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... we can expect more downward revisions, especially if management cannot or will not clear the air
As much as I like Cymer's near-monopolistic market presence its management's PR is bush-league. Compare, if you will, Akins/Angus's recent foggy statements with that of Chuck Haggerty, CEO of Western Digital, coming to the defense of WDC at yesterday's Solomon's conference.
" Before turning it over to questions, thought I would address the heavy activity and downward pressure on WDC and the drive stocks yesterday and put it in perspective. Some analysts voiced concern about the summer being more price competitive. That's not news. Summer's been summer for as long as I have been in the drives business.
Channel's been competitive, pricing is tough, and that will pressure
gross margins a bit, but we continue to see strong overall demand,
especially among the strategic OEM customers like Compaq, Dell and IBM. From a unit perspective, we would expect to see solid sequential unit growth this quarter--probably higher than people are expecting-- versus record June quarter shipmemts of 6.2 million drives.
We are confident of posting an EPS number within the range of 77 to 88 cents, probably at the low-end of that range, resulting in our 16th
consecutive quarter of solid profitability! Whatever the final number
this quarter, it's serious money in what is seasonally the softest
quarter of the year.
In the scheme of things, if this is the worst it gets in the
industry's most competitive quarter, I would submit this further
strengthens the case that this is a great industry to invest in! This
is a far cry from the price wars of yesterday! Furthermore, the outlook for strong sequential unit, revenue and profitability growth in the December quarter remains intact. "
[The above is courtesy of the Jerry Kline, Klein-Pavlis Financial, newsletter]
Note what Haggerty's statement did to WDC -- upgraded estimates/recommendations and the stock's slide instantly turned around even with the rest of the market diving. Cymer desperately needs better PR representation, IMO. Akins & co. seem indifferent to CYMI's being clobbered.
Tulvio
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