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CHARTERED
PROVIDES NEW GUIDANCE FOR FIRST QUARTER 2001
MILPITAS, Calif -- FEBRUARY 27, 2001 -- Chartered
Semiconductor Manufacturing (Nasdaq: CHRT and SGX-ST:
CHARTERED) today announced that due to the weakening
economic environment and market conditions, revenues
and earnings for the company's first quarter will be
below its earlier guidance.
"While we had previously noted that economic conditions
were impacting order rates, in recent weeks we have
seen a more severe decline than anticipated. The weakness
has now become quite broad, impacting essentially all
major end-market segments and geographies as companies
continue to work off high inventories while also adjusting
to lower end-market demand levels. Accordingly, we are
updating the first quarter guidance which we provided
in our Year 2000 earnings release in late January,"
said Chia Song Hwee, senior vice president, CFO & CAO
of Chartered.
For the first quarter, the company now anticipates that
revenues will be down from the fourth quarter of 2000
approximately 35%, compared to prior guidance of a 15-20%
decline. With the resultant average factory utilization
in the low 60s, it is now anticipated that for the quarter,
the company will record a loss in the range of US$0.22
to US$0.24 per American Depositary Share (ADS). This
compares to prior guidance which was a profit of US$0.04
to US$0.06 per ADS."
The uncertain near-term environment makes it particularly
difficult to forecast the demand profile for the remainder
of 2001. However, barring a severe economic contraction,
the company continues to believe that revenues in the
second half of 2001 will be up from the first half,
particularly in light of the unprecedented rate of decline
in the current quarter.
"Even though the outlook for the coming quarters is
not clear, we do remain very confident that the underlying
drivers of Chartered's long-term growth, namely the
global shift to outsourced manufacturing and the increasing
pervasion and importance of communications applications,
are quite sound. Chartered is committed to executing
on its core strategy as it manages through this difficult
period with a continued focus on the strong long-term
market opportunity," concluded Barry Waite, president
& CEO of Chartered.
The company will host a conference call related to this
announcement at 5:00p.m. PT today, February 27, 2001,
which is 9:00a.m., February 28, Singapore time. Participants
will be Barry Waite, president & CEO, and Chia Song
Hwee, senior vice president, CFO & CAO. The call will
be webcast at http://www.charteredsemi.com
and will be archived for playback on the site through
March 6.
Chartered anticipates reporting the results of its first
quarter on Friday, April 20, Singapore time and will
update guidance at that time.
Please note that this announcement replaces the mid-quarter
update previously scheduled for March 8.
About Chartered
Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing is one of the
world's top three silicon foundries. The Company's business
model is distinguished by its strategy to build trusted
long-term relationships, where manufacturing is part
of a larger customer-service focus that includes joint
development and implementation of new process technologies
supporting novel applications within the broad communications
market. Chartered operates five semiconductor fabrication
facilities at its Singapore headquarters, with a sixth
fab under construction.
A Company with both global presence and perspective,
Chartered is traded on both the Nasdaq Stock Market
in the United States (Nasdaq: CHRT) and on the Singapore
Exchange Securities Trading Limited in Singapore (SGX-ST:
CHARTERED). The Company reported 2000 revenues of over
US$1.1 billion. More than 4,300 Chartered employees
are based at 11 locations around the world. Information
about Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing can be found
at www.charteredsemi.com
Safe Harbor Statement under the provisions of the
United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995
This news release contains forward-looking
statements, as defined in the safe harbor provisions
of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform
Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements, including
without limitation, statements relating to Company's
performance in the first quarter of 2001 and for the
remainder of 2001 and the statements relating to the
near-term and longer-term market outlook and company
growth, reflect the Company's current views with respect
to future events and financial performance, and are
subject to certain risks and uncertainties, which could
cause actual results to differ materially from historical
results or those anticipated. Among the factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially are:
changes in market outlook and trends; changes in economic
fundamentals; customer demands; the successful implementation
of our partnership, technology and supply alliances;
unforeseen delays or interruptions in the construction
and ramp up of our fabrication facilities; the performance
level of our fabrication facilities; availability of
materials, equipment, manpower and timely regulatory
approvals, the availability of financing and terms thereof
and the continued success in technological advances.
Although the Company believes the expectations reflected
in such forward looking statements are based upon reasonable
assumptions, it can give no assurance that these expectations
will be attained. In addition to the foregoing factors,
a description of certain other risks and uncertainties
which could cause actual results to differ materially
can be found in the section captioned "Risk Factors"
in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with
the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You are
cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking
statements, which are based on management's current
view of future events. The Company undertakes no obligation
to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
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