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To: Dealer who wrote (46819)	1/22/2002 7:18:28 PM
From: Sully-	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 65232

North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts December 2001 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 0.78 SAN JOSE, Calif., January 22, 2002 -- The North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $652.4 million in orders in December 2001 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.78, according to the December 2001 Express Report published today by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). A book-to-bill of 0.78 means that $78 worth of new orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month. The three-month average of worldwide bookings in December 2001 was $652.4 million. The bookings figure is about 7 percent above the revised November 2001 level of $609.3 million and 73 percent below the $2.37 billion in orders posted in December 2000. The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2001 was $834.9 million. The billings figure is approximately 0.7 percent above the revised November 2001 level of $829.5 million and 65 percent below the December 2000 billings level of $2.39 billion. "There are some indications that capacity utilization and unit volume output have improved from the 2001 lows, in particular for some segments of the assembly and test markets," said Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Chip and equipment companies, however, remain cautious about the near-term outlook because of uncertainty with the overall economic recovery." The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving average bookings to three-month moving average billings for the North American semiconductor equipment industry. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars. semi.org!OpenDocument

To: Dealer who wrote (46819)	1/22/2002 7:20:32 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 65232

18:39 ET ****** Semi Equipment : The semi equipment got some good news after the bell today. First, Novellus (NVLS) reported Q4 results a penny ahead of consensus. While it did guide down EPS for Q1, investors are encouraged that the company is predicting a book-to-bill of 1.0 in the current quarter as it is experiencing a nice start so far in January. Also, the company said it expects a substantial reduction in inventory over the coming months. The second piece of good news was that the North American semi equipment book-to-bill ratio rose to 0.78 in December from 0.73 in Nov; which is a bit better than the 0.75 consensus. A book-to-bill of 0.78 means that $78 worth of new orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month. The SEMI report said that there are some indications that capacity utilization and unit volume output have improved from the 2001 lows, in particular for some segments of the assembly and test markets. However, chip and equipment companies remain cautious about the near-term outlook. The nugget in the report is that the ratio rose this time due to an increase in bookings to $652.4 mln from $609.3 mln, rather than a decline in billings. Before you get too excited, understand that this report looks back rather than predicts the future. Also, while the trend is encouraging, it is still well below one at this point. Intel (INTC) recently guided down its cap-ex budget more than many had expected which could prompt its competitors to play follow the leader. Finally, valuations in the group are not all that compelling. It's a good idea to hear what KLA-Tencor (KLAC) and Applied Materials (AMAT) have to say when they report earnings tomorrow (Wed) after the close and mid-Feb, respectively. -- Robert J. Reid, Briefing.com

To: Dealer who wrote (46819)	1/22/2002 7:22:16 PM
From: Sully-	Respond to of 65232

16:34 ET Emulex (EMLX) 38.60 -4.22: -- Update -- Reports Q2 (Dec) earnings of $0.13, four cents better than the Multex consensus of $0.09; revenues rose 18% sequentially to $62.2 mln, also significantly better than the consensus of $54.0 mln. No guidance in press release. 17:26 ET Emulex (EMLX) 41.46 -1.36: -- Update -- During their Q2 earnings conference call, the co guides higher: sees Q3 revs of $66 mln and EPS of $0.13 (vs rev/EPS consensus of $56.24 mln/$0.09); sees FY02 revs of $245-$250 mln and EPS of $0.48 (vs Multex consensus of $223.62 mln/$0.37); and sees FY03 revs of $335-$340 mln and EPS of $0.65 (vs Multex consensus of $286.17 mln/$0.51).