Applied Materials Profit Beats Forecast With Sales Surge

Applied Materials Inc., the No. 1 maker of semiconductor manufacturing equipment, said profit breezed past expectations in its fiscal third quarter, paced by an 83% surge in sales. Applied said earnings more than doubled to $603.8 million, or 70 cents a share, from $256.1 million, or 31 cents, a year ago, as sales climbed to $2.73 billion. The results, which exclude one-time items, topped the consensus analyst forecast of 68 cents, according to First Call/Thomson Financial.

Applied is benefiting from a surge in demand for semiconductors amid booming international growth of the Internet, computer networks, mobile phones and wireless devices. “There’s just a huge explosion in demand for different types of chips,” said Chief Executive James Morgan.

Applied said demand was strong across all regions for nearly all of its products, including its machines that make chips from 12-inch-diameter silicon wafers, larger than the current 8-inch wafers the industry uses. Shares in Santa Clara, Calif.-based Applied Materials rose 63 cents to $72.75 in active after-hours trading. The shares closed up $1.56 at $72.13 on Nasdaq before the earnings report.