Aehr Test Systems Reports First Quarter Results for Fiscal 2003
Wednesday September 25, 4:01 pm ET
FREMONT, Calif., Sept. 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aehr Test Systems (Nasdaq: AEHR - News) today announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal year 2003 ended August 31, 2002.
Net sales for the quarter were $3.5 million, an increase of 25 percent from net sales of $2.8 million in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. Net loss for the quarter was $887,000, or $0.12 per share, compared with a net loss of $634,000, or $0.09 per share, in the same quarter of the prior year. The operating loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2003 showed an improvement of 7 percent compared with the operating loss in the same quarter of the prior year. Net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2002 included a U.S. income tax benefit of $332,000, or $0.05 per share, whereas in the first quarter of fiscal 2003 no U.S. income tax benefit was recorded.
As of August 31, 2002, cash, short-term investments and long-term investments totaled $13.6 million, and book value was $4.03 per share. The Company's long-term investments consist of interest bearing securities with maturities of less than 18 months.
"Although the recovery of the semiconductor industry is slow, we continue to remain confident about Aehr Test's long-term future," stated Rhea Posedel, chairman and chief executive officer of Aehr Test Systems. "We were able to reduce our operating loss somewhat in the quarter just ended compared with that of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002. However, given the sluggish economy and the continued downturn in the semiconductor industry, we expect our net sales in the second quarter of fiscal 2003 to be less than those in the quarter just reported. We have a strong balance sheet, so we can continue to invest in R&D and grow our FOX(TM) family of products, which we expect to be additive to our core product revenues."
Aehr Test received orders during the first quarter for multiple MAX4 burn-in and test systems from a leading semiconductor manufacturer. The newly released MAX4 system features low voltage down to 0.7 volts and high current up to 200 amps, as needed to meet the burn-in and test requirements for today's high performance logic devices.
C.J. Meurell, president and chief operating officer of Aehr Test, said, "We believe that this sale validates the market need for higher power, lower voltage burn-in and test systems. Our new MAX4 system could lead to new business opportunities for us if a significant percentage of our installed base needs to be replaced as the industry migrates to higher power ICs. We continue to be encouraged as our existing technology continues to generate interest from long-term key customers."
About Aehr Test Systems
Headquartered in Fremont, California, Aehr Test Systems is a leading provider of systems for burning and testing DRAM and logic integrated circuits and has an installed base of more that 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 burn-in and test 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 sophisticated 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.
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 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 2003. See Aehr Test's 10-K report filed with the SEC for additional risks affecting Aehr Test.
AEHR TEST SYSTEMS AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
August 31,
2002 2001
Net sales $3,508 $2,805
Cost of sales 1,949 1,410
Gross profit 1,559 1,395
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative 1,711 1,631
Research and development 961 966
Total operating expenses 2,672 2,597
Loss from operations (1,113) (1,202)
Interest income 83 168
Other income, net 104 101
Loss before income taxes (926) (933)
Income tax benefit (39) (299)
Net loss $(887) $(634)
Net loss per share
Basic $(0.12) $(0.09)
Diluted $(0.12) $(0.09)
Shares used in per share calculations:
Basic 7,184 7,123
Diluted 7,184 7,123
AEHR TEST SYSTEMS AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except per share data)
August 31, May 31,
2002 2002
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $8,020 $7,485
Short-term investments 4,856 8,003
Accounts receivable 3,546 3,132
Inventories 8,921 8,633
Prepaid expenses and other 2,327 2,373
Total current assets 27,670 29,626
Property and equipment, net 2,205 2,356
Long-term investments 701 --
Other assets, net 1,859 1,836
Total assets $32,435 $33,818
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $809 $874
Accrued expenses 1,995 2,260
Deferred revenue 399 540
Total current liabilities 3,203 3,674
Deferred revenue 35 35
Deferred lease commitment 240 224
Total liabilities 3,478 3,933
Shareholders' equity:
Common stock, $.01 par value outstanding:
7,184 and 7,184 shares at August 31, 2002
and May 31, 2002, respectively 72 72
Additional paid-in capital 36,384 36,387
Net unrealized gain on investments 3 2
Cumulative translation adjustment 1,453 1,492
Accumulated deficit (8,955) (8,068)
Total shareholders' equity 28,957 29,885
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $32,435 $33,818
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Source: Aehr Test Systems |
