ASM Lithography NV, the one-time Philips Electronics NV semiconductor lithography unit saw its share prices fall 26% Friday after it said it expected 1998 net earnings to fall below 1997 levels. The company said one of its major Taiwanese foundry customers had postponed its investments for one quarter. ASM told Computergram that given the economic situation in the Far East, the company has done some cautious calculations on the basis that there might be more coming from Taiwan this year. ASM has already seen some overall slowdown in the semiconductor business, according to company spokesperson Jan Hoefnagels, but its Taiwanese customers, which after all make up the majority of the chip foundry market, had told ASM they would not be hit by the Asian crisis. After the first customer postponed its order, the company realized others may start to be hit, and it therefore downgraded its 1998 expectations. Hoefnagels said the market might have over-reacted to the news, but then again it might not, he admitted. The company, which floated on Nasdaq three years ago (CI No 2,626) is still 23% owned by Philips, whose shares also fell slightly on the announcement.
