (AGM) in 2019. The repurchase program is part of ASMI's commitment to use excess cash for the benefit of its shareholders.

On August 10, 2018, ASMI distributed €4.00 per common share to its shareholders through a tax efficient repayment of capital. The ex-date of the distribution was August 7, 2018. This capital repayment was previously approved by the 2018 AGM.

On August 1, 2018, the withdrawal of 6 million treasury shares, which was previously approved by the 2018 AGM, became effective and administered. Following this withdrawal the total number of issued shares decreased to 56,297,394 as per August 1, 2018.

tijd 10.16 d.d. 1 nov.
De Midcap 749,35 +12,75 +1,73% ASMI EUR 42,92 +5,93 vol. 366.000