Oct. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Advantest Corp., the world’s biggest maker of memory-chip testers, posted a wider second-quarter loss as orders from chipmakers slumped.

The net loss was 3.3 billion yen ($36 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from 2.8 billion yen a year earlier, the Tokyo-based company said in a statement today. The result matches the company’s July forecast.

Advantest, along with chip-gear makers Applied Materials Inc. and Tokyo Electron Ltd., are facing a 45 percent drop in capital spending by makers of semiconductors worldwide this year to $24.3 billion, according to researcher Gartner Inc. President Haruo Matsuno last month forecast bookings will climb in the current quarter from a year earlier, joining rivals in reporting signs of recovery.

The operating loss, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, widened to 3.47 billion yen in the quarter from 2.1 billion yen a year earlier. Sales slumped 57 percent to 11.2 billion yen.

Advantest didn’t provide a full-year earnings outlook.

Bookings totaled 14.4 billion yen, compared with 11.6 billion yen in the previous three months and 18.1 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.

Advantest, which reported a record net loss last fiscal year, may break even on an operating basis in the quarter ending March 2010 if orders reach the 20 billion yen mark, Matsuno said last month. He reiterated the company’s earlier target to turn profitable next fiscal year.

Tokyo Electron, the world’s second-largest maker of semiconductor equipment, last week reported a first-half net loss that was better than its forecast because of improving demand for chip gear and cost reductions. The net loss was 16.1 billion yen in the six months ended Sept. 30, 38 percent less than the 26 billion yen deficit the company projected in July.

Advantest, which has added 55 percent this year, fell 5.2 percent to close at 2,210 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange before the announcement. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 1.4 percent today.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 28, 2009 02:29 EDT