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SAN FRANCISCO Silicon wafer supplier MEMC Electronic MaterialsInc. Wednesday (May 9) reported a first quarter loss of $92million, but said it expects sales for its semiconductor materialsbusiness unit to improve by at least 5 percent sequentially in thesecond quarter. Ahmad Chatila, MEMC's CEO, said through a statement that thecompany believes the first quarter represented a turning point forits semiconductor materials business. "Already in the secondquarter, we are seeing improved order volumes and firming pricing,"Chatila said. Charila said solar markets remain challenging, but that MEMC'srestructuring to lower costs and improve its competitive positionremains on track. The company's previously announced restructuringactions included the shuttering of its polysilicon plant in Merano,Italy, capacity reduction at plants in Portland, Ore., and Kuching,Malaysia, supplier contract terminations and the elimination ofabout 1,300 jobs, among other actions, MEMC said. MEMC (St. Peters, Mo.) reported first quarter sales of $519.2million, down 28 percent compared to the fourth quarter of 2011 anddown 29 percent compared to the first quarter of 2011. MEMC saidthe sequential decline was primarily driven lower solar projectsales, significantly lower solar wafer volume and pricing andweaker semiconductor wafer volume and pricing, while theyear-over-year decline was attributed to weakness in semiconductorwafer and solar markets. MEMC reported a net loss in accordance with generally acceptedaccounting principles (GAAP) of $92 million, or 40 cents per share,narrowed from a loss of $1.48 billion in the fourth quarter butwider than the company's $4.5 million GAAP net loss for the firstquarter of 2011. MEMC reported that its semiconductor materials business had $216million in first quarter revenue, down 5 percent from the previousquarter and down 16 percent from the year-ago quarter. Theyear-over-year decline was primarily due to lower small diameterwafer volume and weaker pricing across all diameters, partiallyoffset by higher large diameter wafer volume., MEMC said, while thesequential decrease was primarily driven by weaker wafer pricingacross all diameters. The semiconductor materials business posted an operating loss of$12.5 million in the first quarter, compared to an operating lossof $61.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and a profit of $8.4million in the first quarter of 2011. First quarter operatingresults included a $4 million insurance payment related to damagefrom the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Sales for MEMC's solar energy segment were $303.2 million in thefirst quarter, down 38 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011 anddown 37 percent from the first quarter of 2011. The firm citedweaker solar wafer pricing and volume and lower solar project salesfor the declines. Solar wafer sales to external parties are expected to decline tominimal levels due to the company's strategic shift to primarilysupplying wafers for internal consumption, MEMC said. As of Jan. 1,MEMC's solar materials and SunEdison businesses were combined intoone solar energy business unit. MEMC said it expects revenue for its semiconductor materialsbusiness to increase 5 to 10 percent sequentially in the secondquarter. The company did not provide specific revenue and earningsguidance for the second quarter, citing uncertainty in thesemiconductor and solar markets. I am an expert from cncprecision-machining.com, while we provides the quality product, such as China Precision Milling Machined Parts , Sheet Metal Bending, Sheet Metal Bending,and more.
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