Guess it was to be expected, but not by this much:
ATMI Reduces Outlook for Second and Third Quarters; Revenues Down as Semiconductor Industry Decelerates
DANBURY, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 30, 1998--ATMI Inc. (Nasdaq:ATMI), today announced that it expects earnings for its second and third quarters to be as much as 50 percent below earnings levels in the comparable quarters in 1997.
The company also anticipates that revenues will be down over 20 percent from the first quarter of 1998 as customers slow production and reduce inventories.
Gene Banucci, CEO said, "The semiconductor industry seems to have shifted into a lower gear at the start of the second quarter. Demand for all our products has been very soft as customers reduce wafer starts and, in some cases, turn off capacity. There is a reasonable amount of customer optimism that this slowdown is short lived -- especially for our consumable products, which are used to manufacture semiconductor devices. That opinion, combined with the company's belief that it is continuing to gain market share in each of its market segments, causes us to remain positive about our longer term prospects."
Dan Sharkey, CFO commented, "In addition to ATMI's consumable products being affected by the industry softening, it is clear to us that this wafer start slowdown is reducing semiconductor plant utilization, thereby stretching out any capacity additions even further. Therefore, we expect the equipment portion of our business will be under pressure for some time. In anticipation of that earnings pressure, the company is taking steps to control costs and reduce expenses by selected temporary plant shutdowns, salary reductions for executive staff, a hiring freeze, etcetera. However, overall, we intend to remain aggressively growth-oriented. The semi-conductor industry is adjusting to excess capacity, the Asian crisis, and other difficulties; but long-term, the company believes that market share and innovation will be rewarded. Therefore, ATMI does not intend to cut back on R&D, new product introductions, or the consideration of opportunistic acquisitions during this period."
ATMI provides products and services for semiconductor device manufacture, including thin film materials and delivery systems marketed through ADCS, environmental equipment marketed through EcoSys, thin film deposition services marketed through Epitronics, and sub-atmospheric gas delivery systems marketed through NovaSource. |
