Microchip tech firm ASML profit soars; outlook revised down

Dutch firm ASML Holding, a key supplier of technology in the semiconductors market, revealed lower forecasts for the second-quarter of 2015, despite posting a 60 percent jump in first-quarter profits, reports Reuters. The company’s forecasts are closely monitored for how its key customers, such as Samsung Electronics and Intel, expect the market demand for consumer electronics to develop. ASML reported net profits of 403 million euros on sales of 1.65 billion in the first quarter. The second-quarter sales projections of 1.6 billion are below the expectations of analysts, according to Thomson Reuters data. When reporting first-quarter sales on Tuesday, the company announced it plans to reduce capital spending in 2015 from 10 to 8.7 billion dollars. ASML is the biggest maker of lithography machines used to map the circuitry of computer chips. Each device costs around 30 million dollars on average.