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

To: Jack Hartmann who wrote (5089)	1/21/2003 6:23:51 PM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

North American Semiconductor Equipment Industry Posts December 2002 Book-to-Bill Ratio of 0.98 SAN JOSE, Calif., January 21, 2003 -- The North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted $839 million in orders in December 2002 (three-month average basis) and a book-to-bill ratio of 0.98, according to the December 2002 Express Report published today by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). A book-to-bill of 0.98 means that $98 worth of new orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month. The three-month average of worldwide bookings in December 2002 was $839 million. The bookings figure is eight percent above the revised November 2002 level of $777 million, yet 37 percent above the $614 million in orders posted in December 2001. The three-month average of worldwide billings in December 2002 was $853 million. The billings figure is 13 percent below the revised November 2002 level of $976 million and five percent above the December 2001 billings level of $810 million. "The increased bookings level suggests further capital equipment market stabilization. While the bookings figure is well below the peak levels in 2002, the bookings and billings figures are nearing parity, which is seen as a positive trend." said Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Growth in the semiconductor capital equipment business is anticipated to be on the order of 10 to 20 percent in 2003 on a worldwide basis." 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. Billings (Three-month avg.) Bookings (Three-month avg.) Book-to-Bill July 2002 969.1 1,181.9 1.22 August 2002 994.8 1,016.8 1.02 September 2002 1,044.6 831.6 0.80 October 2002 999.9 775.1 0.78 November 2002 (final) 976.4 776.7 0.80 December 2002 (prelim.) 853.2 839.2 0.98 The data contained in this release was compiled by David Powell, Inc., an independent financial services firm, without audit, from data submitted directly by the participants. SEMI and David Powell, Inc. can assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the underlying data. The data are contained in a monthly Express Report published by SEMI that tracks billings and orders worldwide of North American-based manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, not billings and orders of the chips themselves. The January 2003 Express Report is scheduled for publication on February 18, 2003 (subject to change). Based in San Jose, Calif., SEMI is an international industry association serving more than 2,500 companies participating in the semiconductor and flat panel display equipment and materials markets. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit SEMI on the Internet at www.semi.org. INDUSTRY/IR CONTACT: Lubab Sheet/SEMI Tel: 1.408.943.6921 E-mail: lsheet@semi.org MEDIA CONTACT: Jonathan Davis/SEMI Tel: 1.408.943.6937 E-mail: jdavis@semi.org

To: Jack Hartmann who wrote (5089)	1/21/2003 7:32:39 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 25522

Motorola's chip unit reports 8% jump in Q4 sales Semiconductor Business News (01/21/03 05:54 p.m. EST) SCHAUMBURG, Ill.--Motorola Inc. today reported sales of $7.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2002, up 3% from $7.3 billion in the like period a year ago and 14.7% from $6.4 billion in the previous quarter. The company reported a profit of $174 million, or $.08 per share, compared to loss in the year-ago quarter of $1.2 billion, or minus $0.55 per share. In the previous quarter, it reported earning of $111 million. Sales within Motorola's Semiconductor Products Segment (SPS) sales were $1.3 billion for the quarter, up 15% over the like period a year ago and 8% from $1.2 billion in the previous quarter. Orders were $1.2 billion, up 18% from last year. The segment reported operating earnings of $18 million, presented on a GAAP basis, compared with an operating loss of $798 million in the year-ago quarter. Excluding special items, the segment reported operating earnings of $9 million, compared with an operating loss of $284 million in the year-ago quarter. In comparison, Motorola's SPS unit achieved operating earnings of $13 million in the third quarter of 2002. The company attributed the results to its fast-growing wireless chip business. Christoher B. Galvin, chairman and CEO of Motorola, was bullish about the company's results. “Motorola returned to profitability on a GAAP basis in both the third and fourth quarters of this year,” he said in a statement. “On a GAAP basis, five of our six major segments had positive operating earnings in the fourth quarter and operating earnings for all six were above prior-year results,” he said. Going forward, the company's forecast was less optimistic. “For the near term, we remain optimistic that modest sales growth can be achieved in 2003. The world economies are today showing some underlying signs of a rebound, which if not significantly disrupted by world events, could have a favorable impact on our markets as customers move towards renewing their capital spending,” he said. "Having provided no guidance for the first quarter of the year until now, we expect sales of between $6.0 and $6.2 billion and earnings per share in the range of break-even to $.02. For the full year, our guidance continues to be approximately $27.5 billion in sales and earnings per share of $.40,” he said. Motorola reported full-year 2002 sales of $26.7 billion, compared to sales of $29.9 billion in 2001. On a GAAP basis, the 2002 full-year net loss was $2.5 billion, or ($1.09) per share, compared to a net loss of $3.9 billion, or ($1.78) per share, for 2001.