Thursday September 14, 7:49 am
Eastern Time
Press Release
SOURCE: Robotic Vision Systems,
Inc.
RVSI Anticipates Lower Than Expected
Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2000 Results
CANTON, Mass., Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Robotic Vision Systems,
Inc. (RVSI) (Nasdaq: ROBV - news) today said it anticipates lower
than expected revenues and earnings for its fourth fiscal quarter ending
September 30, 2000. The world's premier machine vision company said
it currently believes revenues will be in the range of $60 to $63 million
and net income will be $0.06 to $0.09 per share. Analysts currently
forecast that RVSI will earn $0.18 per share on revenues of $68 to $70
million.
The company attributes the lower than anticipated revenues to
temporary order deferrals for semiconductor inspection equipment. The
company believes orders should resume a more normal pattern in the
quarter that begins October 1, 2000.
``Based on the evidence at hand, we believe certain orders are 'moving
to the right' by a month or two,'' said Pat V. Costa, Chairman and CEO
of RVSI. ``If that is the case, we should see a recovery of bookings in
our December quarter. We believe we are seeing a momentary pause in
orders caused by the industry's inability to bring large amounts of
back-end capacity on stream, coupled with two other factors:
over-purchasing of test equipment that strained capital budgets and a
need on the part of back-end subcontractors to see clear evidence of
additional wafer starts at front-end facilities. We are continuing to see
orders for technology changeover and additions to capacity at certain
back-end companies. For the present time, we are proceeding on the
basis that this is the case.''
Mr. Costa said that the industry trend favors a quick return to growth.
``Overall chip demand continues to grow. There is new front-end
capacity coming on stream and the percentage of chips requiring
inspection is rising. We are seeing several requests for extremely fast
delivery on product.''
RVSI Acuity CiMatrix is expected to perform on plan for the quarter.
``Unit level traceability using Data Matrix continues to grow as a concept
and as a contributor to revenues,'' Mr. Costa said. ``Sales to electronics
companies, including three of Europe's largest communications
equipment manufacturers, accelerated dramatically. Machine vision sales
are also rising with the introduction of several new members of the
Visionscape(TM) family. We have made excellent penetration of end
user accounts in electronics, semiconductor, automotive, pharmaceutical,
medical devices, and material handling.''
Mr. Costa said that for the present, the company intended to take no
extraordinary action to pare costs. ``Based on what we currently see,
we believe we can achieve overall bookings of up to $70 million in the
first fiscal quarter. If those bookings come to pass and we continue to
see requests for rapid delivery and installation in semiconductor
inspection products, it is not unreasonable to expect that RVSI's
revenues and earnings will be back on track in the December quarter.''
The company acknowledged that its expectations for fourth-quarter
fiscal 2000 results are preliminary. RVSI plans to announce its final
results for the fourth quarter and full-year fiscal 2000 on November 2,
2000.
Analyst Teleconference and Simultaneous Webcast
RVSI will host an analyst teleconference to discuss its preliminary
fourth-quarter fiscal 2000 results and outlook this morning at 8:45 a.m.
EDT. Internet users will be able to access a simultaneous, listen-only
webcast of the teleconference through StreetFusion.com. An archive of
the webcast will also be available at this site for 30 days.
Tape Replay
A taped replay of the analyst teleconference will be available at
approximately 9:30 a.m. EDT today. This replay will be available for one
week. To listen to the teleconference replay, please dial 402-998-1569.
About RVSI
Robotic Vision Systems, Inc. (RVSI) has the most comprehensive line of
machine vision systems available today. Headquartered in Canton,
Massachusetts, with offices worldwide, RVSI is the world leader in
vision- based semiconductor inspection and media transfer equipment.
Using leading- edge technology, RVSI joins vision-enabled process
equipment, high-performance optics, lighting, and advanced hardware
and software to assure product quality, identify and track parts, control
manufacturing processes, and ultimately enhance profits for companies
worldwide. Currently serving the semiconductor, electronics, aerospace,
automotive, pharmaceutical and packaging industries, RVSI holds
approximately 100 patents in a broad range of technologies. For more
information visit www.rvsi.com or call (800) 669-5234.
Additional information for shareholders
Except for the historical information herein, certain matters discussed in
this release include forward-looking statements that may involve a
number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary significantly
based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to: the historical
cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry, risks in products and
technology development, market acceptance of new products and
continuing product demand, the impact of competitive products and
pricing, changing economic conditions, both here and abroad, timely
development and release of new products and strategic suppliers and
customers, the effect of the company's accounting policies and other risk
factors detailed in the Company's most recent registration statement,
annual report on Form 10-K and 10K/A, and other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
For further information contact:
Neal H. Sanders (781) 302-2439
SOURCE: Robotic Vision Systems, Inc. |
