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Epcos warns on profits
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July 13, 2001: 2:59 a.m. ET
Europe's No. 1 electronics components maker forecasts gloomy six months
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LONDON (CNN) - Europe's biggest electronics components maker Epcos issued a profit warning on Friday, citing a further weakening in business during June.
The Munich, Germany-based company expects earnings to be only about a third of the previous quarter and forecasts the slump will last for the rest of its fiscal year.
Epcos, which supplies parts for mobile phones, the car industry and consumer electronics, said it expected third-quarter earnings per share to be between  0.30 and 0.35 compared with 0.96 in the second quarter.
The company is feeling the effects of a raft of profits warnings or restructurings from key sectors of its market such as telecoms, where companies are hampered by the economic slowdown and big debts.
"Because of a further weakening in business development in June, Epcos's earnings per share for the third quarter of fiscal 2001 will be below analyst expectations," the company said. "We do not expect an improvement in business conditions in the fourth quarter."
Epcos, which sells about 60 percent of its products in Europe, had previously said the market would bottom out in the third quarter and regain momentum in the final three months of fiscal 2001.
In second-quarter results released on May 3, Epcos said net profits rose 16 percent over the same period last year to 63 million ($53.5 million) and first-half net profits climbed 65 percent to 152 million.
The company was formed in 1989 as a joint venture between Siemens and Matsushita of Japan. Since its stock market debut in October 1999, both former parent companies have each held 12.5 percent of the shares.
Shares in Epcos, (FEPC) which will report third-quarter earnings on July 26, were down 5.5 percent at 52.30 in Frankfurt afternoon trading on Friday. 
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