** Book To Bill ** Who can find the good news and who can find the not-so-good news and will the street puke up more shares?
North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts July 1999 Book-To-BillRatio of 1.11
Semiconductor Equipment Bookings Up 96 Percent From One Year Ago
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- The North American-based
manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted a July 1999 Book-to-Bill ratio
of 1.11, it was reported by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials
International (SEMI). A book-to-bill of 1.11 means $111 in orders were
received for each $100 worth of products shipped.
The three-month average of worldwide shipments in July 1999 was
$1.3 billion. The figure is essentially flat with the June 1999 level, yet is
14 percent above the July 1998 shipments level of $1.1 billion. The
three-month average of bookings in July 1999 was $1.4 billion. The bookings
figure is eight percent below June 1999 yet is 96 percent above the
July 1998 level of $718 million. Bookings in July 1999 rose to 86 percent of
the previous cycle peak of $1.6 billion reached in November 1997.
"The leveling of orders we're seeing at this stage of the recovery is
consistent with analysts' predictions for slow and relatively steady growth in
this cycle," said Stanley Myers, president of SEMI. "New equipment purchases
have been selective and mostly technology driven. Most analysts concur that
accelerated capital spending will occur when chip companies see stronger
earnings."
The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving average bookings to
three-month moving average shipments for the North American semiconductor
equipment industry. Shipments and bookings figures are in millions of U.S.
dollars.
Month Shipments Bookings Book-to-Bill
February 99 845.0 1,028.8 1.22
March 99 943.5 1,256.9 1.33
April 99 1,099.1 1,405.1 1.28
May 99 (final) 1,216.7 1,514.2 1.24
June 99 (revised) 1,259.1 1,526.4 1.21
July 99 (preliminary) 1,263.7 1,405.7 1.11
The data contained in this release was compiled by the independent public
accounting firm of Arthur Andersen LLP, without audit, from data submitted
directly by the participants. SEMI and Arthur Andersen LLP can assume no
responsibility for the accuracy of the underlying data.
The data are contained in a monthly Express Report published by SEMI that
tracks shipments and orders worldwide of North American-based manufacturers of
equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, not shipments and orders
of the chips themselves. The August 1999 Express Report is scheduled for
publication on September 21, 1999 (subject to change).
Based in Mountain View, Calif., SEMI is an international trade association
serving more than 2,300 companies participating in the $65 billion
semiconductor and flat panel display equipment and materials markets. SEMI
maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow,
Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. Visit SEMI Online at
www.semi.org.
SOURCE Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International
CO: Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International
ST: California
IN: CPR
SU: |
