Kulicke & Soffa Reports Third Quarter FY 1999 Results - Kulicke & Soffa Industries - Company Financial Information

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, August 2, 1999

Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) announced Tuesday the results of its third quarter of fiscal 1999, which ended June 30, 1999.

Sales for the quarter were $110,806,000 with a net loss of ($659,000) or a loss of three cents per share, compared to sales of $91,693,000 and a net loss of ($3,124,000) or a loss of thirteen cents per share on a diluted basis for the comparable period of fiscal 1998.

Sales for the first nine months of fiscal 1999 were $245,542,000 with a net loss of ($24,298,000) or a loss of one dollar and four cents per share on a diluted basis compared to sales of $334,864,000 and net income of $12,891,000 or fifty-four cents per share for the first nine months of fiscal 1998.

Bookings for the quarter were $131,000,000, a 34% increase over the prior quarter and a $76,000,000 improvement over the third quarter of fiscal 1998. Ending backlog was $88,000,000, compared to $68,000,000 at the beginning of the quarter and $67,000,000 at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 1998.

"We are pleased with the continued strength in bookings during the quarter and believe we have entered a cyclical recovery," said C. Scott Kulicke, chairman and chief executive officer of K&S. "Our packaging materials business continued to perform well, achieving record operating profit for the quarter, and after four quarters of losses the equipment business returned to profitability. We expect both businesses to continue their strong improvement in the fourth quarter."

During the quarter, the Company increased its ownership interest in Flip Chip Technologies, LLC (FCT) from 51% to approximately 74%. This is the first reporting period where Advanced Packaging Technology, which includes FCT and the recently purchased XLAM technology, is shown as a separate business Segment.

Advanced Packaging is part of the Company's strategic initiative to develop new technologies for advanced semiconductor packaging and to reposition K&S as a provider of complete solutions for the backend of chip manufacturing.

Kulicke & Soffa is the world's largest supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment.

The Company serves the integrated circuit assembly market with a product line that includes wire bonding, die bonding, wafer dicing and factory automation equipment, as well as expendable tools and materials, including bonding wire, capillaries, wedges, die collets and saw blades, and has sales and service facilities worldwide. The Company's website address is www.kns.com.