Chip equipment manufacturer BE Semiconductor Industries, based in Duiven in the province of Gelderland, saw its order revenue rise by 43 percent to €250 million in the fourth quarter. The company now expects to exceed its previously issued profit forecast.
BE Semiconductor, or Besi for short, is benefiting primarily from increased demand from Asia. The expansion of chip production for data centers continues to rise, with players such as Besi benefiting directly from this. New purchases from photonics customers and expected hybrid bonding orders contributed to order growth in Q4, Besi reported today.
Besi’s equipment is used to handle complex processes in chip production, such as the microscopic connection of components within semiconductors. This is referred to as “packaging” for short, and the specific connection of chip components usually takes place via hybrid bonding. This involves the most advanced assembly of the most valuable modern chips. These chips, such as Nvidia and AMD GPUs, use hybrid bonding technology to maximize the speed between components (particularly between logic—the computing power—and the memory that surrounds it).
Shares reacted positively to the news from Besi. In European morning trading, they climbed 6.9 percent to 161.30 euros. Over the past twelve months, shares have already risen by 11.9 percent, according to MarketWatch.
Forecast revised upwards
In November, Besi reported revenue growth of 15 to 25 percent compared to €132.7 million in Q3. The gross margin is expected to be 61 to 63 percent, with operating costs rising between 5 and 10 percent (after €48.5 million in Q3).
The chip equipment market grew by 18.1 percent in 2024, with AI chips and GPUs for data centers being the main growth drivers. For the time being, this growth seems unstoppable, resulting in sharp increases in the market values of relevant parties. However, there is now a glaring shortage of memory, particularly DRAM for HBM memory in AI chips, among other things. Like the physical expansion of data centers and chip production, the shortage among memory manufacturers is seen as a limitation to the further advance of AI.
Optimistic outlook
Analyst Marc Hesselink expects Besi to continue to benefit from sustained AI demand in the coming year. There are also expectations of a recovery in the packaging industry. If these trends continue, the results could exceed current estimates for the coming years, he writes.
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