COMMENT
“2021 was a year of great progress for our company. As COVID-19 continued to impact each of us, our people demonstrated relentless commitment and execution, pulling together as one ASM team,” said Benjamin Loh, President and Chief Executive Officer of ASM International. “In the fourth quarter, we realized revenue of €491 million, driven by record high sales in the logic/foundry segment. Q4 revenue was towards the higher end of our guidance of €470-500 million, despite continued challenging supply chain conditions in the quarter. Demand remained strong, reflected in our Q4 order intake of €645 million, up 70% compared to the same quarter of 2020. For the full year, revenue grew 34% at constant currencies to €1,730 million, led by strong growth in our ALD and Epi product lines. Operating result increased 50% to €492 million in 2021.
In 2021, we also accelerated our focus on sustainability. An important step was our announcement last September of our target to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2035. During the year, we transitioned most of our key sites to electricity sourced from renewable sources.”
OUTLOOK
Supported by a record high order backlog at the end of Q4, ASM has started the year on a strong footing. Looking at the first half of the year of 2022, supply chain conditions are expected to remain tight. For Q1, on a currency comparable level, we expect revenue of €500-530 million, with a further steady increase in Q2 revenue compared to Q1. Based on the current visibility, we expect revenue in the second half of 2022 to be higher than the level in the first half. The wafer fab equipment (WFE) market is forecasted to increase by a mid to high teens percentage in 2022. We expect to outperform the WFE market in 2022.
SHARE BUYBACK PROGRAM
On April 20, 2021, ASMI announced the authorization of a new share buyback program of up to €100 million. The program started on July 28, 2021 and was completed on December 17, 2021. In total, we repurchased 292,116 shares at an average price of €342.33, under the 2021 program.
ASMI announces today that its Management Board authorized a new repurchase program of up to €100 million of the Company's common shares within the 2022/2023 time frame. This buyback program will be executed by intermediaries and will end as soon as the aggregate purchase price of the common shares acquired by ASMI has reached €100 million.
This repurchase program is part of ASMI's commitment to use excess cash for the benefit of its shareholders.
DIVIDEND PROPOSAL
ASMI will propose to the forthcoming Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (AGM) 2022, to declare a regular dividend of €2.50 per common share over 2021, an increase of 25% compared to the regular dividend paid over 2020 (€2.00 per common share).