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.

Strategies & Market Trends : Electronic Contract Manufacture (ECM) Sector -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sam who wrote (2433)	9/11/2000 4:33:56 PM
From: G.M. Flinn	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2542

SLR nailed it. $.27 vs. $.17 biz.yahoo.com Monday September 11, 4:02 pm Eastern Time Press Release SOURCE: Solectron Corp. Solectron Reports 75 Percent Sales Growth, 65 Percent Earnings Growth in Record Fourth Quarter - Company Delivers 27 Cents Per Diluted Share in Quarter - MILPITAS, Calif., Sept. 11 /CNW/ -- Solectron Corporation (NYSE: SLR - news), the world's leading provider of electronics manufacturing and supply-chain management services, today reported record fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $171 million, or 27 cents per diluted share, compared with year- earlier results of $103.5 million, or 17 cents per diluted share. Sales for the quarter ended Aug. 25 were a record $4.7 billion, a 75 percent increase from $2.7 billion in the year-earlier period. For the fiscal year ended in August, net income increased 42 percent to $497.2 million from $350.3 million in fiscal 1999, while diluted earnings per share increased to 80 cents from 61 cents. The sum of the quarterly results for Solectron was 85 cents per share, excluding pre-acquisition results for pooling-of-interests completed during the year and the impact of non-recurring items. Fourth-quarter and annual sales and earnings results were records for the company. "We delivered an excellent quarter and full year, even as we invested in our ability to handle future growth," said Koichi Nishimura, Ph.D., chairman, president and CEO. "During the year, we completed strategic acquisitions to broaden our range of supply-chain services, we expanded our global footprint with additional facilities in Europe, Asia/Pacific and the Americas, and we further strengthened our leadership team. Above all, we responded to our customers' needs. "We are experiencing robust demand globally, and we enter fiscal 2001 well positioned to build on our success in providing our customers with quality services and our investors with quality earnings," Nishimura said. The Manufacturing and Operations segment had double-digit growth in all regions, led by Asia/Pacific with 41 percent sequential growth in the quarter. Networking equipment was the company's leading customer market segment in the third quarter, with 28 percent of total sales, down 1 percentage point from the third quarter. Telecommunications moved to second place, representing 20 percent of sales in the fourth quarter, compared with 13 percent in the third quarter. During the quarter, Solectron completed the acquisition of Bluegum Group in Australia, assets in Europe and North America from Nortel Networks and an additional manufacturing facility in Brazil from IBM. Gross margin increased to 8.7 percent in the fourth quarter, compared with 8.4 percent in the third quarter. Operating margin improved, as well, to 5.1 percent in the fourth quarter from 4.7 percent in the third quarter. The company said the improvement reflected greater manufacturing efficiencies resulting from business growth and a better flow of component supplies, which more than offset the costs of integrating acquired sites. Inventories increased in the quarter, primarily because of preparations to implement new customer projects and because of asset acquisitions. Return on assets was 7 percent in the fourth quarter, up from 6.3 percent in the third quarter. Return on equity was 18.5 percent, compared with 13.7 percent in the third quarter. The company said supplies of certain commodities eased modestly in the fourth quarter, although demand for several component types continued to outstrip supply. The company said its intensive effort to mitigate supply-base issues contributed to a more reliable supply of components in the fourth quarter. "We continue to operate in a supply-constrained environment. While some commodities have become more available, others continue to be in short supply," Nishimura said. "We expect the industry to experience some degree of supply-demand imbalance into the second half of calendar 2001." Fiscal 2001 Nishimura said the company currently expects to generate sales of $4.8 billion to $5.1 billion and diluted EPS of 27 cents to 28 cents in the first quarter of fiscal 2001 -- exceeding analysts' current consensus expectations. For the year, he said Solectron should generate sales of more than $20 billion and he estimated diluted EPS in a range of $1.12 to $1.15. "Our expectations reflect the current outlook for component supplies and do not include any impact from potential acquisitions this year," Nishimura said. "We are prepared to continue to benefit from strong customer demand and from the continuing trend by OEMs to convert to an outsourced manufacturing model."