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

To: Gottfried who wrote (50483)	8/13/2001 10:05:18 PM
From: advocatedevil	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

"Applied Materials ready to report" By Chris Kraeuter, CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 5:41 PM ET Aug. 13, 2001 SANTA CLARA, Calif. (CBS.MW) -- Applied Materials, the world's largest semiconductor equipment maker, will report third-quarter financial results after Tuesday's closing bell. On display will be Applied's ability to remain profitable, for this quarter and coming quarters, even as sales drop to half of year-ago levels. "Applied's management is still trying to lower the break-even point suggesting that business conditions continue to decline and the prospects of a recovery are remote," said Banc of America Securities analyst Mark FitzGerald in a research note. "We do not expect a recovery until the second half of 2002." On Monday, shares (AMAT: news, chart, profile) closed up 36 cents, or 0.8 percent, at $44.84, which is 19 percent above a year-to-date low of $37.81 and 24 percent below a year-to-date high of $58.73. The numbers Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call expect earnings of 3 cents a share on revenue of $1.25 billion, on average. The company, on May 15, set an earnings target for "break-even or slightly better" on revenue of $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion. Until that warning was issued, analysts had expected third-quarter earnings of 22 cents a share on revenue of $1.5 billion. Those estimates had to be reduced after the company said the economic environment remained weak. The entire semiconductor business chain has been battered in 2001. A consumer and corporate spending spree came to a sudden halt as an economic slowdown took hold. Packed with chips they no longer needed due to slack demand, customers of chipmakers stopped buying, which in turn caused the chipmakers to stop buying equipment. Investors have been searching for signs that buying has started again. As recently as July 16, CFO Joe Bronson said the "near term was not a good situation" and that Applied Materials' business environment had not changed for better or worse. During the same quarter last year, net income was $604 million, or 70 cents a share, on revenue of $2.73 billion. During the previous quarter, net income was $226.7 million, or 27 cents a share, on revenue of $1.9 billion. Excluding a restructuring charge, net income was $269 million, or 32 cents a share. Bookings were $1.35 billion. Profit or loss In order to avoid losses, recent investment bank research reports have said Applied has started laying off employees. On August 6, Prudential said layoffs of "a few percent" of Applied's workers had begun and that they affect all divisions. The company declined to comment. See full story. Banc of America's FitzGerald termed the layoffs as "modest" but added that Applied's management is still considering a "major lay-off but has pushed the decision into the September-October timeframe." At the end of April, Applied employed about 20,000 workers, down from 22,000 at the end of January. Also, FitzGerald said the company added five additional shutdown days before the Labor Day weekend and that management is considering shutting down operations for a week over Thanksgiving and two weeks over Christmas. In May, when Applied reported second-quarter financial results, the company cut salaries 3 to 5 percent for most employees and 15 percent for top company officials. Earlier in the year, Applied made other pay reductions for high-ranking company officials and tended to offer as many as 1,000 workers voluntary separation plans. REF: marketwatch.com{C6BB82E3-465A-419A-9B49-355441D4131E}&siteid=yhoo AdvocateDevil

To: Gottfried who wrote (50483)	8/13/2001 10:28:40 PM
From: StanX Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 70976

Great cartoon, thanks. I too think we are close to or very close to being out of the woods. I have moved 50% of my cash into stock during the past several days. :0) Stan Stan

To: Gottfried who wrote (50483)	8/13/2001 10:33:25 PM
From: StanX Long	Respond to of 70976

FYI Earnings.com [webmaster@earnings.com] Applied Materials, Inc.(AMAT) View Today's Earnings Announcements Earnings Date Upcoming Announcement August 14, 2001 DURING MARKET Upcoming Conference Call August 14, 2001 4:30PM Last Conference Call May 15, 2001 4:30PM Note: All times are Eastern Standard Time (EST) Consensus EPS Estimate This Qtr Jul 2001 Next Qtr Oct 2001 This Fiscal Year Oct 2001 Next Fiscal Year Oct 2002 Avg Estimatem (mean) $0.02 $0.07 $1.06 $1.14 # of Estimates 23 23 26 26 Low Estimate $0.00 $0.01 $0.95 $0.34 High Estimate $0.07 $0.16 $1.22 $2.07 Year Ago EPS $0.70 $0.77 $2.38 $1.06 EPS Growth -96.53% -91.27% -55.48% 7.80% :0) Stan