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To: Curlton Latts who wrote (11384)	12/11/1997 3:28:00 PM
From: Mr. Aloha	Respond to of 25960

These are some of the comments taken from AMAT in the last Q about 3 weeks ago... Record new orders of $1.37 billion were received in the fourth fiscal quarter of 1997, more than double the new orders of $683.2 million received in the fourth fiscal quarter of 1996, and an increase of 10.9 percent from new orders of $1.24 billion for the third fiscal quarter of 1997. Backlog at the end of fiscal 1997 increased to $1.72 billion, from $1.42 billion at the end of fiscal 1996. ''During fiscal 1997, business conditions strengthened and we exited the year with significant momentum,'' said James C. Morgan, chairman and chief executive officer. ''This was a challenging year for the semiconductor equipment industry, yet Applied Materials was able to outperform the industry and deliver strong financial results. Order momentum started building in our second fiscal quarter and continued through the remainder of the year, allowing us to achieve record levels of new orders, net sales and ongoing net income during our fourth fiscal quarter.'' Geographically, new orders for the fourth fiscal quarter of 1997 from customers located in North America were 29 percent of the Company's total orders, Europe 16 percent, Japan 18 percent and Korea 7 percent. Asia-Pacific, driven by strong demand from customers in Taiwan and Singapore, represented 30 percent of the Company's new orders for the quarter. ''The improved industry environment was driven primarily by strength in the logic and microprocessor markets, increased Asian foundry investment and technology buys for 0.25 micron level production,'' continued Morgan. ''This is evidenced by our fourth fiscal quarter new orders, of which almost 40 percent were for 0.25 micron or below applications. Our strong product capability in leading-edge technology enabled us to gain significant market share in etch, physical vapor deposition (PVD), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and rapid thermal processing (RTP). Two of our advanced technology products won Semiconductor International's ''Editor's Choice Best Product'' awards: the Ultima HDP (High Density Plasma)-CVD Centura and the Metal Etch DPS (Decoupled Plasma Source) Centura systems. ''As we look forward to fiscal 1998, we believe we are strongly positioned across all of our product lines to address our customers' requirements for next-generation manufacturing technologies. During the low point of the most recent industry cycle, we were able to deliver ongoing net income in excess of 10 percent of revenues in each fiscal quarter. This accomplishment gives us confidence that we have the capability to adequately manage the Company and deliver solid financial performance in a variety of environments. With our recent 30th anniversary, we celebrated our past success and now look forward to extending our position as the leading producer of advanced manufacturing equipment for the semiconductor industry,'' Morgan concluded. -------------- Things can change (orders etc..) but technology will always be needed. Aloha