Photronics Lowers Guidance for Q3

Electronic News, July 9, 2001

EVEN THE DESIGN SECTOR OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY isn't immune from the current downturn, as evidenced by Photronics Inc., which recently lowered its expectations for fiscal third-quarter revenues. The company is now expecting sales to be in the range of $80 million to $85 million, or about 15 percent to 20 percent below the record $100.6 million reported in the previous quarter.

The Jupiter, Fla.-based photomask maker (nasdaq: PLAB) said its diluted earnings per share are expected to be between 1 cent and 5 cents. Temporary shutdowns of fabs have hurt the release of new IC designs, the company said. To date, Photronics has been alerted that more than 40 wafer fabs will be shut down temporarily, varying in length from one to three weeks, before the end of the company's fiscal year in October.