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

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (43947)	3/19/2001 9:36:22 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

DuPont Photomasks says slump now hitting reticle segment, cuts estimates Semiconductor Business News (03/19/01 05:07 a.m. PST) ROUND ROCK, Tex. -- DuPont Photomasks Inc. today (March 19) lowered its estimates for results in the company's current fiscal third quarter, and it said it was cutting capital spending as well as putting a freeze on hiring with the exception of R&D positions. DPI now predicts that revenues will sequentially grow by just 1-to-5% from the prior three-month period instead of 5-to-11%. The photomask maker now expects revenues to be between $108-to-$112 million in the quarter, ending March 31. In January, the company indicated that sequential growth in photomask sales were strong because new chip design activity was holding up despite weakness across capital spending segments (see Jan. 23 story). But the lithography reticle business is now feeling the pinch of the sharp downturn in semiconductors. "Typically, design activity remains strong across all product types during early phases of a weakening semiconductor market," said Peter Kirlin, chairman and chief executive officer of DPI. "However, given the unprecedented breadth, depth and steepness of the current downturn, our customers are rapidly implementing significant cost cutting measures, including a slowdown in design releases especially at the trailing edge. This softening of demand for trailing edge photomasks is occurring a few quarters earlier than anticipated." The Round Rock mask supplier said its fiscal third-quarter earnings are expected to be in the $0.53-to-0.66 range, or 33-to-65% greater than profits in the period last year. Until today's announcement, Wall Street's consensus for DuPont Photomasks was $0.80 per share, based on a survey of analysts by First Call/Thomson Financial. "In order to help manage our costs during these uncertain times, we are reducing discretionary spending and capital investment, and we have implemented a headcount freeze across the company," Kirlin said. "The headcount freeze exempts our research and development organization. We are continuing to drive development of advanced photomask process and product technologies to ensure we maintain a technology leadership position in the advanced photomask segment at 0.18-micron and below device design rules," he added.