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Technology Stocks : Novellus -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Matt Webster who wrote (1507)	6/16/1998 11:02:00 PM
From: David Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3813

PALO ALTO, Calif. -(Dow Jones)- The book-to-bill ratio for North America's semiconductor-equipment industry rose to 0.80 in May, according to a report issued Tuesday. May's results appeared to meet Wall Street's expectations, but analysts said continued weakness in the semiconductor equipment industry was evident. May's book-to-bill ratio of 0.80 means $80 in orders were received for each $100 worth of products shipped. The industry posted a revised book-to-bill ratio of 0.77 for April, the Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International trade group said. For May, shipments were $1.36 billion, up 18% from May 1997 and about even with April 1998 shipments. Bookings, or new orders, were $1.09 billion, which were up 4% from April and 14% below the May 1997 level. "The recent decline in orders appears to have leveled off," said Dick Greene, principal analyst at Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International. Jay Deahna, an analyst at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, had expected the book-to-bill to be between 0.82 and 0.86. "While a near-term bottom appears to be forming, we believe equipment stocks will likely have a hard time generating a sustained recovery as preannouncement season and the early part of the earnings seasons unfolds," he said in a research report. Copyright (c) 1998 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.