CEO Statement
"We reported third-quarter sales and gross margin that were in line with our guidance, with a strong showing of the memory segment at more than 50 percent of system sales as well as record service and field option sales. ASML continues to support our customers' technology roadmaps through product innovations as evidenced by our new NXT:1980 immersion system which provides around 30 percent overlay and 10 percent throughput improvement. These systems started shipping in Q3 with the ramp starting this quarter," ASML President and Chief Executive Officer Peter Wennink said.
"In Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography, we continue to make progress towards our 2015 productivity and availability targets. We have proven the capability both to expose 1,000 wafers per day and, in a manufacturing readiness test, to expose 15,000 wafers in four weeks. We have also achieved a four-week average availability of more than 70 percent at multiple customer sites. The first shipment of our fourth-generation EUV lithography system, the NXE:3350B, is in progress, with two more expected to ship in Q4.
"Compared to our expectation of three months ago, foundry customers are slightly more cautious with their investment plans. As a result, we expect Q4 sales below the Q3 level, but we remain on track for a record year in terms of sales. Despite slightly lower deliveries to our logic customers in Q3 and Q4, this segment clearly remains committed to ramp the 10 nanometer node, which we expect to start in Q2 2016. Currently, our memory customers indicate that their system demand will continue at a healthy level throughout the first half of 2016, albeit somewhat below the Q3 level."
Outlook
For the fourth-quarter of 2015, ASML expects net sales at approximately € 1.4 billion, a gross margin of around 45%, R&D costs of about € 270 million, other income of about € 20 million -- which consists of contributions from participants of the Customer Co-Investment Program --, SG&A costs of about € 90 million and an effective annualized tax rate of around 11%.
source : Press Release ASML Holding NV, October 14 2015