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Applied Materials 1st-quarter profit rises
2007-02-13
Applied Materials Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT), the world's largest supplier of equipment for making microchips, posted higher quarterly profit on Tuesday, topping estimates, although revenue was less than expected. Net profit was $403.5 million, or 29 cents per share, for the first quarter ended January 28, compared with $142.8 million, or 9 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts, on average, expected Applied Materials to earn 27 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Revenue was $2.28 billion, up 23 percent from a year earlier but lower than the $2.35 billion expected by analysts. "Rapid customer acceptance of our new leading-edge platforms for chemical vapor deposition and metal etch, as well as strong demand for Applied's service products, set the stage for future growth," Chief Executive Mike Splinter said in a statement. Gross margin was 46.7 percent, down slightly from 47.1 percent in the fourth quarter. New orders, an important indicator of future business, reached $2.54 billion in the first quarter, up 24 percent from a year earlier but down 6 percent from the previous quarter as makers of flat-panel displays postponed expansion plans, Applied said. Its shares fell 7 cents in extended trading after the results were announced. The stock, which closed up 1.9 percent at $18.18 on Nasdaq, has fallen almost 9 percent over the past year. That compares with a rise of 25 percent in Netherlands-based ASM International NV (Nasdaq:ASMI), a gain of 11 percent in Novellus Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:NVLS) and a fall of 5 percent for Lam Research Corp. (Nasdaq:LRCX).
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