Samsung Electronics Co. has announced that it has divested some of its shares in the Dutch semiconductor equipment maker ASML Holdings N.V., resulting in a $2.2 billion gain for the South Korean tech giant.
According to the company’s semi-annual report released on Monday, Samsung’s ownership of Veldhoven-based ASML decreased to 2.75 million shares, or 0.7 percent, at the end of June, from the 6.29 million shares, or 1.6 percent, it held at the end of March.
The transaction enabled Samsung, the world’s largest memory chip manufacturer, to reap the financial benefits of the sale.
Samsung has been working with ASML, one of its major chipmaking partners and the sole producer of extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography systems, since 2000 to improve its semiconductor manufacturing capabilities.
In 2012, the South Korean tech giant invested around 400 billion won in ASML’s research and development of next-gen lithography technologies over the next five years.
Samsung also purchased a 3 percent stake in ASML for about 700 billion won at that time, and sold off half of the stake four years later for 600 billion won.
The report further showed that Samsung earned around 115 billion won by selling 2.38 million shares of BYD Co., China’s leading electric carmaker. It made 67.6 billion won after selling 1.54 million shares of SFA Engineering, a machinery company based in Hwaseong, South Korea.
In February, Samsung stated that it would borrow 20 trillion won from Samsung Display at an interest rate of 4.6 percent to secure cash flows.
This series of actions is seen as Samsung’s dedication to its investment drive, even as smaller rivals, such as SK hynix and Micron Technology, have decided to reduce their spending in the industry’s unfavorable period.
Samsung spent 23 trillion won for chip infrastructure in the first half. In the most recent quarter, it spent 7.2 trillion won for research and development, more than 10 times the quarter’s operating profit.
Samsung’s chip business has incurred losses of 8.94 trillion won so far this year, as macroeconomic issues have had a negative effect on demand for chips used in electronic devices from mobile phones to computers to cars.
In the first quarter, Samsung’s chip division reported an operating loss of 4.6 trillion won, its first financial loss in 14 years, as chip inventories grew significantly due to diminishing global demand. Prior to that, the division recorded losses in the first quarter of 2009.
This file photo, taken Aug. 10, 2021, shows the corporate logo of Samsung Electronics Co. at its office building in Seoul. (Yonhap)
jaeyeon.woo@yna.co.kr
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