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To: DJBEINO who wrote (36712)	7/31/1998 1:00:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Respond to of 53903

Applied Materials Chief Sees Rebound In Semiconductor Demand In 1999 SAN FRANCISCO -(Dow Jones)- Applied Materials Inc. Chief Executive James C. Morgan said Thursday he sees supply and demand coming into balance next year in the market for dynamic random-access memory, or DRAM, chips. Reaching this balance will push the industry to begin adding capacity again, Morgan said at the BancAmerica Robertson Stephens Semiconductor Conference here. For almost two years, the industry has had excess capacity, and that has pushed up inventories and pushed down prices. The effect on companies such as Applied Materials, a supplier of equipment for making semiconductors, has been slower product orders. Morgan said the expected business from DRAM companies will be one of several dynamics to drive growth at equipment companies. Other drivers will be stabilization in Asia and the expansion of the Internet, which will increase the demand for chips over the next couple of years. Meanwhile, the chief executive of Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) gave an optimistic outlook for the rest of the year. William "Jerry" Sanders told investors that he hopes to extend his company's market-share gains against Intel Corp. (INTC). Intel and AMD are aggressively cutting prices on chips, even as microprocessor clock speeds rise. By consistently undercutting Intel's prices, AMD has made market-share gains in the fast-growing sub-$1,000 PC category. Sanders said preliminary market share numbers had AMD with almost 35% of the desktop PC market in June, and almost half the market for sub-$1,000 PC sales in that month. Meanwhile, Rambus Inc. (RMBS) sees its technology capturing the Intel personal-computer market over the next few years, said chief executive Geoff Tate. In 1999, Rambus's high-speed memory technology will be in high-end PCs running Intel chips, Tate said. By 2001, all Intel chip sets will use Rambus technology, which accelerates the speed data is transferred between memory chips and processors, he said. Some industry projections show Rambus technology having 50% share of the DRAM market by 2001, up from 1% today, the company said. Earlier this month, it was reported that global chip sales plummeted 12.7% in May as sales fell in all major markets due to the lingering effects of the Asian financial crisis, according to a monthly report by the Semiconductor Industry Association. The report is consistent with the group's forecast of a 1.8% decrease in total chip revenue by year's end. chips for some multiprocessor applications by several weeks. The No. 1 chip maker, Intel, has been battered by an unexpected buildup of chip inventory at big PC makers, a slowdown in Asia and renewed competition at the low end that is exacerbated by growing demand for PCs that cost less than $1,000. In another negative sign, retail unit sales of computers in May grew just 0.7% from the year-earlier period, according to a survey of U.S. stores by ZD Market Intelligence, a market-research firm in La Jolla, Calif.

To: DJBEINO who wrote (36712)	7/31/1998 1:35:00 AM
From: TREND1	Read Replies (7) \| Respond to of 53903

Hey ! Hey ! Larry Dudash A service of Semiconductor Business News, CMP Media Inc. Story updated at 5:15 p.m., EDT/2:15 p.m., PDT, 7/30/98 Chip sales could fall lower if economies weaken, says report SCOTTSDALE, Ariz -- Worldwide semiconductor revenues will drop 12% to $121 billion compared to $137 billion in 1997, but the decline could be as much as 15% if the world economies suffer additional setbacks in the second half of the year, according to a new forecast released today by ICE Corp. here. The research firm also said it sees no improvements in chip market conditions in 1999 and is predicting that semiconductor revenues will be flat next year. "Unit shipments also are expected to decline for the year by -2% for integrated circuits and -3% for discrete semiconductors," said Bill Groves, ICE's market research vice president. "This decline in unit is alarming because it counters the trends of previous industry recessions where unit volumes have increased due to lower average selling prices." The ICE analyst said most of the troubles are related to financial turmoil in Asia. "DRAM production shows only minor slowing in the face of steadily dropping prices," he said. "In fact, U.S. spot DRAM prices average about $1 per megabit. In addition to the DRAM glut, PC sales in Asia/Pacific have slowed dramatically in an area that consumes about 25% of the worlds PCs," Groves added. In North America, chip sales could slide by as much as 14% to $39.4 billion in 1998, according to the ICE mid-year forecast. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------