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

To: James Fink who wrote (27948)	2/7/1998 1:31:00 PM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 53903

1-Gbit DRAM project put on hold -- Test manufacturing line delayed because of weak memory market Electronic Buyers News, Friday, February 06, 1998 at 23:08 by Darrell Dunn Dallas- Continued sluggishness in the memory market has led Hitachi Ltd., Mitsubishi Electric Corp., and Texas Instruments Inc. to delay for one year the equipping of a new test manufacturing line on which the companies were working for the development of 1-Gbit DRAMs. The action fueled speculation of an overall industry move to delay the 1-Gbit generation, as well as rumors that TI may be preparing a slow exit from the memory market. "Those three are all pretty strong in the DRAM market, so for three big players to be suggesting that it is time to pull back on investing in future generations is significant. I would think others will probably follow suit," said Brian Matas, an analyst at IC Insights Inc., Scottsdale, Ariz. "This could also be the beginning, or a signal, that TI is wanting to focus more on DSP and is easing out of DRAMs," he said. "The company line is probably, 'We're a DRAM supplier to the end,' and I think it would be a slower transition than what Motorola did last year." Hitachi, Mitsubishi, and TI did not speculate on how the decision to delay the equipment purchases will affect planned production of the 1-Gbit DRAM. The companies had planned to begin sampling the device next year and begin production in 2000. Those projects will likely also be pushed out. The three companies a year ago agreed to co-develop the 1-Gbit DRAM to reduce capital costs, but cited the continued disappointing prices of existing DRAMs as a reason for delaying the project. "There are processes we have to come up with before we do a 1-Gig, and if there is a limited amount of money and everyone is cutting back on capital spending, then you are going to be better off spending your money on 64-meg second, third, and fourth generations and the 256-meg, before worrying about the 1-Gig," said Bob Harrison, U.S. marketing manager for the MOS Memory Division at TI, Houston. DRAM producers may be working on multiple die shrinks and new packaging technologies that will extend the life of the 64-Mbit and 256-Mbit generations, IC Insights' Matas said. They may also look at a 512-Mbit generation if efforts with a 128-Mbit generation prove successful, he added. Despite some signs that DRAM prices may be improving, full recovery continues to be elusive, according to Harrison. "The pricing is up about $1 over the low back in December, but since the Chinese New Year, everything has just really slowed down," he said. "I would think it would have gone up some more, but we just haven't seen it. All the end-equipment signs appear to be favorable." Harrison said that the company continues to invest heavily in DRAM development. "[Last year] was a very tough year, and [TI] has felt the pain the same as all DRAM makers spouting out a lot of red ink," Harrison said. "I think the opportunity to make a lot of money in DRAM is around the corner. All the [capacity] cutbacks made in the last six months to a year are going to be evident in the '99 time frame." Matas said that DRAM prices will likely remain flat through at least the first half of this year, although the company has projected improvement for this year and next. IC Insights estimated that worldwide DRAM sales fell to $20.2 billion last year from $25.1 billion in 1996. DRAM sales are expected to rebound to $23.1 billion this year and move up to $28.4 billion in 1999. Copyright c 1998 CMP Media Inc.

To: James Fink who wrote (27948)	2/7/1998 4:32:00 PM
From: johnlea	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 53903

another discrepancy with the ny times article. <<Micron has remained the industry's only profitable company while its competitors lost money, but it expects in March to post its first quarterly loss (20 to 30 cents per share) in more than six years, the fallout of December's price plunge. >> first call has a feb98 qtrly loss of $.15 and microsoft investor shows $.13 (not the 20 to 30 cents stated above). i wonder the writer got is info? maybe this is a new way for mu to give "guidance" to the industry.

To: James Fink who wrote (27948)	2/7/1998 5:19:00 PM
From: John Graybill	Respond to of 53903

>>"It's clear the Japanese can't keep operating at a loss..." True, but, um, neither can Micron, right?