Kulicke & Soffa Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2011 Results
Singapore – November 10, 2011– Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) (“K&S” or the “Company”) today announced results for its fourth fiscal quarter ended October 1, 2011.
| Quarterly Results |
| | Fiscal Q4 2011 | Change vs. Fiscal Q4 2010 | Change vs. Fiscal Q3 2011 |
| Net Revenue | $180.4million | -30.4% | -38.7% |
| Gross Profit | $82.7 million | -26.3% | -38.3% |
| Gross Margin | 45.9% | 260 bps | 40 bps |
| Income from Operations | $22.7 million | -60.0% | -72.2% |
| Operating Margin | 12.6% | -930 bps | -1,510 bps |
| Net Income | $1.9 million | -96.6% | -97.3% |
| Net Margin | 1.1% | -2,050 bps | -2,290 bps |
| EPS – Diluted | $0.03 | -96.2% | -96.8% |
Bruno Guilmart, Kulicke & Soffa’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Our results for the fiscal fourth quarter exceeded the high-end of our prior guidance, with gross margin improving despite the revenue decline. For the full fiscal year, we achieved record Company revenue of $830.4 million and operating income of $170.1 million, and remained very successful at cost control and cash generation. Our technology and market leadership helped lessen the impact of the challenging global economic situation and the more cautious approach to capital spending at our customers. Our performance serves to further validate the long-term opportunities we are pursuing, including but not limited to, the continued copper transition, which enables higher productivity and cost savings for our customers. We continue to focus on research and development, agile operational efficiency and the ability to quickly react to changes in our customers’ demand.”
Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2011 Key Product Trends
| | · | Ball bonder equipment net revenue decreased 44% over the June quarter. |
| | · | 63% of ball bonder equipment was sold as copper capable bonders, compared to 57% in the same period one year ago. |
| | · | Wedge bonder equipment net revenue decreased 35% over the June quarter. |
Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2011 Financial Highlights
| | · | Net revenue decreased to $180.4 million. |
| | · | Gross margin remained strong at 45.9%. |
| | · | Fiscal 2011 income tax expense was $34.8 million. |
| | · | Net income was $1.9 million or $0.03 per share. Net income was negatively impacted by the following items: |
| | o | Approximately $16.0 million due to higher income tax expenses associated with revenue from higher tax jurisdictions and additional tax exposure in Asia; |
| | o | $2.6 million, net of tax, related to net foreign currency exchange losses; and, |
| | o | $2.5 million, net of tax, related to the write down in market value of the Company’s building in Switzerland. |
| | o | Without these items net income would have been $23.0 million or $0.31 per diluted share. |
| | · | Cash, cash equivalents and investments increased to $384.6 million up $49.0 million from the prior quarter. |
First Quarter Fiscal 2012 Outlook
The Company expects net revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 to be approximately $100 million to $120 million, reflecting the current uncertain economic environment in addition to typical industry seasonality.
Looking forward, Bruno Guilmart, commented, “We entered the first quarter in one of the best financial and operational positions the Company has ever been in. We will continue to leverage our leadership position in the copper transition and wedge bonding to help mitigate the macro pressure facing the broader market. While continuing to maintain our flexible cost structure, we will work closely with our customers and support their needs through ongoing R&D investments. We also remain committed to pursuing new growth opportunities, as we work to improve our cross-cyclical performance.”
Earnings Conference Call Details
A conference call to discuss these results will be held today, November 10, 2011 beginning at 8:00 am (EST). To access the conference call, interested parties may call +1-877-407-8037 or internationally +1-201-689-8037. The call will also be available by live webcast at www.kns.com/investors/events.
A replay will be available from approximately one hour after the completion of the call through December 1, 2011 by calling +1-877-660-6853 or internationally +1-201-612-7415, with account number 5521 and replay ID 381528. A webcast replay will also be available at www.kns.com/investors/events.
About Kulicke & Soffa
Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ: KLIC) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. As a pioneer in this industry, K&S has provided customers with market leading packaging solutions for decades. In recent years, K&S has expanded its product offerings through strategic acquisitions, adding die and wedge bonders and a broader range of expendable tools to its core ball bonding products. Combined with its extensive expertise in process technology, K&S is well positioned to help customers meet the challenges of assembling the next-generation semiconductor and LED devices. (www.kns.com)
Caution Concerning Results and Forward Looking Statements
In addition to historical statements, this press release contains statements relating to future events and our future results. These statements are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to our future revenue, sustained, increasing, continuing or strengthening demand for our products, the continuing transition from gold to copper wire bonding, replacement demand, our research and development efforts, our ability to identify and realize new growth opportunities and our ability to control costs. While these forward-looking statements represent our judgments and future expectations concerning our business, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to: the risk that customer orders already received may be postponed or canceled, generally without charges; the risk that anticipated customer orders may not materialize; the risk that our suppliers may not be able to meet our demands on a timely basis; the volatility in the demand for semiconductors and our products and services; volatile global economic conditions, which could result in, among other things, sharply lower demand for products containing semiconductors and for the Company’s products, and disruption of capital and credit markets; the risk of failure to successfully manage our operations; acts of terrorism and violence; risks, such as changes in trade regulations, currency fluctuations, political instability and war, which may be associated with a substantial non-U.S. customer and supplier base and substantial non-U.S. manufacturing operations; and the factors listed or discussed in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. 2010 Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These results should be considered preliminary until the 2011 Annual Report on Form 10-K is filed.
Contacts:
Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc.
Joseph Elgindy
Investor Relations
P: +1-215-784-7518
F: +1-215-784-6180
jelgindy@kns.com
Global IR Partners
David Pasquale
P: +1-914-337-8801
klic@globalirpartners.com
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