This is what the street will be looking at tonight.
Preparing for the Future
"Looking ahead, we remain extremely optimistic about the long-term prospects for our market. According to independent market analyst firms, the DUV lithography market is currently projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 28 percent through the year 2000. We plan to leverage the two new products slated for introduction and shipment in the coming year to capitalize on this anticipated long-term growth and further solidify our leadership position," said Akins.
Akins added, "Near term, however, the current Asian economic condition, coupled with the ongoing DRAM supply/demand imbalance, is affecting demand for the lithography equipment that relies on Cymer lasers. Many of the world's leading lithography suppliers, all of which are Cymer customers, are now indicating that their earlier forecasts are under revision due to these changing market conditions. We are also seeing shifts in market share among the suppliers themselves."
"As a result of these factors, and based on information currently available to us, we anticipate a reduction in our revenues by 10 to 15 percent in the first quarter of 1998 from fourth quarter levels. We will closely monitor the situation going forward, consulting with customers on an ongoing basis to ensure that their laser inventory levels are in line with the current demand scenario," noted Akins.
Akins concluded, "1998 will be a year in which our plan is to further distance Cymer from the competition through increased investments throughout the year in: 1) aggressive R&D and manufacturing programs to develop and deliver the higher performance products that will enable higher average selling prices; and 2) further expansion of our global service and support network to support our growing installed based of DUV lasers in production. We currently expect that the investments needed to fund these critical future-oriented efforts, coupled with the anticipated revenue decline, will reduce our quarterly earnings by $0.10 - $0.15 per share in the first quarter of 1998, as compared to our just announced fourth quarter." |
