Re: Asia Warnings
Whew! A rash of them today. I think I may have a repeat in here. Arrow maybe? Still a rash of them. But don't forget, "Asian crisis is good for us." Yeah right. Tell it to these companies.
MikeM(From Florida)
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Lattice Semiconductor Reduces Outlook for First Fiscal Quarter
HILLSBORO, Ore., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Lattice Semiconductor Corporation (Nasdaq: LSCC - news) today announced that it expects revenue for the June quarter to be below the consensus expectation of a four percent sequential decline. Based on current information, the Company expects fiscal first quarter revenue to be approximately 20 percent lower than revenue reported in the prior quarter. Net income and earnings per share are expected to be approximately 30 percent lower than the prior quarter.
''For the past several quarters, overall semiconductor and programmable logic market conditions have been turbulent,'' stated Cyrus Y. Tsui, president and chief executive officer. ''Entering the first quarter we anticipated a moderate sequential revenue decline as a result of weak end customer demand in the Japanese and Asian markets.This outlook was predicated on strong ''turns'' business (orders booked and shipped in the same quarter) from the North American and European markets. Based on quarter-to-date results, Management now believes that there will not be sufficient turns business in the North American and European markets during the remainder of the quarter to prevent a greater sequential revenue decline.''
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Western Digital Warns That Fourth Quarter Results Will Fall Below Wall Street Estimates
IRVINE, Calif., June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Western Digital Corporation (NYSE: WDC - news) today announced that due to greater than anticipated industry pricing pressures and reduced unit volumes in its desktop hard drive business, its performance for the fourth fiscal quarter ending June 27, 1998 will fall substantially short of current Wall Street analyst forecasts. The current range of analyst estimates is a loss of $.45 to $.67 per share on revenue in the range of $830 million to $864 million. The Company expects the operating loss for the June quarter to exceed $100 million, before recording certain costs associated with the implementation of its previously-announced component supply and licensing relationship with IBM Corporation.
Over the last several quarters, Western Digital has substantially reduced production in the face of the industry's excess inventories, and in the next two months it will implement shorter work weeks in its manufacturing plants in Singapore and Malaysia. This month, it curtailed production in its Santa Clara, California media facility. By the end of the June quarter, WD's workforce will have been reduced 22% since November 1997 to approximately 13,000 employees through attrition and layoffs. The Company indicated that it will continue to review its operations in light of its business model and business conditions.
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SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BW HealthWire)--June 5, 1998--Coherent, Inc.
(NASDAQ:COHR) today announced it expects results for its third fiscal quarter ending June 27, 1998 will be adversely impacted by lower than anticipated revenue and two significant one-time charges. According to Bernard Couillaud, President and Chief Executive Officer, "The revenue shortfall has very specific root causes -- "Continuing devaluation of the Japanese yen against the U.S. dollar. While estimated sales in local currency remain flat with the prior quarter and slightly up over the corresponding prior year period, the slide of the yen impacts sales and gross profits for the period. While the actual impact for the quarter is not readily determinable, the fact that almost 20% of the Company's annual revenues are generated in Japan suggests the impact could likely be significant.
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MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 1998--BMC Industries, Inc. today announced that the Company expects its operating earnings to fall short of analysts' expectations for the second quarter and total year 1998. The Company expects earnings per share from operations in the second quarter in the range of 8 to 13 cents per share and for the total year 1998 of 50 to 60 cents per share. In addition to the operating earnings shortfall, the Company is evaluating a one-time non-cash charge in the second quarter related to in-process research and development projects purchased in conjunction with the recent acquisition of Orcolite.
In summarizing the earnings shortfall, Paul B. Burke, Chief Executive Officer, stated: "The earnings shortfall is resulting solely from soft market conditions being experienced by the Mask Operations division of the Company. Recent extreme pricing pressure in the computer monitor mask marketplace and lower demand than expected for both television and computer monitor masks have caused the Company to reduce its earnings estimate."
The combination of weak demand and excess inventory in Asia has depressed demand for television and monitor masks and has made it difficult for BMC to achieve the share of market goals established for the expansion completed last year. In addition, weak Asian currencies coupled with the stagnant demand have created price pressures that contributed to the Company's decision to temporarily idle production.
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CyberOptics Announces Outlook for Below-Plan Second Quarter/Second Half 1998 Operating Results; Moderating Sales Growth Attributed to Asian Economic Weakness
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 1998--CyberOptics today announced that it expects to report earnings in the vicinity of $.20 per diluted share for the second quarter of 1998 ending June 30, compared to analyst estimates of $.29 to $.31 per share, but up from the $.15 per diluted share reported in the second quarter of 1997. The Company said it is also revising its full-year outlook and currently expects 1998 sales growth in the range of 15%.
The Company said that due to the impact of Asian economic weakness, a significant Japanese original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of surface mount technology (SMT) electronic pick-and-place equipment recently reduced order levels for CyberOptics' LaserAlign process control sensors. Other OEM customers in Japan and Europe have maintained or increased previous LaserAlign order forecasts. Sales of SMT solder paste inspection systems to end-user manufacturers of printed circuit boards are also running below planned levels due primarily to a slowdown in capital spending, driven by concerns over Asian economic weakness.
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Arrow International, Inc. Estimates 5.5% Increase In Third Quarter Fiscal Year Sales
READING, Pa., June 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Marlin Miller, Jr., President and CEO of Arrow International, Inc. stated today that the Company's sales for its third 1998 fiscal quarter ended May 31, 1998 were approximately $65.5 million, up about 5.5% from $62.1 million in the same prior year period. Mr. Miller reported that this sales increase was slightly lower than expected and attributed the shortfall primarily to lower than anticipated orders from the Company's international dealers in the last week of the quarter. These orders were about $1.5 million below the Company's recent expectations. In addition, Mr. Miller noted that U.S. dollar strength, particularly versus the Japanese yen, as well as a continuation of sluggish demand for the Company's core products in certain European markets, held down expected sales growth. At prior fiscal year period exchange rates, net sales
growth would have been over 7%.
Blah, Blah, Blah. Nevertheless, Mr. Miller cautioned that the sales shortfall, as well as higher non-operating expenses resulting from the stronger dollar's effect on translation of the Company's subsidiary accounts into U.S. dollars, is likely to result in single digit net income growth for the quarter, with earnings per share in the $0.42 to $0.44 range.
Commenting on the sales outlook for the fourth fiscal quarter ending August 31, 1998, Mr. Miller stated that he believes the weakness in international demand for the Company's core products is temporary and that total fourth quarter fiscal 1998 sales should exceed third quarter fiscal 1998 levels, but he expressed concern about the potential negative impact of a stronger dollar against major foreign currencies, particularly the Japanese yen.
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