ASML reports accidental earnings disclosure to Dutch market regulator

By Toby Sterling

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) -Computer chip equipment maker ASML has informed the Dutch markets regulator of its accidental early disclosure of third-quarter earnings in what it described as a "technical error", the company said on Wednesday.

ASML said in a statement it had reached out to the relevant financial authorities immediately following the incident.

A spokesperson for the Netherlands' Financial Markets Authority (AFM) said it could not comment on whether it would investigate the matter, as it is bound by law not to disclose its conversations with firms.

"An important point is that information must be distributed to shareholders at the same time," the spokesperson said.

ASML published the press release containing its third-quarter earnings on its website during trading hours, a half day earlier than planned. They included a downgrade in sales and bookings forecasts for 2025, leading to the biggest selloff in its shares in 20 years.

CEO Christophe Fouquet apologised on a call with analysts on Wednesday, calling it "unfortunate" given the seriousness of the forecast downgrade.

The Netherlands' shareholder organization VEB reacted with dismay to the disclosure, but noted it was not the early disclosure, but the bad news, that led to the share sell-off.

"For a company which is the largest listed company in the Netherlands and also the leading technology company in Europe... it is not what we would expect from ASML," said VEB head Gerben Everts in an interview.

"They must be ashamed that this happened and that it was so prominently in the news."

ASML had a similar incident during its 2022 investor day, when an SEC filing on the company's outlook was published ahead of the Dutch schedule.

Everts, himself a former AFM board member, said he did not believe shareholders have cause to sue for damages over the incident, or that the AFM will eventually issue any penalty worse than ASML's public embarrassment.

But he took issue with ASML labelling the incident a technical error. "This is a human mistake," he said. "Everybody makes mistakes."

(Reporting by Toby Sterling; Editing by Varun H K and Jan Harvey)