Cerprobe Reports Fourth Quarter Results
Business Wire - February 16, 2000 06:47
GILBERT, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 16, 2000--Cerprobe Corp. (Nasdaq:CRPB) reported today financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 1999.
Sales for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 1999 were $18,015,000, up 20% from sales of $15,008,000 for the same quarter of 1998. Net loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 1999 was $650,000, or $0.08 per diluted share, excluding an in-process research and development (IPR&D) charge of $8,815,000 and goodwill amortization of $395,000. This compares to net income from continuing operations for the same period in 1998 of $390,000, or $0.05 per diluted share, excluding goodwill amortization of $139,000. Included in the tax provision for the fourth quarter of 1999 is a non-recurring tax benefit of approximately $729,000 that resulted from a research and development tax credit study completed during the quarter.
On a quarter-over-quarter basis, sales for the fourth quarter of 1999, excluding the sales from OZ Technologies Inc., which was acquired in the fourth quarter, increased $1,146,000, or 8%, over the third quarter of 1999, the second consecutive quarter of increasing sales. The operating loss for the fourth quarter of 1999, excluding OZ Technologies, was $265,000 less than the net loss for the third quarter of 1999. This operating income comparison also excludes IPR&D charges, goodwill amortization, and special charges included in operating expenses during the fourth quarter of approximately $902,000. This represents a 28% improvement over the third quarter of 1999 and the second significant consecutive quarterly reduction in operating losses.
Sales for the year 1999 were $62,656,000, an 18% decrease from 1998 sales of $76,207,000. Net loss from continuing operations for the year 1999 was $2,646,000, or $0.34 per diluted share, excluding an IPR&D charge of $8,815,000 and goodwill amortization of $786,000. This compares to net income from continuing operations in 1998 of $6,639,000, or $0.80 per diluted share, excluding an IPR&D charge of $941,000 ($1,568,000 less tax benefit of $627,000) and goodwill amortization of $461,000.
C. Zane Close, President and Chief Executive Officer of Cerprobe, commented: "Cerprobe's disappointing financial performance for 1999 was caused primarily by reduced product demand and price discounts granted during the severe semiconductor industry downturn that persisted through early 1999. Increased demand for test interconnect products typically follows the installation of new equipment for increased capacity, and we began to experience a modest recovery beginning in the third quarter of 1999. Also, contributing to the lower sales and net losses were product delays and a product line exit by two of our largest customers, and our own delay in introducing a vertical probe card product for a growing segment of the market. However, there were several positive developments in the second half of 1999, that I believe place Cerprobe as the unrivaled leader in IC test interconnect products as we begin the year 2000."
"Operating results improved steadily in the third and fourth quarters of 1999 as a result of a general upturn within the semiconductor industry," continued Close, "and we still expect to generate positive operating income in the current quarter, excluding goodwill amortization. In the third quarter of 1999, we introduced several new innovative probe card products to customers for evaluation. These products will allow for the testing of ICs at substantially higher speeds, with significantly tighter pad pitches, with area array test pads, and for testing multiple ICs simultaneously. In December of 1999, we acquired OZ Technologies, a leader in package test interconnect products to complement our strength with similar products at wafer test. We believe this acquisition immediately establishes Cerprobe as the world's premier one-stop provider of total solutions for semiconductor test interconnect. And, finally, we expanded the Company's global infrastructure by opening a sales/distribution office in Japan, expanding our Taiwan facility, and with the acquisition of OZ Technologies, we now have a sales/distribution office in Malaysia."
Close concluded, "With the expected strong semiconductor industry fundamentals for the next several years, combined with the improved market conditions for semiconductor testing products, I believe the Company is poised to rebound during 2000 and continue our long history of growth and financial performance."
Cerprobe is a recognized world leader in the design and manufacture of semiconductor test interconnect solutions. The Company offers products and integrated systems for wafer and IC package testing. Cerprobe markets and distributes its products and systems worldwide and operates manufacturing facilities in Arizona, California, and Texas, France, Scotland, Taiwan, and Singapore. Additional information about Cerprobe is available at www.cerprobe.com.
This news release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including statements regarding Cerprobe as the unrivaled leader in test interconnect products and the world's premier one-stop provider of total solutions for semiconductor test interconnect, expectation that semiconductor fundamentals will be strong for the next several years, market conditions for semiconductor testing products improving during 2000, expectation that Cerprobe will generate operating income for the first quarter of 2000, and Cerprobe being poised to rebound and continue its history of growth and financial performance. Such statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in these statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risk related to integrating the operations of OZ Technologies with Cerprobe, the cyclicality of the semiconductor industry, uncertainties regarding the success of the Company's programs, new product development efforts, technological advancements within the industry, the impact of competitive products and pricing, growth in targeted markets, limits on manufacturing capacity, and other information detailed from time to time in the Company's financial news releases and Securities and Exchange Commission filings. |
