Nikon drops the most in 9 months on outlook cut
Reuters
(08/06/2009 1:54 AM EDT)
URL: eetimes.com
TOKYO, Aug 6 -- Shares in Japanese camera and precision equipment maker Nikon Corp. tumbled the most in nine months on Thursday after it announced a surprise outlook cut, erasing two weeks of gains.
Nikon warned the previous day that it expected its annual operating loss to more than double to a loss of 30 billion yen ($316 million) from a loss of 12 billion yen after disposing of unsold semiconductor equipment.
Shares in Nikon, which competes with Netherlands-based ASML in chip equipment and with Canon Inc in digital cameras, were down 8.4 percent at 1,721 yen after dropping as much as 12.1 percent.
"I think today's share price fall is a bit of an overshoot, but that said, I don't expect a positive catalyst for the next six months either," said Barclays Capital analyst Masahiro Nakanomyo, who reiterated his "equal rating" on the shares.
Nikon, which is locked in a bitter feud for market share with ASML, is still waiting for a recovery in the loss-strewn chip market and a new burst of growth in digital SLR cameras.
Nakanomyo said that the probability of such an event to strengthen his outlook on Nikon in six months to two years from now was "about 30 percent."
Chip makers including Intel Corp and Samsung Electronics are challenging technological limits in shrinking circuitry as they pack more power onto each sliver of silicon and make electronics lighter, faster and more energy-efficient.
As the cost of investing in new equipment rises, loss-weary chipmakers are postponing investing in new multimillion dollar lithography machines, which print circuitry onto silicon wafers to make semiconductors.
Weaker chipmakers such as Elpida Memory Inc are opting to shrink chips using existing machines to cram more power onto each piece of silicon.
Much hangs on Nikon's current strength in digital SLR cameras and its ability to launch compelling models as competition heats up with Canon and rivals including Sony Corp and Olympus Corp, Nikon executives and analysts said. ($1=95.06 Yen) (Reporting by Mayumi Negishi; Editing by Joseph Radford) |
