UPDATE 2-Chipmaking parts supplier Besi misses order estimates, shares drop

(Adds market context in paragraphs 2-3, expected hybrid bonding orders in 9, investments in 10)

By Nathan Vifflin

April 25 (Reuters) - Dutch chipmaking parts supplier BE Semiconductor Industries (Besi) missed first-quarter order expectations on Thursday, hit by weakness in mainstream assembly markets, especially for smartphone and automotive applications.

Its shares were down 8.4% to 127.3 euros at 0708 GMT.

The results mirror a wider trend in the semiconductor market as chipmakers struggle with weakening demand from carmakers and a further decline in orders from laptop and phone companies.

French-Italian STMicroelectronics on Thursday became the latest chipmaker to lower its full-year guidance due to declining orders.

Besi said the slowdown in smartphone demand reflected ongoing weakness in Chinese markets and limited new product innovation this year, while for automotives it cited excess assembly capacity after strong growth in the past two years.

"We also noted a pause in advanced packaging order development this quarter, particularly for 2.5D and 3D applications," it said in a statement.

The company's new order bookings fell to 128 million euros ($137 million) in the first three months of 2024, compared to a consensus of 186 million euros cited by Visible Alpha analysts.

Besi, whose customers include AI chip giant Nvidia , the world's biggest contract chipmaker TSMC and Samsung Electronics , said it expected orders to bounce back in the second quarter.

It sees second-quarter revenue broadly in line with the 146.3 million euros reported for the first quarter, with gross margins falling to between 63% and 65%, from 67% the three months before.

It expects to book 25-35 orders for hybrid bonding systems - its top product used to create tighter interconnections inside a chip - from a diverse group of customers during the second quarter.

It also plans to hike investments in research and development, including on hybrid bonding, through 2025-2027 in anticipation of growth in its key technologies.

($1 = 0.9340 euros)

(Reporting by Nathan Vifflin in Gdansk; Editing by Milla Nissi and Mark Potter )

((nathan.vifflin@thomsonreuters.com; +48 58 769 67 13))