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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jacob Snyder who wrote (24251)	9/14/1998 2:00:00 PM
From: Roy F	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 70976

Applied CFO says 1999 is "imponderable" September 14, 1998 01:41 PM SAN FRANCISCO, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Applied Materials Inc. Chief Financial Officer Joe Bronson said that it is impossible to predict whether the semiconductor equipment industry will see any growth in 1999. "1999 is an imponderable situation," Bronson told reporters after speaking at a NationsBanc Montgomery Securities investment conference. "You can't say whether it will be growth or not ... Japan is a big imponderable." Bronson also said that the current semiconductor industry downturn is one of the industry's toughest, and that he does not believe the industry will resume its previous growth levels. "The industry will recover but not to its previous growth levels," Bronson said, adding that he believes the semiconductor equipment industry growth peaked at 30 percent. He also predicted that as a result of the ongoing industry slump, more chip companies, chip equipment makers and companies in the supply chain will consolidate. Bronson said that Applied is always looking at acquisitions, but that even without doing any deals, the company expects to reach $8 billion to $10 billion in revenues by 2002. Bronson said that he believes Applied, which is the world's biggest maker of semiconductor equipment, is still well-positioned because it is not halting its investment in research and development during this downturn. "The most difficult part is preparing for when it changes," Bronson said, adding that when the industry turns around, it will suddenly jump from overcapacity, as it is today, to customers being on allocation for certain products. Bronson said that Applied's current restructuring plan is aimed at achieving break-even results at $600 million in revenue per quarter. "That is the point where we will not cut any more muscle," he said. Applied first tried to avoid layoffs by offering voluntary severage packages, but last month, the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company announced a major layoff plan. REUTERS