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To: Norrin Radd who wrote (4710)	2/22/1999 10:13:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9582

Samsung Elec profit seen soaring after 1998 jump By Yoo Choon-sik SEOUL, Feb 22 (Reuters) - South Korean chipmaker Samsung Electronics Co is expected to show whopping growth in profit this year after doubling its net in 1998, analysts said on Monday. They said Samsung's bullish earnings would mostly come from stronger-than-expected prices for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips, the brains of personal computers, as global PC demand maintains impressive growth. ''We believe the (global DRAM) market's going to grow to around $17.5 billion this year, which is an increase of around 21 percent,'' said Jonathan Dutton, an analyst at Warburg Dillon Read Securities. ''DRAM chip makers will see a similar level of increase. Generally speaking, the profitability, we believe, will be significantly better in 1999 than in 1998.'' Analysts predicted the company's net profit would grow to between 650 billion won ($543.02 million) and one trillion won this year from 313.5 billion profit in 1998. Last year's profit was more than double the 123.5 billion won profit Samsung posted in 1997. The world's largest DRAM maker, announcing its calendar 1998 results on February 5, said sales last year rose to 20.08 trillion from 18.47 trillion in 1997. Memory chips made up about 35 percent of the company's sales last year. The debt-to-equity ratio of Samsung Electronics, flagship of the Samsung Group [SAGR.CN], fell to 198 percent at the end of 1998 from 295 percent at the end of 1997. Analysts said Samsung's sharp profit growth would be aided by a faster decline in production costs and increased earnings from the thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) sector. ''I think Samsung will also achieve its first annual profit from the TFT-LCD sector,'' said Keehong Rhee, analyst at HSBC Securities. An executive of Samsung Electronics told Reuters earlier this year the company expected to post its first profit of some 100 billion won since it entered the sector in 1995. TFT-LCD sales were estimated at $800 million in 1998 against $700 million 1997, Samsung officials said. The international price for the most common 64-megabit DRAM chips now stands at around $10.50 per unit, little changed from the average level of $11 for all of last year, analysts said. ''The 64-megabit DRAM price is now expected to stay at a high $8-$8.50 this year on average and this is much stronger than had been expected,'' said Tony Jung, analyst at SG Securities. Analysts said the strong PC demand was mainly attributable to the bullish U.S. economy which boosted consumer spending there and global concerns about the Y2K computer glitch problem, which has sparked fresh replacement demand for PCs. They said earnings for two other South Korean chipmakers -- LG Semicon Co and Hyundai Electronics Industries Co -- would also improve but did not give forecast figures because the two are undergoing various changes. Hyundai Electronics is scheduled to take over LG Semicon under a government-initiated corporate restructuring drive aimed at easing a severe local over-capacity in key sectors. The two companies are expected to announce their annual income statements around the middle of March when they hold general shareholders' meetings. Samsung Electronics also manufactures consumer electronics appliances but analysts said the company was likely to see its net account in this sector remain in the red this year. ($1 equals 1,197 won) biz.yahoo.com

To: Norrin Radd who wrote (4710)	2/24/1999 10:44:00 AM
From: DJBEINO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9582

ADVISORY/UMC Group Announces 1999 Technology Workshop --(BUSINESS WIRE)-- UMC Group today announced its 1999 Technology Workshop will be held on Friday March 5, 1999 beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Santa Clara Marriott Hotel. Users and potential users of UMC Group's foundries are invited to attend and learn about new technologies that UMC Group plans to bring into volume production over the coming year. During the day, attendees will hear speeches from renowned industry experts, learn about 0.18- and 0.15-micron developments; progress with dual-damascene copper interconnect technology; and utilizing enhancements being made to embedded SRAM, DRAM and non-volatile memory technologies. Attendees will also have the opportunity to meet with 18 different Intellectual Property (IP) vendors at a table-top exhibition/reception. Agenda - Registration and Continental Breakfast 8:30 - 9:30 a.m. - Technology Workshop 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. - (UMC Group Hosted Lunch 12:20 - 1:30 p.m.) - IP Vendor Exhibition/Reception 3:30 - 5:00 p.m. To register for the UMC Group Technology Workshop, please contact Rebecca Swift at 408/523-0909 or send email to rebecca.swift@umc-usa.com. About UMC Group UMC Group is a world leading semiconductor foundry group consisting of United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC), United Semiconductor Corp. (USC), United Integrated Circuits Corp. (UICC), United Silicon, Inc. (USIC), UTEK Semiconductor Corp. (UTEK), and the first dedicated foundry in Japan, Nippon Foundry Inc. (NFI). The group leads the dedicated foundry industry in value-added design support with its Gold IPTM program. In 1998, UMC Group's L250 (0.25um) and L220 (0.22um) process technologies set the foundry industry benchmark for production volumes, capacity and yields in very deep sub-micron technology. In 1999, UMC Group will have production-ready 0.18um (L180) and copper-interconnect technology. The UMC Group Silicon Shuttle(SM) test-chip program enables library vendors, IP vendors and foundry customers to verify their designs in silicon at low or no cost. UMC Group companies are headquartered in Taiwan, with marketing and customer support offices located in the United States, Japan, and the Netherlands. UMC Group (U.S.A.) offices are located at 788 Palomar Avenue, Sunnyvale, CA 94086, tel. 408/733-8881, fax 408/733-8090. biz.yahoo.com