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Technology Stocks : Applied Materials No-Politics Thread (AMAT) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Gottfried who wrote (1535)	7/15/2002 10:48:21 PM
From: Cary Salsberg	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25522

Pushouts are not cancellations. Silicon Valley Group was the only company I know that explicitly stated that backlog was orders within 12 months. A pushout beyond 12 months decreased backlog. Since the article mentions that lithography is most affected and since lithography has the longest lead times and hence the greatest potential for timing error, it is uncertain if the pushout is merely fine tuning delivery schedules or a reaction to a perceived slowdown in some demand.

To: Gottfried who wrote (1535)	7/16/2002 7:35:06 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 25522

Fab utilization, chip book-to-bill rising, says VLSI Research Semiconductor Business News (07/16/02 06:37 a.m. EST) SAN JOSE --- Despite turmoil in global financial markets the worldwide IC market continues to improve, at least according to data from VLSI Research Inc. In a report issued late Monday (July 15), VLSI Research Inc. predicted that the utilization of wafer fab capacity worldwide will reach 88.7% in July up from 87.7% in June. This is part of a sustained recovery for the industry's front-end capacity utilization rate which hit bottom at 69% in December, according to the San Jose-based research firm. However the recovery in the index continues to be fragile with the increased utilization coinciding with weak chip pricing resulting from slowing electronics demand. Secondly the financial accounting crisis swirling round the U.S. is causing many chip makers to forego spending to protect cash flows, which may help to drive up utilization. The worldwide IC book-to-bill ratio is now expected to hit 1.50 for July when bookings are forecast to be $14.5 billion and billings are at about $9.7 billion. However, VLSI Research's preliminary data for June indicates IC bookings at $14.5 billion and IC billings at $9.5 billion, yielding a book-to-bill ratio of only 1.18 on a three-month average, basis and significantly downgraded from the previous forecast of 1.44 made by VLSI Research (story June 17).