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The Hague - Dutch computer chip maker and global hi-tech bellwether ASML slashed its forcecasts on Wednesday despite almost doubling profits in the first quarter.
Net profits were up to €249m from €96m a year earlier, largely thanks to sales that were up 57% to €1.4bn.
The company which supplies global hi-tech giants such as Samsung and Intel nevertheless cut its forecast for the first half of 2014, after some customers put orders for processor makers for "next-generation devices" on hold.
The unnamed customers want to complete development of their new chips before buying more chip-manufacturing machines, an ASML spokesperson told AFP.
ASML had said it expected first-half sales to reach €3bn excluding sales of Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) systems for making next-generation processors.
But on Wednesday the company said it had cut its first-half forecast to €3bn including EUV system sales.
ASML is one of the world's leading makers of lithography systems used by the semiconductor industry to make integrated circuits and microchips
The company, which employs over 13 000 people and operates in 16 countries, is considered a good indicator of conditions in the microprocessing industry.
