Just to give a little perspective here--Sandisk is hardly alone in being caught flat footed by the speed and depth of this slowdown. Below is yet another warning from what by most accounts is the number semiconductor equipment company in the world today, AMAT. More pushous and cancellations of equipment orders is good, less capacity coming on line, perhaps we can avoid a protracted slowdown. I may be "whistling Dixie", but I actually think that we may well have a very sharp, but very brief slowdown here. My guesstimate: by summer, people will be saying, "Slowdown, what slowdown?" There are just too many uses for chips out there, and the uses are growing every week if not every day.
Here is Applied's Warning of the Day:
Applied Materials' First Fiscal Quarter 2001 Results to be Below Expectations
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 2001--Applied Materials, Inc. today announced
that it expects its financial results for the first fiscal quarter ending January 28, 2001 to be below the
targets provided during its earnings conference call on November 15, 2000. Applied Materials will
release its financial results for the first fiscal quarter on February 13, 2001, after the close of the U.S.
stock market.
``Demand for semiconductors began to slow late in the fourth quarter of 2000,'' said James C. Morgan,
chairman and chief executive officer of Applied Materials. ``Inventory buildups in telecommunication
products, slower than expected PC sales and slower global economic growth are now causing
customers to reevaluate their capital spending plans. Since the beginning of January, a number of our
customers have been revising the timing of their capital spending and rescheduling or cancelling existing
backlog, resulting in the postponement in delivery of equipment. Therefore, we expect orders and
revenue to be below our original targets.''
Revenue is expected to be 7-10 percent below the $2.9 - $2.95 billion revenue target issued by the
Company on its November 15, 2000 earnings conference call. First quarter revenue will include only
those 300mm system shipments that have been accepted by customers, and 300mm revenue is in line
with original estimates. Due to the expected revenue shortfall, earnings per share are not expected to
reach the target set by the company. Orders are expected to be below a 1.0 book to bill ratio for the
quarter.
``We will continue to assess the impact of these industry factors on our business and share our outlook
with investors on our February 13, 2001 earnings conference call,'' concluded Morgan. |
