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Novellus beats Street
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July 17, 2000: 6:04 p.m. ET
Semiconductor equipment maker's 2Q revenue jumps 149 percent
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Boosted by a booming semiconductor market, Novellus Systems Inc. reported second quarter earnings Monday that beat analysts' expectations as its quarterly revenue jumped almost 150 percent.
Novellus (NVLS: Research, Estimates), a maker of wafer fabrication systems for the semiconductor equipment market, said that its net income for the second quarter ended July 1 was $75.7 million, or 56 cents per share, versus $12.4 million, or 10 cents, in the same period last year. The mean analyst estimate was 52 cents per share, according to earnings estimate tracker First Call.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company said that its revenue rose 149 percent to $326 million from $130.9 million. Record bookings for the quarter resulted in a book-to-bill ratio that was significantly above 1:1 for the quarter, the company said in a news release. A ratio above 1:1 indicates a backlog of orders.
 During the quarter, Novellus completed a public offering of just over nine million shares of its common stock, resulting in net proceeds to the company of $526.3 million. Internal cash generation in the quarter contributed an additional $95 million to the quarter end cash balance, which was $1.07 billion.
"This has been an eventful quarter for Novellus, with the addition of our company to the S&P 500, preparing for the launch of a new and revolutionary product, and another record quarter driven by robust capital spending by our customers for expanded capacity and advanced technology," Richard Hill, chairman and chief executive officer, said in a news release issued after Monday's close.
Novellus stock rose 4-3/16 to 68-7/16, a 6.5 percent gain, in regular trading Monday, in what was a strong day for chip stocks in general. Its stock rose 13/16 to 69-1/4 in after-hours trading and is now four times higher than its 52-week low of 17-1/4.
Novellus makes equipment for vapor deposition, a step frequently used in the manufacture of semiconductor chips. This process deposits insulating and conducting film layers that connect transistors on a chip. The company has introduced a copper-based process that it says will enable the production of chips that are up to four times faster, yet 20 to 30 percent less expensive to produce, than those commercially available today. 
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