The import of lithography machines has surged 10 times in two months, why ASML is reluctant to the Chinese market!
According to the data, between November and December 2023, China's imports of lithography equipment from the Netherlands increased tenfold, with a cumulative import value of 19 billion US dollars, which also led to ASML as China's lithography machine supplier, because ASML previously claimed that all lithography machines ordered by Chinese users will be delivered in 2023.
China has imported 42 lithography equipment, with an import value of more than 80 million US dollars. In November last year, China's imports of lithography equipment from the Netherlands increased to 1.1 billion US dollars, plus the total import of 56 lithography machines from the Netherlands, plus two moon engraving machines, will increase to 98 units, which shows that China has begun to provide lithography machines in large quantities.
Since September 2023, ASML announced the export license of its 7nm 2000 i lithography machine to China, the Netherlands has imported a large number of lithography machines to China, and the import of Chinese lithography machines has grown rapidly, with the ** of China's lithography machines increasing by 18 times in one month, slowing down in October, and rising sharply again in November and December, ASML also announced its export license until the end of 2023. ASML said the export license for the product is until the end of 2023.
The reason why so many lithography machines are introduced in China is not only because of the urgency of the production line, but more importantly, in order to avoid the problem of lithography machines in the future, there are more and more domestic lithography machines.
Now there is still some time before 2024, ASML has announced that it will suspend the production license of high-end lithography machines, such as high-end lithography machines such as 2000 I will not be able to be given to Chinese consumers, it is clear that the reason why Chinese semiconductor companies will buy lithography machines from abroad is to prevent there will be no lithography machines in the future.
The large number of lithography machines from China has brought strong benefits to ASML, and its FY2023 results report reported that China accounted for 46% of ASML's revenue, more than four times higher than the previous low of 8%, and China drove the quarterly revenue up more than 10%.
Obviously, the reason why ASML did not double its revenue in China was most likely due to the sharp decline in demand for lithography equipment in countries other than China, and China became ASML's last hope, so ASML was suddenly allowed to sell lithography equipment to China.
According to. Ten. The results of the first and second quarters of December show that with the continuous increase of lithography machines in China, ASML's revenue will be boosted, but if ASML's license is suddenly revoked, revenue will appear**, because ASML believes that the mass production of 10 EUV 2 nm lithography machines this year will drive the increase in revenue, but even if 10 2 nm EUV lithography machines are sold, the revenue will not exceed 3 billion US dollars. The transaction will generate approximately $3 billion in revenue for the company, which is approximately equivalent to the revenue of a Chinese company in fiscal 2023.
U.S. semiconductor device and raw material companies also show how important the Chinese market is to them. Crocker and Perlin Group's financial results for the third quarter of fiscal 2023 show that the company's revenue in China accounts for more than 40%, Crocker has increased its revenue from China by 50%, and Panin has doubled its revenue from China.
From this point, it can be seen that because the world's semiconductor industry is currently in a period of recession, the three major semiconductor manufacturers, including Intel, Samsung, and TSMC, have reduced their chip purchases to China, which has greatly restricted the profit growth of overseas semiconductor manufacturers.
At this time, because China's semiconductor industry is still in the stage of rapid development, China's profits are very critical for them, but due to the suppression of the United States, ASML has to sell high-end lithography machines to China, and when the time is ripe, it will be sold, ASML will definitely sell China's lithography machines at the fastest speed.
The United States once tried to use lithography technology to jam China's wafer production, but China's development in chips in recent years has shown that the U.S. approach has not only stimulated China's chip industry, but also made new progress in many technologies.
Now the United States has once again stepped in and prevented ASML from selling high-end lithography machines to China, which will not have too much impact on China's semiconductor industry, because ASML will sell lithography machines to China in the third quarter of 2023, which is enough for China's chip industry to grow in the next few years.