ASML Q4 Net Income Rises; Proposes To Raise Dividend By 50% - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - ASML Holding NV (ASML) reported fourth-quarter net income of 787.5 million euros compared to 643.0 million euros, prior year. Net income per ordinary share increased to 1.86 euros from 1.49 euros. Total net sales were 3.14 billion euros compared to 2.56 billion euros, previous year.

For the first quarter of 2019, ASML expects net sales of around 2.1 billion euros, and a gross margin around 40 percent. The company noted that, due to a fire at a supplier, the expected impact on first-quarter sales is around 300 million euros, which is expected to be largely recovered in the second quarter.

"We reiterate that we see market demand that supports yet another sales growth year for ASML in 2019, with a significantly stronger second half versus the first half. We see a similar pattern in our gross margins, with lower margins expected in the first half of 2019, and we expect to increase to our longer-term trend line by the end of the year. Despite some uncertainty in the current environment, we remain confident about our sales and profit targets for 2020 and beyond, as we communicated at our Investor Day in November," said ASML CEO Peter Wennink.

ASML will submit a proposal to the Annual General Meeting to declare a dividend in respect of 2018 of 2.10 euros per ordinary share (for a total amount of approximately 0.9 billion euros).