Top Semiconductor Equipment and Materials Performers (Q4-2002)

Cupertino, CA – March 31, 2003 - An important objective for companies in our cyclical industry is to actually generate a profit at lower revenue levels, a task facilitated by early warning of an approaching recession as well as being ready for the next upswing.

The IC Industry’s 1.7% annual growth rate for 2002 was in-line with Advanced Forecasting’s quantitative based projection that IC sales would grow by only a negligible amount. Looking up from the deep ditch of 2001, we prepared our clients for a slow recovery and advised them not to listen to sources that predicted 14% to 20% growth in IC revenues for 2002.

Coincidence or not, the three best semiconductor equipment and materials companies ranked by PennWell's WaferNews on Margins (operating and net) and Earnings per Share, are users of Advanced Forecasting services:

               Best Operating Margins -- Cabot 24%, MEMC 17%, KLA-Tencor 8%
               Best Net Margins -- MEMC 19%, Cabot 16%, KLA-Tencor 9%
               Best Earning/Share -- Cabot $.38, MEMC $.19, KLA-Tencor $.15

Our forecasts indicate that the future of the IC Industry is a mixture of a positive structural element impacting underlying demand and a temporary negative element (the Middle East conflict).

Contact us for more information on how we can help implement our forecasts into your planning process.

For more information contact:

David F. Crume
Director of Marketing and Sales
Advanced Forecasting
(408) 725-2964