To: E. Graphs who wrote (10595 ) 3/5/1998 12:12:00 PM From: shane forbes Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 25814
TI cautious but networking and wireless strong: ---- TI <TXN.N> "cautious" about near-term business DALLAS, March 5 (Reuters) - Texas Instruments executives said Thursday they are "cautious" about near-term business because weak fourth quarter orders have pressured revenues and margins. "Business in the near-term is mixed, certainly, because some of the markets are weaker," Chief Financial Officer Bill Aylesworth told Reuters. "We have pointed out that the weak orders that we saw in the fourth quarter were going to put pressure on our revenues and margins in the near term and that is still our consistent view of the near term," he said. Aylesworth said the market for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips remains volatile with prices still very low, but he expects TI's market in more specialized digital signal processors to roar ahead at above 30 percent in 1998. He said the global semiconductor market should grow 10 percent this year to about $150 billion as it recovers slowly from a sharp fall in 1996. Last year's growth was four percent, and Aylesworth said TI sees the industry's growing at an average of 15-20 percent over the long-term. He said the markets for wireless products, especially in digital celular phones, and networking are both strong. Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similiar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.