3Q 99 Results Announced --
ADE Corporation Announces Third Quarter Fiscal 1999 Results
WESTWOOD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 2, 1999--ADE Corporation (NASDAQ: ADEX - news) today reported revenue of $12.4 million for the third quarter of fiscal 1999 ended January 31, 1999 compared with $36.3 million recorded for the same quarter a year ago. Net loss for the quarter, including costs related to consolidating certain operations, was $6.6 million, or $(0.51) per share, compared with net income of $4.4 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, for the same
quarter of the previous year. Net loss, excluding restructuring and other consolidation-related costs, was $5.0 million, or $(0.38) per share. Weighted average shares outstanding during the third quarter of 1999 and 1998 were 13.0 million and 13.4 million, respectively. Weighted average shares during the third quarter of fiscal 1999 excluded stock options outstanding as their effect would be antidilutive.
Revenue for the nine months ended January 31, 1999, was $48.7 million compared with $107.8 million reported for the first nine months of fiscal 1998. Net loss for the first nine months of fiscal 1999, including facilities consolidation costs, was $15.3 million, or $(1.18) per share, compared with net income of $10.2 million, or $0.80 per diluted share, for the same period of the previous year. Weighted average shares outstanding during the comparable periods were 13.0 million and 12.6 million, respectively. Weighted average shares for the nine months ended January 31, 1999 excluded stock options outstanding as their effect would be antidilutive. All fiscal 1998 information has been restated to reflect the merger with Phase Shift Technology, Inc. on June 11, 1998, which has been accounted for on a pooling of interests basis.
The Company announced on January 11, 1999 that it will consolidate its Charlotte, North Carolina operations and certain of its Milpitas, California operations into its Massachusetts facilities. Pre-tax operating expenses in the third quarter of fiscal 1999 related to these consolidation efforts totaled approximately $2.6 million, including $1.2 million for employee severance, $931,000 for the write-down of fixed assets associated with the affected operations and $185,000 for lease termination penalties. In addition to these restructuring charges, the Company incurred $251,000 in other non-recurring costs associated with the consolidation efforts.
Robert C. Abbe, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, ''The semiconductor device market appears to have reached the bottom of the most recent cycle. However, we anticipate that our business will be slower to recover than other segments of the industry as a whole because our primary customers, the wafer manufacturers are further down the supply chain than device makers. These customers are still experiencing operating losses. In fact, industry experts estimate that the wafer manufacturing industry is currently operating at about 70% of capacity. As this capacity is absorbed by increasing demand, we can expect that wafer manufacturers will begin to order additional equipment in quantity. In the meantime, orders are primarily technology driven, supporting technical evaluations and updating current plants. Lower current demand for the Company's products is reflected in a decrease in backlog to $15.3 million in the third quarter from $17.4 million in the second quarter.''
''The computer hard disk industry appears to be recovering and we are experiencing increased interest in our products. During the quarter ADE introduced the new Magnetic Head Wafer Mapper, which measures the critical magnetic properties of the wafers used to make GMR heads for the computer disk industry. This tool has been very well received in the marketplace and the Company has received multiple orders during the quarter from several customers, which are among the industry's largest hard disk manufacturers.''
''As previously announced, ADE is in the process of consolidating its Charlotte, North Carolina optical systems operations into our Westwood, Massachusetts facility and a small Milpitas, California manufacturing group into our Newton, Massachusetts facility. We believe that this action will result in more efficient operations and provide better service to customers.''
Abbe concluded, ''Although it is still too early to forecast when there will be an upturn in the wafer segment of the business, we will continue to invest in research and development for next generation products in anticipation of the recovery. In addition, we will diligently seek additional ways to control expenses in this environment of market uncertainty.''
This news release contains certain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to demand for the Company's products, the status of the semiconductor and computer hard disk industries, the ability of the Company to develop and manufacture products that meet customer needs within the timeframes required by customers, the ability to effectively consolidate the Company's operations.
ADE Corporation is a leading supplier of metrology and inspection systems for the silicon wafer and computer disk manufacturing industries. The Company's systems analyze and report product quality at critical manufacturing process steps and provide quality certification data that is relied upon by semiconductor and computer disk manufacturers. The Company's systems also are used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. |
