Jan. 31, 2003 – Santa Clara, CA – Applied Materials Inc. said that orders for 1Q03 ending Jan. 26 would be below the target provided during its 4Q02 earnings conference call in November.
First quarter orders are now expected to be approximately 35% below 4Q levels, compared with the previously announced target of 20% below 4Q levels. New orders for the company’s 4Q02 were $1.56 billion.
“Due to ongoing economic weakness and geopolitical uncertainties, customers deferred capital expenditures, causing a larger order shortfall than expected,” said James Morgan, chairman and CEO of Applied Materials.