Teradyne, the leading maker of testing equipment for the semiconductor industry which has announced plans for a business campus in Cavan employing 740 over the next five years, last night reported sharply reduced first-quarter earnings as sales dropped 6.6 per cent after the company recorded its lowest level of customer orders since 1998.

"We do not know if the current fall-off has bottomed out, or how long it will last," Teradyne chairman Mr George Chamillard said in a statement. "There is no recovery in sight at this point."