Applied Materials Profit Rises 21% But New Orders Miss Expectations

By Tess Stynes 

Applied Materials Inc. said its earnings rose 21% in three months ended October but the chip-gear maker's new orders missed expectations, sending shares lower.

In recent after-hours trading, Applied Material's shares fell 4.9% to $29.15.

Applied makes equipment used in the manufacturing of semiconductors, which depends on a relatively small number of chip makers that write very big checks. But the size of those checks can vary greatly, depending on where those chip makers are in their production cycles.

In the latest quarter, new orders rose 25% to $3.03 billion. Analysts had expected new orders to reach $3.21 billion, according to FactSet.

For the period ended Oct. 30, Applied Materials reported a profit of $610 million, or 56 cents a share, up from $505 million, or 46 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding share-based compensation and other items, adjusted per-share earnings rose to 66 cents from 50 cents. Revenue increased 17% to $3.3 billion.

The company expected per-share profit of 61 cents to 69 cents and revenue growth of 15% to 19% from the quarter ended in July.

For the current quarter, the company forecasted per-share earnings of 62 cents to 70 cents and revenue of $3.20 billion to $3.34 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected per-share profit of 58 cents and revenue of $3.12 billion.

Write to Tess Stynes at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 17, 2016 17:00 ET (22:00 GMT)

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