Semitool Meets Estimates, but Sees Revenue, Income Slowing

Earnings Scorecard
Actual	Estimated*	Year-Ago
$0.30	$0.30	$0.13

Semitool(SMTL Quote) reported a first-quarter profit today that met Wall Street's slightly raised estimates, but forecast declining earnings for the upcoming period.

For the first quarter ended Dec. 31, Semitool earned $8.7 million, or 30 cents a diluted share, up from $3.7 million, or 13 cents a share, in the same period one year ago. Five analysts polled by First Call/Thomson Financial expected the company, which is based in Kalispell, Mont., to earn 30 cents a share.

Semitool, a designer and maker of equipment used in the fabrication of semiconductors, also posted first-quarter revenue of $71.5 million, up 44% from $49.6 million in the year-ago period.

The company offered a somewhat cryptic outlook, saying in a press release that it "anticipates quarterly revenues for the second quarter of fiscal 2001 to range from $63-$70 million, and that revenues for the year will be flat with last year's second half, although not necessarily divided equally between Q3 and Q4 because of the granularity of our business."

More to the point, the company projected second-quarter earnings of 21 cents to 29 cents a share. Analysts expect the company to earn 29 cents in the period.