SEZ meets 2007 guidance
Although it met its guidance, the wafer processing equipment supplier said its 2007 sales will be significantly lower than 2006.
By Ann Steffora Mutschler, Senior Editor -- EDN, January 17, 2008
Villach, Austria and Zurich, Switzerland-based single semiconductor wafer wet-clean processing equipment company the SEZ Group today reported that it achieved its 2007 full year guidance, and recorded preliminary net sales of approximately (330 million Swiss francs), with a preliminary order intake of approximately (300 million francs). Both figures are still much lower than net sales for 2006 of (392 million francs,) with order intake of (407.7 million francs).
In Q4 2007, SEZ said order activity increased by 58% in comparison to Q3 2007 to approximately (76 million francs). As expected, preliminary net sales decreased by 13% to approximately (57 million francs) compared to the prior quarter.
In addition, at the end of Q4, SEZ still had an order backlog of (43.50 million francs).
The semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry is bolstering itself for what is expected to be a rocky year. Segment leader Applied Materials started this week by announcing that it is cutting 1,000 jobs while lithography leader ASML watched its stock fall following mixed financial results.
