Bank of America Securities issued a research report forecasting a more significant recovery for ASMPT starting from the second half of 2026 through the next two years. Applying a 2027 forecasted price-to-earnings ratio of 34 times, the firm raised its target price from HK$95 to HK$150 and upgraded its rating from "Neutral" to "Buy."
The bank believes that the company's thermal compression bonding (TCB) equipment technology is likely to be adopted by a wider range of memory and logic chip manufacturers. Additionally, capacity expansion and technological upgrades in the back-end of semiconductor manufacturing could drive increased sales of TCB equipment for the company. It is projected that earnings per share will see strong growth over the next three years, with a compound annual growth rate exceeding 30%. Revenue is expected to reach mid-to-high cycle levels, with gross margins surpassing 40%, and such revenue is considered sustainable.
Although the report does not assume that ASMPT will capture more than 50% market share in the TCB segment, it believes that a 20% to 30% share would be sufficient to support robust sales and EPS growth from the second half of this year through the next two years. However, due to chipmakers' capital expenditure focus on front-end investments, sales in the first and second quarters of this year are expected to remain relatively low at HK$3.6 billion and HK$3.8 billion, respectively—at or below mid-cycle levels. A gradual recovery is anticipated from the second half of this year, with quarterly sales reaching around HK$4 billion, and further strengthening to between HK$4 billion and HK$5 billion by 2027.
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