Ultratech 3Q up; plans offering

Electronic News, Oct 31, 1994

SAN JOSE, CALIF.--Ultratech Stepper reported net income in 3Q rose 169 percent from a year ago, to $3.2 million or 36 cents per share. The company credited a rise in gross profit margin and a lowering of the effective tax rate for the increase, among other factors.

Separately, Ultratech said it has filed for a public offering of 600,000 shares of common stock, all of which are being sold by shareholders. The offering follows a registration rights request by TA Associates, the venture capital firm that helped finance Ultratech's management buyout from General Signal in early 1993. Montgomery Securities will underwrite the offering.

Revenues in 3Q hit $24.4 million, a 69 percent increase over a year ago. About one-third of sales in the period came from steppers used to produce thin-film heads for disk drives, Ultratech said. International sales represented 57 percent of revenues.

For the first nine months of the year, the lithography equipment supplier posted net of $7.5 million or 91 cents per share, compared with the previous year's $2.4 million or 48 cents per share. Ultratech went public in 3Q93. Revenues so far this year are up 66 percent, to $62.7 million.

"The most significant growth area for the company remains in the semiconductor industry," said Arthur W. Zafiropoulo, president and CEO. "Our Model 2244i stepper, for mix-and-match, has been a top performer in our product line, with increasing activity coming from Asia/Pacific. Also, the Model 1500 for scanner replacements continues to be a growth area for Ultratech with the most activity coming from Europe and the United States."

Ultratech also announced it has procured a commitment for a $25 million unsecured credit line with no borrowing base, which will be used to fund future growth. "This credit line assures that we can undertake future facility and product expansions as the need arises, thereby increasing our financial flexibility," Mr. Zafiropoulo said. "This is a significant development for Ultratech that demonstrates the progress we've made in building the Ultratech name and the financial vitality of the company."

During 3Q, Ultratech completed expansion into a 100,000-square-foot facility, giving the company additional production capacity at a minimal increase to fixed costs.

GenRad 3Q Net Over $1M

CONCORD, MASS.--GenRad recorded net income of $1.05 million or 5 cents per share for 3Q, in contrast to the $44.8 million net loss the company had in the like period of 1993. The year-ago quarter included a $41.9 million charge against earnings for a reorganization and write-off of certain products. Sales and service revenues for the quarter were $36.6 million, compared with the previous year's $35.8 million, which included $14 million from discontinued products.

For the nine months ended Oct. 1, the company posted net of $4.07 million or 21 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $44.2 million. Revenues this year were $107.4 million. A year ago, they were $120.8 million, including $12 million from discontinued products.

GenRad president and CEO James F. Lyons said, "The short-term goal of restructuring to return the company to sustained profitability is being achieved. Likewise, we steadily improved our gross margins as we realigned our cost structure and brought enhanced focus to our core product lines in board test and automotive diagnostics. By refining our marketing and sales processes in response to customers' requirements, our board test, test and measurement, MCATES and automotive diagnostic systems businesses are competitively well positioned. Those refinements, plus a firming European market demand, enabled us to counter the seasonal order softness the test equipment industry traditionally experiences. The third quarter revenues exceeded expectations and approximated the levels in the 1994 second quarter."

Mr. Lyons noted that despite margin improvement, net income declined from that realized in the 1994 second quarter as a result of incremental expenses relating to the cost of technology acquisition and various personnel changes. "This quarter lays the foundation for a good second-half performance for GenRad."

GenRad's $12 million revolving credit facility with Foothill Capital Corp., a subsidiary of Foothill Group, Inc., was amended and extended through December, 1996. The amendment provides more favorable terms for borrowing in recognition of GenRad's improved financial condition since the inception of the agreement in June, 1992.

Logic Devices

SUNNYVALE, CALIF.--Logic Devices Inc., here, said for the three months ended Sept. 30, 1994 net income was $215,000, or 4 cents per share, up 258 percent from $60,000, 1 cent per share for the like quarter of 1993. Sales for the quarter were nearly $3.5 million, up 9 percent from the $3.1 million for 3Q ended Sept. 30, 1993. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, 1994, the company's net was $499,000 or 10 cents per share, up 180 percent from $178,000 or 4 cents per share for the comparable nine months of 1993. Its nine-month sales were slightly more than $9.9 million compared to $9.6 million for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 1993. "The combination of increasing revenues, higher margin new products, and increased manufacturing productivity combined during the quarter to drive earnings growth. As a result of these favorable trends the company elected to increase both new product development and product marketing efforts. We anticipate continued increases in our SRAM product revenues during the fourth quarter," stated Bill Volz, president.