Süss MicroTec AG / Quarter Results 05.11.2008 Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUSS MicroTec AG: Final Results for First Nine Months and Third Quarter of 2008 - Sales During Nine-month Period Grow by Six Percent to EUR 104.3 Million - Sales in Third Quarter Rise by 55 Percent to EUR 34.6 Million - Earnings Performance Significantly Impaired by Extraordinary Expenses - EBIT for Nine-month Period Amounts to EUR 1.8 Million (Including Extraordinary Expenses: EUR -16.3 Million) - Extensive Cost-reduction Measures in Response to Weakening Order Entry Munich, Germany, November 5, 2008 SUSS MicroTec (business address: Schleissheimer Straße 90, 85748 Garching, Germany; ISIN: DE0007226706), listed in the Prime Standard of Deutsche Börse AG, was able to increase sales by approximately six percent to EUR 104.3 million in the first nine months of the year, despite subpar order entry in the third quarter. Thus, SUSS MicroTec is confirming its recently announced preliminary results. Final results were consistent with expected earnings performance. The earnings situation reflected the significant impact of extraordinary expenses. Extraordinary expenses of EUR 18.3 million, particularly for intangible assets, stood in contrast to earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) of EUR 1.8 million. Accordingly, EBIT amounted to EUR -16.3 million. Net income during the nine month period totaled EUR -14.6 million, down from a positive EUR 0.2 million a year ago. Sales in the third quarter rose by 55 percent from EUR 22.3 million to EUR 34.6 million. Growth was attributable primarily to solid order entry in previous quarters and a high level of order backlog. At the same time, SUSS MicroTec had to settle for order entry of EUR 24.8 million in the third quarter, below the target of EUR 30 million. CFO Michael Knopp offered this comment: 'SUSS MicroTec continues to focus on attractive market areas. In our view, the areas of Micro Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) and advanced packaging applications as well as 3D integration and compound semiconductors will demonstrate their growing power even in difficult economic times. However, the semiconductor market in particular is known as a leading indicator of economic conditions and, therefore, it has been declining for some time. We were able to buck the overall trend of the market for some time, but, now, poor market conditions albeit with a lag and with a somewhat diminished impact have finally caught up to us.' In view of the gloomy economic outlook, SUSS MicroTec has introduced comprehensive cost reduction and restructuring measures. The cost reduction steps encompass a Group-wide hiring freeze, the general curtailment of travel activities not related to a specific customer project, highly restrictive budgeting for external service providers and re-examination and re-approval of all investment projects. Last but not least, management and parts of the staff are foregoing vacation. As a result of restructuring measures already partially implemented in recent weeks, the number of employees was reduced from 732 (June 30, 2008) to 705 as of September 30, 2008 and is expected to continue to decline to approximately 690 by the end of 2008. The Group is paying particular attention to optimizing working capital, where considerable liquidity reserves can be tapped. For example, a program to sell demo machines has been introduced. Initial successes are already noticeable. Since the start of the program at the beginning of August 2008, SUSS MicroTec has booked corresponding orders totaling approximately EUR 3 million, which for the most part will be recorded in sales in 2009. As of September 30, 2008, SUSS MicroTecs EUR 15.3 million of liquidity is more than adequate and in any case sufficient to cover all operating requirements fully. The earnings situation in the third quarter reflects overall trends during the nine-month period and the already adjusted annual forecast for 2008. EBIT was marred by extraordinary expenses, particularly for intangible assets, totaling EUR 18.3 million. However, of this amount, only EUR 0.8 million was reflected in cash results. The expenses entailed write-downs on capitalized development costs for C4NP amounting to EUR 8.0 million, amortization related to the revaluation of goodwill of the American subsidiary Image Technology Inc. calculated at EUR 4.4 million, depreciation on inventories coming to EUR 2.7 million, restructuring costs consisting of EUR 0.8 million, value adjustment for a customer-specific project equaling EUR 1.9 million and miscellaneous comprised of EUR 0.5 million. The Companys growth was driven by the largest business division, Lithography, which achieved a 26.7 percent rise to EUR 68.4 million. In the first nine months of the year, the Test Systems and Substrate Bonder divisions were almost able to match their sales in the comparable period last year. In terms of performance by region, Europes significant 19.7 percent increase sharply contrasted with a 21.6 percent decline in North America. Asia (excluding Japan) was able to generate the most robust growth with a gain of 33.5 percent. Operations in Japan were stable. SUSS MicroTec anticipates additional stimulus for the Lithography division from the recently introduced 300 mm Mask Aligner for 3D packaging. This is the second generation of the MA300 production Mask Aligner, which is equipped with a new, innovative 3D alignment unit and is specially designed for the new 3D integration growth market. Highly integrated 3Dapplications, such as the three-dimensional stacking of chips and image sensors at the wafer level as employed in multifunctional cellular telephones and supercomputers, represent an ideal area for the new product generation as they require a high degree of alignment precision. The 300 mm Mask Aligner is an example of how SUSS MicroTec is orienting itself toward the growth areas of the future despite the currently difficult situation in the sector and the economy generally. Christian Schubert, who joined the Management Board team on October 2, 2008 to assume the responsibilities of a COO on an interim basis, remarked: 'Our paramount goal is to take more rapid and decisive action within these markets. From our strong market and technological position, we shall adjust to generally weakening market conditions. We then intend to benefit fully from the ultimate market recovery.' Based on the good order backlog of EUR 85.7 million, SUSS MicroTec expects significantly improved sales in the fourth quarter compared to the previous quarters. The order backlog extends well into the first quarter of 2009. For all of 2008, SUSS MicroTec projects sales between EUR 142 million and EUR 145 million and EBIT (not including extraordinary write-downs) in the EUR 5 million to EUR 6 million range. Including write-downs, 2008 EBIT is expected to amount to EUR -12.3 million to EUR -13.3 million. SUSS MicroTec AG (ISIN DE 0007226706) About SUSS MicroTec SUSS MicroTec listed in Deutsche Boerse AGs Prime Standard is one of the worlds leading suppliers of process and testing solutions for markets such as 3D Integration, Advanced Packaging, MEMS, Nanotechnology, Compound Semiconductor and Silicon-On-Insulator. SUSS MicroTec enables its customers to increase process performance while reducing cost of ownership and to meet the volume requirements of fast growing markets with high quality solutions. SUSS MicroTec supports more than 8,000 installed mask aligners, coaters, bonders and probe systems with a global infrastructure for applications and service. Headquartered in Garching near Munich, Germany, SUSS MicroTec employs more than 730 employees worldwide. For more information about SUSS MicroTec, please visit http://www.suss.com Disclaimer: All statements in this release other than historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'believe', 'expect', 'intend', 'anticipate', 'estimate', 'should', 'may', 'will', 'plan' and similar words and terms used in relation to the enterprise are meant to indicate forward-looking statements of this kind. The company accepts no obligation toward the general public to update or correct forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, as a result of which actual events may diverge numerically from expectations. The forward-looking statements reflect the view at the time they were made. Contact: SÜSS MicroTec AG Investor Relations/PR Julia Hartmann Tel.: +49 (0)89 32007-161, Email: julia.hartmann@suss.com DGAP 05.11.2008 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Language: English Issuer: Süss MicroTec AG Schleissheimer Strasse 90 85748 Garching b. München Deutschland Phone: +49 (0)89 32007-161 Fax: +49 (0)89 32007-336 E-mail: ir@suss.com Internet: www.suss.com ISIN: DE0007226706 WKN: 722670 Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Berlin, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
DGAP-News: Süss MicroTec AG: Final Results for First Nine Months and Third Quarter of 2008
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