Dear cluka: After a runup like today gotta put more in than just the net. Here is the verbage part of the release. JDN
Photronics Reports First Quarter Results; Revenues Increase 22% Year-over-Year
JUPITER, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2000--Photronics, Inc. (Nasdaq:PLAB), the world's leading photomask supplier, today reported first quarter 2000 sales and earnings results for the period ended January 30, 2000.
Sales for the quarter were $58.3 million, up 22%, compared to $47.8 million for the first quarter in 1999. Sequentially, sales were 7.5% lower than the $63.0 million reported in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1999 as a result of lower order activity typically experienced during the holiday season. Net income was $3.0 million compared to the prior year's $0.6 million. Diluted earnings per share amounted to $0.13 in the current year's quarter, compared with $0.03 in the first quarter of 1999.
James R. Northup, President stated, "Overall, the tone of our business continues to improve as integrated circuit designers respond to the technology consumer's demand for more functionality per square inch of silicon. The proliferation of these high performance devices will continue to gain momentum as the semiconductor industry begins to utilize its growing installed base of deep ultra-violet lithography systems. As the photomask industry is driven by new designs and applications for semiconductor devices, we believe the demand for the most advanced photomask technologies and services Photronics provides to its global customer base will continue to rise as well." Mr. Northup also noted that, as expected, sequential results were affected by year-end holiday interruptions in design activity, which are typically experienced during the Company's first quarter. "Though broader based than in prior years, we also began to see the typical rebound in the release of new designs as the quarter came to a close."
In conclusion, Mr. Northup commented, "The mix of our business continues its shift toward technologies below 0.25 micron, which we view as the primary driver in the photomask industry's growth in the year ahead. We believe Photronics is equipped to grow at a rate faster than the overall industry because we have carefully established a global leadership position by building a technology and service driven organization and management team focused on meeting the semiconductor industry's growing requirements in every region of the world."
A conference call with the investment community and the media can be accessed by logging onto Photronics' web site at www.photronics.com and navigating to the Investor Relations page. The call is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Thursday, February 17th will be archived for instant replay access until 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Friday, February 25, 2000.
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