01/15 22:23
Advantest, Tokyo Electron Drop as Orders Decline (Update1)
By Minoru Matsutani
quote.bloomberg.com
Tokyo, Jan. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The shares of Advantest Corp., Tokyo Electron Ltd. and their peers declined after November orders for Japanese-made equipment used to produce semiconductors posted their biggest percentage drop in almost a decade.
The Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan yesterday said worldwide orders for Japanese-made chipmaking equipment plunged 86 percent in November to 24.5 billion yen ($187 million) from the same month a year earlier. The decline was the biggest since the association began releasing the statistics in 1993.
Advantest, the No. 1 maker of computer-memory-chip testers, tumbled as much as 7 percent to 7,090 yen. Tokyo Electron, the second-biggest chip equipment maker after Applied Materials Inc., dropped as much as 6.9 percent to 6,340 yen. Nikon Corp., the second-biggest maker of machines used to etch circuitry onto silicon wafers, fell as much as 7.5 percent to 965 yen.
Demand for equipment such as machines that print circuitry onto chips is sagging as chipmakers reduce production capacity.
The decline in November orders reflects spending cuts by companies such as Toshiba Corp., the second-largest chipmaker, and Samsung Electronics Co., the biggest computer-memory-chip maker. Chipmakers, with the exception of Intel Corp., are paring spending and cutting capacity.
Led by Sony Corp. and Tokyo Electron, the 152-member TOPIX Electric Appliances Index today fell as much as 1.8 percent, extend the index's decline to about 32 percent the past year.
Asian chipmakers and the providers of equipment to chipmakers also fell after Intel Corp., the world's largest semiconductor maker, said fourth-quarter net income dropped 77 percent as sales slumped.
Adding to the gloom, Intel said first-quarter sales will be $6.4 billion to $7 billion, disappointing investors who expected a rosier outlook.
In Japan, Toshiba, the second-largest chipmaker, fell as much as 1.3 percent to 446 yen. NEC Corp., the third-largest chipmaker, fell as much as 3.8 percent to 1,251 yen.
Korean chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co., the largest maker of computer-memory chips, fell as much as 2.9 percent to 303,000 won. |
