Sure would be stimulating if there were more alternative metals used by ESI's customers. I keep hoping they can get a good move diversifying out of DRAM.
Regards, Mark
Novellus CEO Hill Predicts Increase in Orders: Bloomberg Forum
San Francisco, July 13 (Bloomberg) -- Novellus Systems Inc., the second-biggest U.S. maker of equipment used to put metal in semiconductors, is finding that demand for its products is strong and orders could rise faster than 10 percent from quarter to quarter in the second half, said Chief Executive Richard Hill.
''Bookings are robust,'' he told the Bloomberg Forum. ''Ten percent from quarter to quarter is pretty significant, but it could be north of that.''
That's a turnaround from the second half of 1998, when a steep, industry-wide decline in demand for chip equipment led to a drop in orders. Earnings fell with orders and sales, tumbling 64 percent to $8.14 million in the fourth quarter.
Hill declined to forecast sales or profit for the second half or 2000, though he said the long-term outlook is rosy enough that Novellus expects to sell $2 billion of equipment a year within 5 years. That compares with 1998 sales of $518.8 million.
''There's a lot of buying for technology, and Novellus is getting more than its fair share,'' Hill said.
Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International, a trade association, today forecast that worldwide sales of chip equipment will increase 9 percent this year, 18 percent in 2000 and 22 percent in 2001. Sales plunged 21 percent in 1998 to $21.8 billion, it said.
Novellus sells machines that deposit the ultra-thin layers of metal or insulation that become the wiring, or interconnects, in a chip. It's best known for products that make interconnects with copper, a metal that slowly is becoming the standard in chips, replacing aluminum.
Hill, in San Francisco to attend the Semicon West trade show, expects that within three years, half or more of the equipment bought to make interconnects will be copper-related. It's a small percentage today.
Shares of San Jose, California-based Novellus fell 2 3/8 to 69 9/16.
Jul/13/1999 20:20
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