UPDATE 1-Kulicke posts 3rd-qtr loss, sees signs of rebound
Thu Jul 28, 2005 08:14 AM ET
SAN FRANCISCO, July 28 (Reuters) - Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc., the computer chip assembly equipment maker, (KLIC.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Thursday reported a quarterly loss, but the company said it saw early signs of a rebound in the sector, sparking a premarket rise of 2 percent in its stock.
The net loss was $101.8 million, or $1.97 per share, including a non-cash impairment charge of $100.6 million and other items for the fiscal third quarter ended June 30. A year earlier, it had a profit of $22.7 million, or 35 cents per share.
Revenue fell 29 percent to $138.2 million, beating the high end of the range of Wall Street estimates. The industry is in a sharp downturn following a banner 2004 year for semiconductor equipment sales.
Chairman and Chief Executive Scott Kulicke said in a statement he expects revenue for the fiscal fourth quarter to be in the range of $160 million to $175 million, well above the range of analysts' estimates.
Wall Street was looking for fourth fiscal-quarter sales of $140.3 million, on average.
The stock rose 21 cents to $10.25 in premarket trade on the Inet electronic brokerage system.
The third-quarter loss included a non-cash goodwill and intangible asset impairment charge of $100.6 million associated with the company's test segment, and a charge of $2.2 million for factory consolidation and relocation.
Also included was a $1.6 million gain from the sale of the company's wedge bonding technology, and a tax benefit of $1.8 million from repatriating foreign earnings.
Wall Street was looking for an average loss of 2 cents per share, excluding one-time items, according to Reuters Estimates. It was not immediately clear how that compared to the company's reported loss. |
