Net sales of € 134.7 million, down 31.2% from net sales of the first quarter of 2004 and down 17.2% from net sales of the fourth quarter of 2004.

Net loss of € 7.2 million or € 0.14 diluted net loss per share, as compared to net earnings of € 14.6 million or € 0.28 diluted net earnings per share for the first quarter of 2004 and net earnings of € 1.4 million or € 0.03 diluted net earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 2004.

First quarter bookings of € 150.0 million, up 18.1% from the fourth quarter of 2004.

Quarter-end backlog of € 202.1 million, up 8.2% from the end of the previous quarter.

International N.V. (NASDAQ: ASMI and Euronext Amsterdam: ASM) reports today its 2005 first quarter operating results. These operating results have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("US GAAP").

The net loss for the first quarter of 2005 amounted to € 7.2 million, or € 0.14 diluted net loss per share, compared to net earnings of € 14.6 million or € 0.28 diluted net earnings per share for the same period in 2004.

The first quarter of 2005 showed a positive development in order intake. With € 150.0 million in new orders, the order intake increased € 23.0 million or 18.1% as compared to € 127.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2004. Both the Company's Front-end and Back-end segments reported decreased levels of sales and operating results.

The consolidated financial statements for the first quarter of 2005 include the operations of the Company's 100% subsidiaries ASM NuTool, Inc. and ASM Genitech, Inc., which were acquired in June 2004 and August 2004, respectively.

Liquidity and capital resources

Net cash provided by operations in the first quarter of 2005 was € 22.5 million as compared to € 34.1 million in the first quarter of 2004. The decrease was primarily caused by the net loss reported in the first quarter of 2005, partly compensated by increased collections on outstanding receivables. Net cash used in investing activities in the first quarter of 2005 was € 11.9 million as compared to net cash used of € 9.0 million in the first quarter of 2004. The increase was primarily caused by increased capital expenditures, in particular machinery.


Net working capital, consisting of accounts receivable, inventories, other current assets, accounts payable, accrued expenses, advance payments from customers and deferred revenue, decreased from € 189.2 million at December 31, 2004 to € 174.9 million at March 31, 2005. The decrease is primarily the result of decreased sales levels, partly offset by increased inventory levels for shipments in the second quarter of 2005. The number of outstanding days of working capital, measured based on quarterly sales, increased from 107 days at December 31, 2004 to 117 days at March 31, 2005.
At March 31, 2005, the Company's principal sources of liquidity consisted of € 232.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, of which € 148.2 million was available for the Company's Front-end operations and € 84.7 million was restricted for use in the Company's Back-end operations. In addition, the Company also had € 69.7 million in undrawn bank facilities, of which € 33.6 million was available for its Back-end operations and € 36.1 million was available for its Front-end operations in Japan.

If the Company's convertible subordinated notes due November 2005 are not converted into common shares prior to or at maturity in November 2005, the Company has to repay these notes in cash. The conversion price is $18.85. At March 31, 2005, € 72.8 million of these notes were outstanding.

Outlook
In the first quarter of 2005 we have seen a positive development in order intake, but at lower levels than we anticipated earlier in the year. Although we have won important orders, our customers are more cautious in adding capacity and as a result customers are delaying orders further into 2005 or even into 2006. Based on the current market forecast we expect sales levels to be lower than anticipated earlier, in particular in our Front-end wafer processing segment. This lower sales expectation also delays the achievement of operational profitability for the Front-end operations. In contrast to earlier guidance, and despite continued strong focus on fixed costs, we do no longer expect positive earnings from operations for our Front-end segment for the full year 2005.

We continue to invest in our Front-end technological capabilities and our Front-end manufacturing facility in Singapore. We also remain confident that our Back-end segment will see improved momentum starting in the second quarter 2005. Based on the above, and in combination with our current backlog, we expect the net sales and net result in the second quarter of 2005 to improve when compared to the first quarter of 2005.


ASM INTERNATIONAL N.V. RECEIVES ORDER FOR ATOMIC LAYER DEPOSITION EQUIPMENT

ASM International N.V. (NASDAQ: ASMI; Euronext Amsterdam:ASM) today announced that it has received a purchase order from a key US customer for a 300mm capable Polygon® atomic layer CVD cluster tool to support advanced 65nm high-k gate stack development, including metal gate electrode materials. Delivery is planned for the current quarter.

ASM is the market leader in ALD high-k process technology. Ten of the top 15 IC makers are using ASM's ALCVD high-k dielectric technology. With this order, four leading fabs are now using both ASM's ALCVD high-k and PEALD metal deposition technology for gate stack applications. ASM is partnering with many leading device manufacturers to scale gate stack technology to 45nm and beyond, when electrical leakage performance of conventional silicon oxide dielectrics is expected to be too high.

"This customer's high-k gate stack process technology is among the most advanced we have seen. We are thrilled to continue working closely with them to help them develop a process integrated with metal gates", said Dr. Henk de Waard, Business Unit Manager of ASM's Transistor & Capacitor Products Group.

"For several years, this customer has been using ASM's 200mm Polygon tool at its advanced R&D fab to develop high-k gate dielectrics. To expand this program they will now get the latest 300mm capable version of the Polygon 8300 Cluster Tool with Pulsar® 3000 modules for ALCVD(TM) high-k dielectric film deposition and EmerALD(TM) 3000 modules for PEALD(TM) metal film deposition. ASM will collaborate with the customer to develop advanced gate dielectric film stacks, integrated with metal gate electrode for 65nm and beyond high performance logic devices."

The Polygon product line, with Pulsar ALCVD and EmerALD PEALD process modules, is being used for high-k applications including dielectrics and metal electrodes for DRAM, RF and decoupling MIM capacitors, gate dielectrics for high performance and low standby power logic, and dielectric films for Flash and FeRAM.

The Polygon 8300 is a bridge tool, which enables development on 200mm wafers and easy field conversion to a 300mm configuration. The Pulsar 3000 ALCVD process module is the industry's leading tool for depositing the most advanced high-k gate dielectric films, such as hafnium oxide and hafnium silicate, with low leakage currents. The EmerALD 3000 process module is a plasma enhanced ALD (PEALD) reactor, which is used to deposit thin, uniform metal layers as gate electrodes. The PEALD process for metals reduces thermal budget because deposition occurs at lower temperatures (<300 °C), while maintaining low impurity levels in the film. PEALD also enables a shorter ALD cycle time, which increases deposition rate. The EmerALD reactor has the added flexibility to run in both thermal and plasma modes. Fundamentally, the layer-by-layer ALD process provides precise film thickness control, which is crucial for ultra-thin gate films.