It's been a bit disappointing to see ESI dip below $40, but it seems to have held up so far. I should've sold those calls. Keep catching myself trying to get that extra 1/8. Oh well.
Today, there seems to be new concern for equipment suppliers even though B to B has improved. Always a concern:
cbs.marketwatch.com
On the other hand, here's a report on tightening capacity of foundries. Message 9207115
In all, it's hard to see a problem for ESI. Looks like they have solidified their position with the recent court case, capacitor business is holding up and evolving, certainly laser drilling has strong fundamentals, but perhaps vision products are going to continue to lag.
K&S missed earnings, but suggest that bookings are up. What do you think of Teradyne getting hit today? Rambus has fallen way behind schedule. This could hurt testers, but maybe the 133 chips will call for unexpected equipment to fill a gap that could have been a straight move to RDRAM?
Regards, Mark
K&S Reports Second Quarter FY 1999 Results
BusinessWire, Thursday, April 29, 1999 at 07:09
WILLOW GROVE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 29, 1999--Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) announced Thursday the results of its second quarter of fiscal 1999, which ended March 31, 1999.
Sales for the quarter were $73,561,000 with a net loss of ($14,776,000) or ($0.63) per share, compared to sales of $120,060,000 and net income of $9,191,000 or $0.39 cents per share for the comparable period of fiscal 1998.
About half of this loss, $7,249,000 or $0.31 per share, was non-recurring items including $3,865,000 or $0.17 per share associated with the planned move of ball bonder manufacturing to Asia, $2,754,000 or $0.12 per share related to purchased in-process R&D associated with the acquisition of XLAM(TM) technology, and $630,000 or $0.02 per share of one time expenses incurred by Flip Chip Technologies.
Excluding these non-recurring items, the net loss from ongoing operations for Q2FY99 was ($7,527,000) or ($0.32) per share.
"Reflecting what appears to be the start of a new semiconductor cycle, we have seen a strong rebound in orders, with bookings of $98,000,000, almost double the previous quarter," said C. Scott Kulicke, chairman and chief executive officer of K&S. "This increase in orders should lead to a return to profitability later this year."
Certain matters discussed in this news release, including forecasts of future demand and profitability, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to materially differ, either better or worse, from those projected.
Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the risk of order postponements or cancellations; the risks associated with a substantial foreign customer base; the risks associated with instability in foreign capital markets and foreign currency fluctuations; the upward and downward volatility in the demand for semiconductors and for the Company's products and services; competitive pricing pressures; the risk of delays in introduction and customer qualification of new products and services; the risk of incurring delays and additional costs in the move of manufacturing to Asia; and the Company's ability to manufacture and ship its products on a timely basis.
Further discussions of risk factors are also available in the Company's most recent SEC filings.
Kulicke & Soffa is the world's largest supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment.
The Company serves the integrated circuit assembly market with a product line that includes wire bonding, die bonding, wafer dicing and factory automation equipment, as well as expendable tools and materials, including bonding wire, capillaries, wedges, die collets and saw blades, and has sales and service facilities worldwide. The Company's website address is www.kns.com. |
