UPDATE 1-Advantest posts operating loss, orders weak

TOKYO, July 25 (Reuters) - Japan's Advantest Corp (6857.T: ), the world's No.1 maker of chip testers, tumbled to a quarterly loss as inventory-shackled chip makers reined in spending, and forecast a first half loss. Advantest, which competes with Teradyne (TER.N: ), is fighting declining revenues as chipmakers put off spending on testing equipment amid an industry-wide slump. Advantest is under pressure to find new revenues or new costs to cut, while its U.S. rivals Credence Systems Corp (CMOS.O: ) plan to merge to pare their losses. Advantest said orders in April-June came to 18.2 billion yen ($169.9 million), down 66 percent from the previous year and hitting the lowest in six years, underlining the tough outlook. Advantest forecast an operating loss of 5.5 billion yen in April-September, down from a 24.65 billion yen... [read full story]