Circuits Assembly Online Magazine - Features

PHOENIX -- Suntron Corp. today reported net sales of $115.8 million and a net loss of $1.3 million for its fourth quarter ended Dec. 31.

For the year, the EMS maker posted a net loss of $4.5 million on net sales of $475.4 million.

For the quarter net sales were up 47% increase from last year on higher demand for semiconductor capital equipment, aerospace and defense, industrial and medical gear. The net loss was $1.3 million, vs. a net loss of $6.1 million.

For the year, the net loss was $4.5 million, vs. a net loss of $34.3 million in 2003. The operating loss improved to $400,000 from $5.5 million a year ago. Sequentially, fourth-quarter net sales decreased 10%, due to lower demand for semiconductor tools.

FRAMINGHAM, MA -- February brought a slight rebound in projected IT spending after declines over the previous three months, CIO magazine said today.

Chief information officers predict spending growth of 5.9% over the next 12 months, up from 5.4% reported during January, according the magazine's monthly poll.

Telecom equipment and infrastructure software had the largest number of CIOs who predict increases.

"The February results are somewhat reassuring" said Gary Beach, group publisher of CXO Media, the company that publishes CIO. "After three straight monthly declines, it is a good sign we are seeing some leveling off. CIOs are now facing
a more constrained environment and must make hard choices between infrastructure maintenance and system upgrades. I believe in the coming months we will see a slow but steady rate of growth. However, unless the CEO and CFO loosen the
purse strings, we will not see explosive growth."

"Although IT spending projections improved modestly from January levels, CIO spending expectations have declined noticeably from last fall," said Chris Whitmore, director IT hardware research for Deutsche Bank Securities. "The upswing
this month in the telecom and infrastructure software markets is one highlight in the data. However, it remains to be seen if this is the beginning of a trend."

AYLESBURY, ENGLAND -- EMS company TT Electronics has acquired the contract assembly arm of Dage Holdings Ltd. No financial details were made available.

Dage Electronics Integrated Systems has sites in Suzhou, China, and the U.K.

TT Electronics called the asset acquisition "complementary," saying DEIS has strong backplane design and manufacturing capabilities.

MIAMI -- Day two of a conference for electronics hardware OEMs and their EMS suppliers was "relatively neutral," the sponsoring firm said today. One company, Plexus, suggested a possible acquisition in Eastern Europe.

In a report issued today, Deutsche Bank said Celestica CFO Anthony Puppi gave cautious forecast for end-market demand this year.

Celestica and Plexus said the March quarter is running to expectations, despite continuing pricing pressure. At the end of its latest, 15-month restructuring plan, Celestica expects capacity utilization to reach 70%.

Plexus CEO Dean Foate said that the EMS firm's top-line growth this year will be
primarily from new program ramps. The company has restructured several supply-chain agreements, "which should help drive improved working capital management in the March quarter and beyond," DB said.

Plexus also said an acquisition or greenfield expansion in Eastern Europe was a possibility.

The company expects its Penang, Malaysia, plant will reach breakeven by late in the third quarter, DB said..

GREENVILLE, SC -- The recently resigned chief executive of Kemet Corp. will receive $425,000 in cash plus other benefits as parting gifts, the company reported in an SEC filing.

Graves abruptly resigned from the company effective Jan. 26.

According to an 8-K filing by the firm, Graves, a former chief executive and director , will receive $35,416.67 per month for 12 months, $10,600 toward a car allowance, and various insurance benefits and outplacement services.

Graves is subject to a noncompete provision for the next 12 months.

MIAMI - A number of high-profile OEMs and EMS providers presenting at an analysts conference yesterday gave mixed outlooks for 2005, and at least one EMS company suggested further acquisitions are in store.

Benchmark Electronics chief executive Cary Fu "suggested that an acquisition of assets capabilities in Asia in on the horizon," Deutsche Bank analyst Chris Whitmore said today. Fu made the remarks at DB's hardware conference here yesterday.