SiliconBeat

Aviza Technology, the supplier of chip-making equipment and processes, decided it was time to crow about its upwardly revised profit forecast for its fiscal 2009 first quarter that ended Dec. 26.

Despite the fact that the company expects sales to be at the low end of its original guidance range of $25 million to $32 million, the Scotts Valley company said it now expects “adjusted” net income to range somewhere between $1 million and $4 million, a vast improvement over its previous forecast range of anywhere between a $4 million loss and a $50,000 profit.

“The improvements were a result of the faster impact of cost reduction measures and favorable currency exchange translation,” the company said in a press release. The company let go of about 100 employees, or 15 percent of its work force in April.

The press release also served as a notice that Aviza has retained Needham & Co. to “assist (it) in reviewing its financial and strategic options.”

“We are looking forward to working closely with them as we move through a very difficult and unpredictable economy,” wrote the company’s chief executive, Jerry Cutini, in a statement.