AMSTERDAM (AP) -- ASML Holding NV, the Dutch supplier of equipment to computer chip makers, says profits soared in the fourth quarter as clients such as Intel, Taiwan Semiconductor and Samsung expanded capacity rapidly.
Net profit was euro407 million ($547 million), from euro50.8 million a year ago, and sales surged to euro1.52 billion, from euro581 million, reflecting the boom-and-bust nature of the semiconductor industry.
Chief executive Eric Meurice called 2010 a "remarkable year" in which the company tripled its production immediately after weathering a tough 2009.
"The overall macro-economic drivers are still mixed since the end of the summer, but the semiconductor market is sustained by a very rich leading edge technology mix, which in turn justifies the large backlog for our products," Meurice said in a statement.
Ultimately, expectations consumers will buy more smart phones and tablet computers are leading ASML's customers to increase their capacity. ASML competes with Japan's Nikon Corp. in making lithography systems, which use intensely focused beams of light to map out the circuitry of semiconductor chips.
The company said bookings were strong in the fourth quarter and its order backlog stood at a record euro3.86 billion at the end of the year, up from euro2.98 billion on Sept. 26. It forecast first quarter 2011 sales of euro1.4 billion.
Meurice said customers are investing in several kinds of cutting-edge flash and other memory chip capacity at once, as well as playing catch-up for investments in previous-generation technology that had been postponed after the 2008 financial market crisis.
ASML said it intends to double its dividend from 0.20 cents to 0.40 cents. It also said it intends to repurchase up to euro1 billion of shares in the coming 2 years.
Shares rose 1.1 percent in early trading to euro30.29 in Amsterdam.