Is anyone left here? This is a optimistic and somewhat informative article that appeared in CBS.Marketwatch yesterday. I copied and pasted from R.B., where subject article was posted by MikeLisa:
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August Technology eyes chips
Company forecasts growth after IPO
By Steve Gelsi, CBS.MarketWatch.com
Last Update: 1:32 PM ET Jul 10, 2000 NewsWatch
Latest headlines
NEW YORK (CBS.MW) -- August Technology debuted on the Nasdaq Stock Market on June 14 at a price of $12 per
share.
Bloomington, Minn.-based August (AUGT: news, msgs), which makes testing and inspection equipment for chip
manufacturers and other high-tech firms, is trading at around 15 as it emerges from its “quiet period.”
A $40 million IPO, August Technology wasn’t a big debut, but it’s one of a growing number of firms that are profitable
before going public. The 8-year-old company offered 3.3 million via lead underwriter Needham & Co.
Chief Executive Officer Jeff L. O'Dell spoke by phone with CBS.MarketWatch.com as the company emerged from its
25-day quiet period.
CBS.MW: Could you give us a brief introduction to your company?
O’Dell: We were founded in 1992, based on automated visual inspection for the semiconductor industry. It’s using
cameras and computers to emulate and improve or enhance what a human being would do when they’re looking at
anything in the manufacturing process. When applied to the chip industry, this machine vision can be used for a variety of
applications.
CBS.MW: So is your fate tied to the (sometimes volatile) chip sector?
O’Dell: We actually focus on the semiconductor industry, although there are other industries, such as data storage or flat
panel display or optical electronics, have very similar needs.
CBS.MW: Who are your biggest customers?
O’Dell: Of the top 20 chip companies in the word, all of them are customers of August Technologies. We don’t have all of
our revenue associated with one big customer. We have a very broad base of blue-chip companies. The company
continues to track with the industry. There are opportunities to add customers and expand existing customers.
CBS.MW: What’s your growth been like?
O’Dell: Historically, we’ve had a compounded annual growth rate of more than 50 percent. In two of those last five years,
the semiconductor industry was shrinking. We’ve been able to maintain an attractive compounded annual growth rate
even during a downtown.
CBS.MW: What did investors like about the company on your road show?
O’Dell: The fact that we had solid sales and we had shown profitability at one point. We’ve been in business for eight
years. There was year-over-year revenue growth, and we have the ability to bring earnings to the bottom line. One of the
other things that struck people was how we bootstrapped ourselves. ... We’re not heavily VC-funded -- we wanted to hold
on to our equity in the company. That seemed to stand out in their minds as something they don’t see ... very often.
Certainly, the people we talked to believe technology is here to stay.
CBS.MW: So after showing a profit, why did you fall back into the red?
O’Dell: We ended up making the decision to take advantage of this large market we’d uncovered. We ramped our
investment quite heavily and began to manage the company (to) break even and invest in more research and
development and more distribution channels. This was in 1998.
CBS.MW: What kind of tech scene is happening in Minnesota, your home state?
O’Dell: It’s not Silicon Valley, but the environment is excellent, with Cray Research, Honeywell, 3M and the University of
Minnesota, which has a very good technology institute. There’s an excellent infrastructure for high tech, not only for
computers but biomedical. Medtronic is here. Plus, we like to be close to our customers, so we have offices throughout
the country.
CBS.MW: Now that you’re out of your quiet period, is there anything you’d like to say about the company?
O’Dell: We’re really not a hyping type of organization. We put out steady information. We’re well-placed as the market
leader.
CBS.MW: What’s your outlook on the chip sector right now?
O’Dell: The industry is going to have a phenomenal growth year, for two main reasons. One, the consumption of
semiconductors in our daily lives is incredible. (And) suppliers of chips are investing at a record pace in capital
equipment.
CBS.MW: Did you have any anxiety about debuting your IPO in the face of a downturn in the new-issues sector?
O’Dell: We did. We were cautiously optimistic. We felt we’d be successful because the story was solid. We felt we had a
very good opportunity.
CBS.MW: So you’re OK with your stock price? It’s up about 50 percent over its offering price.
O’Dell: You’re never satisfied, but by historical measures we’re OK. It’s held on. If we can continue to put up our numbers,
we’ll be fine.
CBS.MW: How did you choose your underwriter, Needham & Co.?
O’Dell: Needham has a good reputation in this space. We were pleased to have them. They handled the IPO for FSI
International (FSII: news, msgs), another Minnesota tech firm. They’re a highly respected underwriter. We picked best of
breed for the size of the deal.
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Tom B. |
