KLA-Tencor Won’t Meet Forecasts

KLA-Tencor Corp., the biggest maker of semiconductor-inspection tools, said fiscal third-quarter profit and sales will miss its forecasts because excess chip inventory is hurting demand. KLA-Tencor said its earnings for the quarter ending March 31 will be as much as 20% less than its earlier guidance of 58 cents a share, with sales 8% to 10% less than its previous estimate of $570 million to $580 million. Analysts were expecting 51 cents on average, with forecasts ranging from 35 cents to 62 cents, First Call/Thomson Financial said. San Jose-based KLA-Tencor said it will consider various ways to cut costs, but it will look at other areas before making work-force reductions. Shares of KLA-Tencor closed up $3.19 at $41.75 on Nasdaq, before the announcement.