News

22 December 2008

 

Lam expecting 35-39% sequential revenue drop

To reflect continued deterioration in semiconductor equipment market conditions, etch and wafer-cleaning equipment maker Lam Research Corp of Fremont, CA, USA has revised its financial outlook for the quarter ending 28 December 2008 to shipments of $212-225m and revenue of $270-285m (down a massive 35-39% on last quarter’s $440.4m and 53-56% on $610.3m a year ago). Operating margin should be -10% to -12% (down from + 3.8% last quarter), and ongoing EPS of -$0.04 to -$0.05 (versus $0.26 last quarter).

On 20 November, Lam announced restructuring activities and other cost-reduction actions targeted at reducing expenses by $15-20m per quarter. Charges associated with the restructuring activity are expected to be $20-26m, comprising $15-20m of cash charges (related to one-time termination benefits from workforce reductions) and $5-6m in non-cash charges (for asset impairments). Restructuring should be completed in first-quarter 2009.

“Business conditions in the semiconductor equipment sector have deteriorated further in recent weeks,” says president & CEO Steve Newberry. “The weakness in memory pricing, the softening end-user demand environment, and restrictions in the capital markets have caused our customers to dramatically reduce their equipment purchases,” he adds. “We expect this challenging environment will persist going into 2009... Throughout this economic cycle we are maintaining focused expense discipline to preserve a strong balance sheet with healthy cash balances.”

See related item:

Lam launches $250m share repurchase program

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