April 15 (Bloomberg) -- ASML Holding NV, Europe’s largest maker of semiconductor equipment, reported a first-quarter loss as sales plunged 80 percent amid an industry slump.

The net loss was 117 million euros ($155 million), compared with a profit of 145 million euros a year earlier, Veldhoven, Netherlands-based ASML said in a statement today. Analysts predicted a loss of 112 million euros, the average of five estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Worldwide semiconductor-equipment sales are estimated to drop 45 percent this year as the global recession forces chip producers to delay spending, researcher Gartner Inc. said last month. ASML, led by Chief Executive Officer Eric Meurice, said today that it sees signs of a pick-up in purchases of its more expensive machines.

“It seems that the bottom has been reached,” said Paul Beijsens, an Amsterdam-based analyst at Theodoor Gilissen Bankiers NV, who put his sell recommendation under review today. “This is positive.”

ASML rose 17 cents, or 1.2 percent, to 14.77 euros in Amsterdam trading. ASML shares have gained 16 percent this year, compared with a 4.1 percent decline of the benchmark Amsterdam Exchanges Index.

Revenue Slide

Sales fell to 183.6 million euros from 919.2 million euros. On Jan. 15, ASML said first-quarter sales would be between 180 million euros and 200 million euros, down from a previous forecast of as much as 250 million euros. The average selling price for its machines fell to 9.2 million euros from 16.4 million euros a year earlier.

In a normalized situation, ASML will have quarterly sales of 400 million euros to 500 million euros, it said. The company expects to reach this level during the second half of 2009.

It’s “a bit too early” to give a forecast for this year, said Chief Financial Officer Peter Wennink in a video interview on the company’s Web site.

On Dec. 18, ASML said it would cut about 1,000 jobs and shut down production facilities for four weeks in the first and second quarters.

ASML received bookings for 8 machines in the first quarter, down from 26 machines a year earlier. The average selling price for ordered machines rose to 25.8 million euros from 12 million euros.

Margin Pressure

The gross margin, or the percentage of revenue left after subtracting manufacturing costs, dropped to 6.7 percent from 40.6 percent a year earlier. The margin will be about 9 percent this quarter, and sales will be 210 million euros to 230 million euros.

Gartner has predicted industry revenue will decline to $16.9 billion this year, the biggest drop since the Stamford, Connecticut-based researcher began gathering data more than two decades ago. Spending will rise 20 percent to $20.3 billion next year, still less than the level in 2008, it said on March 9.

Tokyo Electron Ltd., Asia’s largest maker of semiconductor equipment, said on April 10 that bookings for chip-making machinery slumped 80 percent to 20 billion yen ($201 million) in its fiscal fourth quarter that ended March 31.

ASML is the world’s largest maker of machines to project lines on the silicon slices from which chips are made. Its main rivals are Nikon Corp. and Canon Inc., both from Japan. Applied Materials Inc., based in Santa Clara, California, is the world’s largest maker of semiconductor equipment.

The company said it signed a 200 million-euro loan facility with the European Investment Bank to support the financing of its investments in extreme ultra violet, or EUV, technology. EUV is a next-generation technology to allow for the projection of even smaller features on chips.

To contact the reporter on this story: Marcel van de Hoef in Amsterdam at mvandehoef@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: April 15, 2009 12:11 EDT