Orange County’s printed circuit board makers are hoping the second half of 2005 is better than the first.
Excess manufacturing capacity, tempered electronics demand from consumers during the summer and falling prices for personal computers,which consume a lot of circuit boards,have conspired to slow DDi Corp. and Multi-Fineline Electronix Inc., both of Anaheim, and Santa Ana’s TTM Technologies Inc.
Many board makers reported either weaker than expected profits or sales in the quarter ended June 30.
“There’s still some very aggressive pricing out there,” said Scott Robertson, an analyst with Miami-based Halpern Capital Inc.
Pricing pressure caused Robertson to downgrade his rating on TTM after it reported a 7% sales decline in the quarter ended June 30 to $57 million. TTM’s operating profit dropped by 56% to $4.8 million in the period.
DDi similarly saw sales fall 9% to $45.5 million in the June quarter, versus a year ago. The company posted an operating loss of $38 million in the period, including a onetime charge of $31 million to reduce the value of some assets. DDi earned a profit of $453,000 in the June quarter last year.
TTM and DDi make boards on short notice, usually for a computer or other electronics maker trying to fill an unanticipated spike in orders. When technology product sales are slower than expected,as they were in the second quarter,TTM and DDi face a slowdown, too.
In its recent quarterly conference call with analysts, TTM said it was looking for ways to cut costs.
For more on this story, see the Sept. 12 edition of the Business Journal.
