BILTHOVEN, The Netherlands, April 23, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- ASM International N.V. (Nasdaq:ASMI) (Euronext Amsterdam:ASM) reported today the operating result for the first quarter of 2001. Net earnings for the first quarter amounted to 18.5 million Euro, or 0.37 Euro diluted net earnings per share compared to net earnings of 8.9 million Euro or 0.20 Euro diluted net earnings per share for the first quarter in 2000, which net earnings included the cumulative effect of the adoption of SAB101 as of Jan. 1, 2000.
Net sales
Net sales amounted to 200.6 million Euro for the first quarter of 2001, which is an increase of 21 % as compared to the same period in 2000 and a sequential decrease of 25% over the fourth quarter of 2000.
Operations
The Gross profit margin amounted to 41.7% of net sales or 1.5% lower as compared to the same period in 2000 (43.2% of net sales), and 3.9% lower compared to the fourth quarter of 2000. The lower margin was caused by the weakness in the market with pressure on price and lower volumes. Selling, general and administrative costs declined from 17.4% of net sales in the first quarter of 2000 to 15.8% of net sales in the first quarter of 2001, the same level in percentage of sales as in the fourth quarter of 2000.
Investments in Research and development increased from 13.9 million Euro or 8.4% of net sales in the first quarter of 2000 to 19.0 million Euro or 9.4% of net sales in the first quarter of 2001. Investments in research and development were 4.1 million Euro lower than the fourth quarter of 2000. Earnings from operations, after amortization of goodwill, amounted to 31.3 million Euro for the first quarter of 2001 as compared to 28.8 million Euro over the same period in 2000. Before amortization of goodwill, earnings from operations amounted to 33.1 million Euro for the first quarter of 2001, or 16.5% of net sales, against 17.5% for the first quarter of 2000.
Bookings and backlog
New orders, net of cancellations, received in the first quarter of 2001 amounted to 87 million Euro, 47% lower than the level of new orders received in the fourth quarter of 2000. The backlog at the end of March 2001 stood at 232 million Euro, a decrease of 114 million Euro, or 33%, compared to the backlog at the end of December 2000. The March 2001 backlog does not yet include the majority of our recently obtained design wins, since firm purchase orders for most of these programs are anticipated to be forthcoming in the next several quarters.
Outlook
In an environment of weakness in the semiconductor industry and general economic activity, ASMI expects second quarter net earnings to be approximately 10 - 15% below the level of the first quarter of 2001.
Lack of visibility beyond the present quarter continues to cast uncertainty over the second half of this year. We have previously noted that current expectations indicate that some segments of the 2001 market will contract 20 percent or more, compared to 2000. The contraction will be most apparent in the third and fourth quarter and more pronounced in our Back-End operations than in our Front-end activities.
As the year progresses, ASMI is prepared and ready to react to any change in the market demand. Expense reductions and headcount freezes have already been put in place to protect the bottom line, and capital spending programs have been scrutinized.
Going forward, we anticipate that most of our recent major design wins from top-tier companies will begin contributing to sales in the first quarter of 2002. In addition to revenue stream, these competitive successes provide a major opportunity for ASMI to gain important market share in the years ahead.
Information on ASM International
ASM International is headquartered in Bilthoven, the Netherlands. ASM International's subsidiaries design, develop, manufacture and market equipment and materials used to produce semiconductor devices. ASM International and its subsidiaries provide production solutions for the wafer processing, assembly and packaging segments of the semiconductor equipment market through their facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia. ASM International's common shares trade on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol "ASMI" and on the Euronext Stock Exchange in Amsterdam under the symbol "ASM". More information on ASM can be found on its Website at http://www.asm.com.
Safe Harbor Statement under the US Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: All matters discussed in this statement, except for any historical data, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. These include, but are not limited to economic conditions in the semiconductor industry, currency fluctuations, the timing of significant orders, market acceptance of new products, competitive factors, risk factors related to litigation and other risks indicated in filings from time to time with the SEC and Stock Exchange Authorities.
The Company assumes no responsibility to update the information contained herein.
ASM INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CALL REMINDER The Company will hold a teleconference on TUESDAY, April 24, 2001 at 7:00 a.m. U.S. Pacific Time 10:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time 15:00 Greenwich Mean Time 16:00 European Continental Time To participate in the teleconference call, dial United States (888) 942-8165 International (712) 257-0414 (For international calls, please use the appropriate international prefix to access the United States) Password: ASMI Host Name: Mary Jo Dieckhaus
Please call the operator approximately 5-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time.
A digitized replay of the conference call will be available immediately after the conference call until 10:59 p.m. (U.S. Eastern time) on Thursday, April 26, 2001.
To access the replay, dial United States (888) 568-0917 International (402) 998-1593 No access code required.
To see the full report, click the following link. http://reports.huginonline.com/817290/88857.pdf