Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tony Viola who wrote (31641)	7/27/1999 1:53:00 AM
From: Jeffrey D	Respond to of 70976

Prudential's Wachtel likes AMAT. Jeff Dow Jones Online News, Monday, July 26, 1999 at 11:54 NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Despite "summer doldrums" hitting the markets, Prudential Securities Inc. market strategist Larry Wachtel said certain industries are showing improvement. "The semiconductor industry is in a cyclical wave upwards," Wachtel said during a CNBC interview Monday. Wachtel likes Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. (VTSS) and Intel Corp. (INTC) in that sector. On the chip equipment side, he suggests Novellus Systems Inc. (NVLS) and Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT). Meanwhile, Wachtel said the retail sector continues to grow because "consumers are still in a spending mood." The market strategist said he's buying specialty retailer Intimate Brands Inc. (IBI) and discount giant Dayton Hudson Corp. (DH). Wachtel also noted stable oil prices have helped companies including Chevron Corp (CVR) and USX-Marathon Group (MRO). -By Laura Elizabeth Pohl; 201-938-5392 Copyright (c) 1999 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. >>

To: Tony Viola who wrote (31641)	7/27/1999 2:23:00 AM
From: Jeffrey D	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

TSM earnings. Jeff TSMC 2nd-Qtr Earnings Jump 60% to NT$6.0 Bln; Output at Record Hsinchu, Taiwan, July 27 (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the world's largest maker of custom-designed chips, said net profit surged in the second quarter as output jumped to an all-time high. Net profit rose 60 percent to NT$6.0 billion ($186 million) from NT$3.76 billion a year earlier, TSMC said. That translates into earnings per share of NT$0.80, beating the NT$0.68 to NT$0.78 range estimated by three fund managers. TSMC said it shipped a record 420,000 eight-inch equivalent wafers in the three months to June, and the 0.25-micron wafers, which are among the company's highest-margin products, accounted for 21 percent of sales during the period. No comparative figures were provided. ''The main drivers for the profit growth were higher prices and better margins,'' said Simon Chao, who manages NT$1.6 billion for President Investment Trust Corp. ''The growth is very likely to continue through next year.'' TSCM stock makes up 5 percent of Chao's portfolio. TSMC is benefiting from stronger demand for chips used in mobile phones, computers and consumer electronics. Orders from Philips Electronics NV, Motorola Inc. and Cirrus Logic Inc. of the U.S. bolstered TSMC's second-quarter sales by 43 percent to a record NT$16.59 billion. To capture the rising demand, TSMC and its unit Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. last month made two acquisitions to secure additional capacity. TSMC paid $170 million for a 30 percent stake in Acer Inc.'s chip unit, and Vanguard spent $83 million for 11 percent of Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. ''We expect TSMC's earnings to grow 30 percent each in the third and the fourth quarter'' annually, said George Lee, manager of the NT$2.8 billion Precision Fund at Fubon Securities Investment Trust Co. Lee has 4 percent of his money in TSMC shares. In the first half, TSMC earned NT$10.1 billion after tax, or NT$1.34 per share, compared with NT$10.7 billion or NT$1.42 per share a year ago. Some 70 percent of TSMC's sales come from fabless design houses, which are semiconductor designers that don't make their own chips, such as Cirrus Logic. The rest comes from Philips and other chip manufacturers in the U.S., Europe and Japan. TSMC makes chips to customer specifications and doesn't compete with its clients, whose brands appear on TSMC's products. Today, the stock dropped 5.3 percent to NT$107.50 before the earnings were disclosed, capping its gain at 67 percent in the last 12 months. (All figures in millions of New Taiwan dollars, rounded) 2Q 99 2Q 98 Y-o-Y% 1Q 99 Q-o-Q% Change Change ---------------------------------------------------------- Net Profit 6,022 3,758 +60.3% 4,090 +47.3% EPS 0.8 *0.5 +60.3% 0.54 +47.3% Pretax Earnings 5,914 2,881 +105.3% 4,112 +43.8% Jan.-June 99 Jan.-June 98 Y-o-Y% Change --------------------------------------------------------- Net Profit 10,112 10,705 -5.5% EPS 1.34 1.42 -5.5% Pretax Earnings 10,026 9,414 +6.5% EPS on a post-split basis. EPS before the stock split was NT$0.62.

To: Tony Viola who wrote (31641)	7/28/1999 9:32:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

PC Summer Sales Weaken in Japan in Fourth Week of June July 28, 1999 (TOKYO) -- Personal computer sales in Japan during the 1999 summer season slowed down. According to the figures collected by GfK Japan Ltd. which monitors POS data at large appliance shops, PC sales at 2,000 shops during the fourth week of June (June 28 to July 4, 1999) increased 3.8 percent in the number of units sold and 3.2 percent in value from the previous week. Year-on-year sales rose 78.4 percent in units and 74.4 percent in value. These figures all fell below the levels recorded in the previous surveyed week (June 21-27, 1999). The average sales price was down 1,262 yen to 218,520 yen from the previous week's 219,782 yen. (115.77 yen = US$1) Sales of desktop/tower PCs decreased in value due to a short supply for high-priced LCD models and 17-in. CRT models. The average sales price for these products was also down by 3,462 yen. Notebooks also declined by 913 yen, and 14.1-in. LCD models are short in supply. New models with Microsoft Office 2000 pre-installed were scheduled to be in shops in the following week of the survey period (the first week of July). This will probably push up sales, though not to the extent of the explosive buying spree observed last year when Windows 98 was launched. GfK Japan collects POS data from 55 IT-related retail sales companies centering on high-volume stores specializing in home electric appliances. It covers about 3,200 stores (as of April 1998) throughout Japan. In cooperation with GfK Japan, Nikkei Market Access provides weekly reports of PC sales in volume and value. The sales data has been based on the same 41 companies (with about 2,000 stores) since April 1996. The number of PCs sold at the 2,000 stores is estimated to comprise about 10 percent of gross domestic shipments, and when limiting the sales to retail sales channel, the share comes to about 25 percent of such shipments. The following graphs are at the Nikkei Market Access Web site in Japanese only: - Trends in the number of (all types of) PCs sold in a week. - Trends in the sales amount (in money) of (all types of) PCs in a week. - Trends in the average sales price of (all types of) PCs sold in a week. - Trends in the number of desktop PCs sold in a week. - Trends in the sales amount of desktop PCs in a week. - Trends in the average sales price of desktop PCs in a week. - Trends in the number of notebook PCs sold in a week. - Trends in the sales amount of notebook PCs in a week. - Trends in the average sales price of notebook-size PCs in a week. nikkeibp.asiabiztech.com