Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Kulicke and Soffa -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: bob oserin who wrote (1887)	10/24/1997 5:00:00 PM
From: Darin	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5482

Well Bob, I wish there was some good news to give you... In a stretch I can give you this... ASE, one of KLIC's big customers just reported an excellent quarter: Headline: ASE Test: 3Q97 Results Exceed Our Expectations Author: Richard C. Wei, 852-2869-3649 Rating: 1 Company: ASTSF.O Country: CTA COM Industry: SEMICO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ticker : ASTSF.O Rank : 1-Buy Price : US$67 3/4 52wk Range : US$92-11 Today's Date : 10/23/97 Price Target: US$100 Fiscal Year : December ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ EPS 1995 1996 1997 1998 QTR. Actual Prev. Curr. Prev. Curr. Prev. Curr. 1st 0.35A 0.35A 0.57E 2nd 0.49A 0.49A 0.67E 3rd 0.53E 0.62E 0.78E 4th 0.63E 0.63E 0.88E ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Year: $0.86A $1.26A $1.26A $2.00E $2.09E $2.90E $2.90E Street Est.: $1.95E $2.75E * Note: EPS estimates for 1997 and 1998 are fully diluted. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Price (As of 10/21) : US$62 3/8 Revenue (1996) : US$113 Mil. Return On Equity (96): 21.0% Proj. 5yr EPS Grth : 35%+ Shares Outstanding : 19.35 Mil. Dividend Yield : N/A Mkt Capitalization : US$1,311 Mil. P/E 1997; 1998 : 32.4x; 23.4x Current Book Value : US$7.69/sh Convertible : None Debt-to-Capital : 22.0% Disclosure(s) : A, C ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ DO NOT DISTRIBUTE TO RETAIL CLIENTS BEFORE CHECKING STATE BLUE SKY RESTRICTIONS. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ * EPS was US$0.62, above our estimate of US$0.53. * Revenue totaled US$48.5 million (our estimate: US$47.95 million), up 98% year on year. * Operating income totaled US$12 million (our estimate: US$11.29 million), up 239% year on year and up 28% from 2Q97. ASE Test reported 3Q97 results that exceeded our expectations. EPS was US$0.62, above our estimate of US$0.53 and the consensus estimate of US$0.52. Revenue totaled US$48.5 million (our estimate was US$47.95 million), up 98% year on year and up 12% from 2Q97. The company's Kaohsiung, Taiwan operation clearly saw the benefit of relocating its factory to a much larger space. The Kaohsiung operation registered a sequential revenue increase of 35% while the company's Penang, Malaysia operation had a sequential increase of about 2%. The higher revenue contribution from Kaohsiung changed the company's revenue composition from 59% assembly and 41% test in 2Q97 to 55% assembly and 45% test in 3Q97. Gross margin, partly as a result of the shift in revenue towards higher margin test business, increased from 30.9% in 2Q97 to 34.4% in 3Q97. Operating income totaled US$12 million (our estimate was US$11.29 million), up 239% from 3Q96 and up 28% from 2Q97. The company booked foreign exchange gains of US$0.818 million US$0.541 million in Taiwan and US$0.277 million in Malaysia. Net non-operating income was US$0.714 million. In the quarter, the company had a net tax credit of US$0.76 million, bringing its net income, after minority interest, to US$13.48 million (our estimate was US$11.14 million), up 242% from 3Q96 and up 32% from 2Q97. We have raised our full-year estimate from US$2.00 to US$2.09 to reflect the better-than-expected 3Q97 EPS. We will revise our 4Q97 estimate after the conference call. We reaffirm our 1-Buy rating on the stock with a 12-month

To: bob oserin who wrote (1887)	10/24/1997 8:39:00 PM
From: Tom O'Brien	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5482

Bob - I just don't believe that Hong Kong can sink the world. It's a tiny place - just one town out of a whole world. This degree of panic just doesn't make sense to me. But how long to recover? I'll give it a couple months. I think by January people will be plowing money into the market and this little "crisis" will be forgotten. Til then, we'll be pretty static. But the thing to remember is this: when the recovery comes, it will be sudden and explosive. Check the charts for AMAT, NVLS and KLAC from November of last year, and you'll see how it goes. Get out now, and odds are you'll miss the opening salvos. I hope I'm right! Regards Tom