BILTHOVEN, The Netherlands, Oct. 27, 2000 (PRIMEZONE) -- ASM INTERNATIONAL N.V. (Nasdaq:ASMI) and (AEX:ASM) announced today that its Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Rinse de Jong, has resigned from his position with effect from February 1, 2001. His decision to depart the Company is his own and he has no immediate plans for the future other than spending more time at his home in France where he moved to 6 months ago.
Mr. de Jong joined the Company on February 1, 1997 and has supervised the recent successful financial restructuring. Mr. de Jong commented that: "the balance sheet is healthy and the earnings from operations and cash flow are strong and provide an excellent base for future growth. I feel that I have achieved the goals I outlined for myself at the beginning." Mr. Arthur del Prado, Chief Executive Officer, added that "ASM regrets Rinse's departure but respects his decision. We are appreciative of his four years of service to ASM. With the completion of the secondary equity offering in April this year, our financial position is much stronger than when he first arrived. We wish him well."
A process of considering successors is under way and the Company will make further announcements in due course.
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 through their facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan and Asia. ASM International's common shares trade on NASDAQ National Market under the symbol "ASMI" and on the AEX Stock Exchange 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: The statements regarding orders, earnings development and the effects of research and new products on ASM's future, and other 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.