Chipmaking: Equipment sales fell 18%
Sales of equipment used to make semiconductors slumped for a 16th straight month in June, an industry group said. The decline was the smallest in percentage terms since March 2001. Global sales slid 18 percent to US$1.85 billion in June from a year ago, the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan said. Orders, which become sales about six months after they are received, have begun rising as chipmakers decide to purchase more machines to prepare for a recovery in demand. Orders for chipmaking equipment made in Japan rose 42 percent in June, the fourth consecutive monthly increase. Chip sales last year fell 32 percent to US$154 billion from US$227 billion the previous year, according to market researcher Dataquest Inc. Sales will probably rise 3.4 percent this year, Dataquest said.
Egines: Rolls-Royce profit declines
Rolls-Royce Plc's first-half profit fell 81 percent as airlines delayed plane orders following the Sept. 11 attacks and the world's second-biggest engine maker spent money cutting jobs. The shares rose as much as 12 percent. Net income fell to ?16 million (US$24 million) from ?85 million, Rolls-Royce said in a UK Regulatory News Service statement. Revenue fell 9.4 percent to ?2.8 billion. "It's a pretty excellent set of figures," said Sandy Morris, an analyst at ABN Amro who recommends buying Rolls-Royce shares. "The cash flow is far, far better than most people were expecting." Rolls-Royce said sales of airliner engines will fall 36 percent this year, slashing civil aerospace profit by half, as carriers respond to reduced travel after the Sept. 11 attacks. It has cut the workforce 11 percent in response to weak demand.
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