Tokyo Electron Q1 profit up 23 pct, lifts out
Fri Jul 28, 2006
TOKYO, July 28 (Reuters) - Japan's Tokyo Electron Ltd. said on Friday its quarterly profit rose 23 percent on record-high equipment orders, and it raised its annual forecast to be in line with market expectations.
Orders for semiconductor equipment and flat panel making devices more than doubled to a quarterly record 215 billion yen ($1.86 billion) on a parent-only basis, besting the previous 214 billion yen record logged in July-September in 2000.
"Semiconductor equipment improved on all fronts, and we expect DRAM and NAND-flash chip equipment to grow for the full year," said Minoru Matsushita, director of Tokyo Electron's corporate communications department.
The company, the world's second-largest supplier of chip-making tools behind Applied Materials Inc, posted a net profit of 16.3 billion yen in the April-June quarter, up from 13.2 billion yen a year earlier.
Tokyo Electron's new 70 billion yen forecast for the full business year to March matches the consensus estimate of 20 analysts polled by Reuters Estimates, and is 11 percent higher than the company's previous forecast.
Like other chip equipment makers, Tokyo Electron is basking in a worldwide semiconductor rebound, with semiconductor makers revving up spending to meet growing demand.
First-quarter revenue was bolstered by high demand for liquid crystal display drivers and for NAND-flash memory, which is used in portable music players and digital cameras and which makes up 30 percent of Tokyo Electron's equipment sales.
Sales rose 12 percent to 179.2 billion yen in the quarter, with sales of flat panel display making devices quadrupling in Japan, outweighing a 46 percent dip in such tools to Taiwan, while chip equipment sales grew 45 percent in Japan and 53 percent in Europe.
Tokyo Electron expects annual group sales to grow 19 percent to 800 billion yen in 2006/07, projecting 22 percent growth in chip making devices and 18 percent growth in flat panel display making devices.
The industry's uptrend was also reflected in strong results at Japanese chip tester maker Advantest Corp. (6857.T: Quote, NEWS, Research), which posted a 47 percent quarterly profit rise earlier this week.
Analysts say demand for chip-making equipment may be at a cyclical peak, with a possible lull in July-September, but expect demand to regain momentum in the second fiscal half as the holiday shopping season whets consumer appetite for new gadgets.
Tokyo Electron's share price fell 1.5 percent in the three months to June 30, although it outperformed the Tokyo stock exchange's electrical machinery index, which fell 7.5 percent in the same period.
Prior to the announcement, shares in Tokyo Electron rose 1.7 percent to 7,290 yen in line with a rise in the electrical machinery index. |
