Hynix is expected to swing to an operating profit in the July to September period, ending its seventh consecutive quarterly loss. Samsung may also see profits rise further in its semiconductor unit in the third quarter.

GT Solar International's fiscal first-quarter profits jumped 51% on surging margins and higher revenues. The company said it was "on track" to meet its fiscal-year targets. But revenues grew at its slowest pace in roughly a year and sales came in far short analysts' expectations.

Amkor swung to a profit of US$9 million in second-quarter 2009. "Overall unit shipments were up 43% sequentially with advanced laminate and flip chip packages up nearly 60%," said company COO Ken Joyce. "We are increasing our estimated capital additions for the full year 2009 to approximately $150 million."

Shares of MEMC Electronic Materials fell the day after the wafer maker's second-quarter profits dropped 96% on another steep fall in sales, though its semiconductor business showed improvement even as its solar end continues to struggle.

Samsung Electronics reported its highest quarterly net profit in over two years on Friday as its semiconductor and LCD businesses returned to profitability.

"We are very pleased with our return to profitability in the second quarter, driven by increased pricing, higher royalty revenues and strong execution," said company CEO Eli Harari. "We remain cautiously optimistic about the second half of 2009."

Online auction giant eBay has reported a fall in profits between April and June of almost one-third, but analysts had expected a sharper fall. Net profit was US$327.3 million, down 29% compared with the US$460m made in the same period a year ago. Revenue also fell slightly, from US$2.2 billion to US$2.1 billion.

Hard drive maker Seagate Technology raised its forecasts for margins and overall industry sales in the current quarter, citing a larger-than-expected increase in corporate demand for computers, and its shares rose 4%.

The world's biggest mobile phone maker saw a 66% slide in quarterly profit as the economic downturn hit demand for handsets. Rival Sony Ericsson also reported a quarterly loss and warned that the rest of the year would remain difficult for the company.

Xilinx has announced net income was US$38.0 million for the quarter ended June 27, 2009, down 56% from US$86.3 million a year ago. The specialized chipmaker also saw its net sales for the quarter slide 23% on year.

Second-quarter net income was US$47.4 million, down from US$98.0 million in the second quarter of 2008.

3Com has reported fourth-quarter and full-year results that indicated the networking supplier has settled down. The firm said it recorded a net income of US$20.2 million on sales of US$295.1 million.

Sanyo Electric, the rechargeable-battery maker being acquired by Panasonic, forecast an increase in annual operating profit, beating analyst estimates.

KLA-Tencor has announced operating results for its third quarter of fiscal 2009 (ended on March 31, 2009). KLA-Tencor reported a GAAP net loss of US$83 million and a GAAP loss per share of US$0.49 on revenues of US$310 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2009.

LG Chem, Korea's largest chemical firm by sales, reported Monday a 11.6 percent rise in its first quarter net profit largely due to a slight price rebound in its petrochemical products and a weaker local currency against the greenback.

Lam Research has revealed its third quarter financial results, indicating a swing to loss as revenues plunged 72% during the three-month period.

MEMC Electronic Materials shares jumped on Friday after the silicon wafer maker posted a first-quarter profit helped mainly by a hefty tax gain.

The world's largest software maker said profit dropped by 32% to US$2.98 billion. Sales slipped to US$13.65 billion.

Tesco, ranked No. 3 in the world behind Wal-Mart and France's Carrefour, shrugged off the global recession to unveil the highest profits ever recorded. However, the British supermarket giant was forced to concede that it finds doing business in the US not so easy.

Internet search company Yahoo announced Tuesday that it would slash 5% of its workforce, as it reported a first-quarter profit that fell sharply from a year earlier but still managed to beat Wall Street's forecasts.