ASM International expects to exceed 2027 sales goal, supply chain key, CEO says

By Nathan Vifflin

Oct 28 (Reuters) - ASM International will exceed its 2027 sales forecast as "unprecedented" demand linked to AI boosts semiconductor investment, its chief executive said on Wednesday, though supply-chain constraints could cap the upside.

CEO Hichem M'Saad told Reuters in an interview that ASM would achieve more than €5.7 billion ($6.34 billion) in revenue in 2027, the forecast the Dutch company gave on Tuesday.

He said ASM had "very good visibility" on orders into 2028, with some customers sharing roadmaps out to 2030.

"We're going to achieve greater than 5.7. How much greater in a way, it really depends on many factors. One of them is really the supply chain," M'Saad said, adding that parts of it were "a little bit stressed out".

M'Saad said ASM had enough manufacturing capacity but remained dependent on suppliers for parts and components.

ASM forecast on Tuesday fourth-quarter revenue above expectations and said it would reach its 2030 sales target three years early, driven by AI-related capacity investments.

Its shares were up 3% in mid-morning trade, taking their year-to-date gains to 48%.

AI CHIP DEMAND SUPPORTS GROWTH BEYOND 2027

M’Saad said the biggest growth driver was the next-generation 1.4-nanometre node, which needs more of ASM’s deposition layers and where its market share is higher.

TSMC, which plans production in 2028, says the node cuts power use by up to 30% at the same speed, key for energy-hungry data centres.

"We see this as the first inning of a cycle," he said.

Memory growth this year and next comes mainly from new capacity, with recent wins on newer technology entering production from 2028. "Our golden age in memory hasn't even started," he said. M’Saad called the gross margin of around 52% "a floor for the future", despite rising supplier prices. "I don’t think it’s going to go down," he said.

China sales, focused on older technologies due to export controls, grew in 2026, but "our growth is happening outside of China, because the leading edge is happening outside of China," he said.

($1 = 0.8993 euros)

(Reporting by Nathan Vifflin in Gdansk, editing by Anna Pruchnicka and Matt Scuffham)