SpeedFam-IPEC Announces the Addition of Its Common Stock to the Russell 3000 Index
CHANDLER, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 10, 2002--SpeedFam-IPEC, Inc. (Nasdaq:SFAM - News), a leading supplier of high-throughput chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems for the semiconductor industry, today announced that its common stock has been added to the Russell 3000 Equity Index, a roster of the 3,000 U.S. stocks with the highest market valuation. The addition of SpeedFam-IPEC's stock was part of the annual reconstitution of the Russell indexes. The final roster of the new Index - which went into effect July 1 - was made available yesterday and will remain in place for one year.
"We are pleased to be included in the widely-used Russell 3000 Index this year and look forward to increased exposure for SpeedFam-IPEC's common stock," said Richard J. Faubert, president and chief executive officer. "We have made significant progress in the past year in improving our market potential through a successful account penetration program with our leading-edge Momentum(TM) product. As we begin fiscal 2003, our focus will be on increasing our market share by gaining multiple tool-of-record decisions, further strengthening our operations and maximizing shareholder value."
Membership in Russell's 21 U.S. equity indexes is determined by market capitalization ranking. Russell indexes are widely used by managers of index funds as benchmarks for both passive and active investment strategies. Today, more than $214 billion are invested in funds modeling Russell's U.S. indexes and more than $1.8 trillion in funds are benchmarked against the global family of Russell indexes.
Frank Russell Company
Frank Russell Company, a global leader in multi-manager investment services, provides investment products and services in more than 35 countries. Russell manages $70 billion in assets and advises clients worldwide representing $1.8 trillion. Founded in 1936, Russell is a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual and is headquartered in Tacoma, Wash., with additional offices in New York, Toronto, London, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Auckland and Tokyo. For more information, go to www.russell.com.
SpeedFam-IPEC, Inc.
SpeedFam-IPEC, Inc. is a pioneer and innovator in the manufacture of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) systems used in the fabrication of advanced semiconductor devices. With more than 1,300 CMP systems installed worldwide, the company enables the development of next-generation integrated circuit technology through its leading-edge polishing systems. SpeedFam-IPEC also markets and distributes parts used in CMP and precision surface processing. With headquarters in Chandler, Ariz., and offices throughout the world, SpeedFam-IPEC is publicly traded on Nasdaq under the symbol SFAM. The company's web site URL is www.sfamipec.com.
This press release includes statements that constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the "Reform Act"), and SpeedFam-IPEC claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are often characterized by the terms "may," "believes," "projects," "expects," or "anticipates," and do not reflect historical facts. Specific forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to: (i) SpeedFam-IPEC's assertion that it has made significant progress in the past year in improving its market position through its successful account penetration program; and (ii) SpeedFam-IPEC's intention to focus on increasing its market share through improving its tool-of-record decisions and operations, and on maximizing shareholder value.
Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of SpeedFam-IPEC to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could affect SpeedFam-IPEC's results and cause them to materially differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include risks set forth in SpeedFam-IPEC's filings with the SEC, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on August 24, 2001 and the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on April 10, 2002, and include: (i) current depressed market conditions in the semiconductor industry; (ii) SpeedFam-IPEC's ability to preserve its capital reserves and raise or generate sufficient capital to fund operations; (iii) the possible significant dilution of the company's outstanding common stock in connection with any new financing or refinancing; (iv) the ultimate success of SpeedFam-IPEC's business model, which is highly predicated on the successful market acceptance of its Momentum and Momentum300 products, and on sales of Momentum, which may not occur on the scale or in the timeframe anticipated; (v) possible constraints on the roll-out of Momentum tools due to manufacturing problems, unforeseen technical problems or changes in the CMP marketplace that differ from the company's expectations; (vi) SpeedFam-IPEC's dependence on selling a small number of high-priced machines to a small number of major customers; (vii) intense competition from companies with greater resources; (viii) prospects of, and risks related to, international markets and the global economy, given that SpeedFam-IPEC depends heavily on international sales; and (ix) other factors that SpeedFam-IPEC is currently unable to identify or quantify, but which may exist in the future.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. SpeedFam-IPEC does not undertake and specifically declines any obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
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Contact:
SpeedFam-IPEC
J. Michael Dodson, 480/705-2119 (Chief Financial Officer)
Lisa Lyscio, 480/705-2119 (Director, Investor Relations)
llyscio@sfamipec.com |
