Aehr Test Systems Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2002 Results
FREMONT, Calif., July 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aehr Test Systems (Nasdaq: AEHR - News) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended May 31, 2002.
Net sales for the quarter were $3.5 million, a decrease of 19 percent from net sales of $4.4 million in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year. Net loss for the quarter was $3.1 million or $0.43 per share, compared with net income of $19,000, or $0.00 per share, in the same quarter of the prior year. The net loss for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002 includes a $2.5 million, or $0.34 per share, non-cash charge associated with increasing the valuation allowance against deferred tax assets. SFAS 109 requires the Company to evaluate the uncertainty of utilizing the deferred tax assets. Excluding the above charge, the net loss for the quarter would have been $664,000, or $0.09 per share.
As of May 31, 2002, cash, short-term investments and long-term investments totaled $15.5 million, and book value was $4.16 per share. The Company's long-term investments consist of interest bearing securities with maturities of less than 18 months. The Company's order backlog at May 31, 2002 was $3.9 million, up from $2.3 million one year earlier.
"We have continued to invest strongly in new product development, despite the continued industry downturn," said Rhea Posedel, chairman and chief executive officer of Aehr Test Systems. "We are pleased with the accomplishments of our FOX(TM) full wafer contact solutions. We recently announced an order for the engineering development of a full wafer contact system for parallel BIST testing of 200 mm and 300 mm wafers. This order expands our FOX family of products and enables us to move into new markets."
Net sales for the year ended May 31, 2002 were $12.6 million, a decrease of 60 percent from net sales of $31.0 million in fiscal 2001. Net loss for the year ended May 31, 2002 was $5.3 million, or $0.74 per share. Net loss for fiscal 2002 included the non-cash charge of $2.5 million related to the deferred tax valuation allowance discussed above. Excluding that charge, the net loss for fiscal 2002 would have been $2.8 million, or $0.39 per share. Net loss for fiscal 2001 was $141,000, or $0.02 per share, which included a charge of $1.6 million for the cumulative effect of applying the Securities and Exchange Commission's Staff Accountant Bulletin 101 for revenue recognition. The income for fiscal 2001 before that charge was $1.5 million, or $0.21 per share.
"We did an excellent job during the past fiscal year of developing new products, improving our gross margin and keeping our balance sheet strong," said C.J. Meurell, president and chief operating officer of Aehr Test Systems. "We are very pleased with our recent completion of the development and successful qualification of our FOX full wafer burn-in system for VCSELs. We displayed our FOX full wafer contact burn-in and test system for VCSELs last week at Semicon West, and we were encouraged by the positive reaction to this system."
Meurell continued, "In addition to developing and introducing new products, we have strengthened our market position in China by arranging for ZMC Technologies to be our sales representative. Aehr Test's advanced test and burn-in systems are an excellent match for China's emerging semiconductor backend operations."
"The semiconductor equipment industry has not yet recovered from its recent dramatic downturn. Although we believe there will be a gradual recovery over the next few quarters, there is a good deal of uncertainty as to the timing and the rate of the expected recovery. For the first quarter of fiscal 2003, we expect to reduce our operating loss somewhat compared to that of the quarter just ended. We continue to remain optimistic about the outlook for our FOX solutions and the long-term future of both Aehr Test and the semiconductor capital equipment market," stated Posedel.
About Aehr Test Systems
Headquartered in Fremont, California, Aehr Test Systems is a leading provider of systems for burning-in and testing DRAM and logic integrated circuits and has an installed base of more than 2,000 systems worldwide. Aehr Test has developed and introduced several innovative products, including the FOX, MTX and MAX systems and the DiePak® carrier. The FOX system is a full wafer contact burn-in and test system. The MTX system is a massively parallel test system designed to reduce the cost of memory testing by performing both test and burn-in on thousands of devices simultaneously. The MAX system can effectively burn-in and functionally test sophisticated devices, such as digital signal processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers and systems-on-a-chip. The DiePak carrier is a reusable, temporary package that enables IC manufacturers to perform cost-effective final test and burn-in of bare die.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties relating to projections regarding industry growth and customer demand for Aehr Test's products. Actual results may vary from projected results. These risks and uncertainties include economic conditions in Asia and elsewhere, world events, acceptance by customers of the FOX, MTX, MAX and DiePak technologies, the ability of the Company to gain business in China, the Company's development and manufacture of a commercially successful wafer-level burn-in system, and the potential emergence of alternative technologies, which could adversely affect demand for Aehr Test's products in fiscal year 2003. See Aehr Test's 10-K and recent 10-Q reports filed with the SEC for additional risks affecting Aehr Test.
AEHR TEST SYSTEMS AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended Year Ended
May 31, May 31,
(Unaudited)
2002 2001 2002 2001
Net sales $3,522 $4,367 $12,568 $31,039
Cost of sales 1,876 2,093 6,488 17,923
Gross profit 1,646 2,274 6,080 13,116
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and
administrative 1,733 1,617 6,547 7,262
Research and development 1,105 1,116 4,036 4,982
Research and development
cost reimbursement - DARPA -- -- -- (600)
Total operating expenses 2,838 2,733 10,583 11,644
Income (loss) from
operations (1,192) (459) (4,503) 1,472
Interest income 97 232 520 971
Interest expense -- -- -- (7)
Other income (expense), net 49 188 (43) 98
Income (loss) before
income taxes (1,046) (39) (4,026) 2,534
Income tax expense (benefit) 2,076 (58) 1,241 1,046
Income (loss) before
cumulative effect of
change in accounting
principle (3,122) 19 (5,267) 1,488
Cumulative effect of change
in accounting principle
- net of tax -- -- -- (1,629)
Net income (loss) $(3,122) $19 $(5,267) $(141)
Income (loss) before cumulative
effect
Basic $(0.43) $0.00 $(0.74) $0.21
Diluted $(0.43) $0.00 $(0.74) $0.21
Net income (loss) per share
Basic $(0.43) $0.00 $(0.74) $(0.02)
Diluted $(0.43) $0.00 $(0.74) $(0.02)
Shares used in per share
calculations:
Basic 7,182 7,115 7,151 7,074
Diluted 7,182 7,125 7,151 7,179
AEHR TEST SYSTEMS AND SUBSIDIARIES
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands, except per share data)
May 31, May 31,
2002 2001
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $7,485 $10,391
Short-term investments 8,003 3,764
Accounts receivable 3,132 5,751
Inventories 8,633 10,125
Prepaid expenses and other 2,373 3,321
Total current assets 29,626 33,352
Property and equipment, net 2,356 2,103
Long-term investments -- 2,267
Other assets, net 1,836 1,870
Total assets $33,818 $39,592
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $874 $1,213
Accrued expenses 2,260 3,336
Deferred revenue 540 51
Total current liabilities 3,674 4,600
Deferred revenue 35 39
Deferred lease commitment 224 146
Total liabilities 3,933 4,785
Shareholders' equity:
Common stock, $.01 par value outstanding:
7,184 and 7,116 shares at May 31, 2002
and May 31, 2001, respectively 72 71
Additional paid-in capital 36,387 36,134
Notes receivable from shareholders -- (84)
Net unrealized gain on investments 2 19
Cumulative translation adjustment 1,492 1,468
Accumulated deficit (8,068) (2,801)
Total shareholders' equity 29,885 34,807
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $33,818 $39,592
SOURCE: Aehr Test Systems |
