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Strategies & Market Trends : Sharck Soup -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jim Spitz who wrote (37507)	1/9/2002 5:15:29 AM
From: Jim Spitz	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 37746

Hutchinson says fiscal first-quarter profit to exceed forecast Published Jan 9 2002 Bloomberg News HUTCHINSON, MINN. -- Hutchinson Technology Inc., a maker of parts used in computer disk drives, said it had a fiscal first-quarter profit that beats forecasts because of cost cuts. Shares rose 11 percent. The company expects to report profit for the quarter ended Dec. 30 of 8 to 13 cents a share, based on preliminary results, said spokeswoman Darlene Polzin. The average analyst estimate was 2 cents a share, according to a poll by Thomson Financial/First Corp. Sales are expected to be about $93 million, in line with First Call estimates. Hutchinson makes arm-suspension assemblies that hold the heads that read and write data in computer disk drives. In August, the company said it will fire as many as 600 employees, or 15 percent of its work force, to cut costs. "Our team has done an outstanding job of resizing the company to operate profitably at current levels of demand," Wayne Fortun, president and chief executive, said in a prepared statement. The company said it will report full results Jan. 22. Including a one-time gain of $2.6 million, or 8 cents a share, from insurance proceeds in connection with litigation costs and related matters, the company expects to report profit of 16 to 21 cents per share. Polzin declined to comment about the nature of the litigation, but the company has been embroiled in a patent-infringment battle with Singapore-based Magnecomp International. The companies signed a cross-licensing agreement a month ago. Hutchinsonshares fell 17 cents to $24.24 in regular trading before the revised forecast. They reached $27 after the announcement and have gained 49 percent in the past year. © Copyright 2002 Star Tribune. All rights reserved.