ASML beats view with $145m second-quarter loss

AMSTERDAM: Dutch chip equipment maker ASML reported an upsurge in orders for its cutting-edge technology but no full recovery yet, as it posted a 104 million euro ($145 million) second-quarter loss yesterday.

The world's largest maker of semiconductor lithography machines, which map out electronic circuits on silicon wafers for chipmakers, was forecast to post a 109 million euros loss, according to a Reuters poll of 13 analysts.

New machine bookings came in at 15 units worth 394 million euros, two below forecast but almost double the 8 machines booked in the first quarter, signaling a return to a more typical rate of technology transition investments by a sector whose drive to innovate has been crimped by the economic slump.