UPDATE 1-Chip equipment orders halt decline in October -SEMI
Mon Nov 22, 2004 06:43 PM ET
(Adds details, analyst comment)
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 22 (Reuters) - North American makers of microchip manufacturing equipment saw orders rise 3 percent in October from September levels, breaking a three-month period of decline.
Orders for the month were $1.39 billion, up from September orders of $1.35 billion, according to a release from Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International.
The ratio of orders to shipments, known as the book-to-bill ratio, rose to 0.96 from 0.94, meaning that $96 in orders were received for every $100 of products billed for the month.
Sales growth for chip-making equipment sales is expected to moderate next year after expanding an expected 63 percent growth rate this year. Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) , the industry's largest player, warned that orders in the current quarter will drop a larger-than-expected 35 percent.
"I don't think it's anything but an intermediate pause before we go lower," said Banc of America Securities analyst Mark FitzGerald.
Following are details on North American chip equipment bookings, billings and the book-to-bill ratio. Figures for bookings and billings are three-month moving averages, and are shown in millions of U.S. dollars.
Billings Bookings Book-to-bill May 2004 1,412.7 1,559.6 1.10 June 2004 1,503.4 1,609.1 1.07 July 2004 1,526.9 1,587.4 1.04 August 2004 1,497.8 1,510.8 1.01 September (final) 1,441.2 1,349.8 0.94 October (prelim.) 1,443.4 1,392.1 0.96 |
