Semiconductor Capital Equipment Stocks Discussion

» Kirk - MAY 2000 BOOK-TO-BILL RATIO OF 1.30

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 20, 2000 -- The North American-based manufacturers of semiconductor equipment posted another record month for shipments in May 2000 and a book-to-bill ratio of 1.30, it was reported by Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI). A book-to-bill of 1.30 means $130 in orders were received for each $100 worth of products shipped.

The three-month average of worldwide shipments in May 2000 was $2.1 billion. The figure is six percent above the April 2000 level, and is 73 percent above the May 1999 shipments level of $1.2 billion. May shipments came in 29 percent above the previous cycle peak of $1.6 billion shipped in November 1997.

The three-month average of bookings in May 2000 was $2.7 billion. The bookings figure is one percent above April 2000 and 81 percent above the $1.5 billion posted in May 1999. May bookings came in 68 percent above the previous bookings cycle peak (also in November 1997) of $1.6 billion.

"While the rate of growth is moderating and may reflect a second quarter adjustment, the May data represents the eighth consecutive month of continued bookings growth and record order levels for semiconductor manufacturing equipment," said Stanley T. Myers, president of SEMI. "The Semiconductor Industry Association recently raised the forecast for semiconductor industry growth in 2000 and we anticipate a similarly positive industry sentiment to be reflected in the forthcoming Mid-Year Consensus Forecast for semiconductor equipment, which SEMI is due to release next month at SEMICON West."

(EDITORS NOTE: Media interested in information about SEMICON West 2000 or the upcoming SEMI Consensus Forecast data should contact Michael Droeger, SEMI Public Relations, at 408.943.6953 or mdroeger@semi.org)

The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving average bookings to three-month moving average shipments for the North American semiconductor equipment industry. Shipments and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.

  Month            Shipments Bookings Book-to-Bill 
December 99          1,597.9  1,907.6   1.19 
January 2000         1,603.5  2,227.3   1.39 
February 2000        1,594.3  2,301.5   1.44 
March 2000 (final)   1,744.9  2,546.5   1.46 
April 2000 (revised) 1,985.4  2,710.7   1.37 
May 2000 (prelim.)   2,108.1  2,745.6   1.30 

The data contained in this release was compiled by the independent public accounting firm of Arthur Andersen LLP, without audit, from data submitted directly by the participants. SEMI and Arthur Andersen LLP can assume no responsibility for the accuracy of the underlying data.

The data are contained in a monthly Express Report published by SEMI that tracks shipments and orders worldwide of North American-based manufacturers of equipment used to manufacture semiconductor devices, not shipments and orders of the chips themselves. The June 2000 Express Report is scheduled for publication on July 20, 2000 (subject to change).

Based in San Jose, Calif., SEMI is an international trade association serving more than 2,400 companies participating in the $65 billion semiconductor and flat panel display equipment and materials markets. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Brussels, Hsinchu, Moscow, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C. For more information about SEMI, including the SEMIndex, a global stock index of 65 publicly traded equipment and materials companies, visit www.semi.org.

-- posted by Kirk

» Kirk - Charts Updated

ex and all, the charts have been updated with the latest
SEMI ship/orders/btb data for May 2000.
Stock prices are up-to-date to June 20th 2000.
ww semiconductor shipments vs SEMI orders
http://www.geocities.com/gottfried/SEMIs...

SEMI orders/shipments/btb
http://www.geocities.com/gottfried/eqpor...
[comment: compare to year ago]

monthly ratio of SEMI orders to ww semiconductor shipments
http://www.geocities.com/gottfried/ratio...

monthly difference between SEMI orders and shipments
http://www.geocities.com/gottfried/SEMIb...

selected semi equipment stock prices vs SEMI orders
http://www.geocities.com/gottfried/amat_...
http://www.geocities.com/gottfried/klic_...
http://www.geocities.com/gottfried/klac_...
http://www.geocities.com/gottfried/cohu_...

You can also go through Kirk's site for links.
http://pw2.netcom.com/~kirk_69/SemiLinks...

Gottfried

-- posted by Kirk

» JenL_2 - Bookings

Author: Jonathon
Date: June 18, 2000 4:51 PM
Subject: Bookings

I heard Mr. Brinker mention that "bookings" were flat on Teradyne. Does anyone know what "bookings" refers to? Thanks

Author: Q_out
Date: June 21, 2000 7:47 PM
Subject: Bookings definition

Bookings are new orders. Investors care more about orders on the books than sales, because sales are history -- orders are the future.

Has your day ever been "booked solid"? That means every hour is already planned, and there's no time to consider something new. Or perhaps you've "booked" a hotel room. The hotel hasn't yet provided you the room, nor have they collected the money, but they have some reasonable expectations of future income.

Because the machines made by semiconductor capital equipment makers cost hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars each, they are built to order, and the sales income may lag the order by three months or more.

Right now, the orders for semiconductors are coming in 30% faster than the chip-makers can ship them out. To increase their production they'll need more equipment. That leads to orders for the semiconductor capital equipment companies.

For details see the May sales report, May Semi Book-to-bill

Q_out

-- posted by JenL_2

» Rande - Computer, chip and semi-cap makers getting a nice boost off the

-- posted by Rande

» Slick - CFMT gets bot

This company was one of " Justa's" blue light specials awhile back. When he made his call, the stock was below 10, so if given full value, a nifty double . Well done Justa !

Slick

-- posted by Slick

» Kirk - RESEARCH ALERT-Prudential starts semiconductor firms

NEW YORK, June 28 (Reuters) - Prudential Securities analyst
Shekhar Pramanick said on Wednesday he initiated coverage of
six companies in the semiconductor sector.
In a research note, Pramanick said:
-- he started coverage of semiconductor equipment maker
Novellus Inc. as a strong buy and a price target of
$85 per share. He estimated Novellus' fiscal 2001 earnings at
$2.72 per share.
-- Novellus shares were up 5-9/16 at 59-9/16 on the Nasdaq
stock market.
-- he started semiconductor equipment maker Applied
Materials Inc. as a strong buy with a price target of
$125 per share.
-- Shares of Applied Materials rose 3-7/8 to 92 on the
Nasdaq.
-- he also initiated coverage of Kulicke & Soffa
with an accumulate rating and a price target of $80 per share.
He said earnings estimate for Kulicke in 2000 is $4.49 per
share.
-- Kulicke shares were up 4-1/16 at 61-9/16 on the Nasdaq.
-- he started coverage of Amkor Technology Inc. as
accumulate with a price target of $50 per share. The company's
earnings estimate for 2001 is $2.10 per share.
-- Amkor shares were up 4-11/16 at 33-7/8 on the Nasdaq
stock market.
-- he also started coverage of KLA Tencor with a
buy rating and a price target of $85 per share. He said fiscal
2000 earnings estimate is $2.29 per share.
-- KLA Tencor shares rose 2-3/8 to 63-1/4 in late morning
trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange.
-- and he started LAM Research with a strong buy
rating and a price target of $60 per share. He set a 2001
earnings estimate at $2.23 per share.
-- shares of LAM Research rose 2-3/8 to 41-1/8 on the
Nasdaq stock market.

-- posted by Kirk

» CB2 - SFAM making a run

-- posted by CB2

» Kirk - SFAM - Profits AND record CMP Orders

Thursday June 29, 4:16 pm Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SpeedFam-IPEC Announces Fourth-Quarter Fiscal 2000 Results
Company Reports $0.10 Net Earnings per Share and Record CMP Orders
Expands to 100% Ownership of Far East Joint Venture's CMP Operations
CHANDLER, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 29, 2000-- SpeedFam-IPEC, Inc. (Nasdaq:SFAM - news) today announced its financial results for the fourth fiscal quarter ended June 3, 2000. Total revenue was $94.9 million, up 92% from $49.3 million for the same quarter a year ago and up 30% from $73.1 million for the third fiscal quarter. Net earnings were $3.2 million, or $0.10 diluted earnings per share. This was up from a net loss of $46.0 million, or a diluted loss of $1.58 per share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999, excluding merger-related and other one-time integration charges, and a net loss of $99.9 million, or a diluted loss of $3.42 per share, inclusive of these charges. Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) orders for the fourth fiscal quarter were at record levels and increased 22% on a sequential basis, and CMP revenue for the same period increased 35% sequentially.

For the fiscal year ended June 3, 2000, SpeedFam-IPEC's total revenue was $274.0 million, up 27% from $216.4 million for fiscal 1999. Net loss for fiscal 2000 was $14.2 million, or a diluted loss of $0.48 per share, including the net effects of the sale of a 50% interest in Fujimi Corporation, a joint venture, and a restructuring charge taken by the company's Far East Joint Venture. This was down from a net loss of $86.1 million, or a diluted loss of $2.98 per share, excluding merger-related and other one-time integration charges, for the prior year. The prior-year loss, inclusive of these charges, was $139.9 million, or a diluted loss of $4.84 per share.

``Our record CMP orders reflect strong industry fundamentals and increasing capital spending by our customers to increase their capacity, as they continue to deploy advanced 0.25-and 0.18-micron technologies,'' said Richard J. Faubert, president and chief executive officer of SpeedFam-IPEC. ``We have successfully capitalized on this growing demand by increasing our global presence and our installed base of CMP systems, which is rapidly approaching 1,300 worldwide.

``We believe our company is well positioned for future growth and increased market share. Next month, we will be expanding our leading-edge portfolio of innovative solutions with the introduction of our new flagship CMP system to universally address copper and STI, as well as existing applications. We have maintained our focus on keeping our existing customer base satisfied, which has translated into higher revenue and profit. In addition, we are solidifying our position as the CMP innovation leader with the launch of our next-generation system,'' said Faubert.

The company also announced that on June 27, 2000, it reached an agreement with Obara Corporation, a Japanese company and SpeedFam-IPEC's partner in the Far East Joint Venture, that will transfer full ownership of CMP sales and service operations in that region to SpeedFam-IPEC. Presently, the company sells its CMP systems in the Far East through this 50%-owned joint venture. The joint venture conducts operations primarily in Japan, but also has significant operations in South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. In addition to providing sales and service for the CMP industry, the joint venture principally engages in the design, engineering, manufacture, and distribution of manufacturing equipment for the thin film memory disk media and silicon wafer markets. Per the agreement, Obara Corporation will assume the business operations for non-CMP activities.

``The Far East has significantly contributed to the overall growth of our CMP business,'' said Giovanni Nocerino, executive vice president of SpeedFam-IPEC. ``Assuming control of our sales and service operations in this critical region will further strengthen our competitiveness in the global marketplace.''

In conjunction with this agreement, the company is evaluating its impact on SpeedFam-IPEC's domestic non-CMP operations. Based upon this ongoing review, as well as the terms of the agreement reached with Obara Corporation, the company believes it will incur a one-time non-cash charge to operations in the range of $10 million to $20 million in the first half of fiscal 2001. The company believes there will be no material cash outlays in conjunction with finalizing this transaction.

Commenting on this agreement, Faubert said, ``The strategic focus for our company is the CMP business, and gaining direct control over these sales and service channels will benefit our customers and enable SpeedFam-IPEC to further its success in the Far East region.''

SpeedFam-IPEC, Inc.

SpeedFam-IPEC, Inc. is a leading global supplier of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems used in the fabrication of next-generation semiconductor devices, with the world's largest installed base. The company is also a leading manufacturer of high-throughput precision surface processing systems for the thin film memory disk media, silicon wafer and general industrial applications markets. The company markets and distributes parts and consumables (polishing liquids and pads) used in CMP and precision surface processing. SpeedFam-IPEC, Inc. owns a 50% interest in a joint venture, SpeedFam-IPEC Co., Ltd. (the Far East Joint Venture).

-- posted by Kirk

» Kirk - Upgrades and Downgrades for SFAM

SpeedFam-IPEC Inc. (SFAM US) was reiterated ``strong buy'' by analyst Susan R Crossley at First Security Van Kasper. The 12-month target price is $35.00 per share.

-- posted by Kirk

» SteveT - Still lookin good

With demand still strong and the 300mm wafers ramp up looks like Capital equipment will do well for the foreseeable future.

-- posted by SteveT