Verigy
Verigy makes equipment that is used to test semiconductor chips, both before the chips are packaged and after. For its first quarter of 2007, revenue clocked in at $165 million, which is down 3% over the previous year, while net income totaled $13 million or $0.22 per share. If we deduct separation costs related to its spinoff from Agilent
To top things off, the firm provided a better-than-expected outlook of $170 million-$180 million in revenue for Q2 and net income of $17 million-$20 million. Last week Analog Devices
During Q1, 48% of revenue was from memory customers, which may be concerning to some, but not to me. While the business may continue to be volatile, I see an overarching trend toward multichip packaging (MCP) which is going to continue to drive strong test sales. (Motley Fool Hidden Gems recommendation FormFactor
No matter how the rest of the year goes, I like Verigy's positioning in the semiconductor chip equipment hierarchy, and I think it's worth a deeper look. Nevertheless, you should definitely do your due diligence on this one, as sales of test equipment have historically been very volatile.
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Fool contributor Dan Bloom and his wife own shares in KLA-Tencor but have no financial interest in any other company mentioned. The Fool has a disclosure policy.