April 23 (Reuters) – BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI) on Thursday said its quarterly orders grew significantly in the first-quarter, helped by growth across all its markets and particularly strong demand for hybrid bonding.
Investors are banking on growing orders for Besi’s hybrid bonding solutions, a chip technology allowing two chips to be bonded directly on top of each other, citing its first-mover advantage amid a surge in demand for AI-enabling technology.
Besi said its order bookings, an important indicator of future growth, jumped 104.5% to 269.7 million euros ($315.5 million) in the first quarter, compared with 131.9 million euros last year.
“Overall, the results show progress in hybrid bonding adoption which is gathering pace in the memory market with a second customer starting qualification in high bandwidth memory, which is a positive print from the company,” analysts at J.P. Morgan said.
Analysts added the Dutch company delivered a strong order intake for the start of the year, which is around 4% ahead of consensus, and guided stronger sales for the second quarter.
Shares in the company, which have gained 79% this year including today’s session, were up around 3% in early trade, topping the Dutch AEX index.
Investments in AI have been offsetting weak demand in automotive, PC and memory chips.
Recent results from firms in the chip industry, including TSMC, ASML and ASM International, have demonstrated that the sector is continuing to benefit from surging demand for AI chips.
Besi forecast its revenue to grow between 30% and 40% in the second quarter, compared with 184.9 million euros in the first quarter of 2026.
Elsewhere, Franco-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics also reported first-quarter results above estimates, pointing to signs of recovery in its key semiconductor markets.
($1 = 0.8548 euros)
(Reporting by Ozan Ergenay in Gdansk, editing by Matt Scuffham)
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