Xinhua Finance Beijing, October 19th - Circuit News Agency reported on October 18th that South Korean company Samsung Electronics has postponed the acceptance of lithography machines produced by Dutch semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML due to its factory in Texas failing to secure major customers.
Samsung Electronics has also delayed placing orders with some other suppliers, forcing them to find new customers.
Samsung Electronics announced in April that its Texas factory will begin production in 2026, instead of the originally scheduled 2024. Samsung Electronics President Lee Jae yong told Reuters earlier this month that the factory is facing challenges. Reuters said that Lee Jae yong plans to expand his chip foundry business overseas, and the core of his plan is this Texas factory.
Reuters commented that the delayed delivery means that Samsung Electronics' factory in Taylor, Texas is facing another setback.
The report quoted Macquarie analysts as saying in a research report in September: "Without incremental customers, even the timeline for production starting in 2026 seems challenging... We expect further delays in (receiving) and (asset) write downs
According to informed sources, the delayed delivery of equipment includes ASML extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, which were originally scheduled to be shipped from ASML to Samsung Electronics' Texas factory earlier this year, but these devices have yet to be shipped out.
It is still unclear how many extreme ultraviolet lithography machines Samsung Electronics' Texas factory has customized for ASML. This lithography machine is priced at approximately 200 million US dollars (about 184 million euros) per unit.
Samsung Electronics' delayed delivery also impacted ASML's performance. According to data provided by ASML, sales in South Korea decreased by one-third month on month in the third quarter of this year to 889 million euros.
ASML CEO Christoph Fukai said on the earnings conference call this week, "I think if there were no artificial intelligence today, the market would be very bad." ASML's financial data released on the 15th showed that the company's total order amount in the third quarter of this year was about 2.6 billion euros, less than half of the nearly 5.6 billion euros in the previous quarter, causing a sharp drop in stock prices.
ASML's stock price rebounded 2.50% on the 17th, closing at $700.60 per share. Its stock price fell sharply for the second consecutive day on the 16th, causing it to lose its title as the most valuable technology company in Europe. (Bu Xiaoming)