IT News on October 10th: According to reports by Korean media The Elec, ASML, the world's largest semiconductor equipment manufacturer, has decided to uniformly increase the prices of replacement parts for lithography machines supplied to the Korean market by 10%.

This price increase applies to all spare parts for extreme ultraviolet lithography machines and deep ultraviolet lithography machines, with the new prices taking effect for products supplied starting from January 2027.

Industry insiders reported that the headquarters of ASML submitted a price increase proposal to Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix through its Korean subsidiary at the beginning of September. After negotiations with the purchasing departments of both companies, the price increase was finally finalized.

The price increase not only applies to consumables purchased regularly but also includes important components that need to be replaced due to malfunctions or decreased performance. Lithography machines are equipped with a large number of precision parts, including optical components such as lenses and mirrors responsible for light transmission, as well as light sources and precision drive devices. The increase in the cost of spare parts means that the daily operating costs of the equipment will also increase.

ASML In the past, price adjustments to corresponding parts were only made when there were significant increases in raw material costs or difficulties in purchasing certain materials. This time, a uniform 10% price increase has been applied to all spare parts, which is not a common practice.

A semiconductor industry insider said, "The general increase in prices of materials used for components is indeed one reason, but since customers are making money, ASML also wants to earn more profits as well."

ASML will separately track the revenue from after-sales service, spare parts, and upgrades for customers' installed devices. In 2025, this segment of business generated 8.193 billion euros in revenue (Note from IT: at current exchange rates, this is approximately 61.529 billion yuan), accounting for 25% of the company's total revenue of 32.667 billion euros (at current exchange rates, which is about 245.328 billion yuan). ASML expects that this business segment's revenue to grow by more than 30% this year.

In addition to spare parts, the prices of devices for new orders with ASML are also likely to increase. ASML is still in discussions with major customers regarding raising the selling prices of the devices.

Semiconductor industry insiders believe that after Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix accept ASML's comprehensive price increase plan, other equipment and component suppliers will also have more confidence to request price increases.