KLA-Tenor profit, sales seen rising
Analyst sees optimistic outlook from chip equipment maker
By Matt Andrejczak, MarketWatch
Last Update: 1:52 PM ET April 28, 2005
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - KLA-Tencor Corp., the No. 2 U.S. maker of chip equipment, is expected to report a higher profit on stronger sales when it delivers its fiscal third-quarter results after the market closes.
KLA-Tencor is forecast to make 56 cents a share, up 69% from the year-ago period, on revenue of $528 million, up 35%, according to analysts polled by Thomson First Call.
The stock dropped 14 cents to $40.24 in mid-afternoon trades.
Based in San Jose, Calif., KLA-Tencor (KLAC: news, chart, profile) is coming off a strong quarter in which sales outran Wall Street's expectations.
It is expected to be a beneficiary of Intel's plan to boost capital spending this year, analysts predict. KLA makes tools that check for defects in the chip making process.
Another positive, analysts say: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSM: news, chart, profile) \, one of the world's biggest spenders on chip equipment, this week maintained its capital spending plans of $2.5 billion to $2.7 billion.
Legg Mason analyst Patrick Ho predicts KLA-Tencor's "outlook will be relatively optimistic." He foresees company orders gaining from March to June due to the six month lead times it receives to fill orders.
ThinkEquity analyst Suresh Balarman is not so sure. He estimates KLA-Tencor's order book will slip from $440 million in March to $400 million in June.
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