Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Micron Only Forum -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Skeeter Bug who wrote (25521)	12/16/1997 9:25:00 AM
From: Kathleen capps	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 53903

According to Briefing.com, year estimates are now down to .43 -- I thought it was around .55 last time I looked at First Call. MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC. (MU) 22 1/2 CLOSED. More pain is likely to be experienced by this memory chip manufacturer before business conditions improve as the company again reported disappointing fiscal 1Q results last night as memory chip prices remained under pressure. Since early August, when the stock peaked at $60 1/16 in the current year, the stock has lost almost two-thirds of its value as market conditions in the DRAM market have not improved as had been anticipated. Instead, with the current financial crisis is Asia, specifically in South Korea, this has put added pressures on memory chip prices, eroding profit margins by a sizeable amount and prompting the company to report less than projected earnings in the latest period. According to Micron, it posted a fiscal 1Q net of $0.04 a share, five cents below the First Call estimate and six cents lower than in the year-ago period. While sales for the latest period rose 31% to $955 million, the average selling price for memory chips fell about 25% compared with prices in the 4Q, explaining why the company had another disappointing quarter. The latest decline in memory price follows a 75% drop in average selling prices for the prior fiscal year. And the company did not hesitate to point out that conditions in the marketplace will remain depressed, putting added pressure on DRAM pricing, particularly because with Korean manufacturers facing further financial pressures, they have resorted to liquidating their inventories, driving memory prices lower. Hence, gross profit margins fell to 32% in the latest quarter, down from 44% in the 4Q and these margins will remain under pressure as the company could actually lose money in the next quarter. For the full-year, the company is expected to earn $0.43 a share, down from $1.02 a share in the fiscal 1997 period, and, given what is currently occurring in Korea at the moment, the forecast for fiscal 1998 may still be on the high side. Thus, more rough waters are still ahead for this memory chip maker.