BE Semiconductor Industries Reports 1997 Second Quarter Results

Business Wire, August 12, 1997

ZEVENAAR, The Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 1997--

First Half 1997 Backlog Increases 33%

Net Income Increases 18% over First Quarter 1997

BE Semiconductor Industries NV (Nasdaq: BESIF; Amsterdam Stock Exchange: BESI; Frankfurt Stock Exchange: BSI), a leading manufacturer of assembly equipment for the semiconductor industry, today announced its financial results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 1997.

As a result of the Company's contribution of its Leadframes and Connector Plating Services, effective May 30, 1997, to the Possehl BESI Electronics NV ("PBE") joint venture, which is 30.0% owned by BE Semiconductor, present and future results of operations of the Company are not comparable to those results before the completion of the transaction. The Company has prepared pro forma financial information to reflect results of operations of the entities contributed to PBE on a one-line item basis to facilitate the comparisons. Pro forma net sales consist of sales of automated molding systems, trim and form systems and automated plating systems (collectively "Systems") and exclude sales of Leadframes and Connector Plating Services.

Pro Forma Financial Information

Pro forma net sales for the second quarter ended June 30, 1997 were NLG 87.9 million (US$ 44.7 million), a 15% increase compared to pro forma net sales of NLG 76.6 million (US$ 39.0 million) in the first quarter of 1997. Pro forma net sales for the second quarter of 1996 were NLG 107.3 million. Net income for the second quarter of 1997 increased 18% to NLG 4.8 million (US$ 2.4 million), compared to 1997 first quarter net income of NLG 4.1 million (US$ 2.1 million). Earnings per share were NLG 0.18 (US$ 0.09) for the second quarter of 1997, compared to earnings per share of NLG 0.15 (US$ 0.08) in the first quarter of 1997 and NLG 0.43 (US$ 0.22) in the year-ago quarter.

Commenting on these results, Richard Blickman, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We benefited from an improvement in semiconductor market conditions in the second quarter of 1997 and are again encouraged by renewed strong order activity. On a consecutive quarterly basis, second quarter net sales for automated plating systems increased by 31.5%, automated molding systems increased by 22.5%, and trim and form systems decreased by 3.5%. Compared to the year-ago quarter, our second quarter net sales continued to be impacted by lower sales of automated plating systems. However, net sales of automated molding systems remained flat and net sales of trim and form systems increased by 15%."

Pro forma net sales for the six months ended June 30, 1997 decreased 20% to NLG 164.5 million (US$ 83.7 million), compared to NLG 206.3 million (US$ 105.0 million) in the prior year period. The Company's net income for the first six months of 1997 was NLG 8.9 million (US$ 4.5 million), compared to net income of NLG 23.8 million (US$ 12.1 million) for the first half of 1996. Earnings per share were NLG 0.34 (US$ 0.17) for the first six months of 1997, compared to earnings per share of NLG 0.91 (US$ 0.46) for the first six months of 1996.

The Company noted that the Systems' backlog for the first half year of 1997 showed improvement, increasing approximately 33% to NLG 167.7 million from NLG 126.3 million at December 31, 1996.

"The book-to-bill ratio for the first half of 1997 increased significantly and is above one, compared to 0.43 for the second half of 1996," continued Mr. Blickman. "Given our manufacturing time from order entry to delivery, the increase in orders in the first half of the year are not likely to substantially impact third quarter results."

Pro forma gross profit for the second quarter of 1997 was NLG 31.0 million, compared to NLG 43.5 million in the same period of 1996. As a percentage of pro forma net sales, pro forma gross profit was 35.2% in the 1997 second quarter, compared to 38.0% in the 1997 first quarter and 40.5% in the 1996 second quarter.

Research and development expenses for the second quarter increased significantly to NLG 7.8 million, compared to NLG 6.7 million in the first quarter of 1997 and NLG 3.7 million in the prior year period. The increase was attributed to investments in the Company's new generation molding system and trim and form system.

Pro forma selling, general, and administrative expenses, were NLG 19.1 million, compared to NLG 17.6 million for the first quarter of 1997 and NLG 19.7 million for the prior year period.

At June 30, 1997 cash totaled NLG 47.2 million and shareholders' equity stood at NLG 283.1 million.

Actual Information

Net sales for the second quarter of 1997, which include two months of Leadframes and Connector Plating Services were NLG 112.9 million (US$ 57.4 million), representing a decline compared to net sales in the second quarter of 1996 of NLG 128.5 million (US$ 65.4 million). The Company's net income in the second quarter of 1997 declined to NLG 4.8 million (US$ 2.4 million), compared to NLG 11.4 million (US$ 5.8 million) for the 1996 period.