Lasertec slumps after weaker-than-expected earnings (updated)

Lasertec

01/11/2024 08:32

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      Shares closed down 16%, have fallen by almost half YTD
    

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      Lasertec says it will no longer disclose quarterly orders
    

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      Company maintains full-year guidance
    

  
 (Updates with closing prices, adds text summary points)
    By Sam Nussey
       TOKYO, Nov 1 (Reuters) - Shares of Japan's Lasertec
 6920.T  fell 16% on Friday, a day after the maker of inspection
equipment used in chipmaking reported weaker-than-expected
first-quarter earnings.
    Lasertec booked net income of 8.9 billion yen ($58.43
million) for the July to September period, up 16% from a year
earlier, but below analysts' expectation.
    The stock closed at 19,615 yen, falling below 20,000 yen for
the first time since August. The benchmark Topix index  .TOPX 
closed down 1.9%.  
    The company, which makes machines for inspecting masks used
to produce patterns for chips, pointed to some revision in plans
by device makers for expanding cutting-edge chip capacity. 
    Lasertec kept its full-year guidance, including net sales of
240 billion yen, and said it would no longer disclose quarterly
orders, citing short-term fluctuations and investors' requests
to reduce share price volatility. 
    "Investors' confidence is getting lower without other
positive leading indicators, due to no more quarterly order
disclosure," Bernstein analyst David Dai said in a client note.
    Lasertec is targeting net sales of 400 billion to 500
billion yen and an operating margin of more than 35% in the
financial year ending June 2030.
    "In the near term, customer investment momentum is likely to
change, but we still expect earnings to sustain (medium-term)
growth amid expanding demand for advance processes and masks,"
Jefferies analysts said in a note.
    Lasertec's shares have fallen almost half year-to-date,
compared with a rise of 12% in the Topix. 

 (Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and
Clarence Fernandez)
 ((mailto:sam.nussey@tr.com;))