Semitool Reports Improved Operating Results For Fiscal 2000 First Quarter
New Order Bookings to Record $62.4 Million
KALISPELL, Mont., Jan. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Semitool, Inc. (Nasdaq: SMTL - news), a leading manufacturer and supplier of wafer surface preparation and electrochemical deposition equipment and software control systems to the worldwide semiconductor industry, today reported financial results for its fiscal 2000 first quarter ended December 31, 1999.
Fiscal 2000 first quarter net sales were $49.6 million, 36 percent higher than the $36.5 million in the preceding quarter and 63 percent higher than the $30.4 million reported for the first quarter in fiscal 1999.
Net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2000 was $3.7 million or $0.27 per diluted share compared to $98,000 or $0.01 per diluted share for the previous quarter and a net loss of $1.1 million or $0.08 per share for the same quarter a year ago.
New order bookings during the fiscal 2000 first quarter reached a record level of $62.4 million, a sequential increase of 41 percent from $44.4 million in the previous quarter and an increase of 185 percent from $21.9 million in the same period last year. First quarter bookings from the US, Asia-Pacific and European regions were all higher than the previous quarter with the rapid growth in bookings led by increases in the Asia-Pacific and European regions. Reflecting the record bookings level, orders backlog at December 31, 1999 increased to $70.4 million, 22 percent higher than the beginning of the quarter and up 217 percent from the $22.2 million reported at December 31, 1998.
Fiscal 2000 first quarter gross margin increased to 52.1 percent compared to 44.9 percent for the previous quarter and 48.4 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 1999. The increase in gross margin is primarily attributable to increased absorption of fixed costs associated with higher operating levels and cost reductions.
Commenting, Fabio Gualandris, President and Chief Executive Officer said, ''Our record bookings achievement in the first quarter was driven by customers' acceptance of the LT-210c for copper deposition and the Spectrum automated batch surface preparation system into their high volume production lines. We believe this product acceptance, along with the booking of multiple Spectrum systems at two leading Korean based DRAM manufacturers, is a validation of our technologies and core competencies.''
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