Lithography systems manufacturer ASML Holding NV today ramped up its outlook for Q3, now expecting unit orders to be at about Q2 order intake levels, when the company reported 93 new orders.

The guidance is 50 percent higher than previously indicated. After posting a record-breaking Q2, ASML projected that it would ship only 62 systems in Q3.

The company attributed the upgrade to strong demand from several memory makers, both DRAM and NAND flash. The orders are across the ASML product range, as a number of customers that have been using ASML's advanced ArF and KrF systems are now also ordering i-line systems in volume, the company reported.

The orders boost is also indicative of the need for capacity, as customers build new fabs for 2007, Eric Meurice, ASML's president and CEO, said in a statement. "As a result, we expect that our 2006 net sales will increase by approximately 40 percent year-on-year."

About 75 percent of the new orders expected in Q3 will be for shipments in 2007, ASML concluded.