Ultra Clean Holdings 1Q profit falls on sales decline

Shares in microchip manufacturing equipment supplier Ultra Clean Holdings Inc. fell Tuesday after it said its first-quarter profit fell on a decline in sales.

Shares of Menlo Park, Calif.-based Ultra Clean fell 32 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $11.17 in morning trading. They have traded in the past year between $8.96 and $16.69.

The company said late Monday that profit fell 63.5 percent to $1.9 million, or 9 cents per share, from $5.2 million, or 24 cents per share, in the 2007 first quarter.

Sales fell 16.6 percent to $92.4 million from $110.8 million in the 2007.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected profit of 12 cents per share. Analysts typically exclude one-time items.

Chief Executive Clarence Grange said he was satisfied with the company's performance, "given the increasingly difficult industry conditions."

He also said the company has streamlined its operations with the goal of remaining profitable while the downturn in the microchip equipment industry continues.