Chip-Equipment Sales Soar, Showing Global Recovery
Worldwide sales of equipment used to make computer chips almost doubled in September, the third straight gain after 15 months of decline, further evidence of a recovery in the global chip market, an industry group said.
Chip-equipment sales soared 90% in September from the same month a year earlier to $2.90 billion, the Semiconductor Equipment Assn. of Japan said.
Demand is rising again as Samsung Electronics Co. and other large chip makers expand production. Equipment makers such as Netherlands-based ASM Lithography Holding are rolling out new products to help chip companies beef up capacity.
“This is a transition year where the industry returns to its historical growth levels,” said Marisa Baldo, an analyst with SG Securities in Paris. “Next year will approach the maximum for production capacity, but the risk of entering another period of overcapacity will not occur in the short term.”
In Europe, shares for chip makers and chip-equipment manufacturers rose after the report.
Shares in STMicroelectronics, Europe’s second-biggest chip maker, closed up 11.1% at $124.76.
“ST has the ability to increase capacity quickly because they anticipated the recovery and have factories ready to go online,” said Baldo, who rates the shares “strong buy.”
“Some other companies will not be ready to increase production next year.
“On the demand side, ST is in strong business sectors with very bright growth prospects.”
Philips Electronics shares closed up 4.98% at $119.33, while ASML, the world’s fifth-biggest chip-equipment maker, saw its shares close up 7.1% at $88.47.
The gain in September’s sales also reflects increases in spending on equipment by Intel Corp., the world’s largest chip maker; Motorola Inc., the world’s No. 2 producer of cellular phones; and Texas Instruments Inc., the No. 1 manufacturer of chips for cellular phones.
Orders for chip equipment are getting a boost as companies retool factories to make chips with smaller circuit feature sizes, which allow faster and smaller chips, and lower power consumption.
In addition, chip makers and home video game makers are teaming up to develop and make chips for future generations of video games and digital household electronics, creating new demand for equipment.
