Net sales of € 195.9 million, up 66.3% from the first quarter of 2003 and up 19.7% from net sales in the fourth quarter of 2003;

Net earnings of € 14.9 million or € 0.28 diluted earnings per share as compared to a net loss of € (8.3) million or € (0.17) diluted loss per share for the first quarter of 2003;

First quarter of 2004 showed strong order intake of € 225.7 million, down 8.0% from the € 245.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2003;
Quarter-end backlog of € 228.8 million, up 15.0% from the previous quarter.
Outlook

The Company expects consolidated net sales in the second quarter of 2004 to be at a similar or slightly higher level than during the first quarter of 2004.

The recent periods with good levels of bookings and Book-to-bill ratio's above 1.0 require the Company to further invest in the hiring and training of service engineers for its Front-end operations. This is needed for current customer requirements and anticipated strong bookings levels.

Net earnings for the second quarter are expected to be clearly positive but might be at a lower level than the first quarter of 2004 if the increase in costs is not sufficiently compensated through additional sales.

ASM International to Acquire Genitech, Ltd.

ASM International N.V. (NASDAQ: ASMI and Euronext Amsterdam: ASM) and Genitech, Inc., a privately-held semiconductor equipment supplier based in South Korea, announced today that they have entered into an agreement for ASMI to purchase Genitech for a combination of cash, ASMI common shares and additional variable cash payments over the next five-years. The value of the transaction at the closing, expected in May, is approximately US $9 million, of which slightly over US $5 million will be in common stock. Additionally, ASMI will pay up to approximately US $9 million in cash over the next five years, depending upon the achievement of performance targets. The transaction is expected to be finalized within the next two months and is subject to regulatory approvals customary for this type of a transaction in South Korea.