Here is the bad news along with some words of encouragement
PR Newswire - November 13, 1998 19:14
CHANDLER, Ariz., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- SpeedFam International, Inc. (Nasdaq: SFAM) today announced that it anticipates lower than expected total revenue, ranging from $19.5 million to $22 million, for the second fiscal quarter ending November 30, 1998. This compares with total revenue of $56.5 million for the same quarter a year earlier. The company attributed its revenue expectations for second-quarter fiscal 1999 to slower sales of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems in the semiconductor device market worldwide, as well as continued weakness in the thin film memory disk media and silicon wafer markets.
As a result of its lower revenue expectations, SpeedFam anticipates a greater than expected net loss, ranging from $4.7 million to $5.0 million, or a loss of $0.25 to $0.29 per share. This compares with net earnings of $7.6 million, or $0.49 per share fully diluted, for the same quarter a year earlier.
The company acknowledged that its expectations of second-quarter fiscal 1999 results are preliminary, subject to the closing of its books and the completion of customary quarterly closing procedures by company management and independent auditors. SpeedFam plans to announce its final results for the quarter on December 22, 1998.
New CMP Orders from U.S. and Korea
In separate news, SpeedFam announced that it has booked a total of $16.4 million in orders for its Auriga line of CMP systems -- some with hydrofluoric acid (HF) post-CMP cleaning capabilities -- from three major semiconductor manufacturers in the United States and Korea. Shipments for the first $6.4 million of these orders are expected to occur in November 1998. The remaining $10-million order from a Korean customer is in backlog and expected to be shipped by the end of the third quarter.
"While we're disappointed with our second-quarter results, we're encouraged by the improvement of our CMP backlog and book-to-bill ratio," said Richard J. Faubert, president and chief executive officer of SpeedFam International. "The recent orders from the U.S. and Korea provide continued market validation of our CMP process technology and competitive strength." |
