Price war does not sound good.
I wouldn't say that a 'war' is in the offing. Akins comments make clear that Cymer is willing to cede that portion of the market that competes on price and price alone. If you don't care if your laser is under-powered, has inferior dosage control, and takes a long time to get repaired, then yes, buy the cheapest brand you can find. Here's how he put it in the CC:
Our competitors, who have in the past competed with Cymer on parameters of performance, reliability, and productivity, are currently resorting to lowering their prices. And for some portion of the lithography tool manufacturing business, the cheapest laser may be the most attractive choice. Frankly speaking, we don't compete on price, we compete on value. In fact, over the course of the downturn last year, and faced with competition, we brought new product to market of substantially higher demonstratable [sic] value, especially in terms of improved resolution, higher throughput, and lower cost of operation. And then priced products in such a manner as to share that increased value with our customers, resulting in higher ASPs [average sales price] for Cymer. While we are certainly not immune to pricing pressure, especially in volume purchasing situations, we have found that our knowledgeable customers are accepting a price formula that will yield Cymer the appropriate margins for our necessary ongoing investment n R&D, manufacturing, and service, which supports their future product and manufacturing roadmaps. The portion of the market that we desire long-term is that value-driven and more profitable business.
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