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Technology Stocks : Semi Equipment Analysis -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Berk who wrote (9648)	4/30/2003 12:40:52 PM
From: Kirk ©	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 95657

Yes, but the mask cost now is spread over fewer wafers for a given volume so the PLDs get better spread of that fixed cost.

To: Berk who wrote (9648)	4/30/2003 8:01:39 PM
From: Return to Sender	Respond to of 95657

Semiconductor Equipment . . . United Microelectronics, the world's second-largest chip foundry, reported a first-quarter net profit of NT$403 million ($12 million), an increase of 86.6 percent from the year-ago profit of NT$216 million. But on a quarterly basis, profit dropped 54 percent from NT$986 million in the fourth quarter of 2002. First-quarter sales increased 47.2 percent from a year earlier to NT$17.90 billion. UMC said it expects second quarter wafer shipments to increase by more than 20 percent compared to the first quarter. Amkor Technology (provider of chip assembly and test services) reported a first-quarter loss from continuing operations of $40 million, or 24 cents per share, 12 cents narrower than the average estimate. Sales rose 19 percent in the latest three months to $343 million from $289 million in the same period a year earlier. The company said gross margins were better than expected in the first quarter due to lower levels of depreciation, ongoing cost efficiency programs, and higher utilization of assets. Looking ahead, Amkor sees a loss of roughly 12 cents per share and revenue growth of around 10 percent in the second quarter. Semiconductors . . . Vishay Intertechnology reported first-quarter earnings of $6.8 million, or 4 cents per share, up from its year-ago profit of $2.4 million, or 2 cents per share, and in line with the average estimate. Sales rose 23 percent in the latest three months to $532.1 million from $434.1 million in the same period a year earlier. The chipmaker said booking improved 13 percent to $560 million in the quarter. CSFB applauds QLogic's continued execution, believes that the stock is still discounting overly aggressive longer-term growth and profitability assumptions. Firm maintains Underperform rating. Price target $33. Boxmakers . . . Dell President Kevin Rollins says that the quarter appears to be on track for $9.5 billion and $0.23 per share as previously announced. Ingram Micro’s poor guidance does not surprise Dell since it has seen no sign of recovery. Analysts are, however, concerned about HP’s PC sales. Mr. Rollins said Dell saw little impact from the Iraq war. Moreover, he believes that people may be overreacting to the business impact of SARS. Dell has seen no supply chain disruptions and is not asking suppliers to increase inventory. About 3-4% of the company’s sales are to China, and he sees little impact (if stores close, it might help Dell’s share, we would venture). Sun had suggested Dell might want to resell its Orion software stack. Mr. Rollins said that’s possible if users clamor for Solaris, but he doesn’t see that and isn’t inclined to help a competitor. Dell is happy selling Linux systems. Dell still sees a PC upgrade cycle but only when the economy improves, of which there are no signs. In the meantime, Dell is on a “market share tirade,” pointing out that the recent Gartner/Dataquest figures show Dell gaining 2.8 points of server share year over year in 1Q while HP lost 1.9 points. Recall Dell’s point that 80% of its cost savings go to lower prices and share gain while the majority of HP’s savings must flow to the bottom line. Printers will take 3-5 years to have significant impact on Dell’s financials. The initial demand for Dell printers seems encouraging. Mr. Rollins finds that Dell’s brand is quickly accepted in ink jet though cost of ownership advantages are picked up quicker by corporate accounts in lasers. Dell has ideas about disrupting the current supplies model in the long term though it was mum on details. In a recent survey after Dell has gotten in the door with PCs, about half of corporate accounts purchase Dell enterprise offerings. Mr. Rollins pointed out, however, that enterprise sales often lead in the U.S. as servers and storage wins later lead to PC penetration. Government/education is typically the biggest sequential growth driver in the July quarter. Federal demand has held up well. There is concern about state/local government and education; Mr. Rollins said the end of April will give Dell a sense of how the July quarter will turn out there. 2020insight.com