Motorola Sees Some Semiconductor Upturn
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Motorola Inc. (MOT - news)'s semiconductor products segment said Tuesday it still sees evidence of an upturn in the beleaguered sector although it is too early to call it a bonafide turnaround.
On Aug. 4, Hector Ruiz, president of Motorola's semiconductor products segment, told Wall Street analysts at a meeting here that he was optimistic the semiconductor slump was easing.
Motorola spokesman Ken Phillips said that remains the case this month.
''We have seen evidence of at least a stabilization in some of our businesses,'' Phillips said. ''Some parts of the markets are better than others.'' While unit demand remains high, it is the pricing that is beginning to stabilize, he said.
Earlier Tuesday, Cleveland-based Eaton Corp. (ETN - news) said semiconductor industry activity shows no sign of bottoming. The company said its semiconductor equipment sales would be 40 percent lower in 1998 than 1997.
''Like other industry participants, Eaton has been surprised by the unprecedented severity of conditions in the semiconductor equipment industry,'' the company said in a statement.
In June, the Semiconductor Industry Association revised its forecast to call for a 1.8 percent decline in global sales, although some industry analysts said that was perhaps still overly optimistic.
Motorola, which is the largest supplier of semiconductors to the auto industry, said that demand in that market has been very good. The computing and networking markets have also been relatively strong, Phillips said.
In the second quarter, Motorola's semiconductor products segment sales fell 11 percent to $1.81 billion from the year- earlier period. Orders fell 25 percent.
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