Paul,
Thank you for the DW data.
Re: "You can see that the market is getting very high with the sectors getting in the oversold area, above 70% area."
I think you mean over bought area?
regards,
Teri
Some news items below ---
Advanced Energy <AEIS.O>sees Q1 EPS disappointment
FORT COLLINS, Colo., March 5 (Reuters) - Power delivery systems maker Advanced Energy Industries Inc on Thursday said it expects to report earnings well below expectations in the first quarter because of faltering demand in Asian markets.
The company said it anticipates reporting earnings per share of about $0.09 for its first quarter ending this month. Analysts had predicted $0.13, First Call said.
The company said it expects to report quarterly revenue of about $35 million, below the previously anticipated $36.7 million to $38 million.
The company attributed the shortfall "to the slowdown in demand from its semiconductor equipment and data storage equipment customers, principally those who have significant sales to the Asian markets."
"We are continuing to focus on new product and new market development, which will eventually lessen the impact any one market may have on operations," Douglas Schatz, company chairman, said in a release.
He said the company's fundamentals have not changed and remain strong.
10:21 03-05-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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FOCUS-S.Korea chipmakers to battle U.S. duties
By Jean Yoon
SEOUL, March 5 (Reuters) - South Korea's two leading chipmakers on Thursday vowed to fight preliminary anti-dumping duties on computer memory chips imposed by the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Analysts warned the charges would throw cold water on the semiconductor industry which is trying to recover from a two-year slump due to global oversupply.
The commerce department on Tuesday levied preliminary anti-dumping margins of 7.61 percent on dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips produced by LG Semicon Co Ltd and 12.64 percent on Hyundai Electronics Industries Co Ltd.
''The preliminary anti-dumping accusations are outrageous,'' a senior official in charge of the issue at Hyundai Electronics, a unit of the giant Hyundai Group, told Reuters.
''We can't understand on what basis the U.S. Department of Commerce came up with such a ruling. We cannot accept the decision and we'll fight until this misunderstanding on the part of the U.S. is cleared up,'' he said.
Hyundai Electronics and LG Semicon stocks both ended down almost 12 percent to their daily lower limit on the news. Hyundai lost 3,400 won to 25,100 and LG shed 3,200 to 24,100.
Officials from the two companies also said they were confident they could persuade Washington to withdraw the preliminary ruling.
''We will clarify the misjudgment as we are given a chance to refute the charges,'' said Kim Jae-byung, the manager of trade affairs team at LG Semicon, an LG Group unit.
''We believe there's a good chance that the U.S. may back down.''
The U.S. Commerce Department's ruling followed an evaluation of the sales of the two chipmakers between May 1996 and April 1997. The final ruling on the charges is expected to be made sometime in July, the officials said.
Industry analysts said the U.S. preliminary ruling would deal a heavy blow to the chipmakers' sales in the United States.
''The ruling is likely to hurt the chipmakers' exports to the United States for some time,'' said Jon Chong-hwa, technology analyst at KEB Smith Barney Securities.
''But it would help Samsung Electronics in return,'' he said. Samsung Electronics, the flagship company of Samsung Group SAGR.CN, is the world's largest producer of memory chips.
A key industry official, who declined to be identified, pointed out Hyundai and LG may divert its attention to Southeast Asia from the United States to unload its products.
''Hyundai and LG are likely to focus on Southeast Asia and give up its sales portion to the United States, if the anti-dumping duties are finalised,'' he said.
The U.S. Commerce Department's decision coincides with a continuing dispute between South Korean chipmakers and the United States on anti-dumping duties.
The World Trade Organisation has set up a panel to look into a South Korean complaint that the U.S. should drop anti-dumping charges on chip exports.
Analysts said a visit by Deputy U.S. Trade Representative Richard Fisher, who arrived in Seoul on Thursday, could be tied to the anti-dumping charges.
But U.S. embassy spokesman Patrick Linehan said Fisher's visit was purely for familiarisation with the country's new administration.
''Richard Fisher is not visiting for a specific issue,'' Linehan told Reuters. ''He is not here to negotiate.''
Fisher is scheduled to give a press conference on Friday about his meetings with government officials, heads of conglomerates and members of American Chamber of Commerce.
($1 - 1,563 won) ^REUTERS@
08:28 03-05-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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FSI International, Inc. Expects Lower Than Anticipated Second Quarter Fiscal 1998 Financial Results
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 5, 1998--FSI International, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSII), a manufacturer of capital equipment for the microelectronics industry, today announced that it expects financial results for the second quarter ended Feb. 28, 1998, to be below expectations. The Company now anticipates sales of $54 to $59 million and a net loss for the quarter.
In the same period of fiscal year 1997, the Company reported sales of $60.2 million and net income of $1.9 million or $.08 per share.
FSI attributed the sales shortfall for the second quarter to lower than anticipated sales for all products, due to the softness in the microelectronics equipment market. The Company experienced an order delay from a major Korean semiconductor manufacturer, which had been expected to ship during the quarter. In addition, a U.S. disk drive manufacturer requested a delay in the shipment of two POLARIS(R) Microlithography Clusters.
Earnings were impacted by the lower than anticipated sales and a one-time charge of approximately $2 million related to organizational changes announced in December 1997 and the settlement of a patent infringement lawsuit.
The Company recently settled a patent infringement lawsuit relating to its EXCALIBUR(R) Systems which had been brought by Purusar Corporation in October 1995. In exchange for a one-time lump-sum payment, Purusar has dismissed the lawsuit and released FSI and its customers from any past or future claims of infringement relating to the patent at issue. FSI will not be paying any royalties to Purusar.
The Company expects to report second quarter fiscal 1998 results on March 24, 1998, after the close of the market.
"Economic conditions in Asia and overall softness in microelectronics capital spending have made it more difficult to gauge near-term business activity. Customers are very cautious, are delaying capital spending and, in some cases, are contracting out device manufacturing instead of adding capacity to their own operations," said Joel Elftmann, chairman and chief executive officer of FSI.
"Given the current softness in the industry and the uncertainty in the marketplace, we now believe that fiscal 1998 sales could be at or below 1997 sales of $252 million.(a) We are taking steps to control expenses such as capital spending reductions and the elimination of a significant number of open positions," said Elftmann.(a) "We are now going through our regularly scheduled business review process, which could result in other cost-control measures being implemented."(a)
"Despite the current softness, we will continue to invest in 0.25 and 0.18 micron process technology and 300-mm product development programs to participate in the future expected growth of the microelectronics equipment industry.(a) We are well positioned with our current product portfolio," concluded Elftmann.(a)
ABOUT FSI: FSI International, Inc. is a leading global supplier of processing equipment used at key production steps to manufacture microelectronics, including semiconductor devices, thin film heads and multichip modules. The Company develops, manufactures, markets and supports products used in the technology areas of microlithography, surface conditioning and chemical management. FSI International's customers include microelectronics manufacturers located throughout North America, Europe, Japan and the Asia-Pacific region.
Additional information on FSI International can be obtained by accessing its homepage at fsi-intl.com.
SAFE HARBOR: Certain statements contained above are forward- looking statements (a) that involve risks and uncertainties, such as anticipated sales and earnings. Actual results may be materially different from these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include general economic conditions including the current economic and financial conditions in Asia, particularly Korea and Japan; the demand and price for semiconductors; the level of new orders and order delays or cancellations; the timing and success of current and future product and process development programs; the success of the Company's affiliated distributors; and the timing and extent of any industry upturn or downturn. Other factors that could cause the results of the Company to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements of the Company are included in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 1997 fiscal year and other documents recently filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
CONTACT:
FSI International, Minneapolis
Heide Erickson, (612) 361-7648
or
Laurie Walker, (612) 448-8066
KEYWORD: MINNESOTA
BW1020 MAR 05,1998
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INTERVIEW-Canon's sales robust, exceed forecast
By Yuzo Saeki
TOKYO, March 5 (Reuters) - Japan's Canon Inc says its sales in the first two months of this year have been stronger than expected, despite extremely weak economic conditions in Japan.
''In January and February, our (parent) sales have been 10 percent higher than a year earlier,'' Fujio Mitarai, president of the maker of cameras, printers and photocopiers, told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday.
He said Canon's global sales network, in which 135 marketing units operate, has helped it offset the negative impact of deteriorating business conditions at home.
Sales have been buoyed partly by firm European economies as well as Canon's efforts to develop new markets in Eastern Europe, he said.
Mitarai said sharp falls in values of Asian currencies have been working positively for business by boosting the price competitiveness of Canon's production units in Asia. Canon's group sales in Asia, excluding Japan, account for only nine percent of total group sales, he added.
''The company will likely be able to maintain robust growth for the next two to three years provided currency rates stay stable and a worldwide recession does not occur,'' he said.
Mitarai said Canon would propose a change in its company rules to a general shareholders' meeting this month to allow it to buy back shares, but did not say how many shares the firm would seek to buy back.
Mitarai also said the company would continue to maintain a dividend payout ratio of about 20 percent for the next several years.
On new business, he said the company aims to boost annual sales of its next-generation semiconductor wafers to 20 to 30 billion yen ($157 million to $236 million) in four to five years from now. The company began sample shipments of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers in August last year.
As for the printer business, which accounts for a little over 30 percent of the company's total sales, Mitarai said sales are expected to grow more than 10 percent in 1998 although profitability would decline due to price competition amid weak domestic demand for personal computers.
He said the company plans to launch seven new digital printers later this year.
Mitarai said steppers -- manufacturing equipment for semiconductor chips -- are currently the weakest sector in Canon's operations.
He said that its 1998 sales of steppers are likely to decline by about 30 percent from last year, due to a drastic fall in capital investment at memory chip makers.
The company shipped a total of 260 steppers in 1997.
However Mitarai said the decline was unlikely to have a significant impact on the company's overall earnings as stepper sales account for only about five percent of total sales.
Last month, Canon announced that its parent current profit in 1997 reached a record 146.81 billion yen ($1.15 billion), up 17.2 percent from a previous record of 125.23 billion yen ($986 million) in 1996.
Current profit is pre-tax and includes losses or gains on investments.
For 1998, the company expects its parent current profit to rise further to 150 billion yen ($1.18 billion), although it has said the pace of profit growth will slow to 2.2 percent.
Canon said it plans 125 billion yen ($984 million) of parent capital investment in 1998, up from 108.1 billion yen ($851 million) in 1997.
04:45 03-05-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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Seoul stocks plunge over 6% as foreigners sell
SEOUL, March 5 (Reuters) - Seoul stocks plunged more than six percent on Thursday as foreign investors, who have helped push up shares almost 50 percent this year, deserted the market in droves, brokers said.
The composite stock index ended at 535.68 points, down 6.47
said it had reached 19 billion won in early afternoon trading. It was the second straight day of net selling by foreigners, whose net purchases for the year have exceeded four trillion won.
Several brokers said foreign investors seemed to be turned off by President Kim Dae-jung's choice of cabinet ministers announced on Tuesday.
''Many of the cabinet members appointed are seen as unfit by foreigners to carry out reform,'' said Rhee Namuh, head of research for Samsung Securities.
Brokers said new Finance Minister Lee Kyu-sung was noted for pressuring local institutional investors to buy stocks in a failed bid to boost the market when he was finance minister under president Roh Tae-woo in 1989.
Lee pushed three investment trust firms into investing in stocks with low interest rate loans from the central bank. As a result, many analysts said those firms suffered financial difficulties as they took a hit when the market fell.
But local brokers also noted foreigners sold 10 billion won in shares of Mirae (25560.KS), a maker of semiconductor fabrication equipment.
Mirae fell 200 won to 6,000 won, with 15 million shares trade -- a record volume for a single stock. Brokers said Mirae has been trading actively since its stock split on Monday.
South Korean semiconductor makers Hyundai Electronics (00660.KS) and LG Semicon (29890.KS) fell almost 12 percent to their daily lower limits, following news of preliminary U.S. anti-dumping duty charges, brokers said.
Hyundai Electronics fell to 25,100 won, and LG Semicon plunged to 24,100 won.
The won also weakened as foreigners fled the stock market. It was trading at 1,597 against the dollar at 0655 GMT, versus Wednesday's close of 1,564.
Some local brokers were hopeful the weakening won could help lure back foreign investment.
02:06 03-05-98
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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