Exhibit 99.1
[LOGO]AEHR TEST SYSTEMS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Financial Relations Board
Jocelyn Hunter Linda Chien
Analyst Contact General Inquiries
(415) 248-3433 (310) 407-6547
AEHR TEST SYSTEMS REPORTS SECOND QUARTER
RESULTS FOR FISCAL 2004
Fremont, CA (January 7, 2004) -- Aehr Test Systems (Nasdaq: AEHR), a leading
supplier of semiconductor test and burn-in equipment, today announced
financial results for the second quarter ended November 30, 2003.
Net sales for the second quarter of fiscal 2004 were $3.6 million, a 23
percent increase from $2.9 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2003.
Operating loss for the second quarter of fiscal 2004 was $1.1 million,
compared with an operating loss of $1.7 million for the same quarter last
year. Second quarter fiscal 2004 net loss improved 52 percent to $949,000,
or $0.13 per share, compared with a net loss of $2.0 million, or $0.28 per
share, in the same quarter of fiscal 2003.
"In the second quarter, we continued to see interest from integrated circuit
(or IC) manufacturers for our FOX full-wafer contact test and burn-in
products," commented Rhea Posedel, chairman and chief executive officer of
Aehr Test. "Last month, we exhibited our FOX wafer level burn-in technology
and DiePak carrier products for producing 'known-good-die' at Semicon Japan.
During the quarter, we made significant progress on the development of our
FOX full wafer tester. This past fiscal year, we invested heavily in R&D,
close to 30 percent of net sales, most of which was for FOX tester product
development. We expect to see the benefit from this investment with
increased revenues from our FOX products in the second half of calendar 2004.
IC manufacturers are interested in our FOX tester as a solution to reduce the
escalating cost for memory and embedded memory products."
"Second quarter net sales were about what we expected and marked the
continuation of year-over-year revenue growth we have seen for the past six
consecutive quarters," said Gary Larson, vice president of finance and chief
financial officer of Aehr Test. "We were very pleased to be cash positive
for the quarter as our cash and investments balance increased by almost
$500,000 over the first quarter's levels."
As of November 30, 2003, the Company had no debt outstanding. Cash, short-
term investments and long-term investments increased to $12.9 million, up
from $12.4 million at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2004 and $11.4
million at the end of fiscal 2003. The Company closed the second quarter
with shareholders' equity of $23.5 million, or $3.27 per share.
For the six months ended November 30, 2003, net sales were $7.8 million, a 21
percent increase from $6.4 million in the comparable period of fiscal 2003.
Operating loss for the six months ended November 30, 2003 was $2.2 million,
compared with $2.8 million for the same period of fiscal 2003. Net loss for
the six months was $1.8 million, or $0.25 per share. Net loss for the
comparable period of fiscal 2003 was $2.9 million, or $0.40 per share.
"We are beginning to see signs that point to an improvement of our industry
in calendar year 2004," continued Posedel. "We are forecasting revenues for
the current quarter to be similar to those levels achieved in the second
quarter. Our long-term plan is to expand our addressable market and grow
revenues through the execution of two main strategies. First, we are
investing in research and market development of our innovative FOX product
line. Second, we are enhancing and aggressively selling our core test and
burn-in MAX and MTX systems. In conjunction with strict cost controls, we
believe that this plan will enable us to return to profitability in calendar
year 2004."
Management Conference Call
Management of Aehr Test will host a conference call and webcast on Wednesday,
January 7, 2004 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern (6:00 a.m. Pacific) to discuss the
Company's operating performance. The conference call can be accessed live
via the Internet at www.aehr.com. Please go to the Web site at least fifteen
minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software.
A replay of the webcast will be available for 90 days.
About Aehr Test Systems
Headquartered in Fremont, California, Aehr Test Systems is a leading
worldwide provider of systems for burning-in and testing DRAM and logic
integrated circuits and has an installed base of more than 2,000 systems
worldwide. Aehr Test has developed and introduced several innovative
products, including the FOX, MTX, MAX3 and MAX4 systems, and the DiePak
carrier. The FOX system is a full wafer contact test and burn-in system.
The MTX system is a massively parallel test system designed to reduce the
cost of memory testing by performing both test and burn-in on thousands of
devices simultaneously. The MAX system can effectively burn-in and
functionally test complex devices, such as digital signal processors,
microprocessors, microcontrollers and systems-on-a-chip. The DiePak carrier
is a reusable, temporary package that enables IC manufacturers to perform
cost-effective final test and burn-in of bare die. For more information,
please visit the Company's Web site at www.aehr.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties relating to projections regarding industry growth and customer
demand for Aehr Test's products. Actual results may vary from projected
results. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, economic
conditions in Asia and elsewhere, world events, acceptance by customers of the
FOX, MTX, MAX and DiePak technologies, the ability of the Company to gain
business in China, the Company's development and manufacture of a commercially
successful wafer-level burn-in system, and the potential emergence of
alternative technologies, which could adversely affect demand for Aehr Test's
products in fiscal year 2004. See Aehr Test's recent 10-K and 10-Q reports
filed with the SEC for a more detailed description of the risks facing our
business. The Company disclaims any obligation to update information
contained in any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances
occurring after the date of this press release.
{Financial Tables to Follow}
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AEHR TEST SYSTEMS AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended Six Months Ended
November 30, November 30,
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
2003 2002 2003 2002
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net sales...................................... $ 3,593 $ 2,928 $ 7,762 $ 6,436
Cost of sales.................................. 2,251 1,908 4,794 3,857
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Gross profit................................... 1,342 1,020 2,968 2,579
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Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative.......... 1,269 1,452 2,783 3,163
Research and development..................... 1,139 1,234 2,358 2,195
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Total operating expenses................... 2,408 2,686 5,141 5,358
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Loss from operations........................... (1,066) (1,666) (2,173) (2,779)
Interest income................................ 34 58 270 141
Other income (expense), net.................... 98 (363) (161) (259)
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Loss before income taxes....................... (934) (1,971) (1,742) (2,897)
Income tax expense (benefit)................... 15 21 15 (18)
---------- ---------- ---------- ----------
Net Loss....................................... $ (949) $(1,992) $(1,757) $(2,879)
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Net loss per share
Basic...................................... $ (0.13) $ (0.28) $ (0.25) $ (0.40)
Diluted.................................... $ (0.13) $ (0.28) $ (0.25) $ (0.40)
Shares used in per share calculation:
Basic...................................... 7,181 7,164 7,169 7,174
Diluted.................................... 7,181 7,164 7,169 7,174
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AEHR TEST SYSTEMS AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except per share data)
November 30, May 31,
2003 2003
(Unaudited)
---------- ----------
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents .......................... $ 6,370 $ 8,362
Short-term investments ............................. 5,243 2,429
Accounts receivable................................. 3,280 2,889
Inventories ........................................ 7,897 9,247
Prepaid expenses and other ......................... 417 1,640
---------- ----------
Total current assets ........................... 23,207 24,567
Property and equipment, net .......................... 1,395 1,515
Long-term investments ................................ 1,281 607
Other assets, net .................................... 1,529 1,558
---------- ----------
Total assets ................................... $27,412 $28,247
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LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable ................................... $ 897 $ 748
Accrued expenses ................................... 2,221 1,739
Deferred revenue ................................... 455 106
---------- ----------
Total current liabilities ...................... 3,573 2,593
Deferred revenue ..................................... 30 30
Deferred lease commitment ............................ 299 279
---------- ----------
Total liabilities .............................. 3,902 2,902
---------- ----------
Shareholders' equity:
Common stock, $.01 par value outstanding:
7,186 and 7,157 shares at November 30, 2003
and May 31, 2003, respectively.................... 72 72
Additional paid-in capital ......................... 36,418 36,364
Net unrealized gain (loss) on investments........... (8) 2
Cumulative translation adjustment................... 1,397 1,519
Accumulated deficit ................................ (14,369) (12,612)
---------- ----------
Total shareholders' equity ..................... 23,510 25,345
---------- ----------
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity ..... $27,412 $28,247
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