Sumco cuts outlook by 41 pct on weak wafer demand
TOKYO, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Japan's Sumco Corp (3436.T) on Tuesday cut its annual operating profit forecast by 41 percent due to sluggish demand for silicon wafers, missing market expectations by a wide margin.
Sumco, the world's No.2 silicon wafer maker behind Shin-Etsu Chemical Co (4063.T), now expects its operating profit to total 65 billion yen ($637 million) in the year ending Jan. 31, less than half its 140.39 billion yen profit a year earlier.
The new outlook falls far short of a consensus of 89.5 billion yen in a poll of 17 analysts by Reuters Estimates. A supply glut and price falls in the memory chip market have prompted Elpida Memory Inc (6665.T), Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (5346.TWO) and some other microchip makers to cut output, slowing demand for silicon wafers, which are used to make microchips.
Following Sumco's earlier announcement that it would revise its earnings outlook, its shares fell 5.4 percent to 1,067 yen, underperforming the Nikkei average .N225, which rose 2.6 percent. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka)
