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

To: Cary Salsberg who wrote (9360)	4/6/2004 7:59:21 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 25522

Analysis: February IC sales indicate broad upturn By Mark LaPedus Silicon Strategies 04/05/2004, 8:55 PM ET PORTLAND--Worldwide chip sales were once again tracking above historical patterns for February, thereby pointing towards a broad semiconductor upturn for 2004, according to a report from Pacific Crest Securities Inc. As reported on Friday (April 2), global chip sales were $15.58 billion in February, according to three-month average numbers from World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS). This was ahead of expectations -- analysts had predicted a figure of $15.25 billion -- up 0.2 percent on January 2004 and up 30.8 percent on the same month a year before (see April 2 story). "February sales this year benefited from an easier comparison over January, which featured fewer working days due to an earlier-than-usual Chinese New Year," said Michael McConnell, an analyst with Pacific Crest, an investment banking firm in Portland. "We believe that the post-holiday inventory overhang that exacerbated seasonality in January has been mostly worked through and that linearity improved in February, with unit volume increasing 0.3 percent on a rolling three-month, month-over-month basis," McConnell said in a report. "We believe that stronger PC desktop sales in Europe and Asia helped to offset overall weakness in notebook sales, leading to stable microprocessor revenue in February relative to weaker-than-expected sales posted in January," he said. "Strength in wireless handsets helped propel digital signal processors to a strong month, and secular strength in analog helped provide a lift to industry results," he said. All of the signs are positive for 2004. "In 2004, we expect the semiconductor industry to begin to benefit from strength across a broader array of end markets, with the early recovery in PC and consumer electronic sales last year likely followed by emerging demand from the industrial sector and an increase in carrier spending in 2004," he added. On the product front, the picture is mixed in the marketplace. On a rolling three-month, month-over-month basis, microprocessor units fell 4 percent in February but average selling prices (ASPs) jumped 3.1 percent, according to Pacific Crest. Revenues fell 1 percent during the month. This is the smallest decline in February revenue since 1997. On a year-over-year basis, microprocessor units jumped 17 percent, but ASPs grew only 1 percent. Revenue grew 22 percent year-over-year. On a rolling three-month, month-over-month basis, DSP units increased 3 percent in February, but ASPs fell 3 percent, according to Pacific Crest. DSP revenues fell 0.2 percent in that month. Meanwhile, on a year-over-year basis, DSP units jumped 34 percent but ASPs fell 16 percent. Revenue growth was up 16 percent. On a rolling three-month, month-over-month basis, flash-memory units increased 11 percent in February, but ASPs fell 10 percent, according to Pacific Crest. Flash revenues fell 3 percent in February. Meanwhile, on a year-over-year basis, flash units jumped 63 percent but ASPs rose only 7 percent. Revenue growth was up 70 percent in the sector. On a rolling three-month, month-over-month basis, high-performance analog units increased 0.8 percent in February and ASPs grew 1.5 percent, according to Pacific Crest. Revenues rose 2.3 percent in February. On a year-over-year basis, analog units jumped 31 percent but ASPs fell 4 percent. Revenue growth was up 25 percent in the sector.