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Technology Stocks : Micron Only Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Tim McCormick who wrote (48944)	10/4/1999 5:52:00 PM
From: Thomas G. Busillo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 53903

Tim, they just posted them on the MU site. micron.com Boise, Idaho, October 4, 1999 — Micron Technology, Inc., today reported a net loss for its fiscal year ended September 2, of $69 million, or $0.26 per share - diluted, on net sales of $3.8 billion. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999, the Company's net sales were $1.1 billion and the net loss was $18 million, or $0.07 per share - diluted, compared to net sales of $864 million and net loss of $28 million, or $0.10 per share - diluted for the third fiscal quarter. Net loss for fiscal 1998 was $247 million, or $1.15 per share - diluted, on net sales of $3.0 billion. Results of operations for fiscal 1998 included a $38 million after-tax gain ($0.18 per share - diluted) on the sale in the second fiscal quarter of substantially all of the Company's holdings in its contract-manufacturing subsidiary. The losses incurred in fiscal 1999 were primarily due to depressed average selling prices for the Company's semiconductor memory products. Per megabit prices declined approximately 40% in fiscal 1999 following a 60% decline in fiscal 1998 and a 75% decline in fiscal 1997. During late August and September average selling prices for semiconductor memory increased significantly. The Company is unable to predict whether these higher average selling prices are sustainable. Megabit sales of semiconductor memory were 187% higher in fiscal 1999 than in 1998, principally as a result of manufacturing efficiencies, aggressive transitions from .21µ to .18µ line-width devices, and the acquisition of substantially all of the semiconductor memory operations of Texas Instruments in October 1998. The Company's semiconductor operations gross margin was 25% for fiscal 1999 as compared to 6% for fiscal 1998. The gross margin improvement during the year was primarily the result of reduced costs per megabit for semiconductor memory products achieved through shrinks of existing products and the aggressive transition to .18µ technology. In the fourth fiscal quarter of 1999, megabit sales of the Company's semiconductor memory increased 80% over the third fiscal quarter. The Company fulfilled a significant portion of the fourth quarter demand from finished goods inventory held at the beginning of the quarter. Total megabits of memory produced in the fourth quarter was modestly higher than the immediately preceding quarter. The gross margin for semiconductor operations remained relatively flat at 23% in the fourth fiscal quarter. Average selling prices per megabit declined 23% in the fourth fiscal quarter as compared to the third fiscal quarter. Declines in average selling prices were substantially offset by realization of lower costs per megabit sold, including lower costs on devices previously held in inventory. Net sales for the Company's computer systems decreased as a percentage of the Company's total net sales from 50% in fiscal 1998 to 33% in fiscal 1999. Unit sales of COMPUTER systems remained relatively flat in fiscal 1999 as compared to fiscal 1998, while average selling prices for these systems declined 12% as a result of intense competition, principally in the Company's consumer market. The Company's gross margin on computer systems was 15% in fiscal 1999 as compared to 12% in fiscal 1998. The Company's computer systems had an improvement in gross margin in the fourth fiscal quarter to 18% as compared to 16% in the third fiscal quarter in spite of a 7% decline in average selling prices. Fourth quarter computer systems unit sales were 4% higher than the third quarter of fiscal 1999. Steve Appleton, Chairman, CEO and President commented on the fiscal 1999 results: "Our team members around the world should be recognized for having established Micron as a global leader in semiconductor memory while maintaining our position as the lowest cost DRAM manufacturer. Although we cannot determine if recent memory price increases will be sustained, current market conditions are encouraging. We are pleased with the integration of our international semiconductor teams, the execution of our cost reduction strategies and ramp of .18µ technology, and improvements made by our Computer systems team in asset management." Good trading, Tom

To: Tim McCormick who wrote (48944)	10/4/1999 6:11:00 PM
From: Thomas G. Busillo	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 53903

You can always count on the Kipster: Declines in average selling prices were substantially offset by realization of lower costs per megabit sold, including lower costs on devices previously held in inventory. Um...it was the Kipster who went out about a month ago and was spinning some tale about how "older inventory", specifically the higher costs of older inventory, would mute the effect of rising prices right? Now not only do they blow away the number (not that hard to do when you consider the % of dumb-asses making up that number...well, okay, let's be fair here...either they're dumb-asses or they are sleazoids who intentionally sat on their estimates hoping for an upside surprise...) Now it's "lower costs on devices previously held in inventory"? How do you come up with that scenario? The scenario being, you send captain tout out ahead of time talking down the quarter by throwing out concerns over "older inventory" and now they blow it out and guess who refers to "lower costs on devices previously held in inventory" - the Kipster. Other than writing down inventory, which they don't mention, so there's no reason to believe they did, what's the explaination? Good trading, Tom