[October 21, 2009] Cymer's third quarter strong, outlook cautious [The San Diego Union-Tribune] Tweet (San Diego Union-Tribune (CA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Oct. 21--San Diego's Cymer, a manufacturer of complex lasers used to make semiconductors, posted better-than-expected sales and profits for its third quarter. But the company's shares fell yesterday in after-market trading because of its cautious outlook for the fourth quarter. The company rang up third-quarter sales of $90.6 million. That's down from $111 million for the same quarter last year but well ahead of the $82.2 million in revenue forecast by analysts for the quarter. Net income was $10.8 million, or 36 cents a share, compared with $5.3 million, or 18 cents a share, last year. Analysts had forecast earnings of 17 cents a share. Chief Executive Bob Akins said chip manufacturers are buying more of Cymer's most complex laser systems, which allow them to make smaller chips with more complex circuitry. Semiconductors used in computers, lightweight net books and smart phones are where demand is strongest, Akins said. Akins said flash memory chips, which are used in many consumer electronics devices, have not seen a robust return in demand. "It's premature for us at this point to call this a broad-based upturn," he said. "We're looking forward to the holiday season. When we get that behind us, we'll be better able to forecast our business in 2010." Cymer predicted fourth-quarter revenue would be roughly equal to the third quarter. The forecast was more conservative than statements from some other semiconductor companies that have reported earnings this month, said Patrick Ho, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus in Dallas. "Intel is a little more bullish, but Intel has a lot of visibility in the PC market," Ho said. "Texas Instruments was a little more optimistic. I think Cymer was relatively optimistic." Cymer released results after markets closed. Its shares yesterday ended at $38.85 but fell $1.43 to $37.42 in early after-hours trading. Union-Tribune Mike Freeman: (760) 476-8209; To see more of the San Diego Union-Tribune or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.signonsandiego.com/. Copyright (c) 2009, The San Diego Union-Tribune Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]