ASTeX Announces Fiscal 1998 Fourth Quarter and Year End Financial Results.WOBURN Woburn, village, England Woburn (w  `bərn), village, Bedfordshire, S central England. , Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 28, 1998--Applied Science and
Technology, Inc. ("ASTeX") (Nasdaq:ASTX) today reported
financial results for the fiscal 1998 fourth quarter and year ended June June: see month. 27, 1998.
As previously announced, fourth quarter results were impacted by the semiconductor equipment industry downturn Downturn The transition point between a rising, expanding economy to a falling, contracting one. downturn A decline in security prices or economic activity following a period of rising or stable prices or activity. . Total revenue for the fiscal 1998 fourth quarter declined 14% sequentially se·quen·tial adj. 1. Forming or characterized by a sequence, as of units or musical notes. 2. Sequent. se·quen to $20.1 million from $23.5 million reported in the third quarter of fiscal 1998. In comparison to the fiscal fourth quarter of 1997, total revenue increased by 13% from $17.8 million. Eliminating the effects of the acquisitions of ASTeX CPI (1) (Characters Per Inch) The measurement of the density of characters per inch on tape or paper. A printer's CPI button switches character pitch. (2) (Counts Per I in May, 1997, and ASTeX Sorbios in October October: see month. , 1997, year over year quarterly total revenues were flat, declining by less than 1%. Net earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter of 1998 were $13,300, or less than $0.01 per share. This compares with a fiscal 1997 fourth quarter loss of $44,000, or a loss of $0.01 per share, which included an in-process research and development expense of $1.5 million associated with the ASTeX CPI acquisition. Without the one- time charge, net earnings in the fourth quarter of 1997 would have been $0.9 million, or 0.13 per share diluted di·lute tr.v. di·lut·ed, di·lut·ing, di·lutes 1. To make thinner or less concentrated by adding a liquid such as water. 2. To lessen the force, strength, purity, or brilliance of, especially by admixture. , adjusting for any tax benefit. For the fiscal year ended June 27, 1998, total revenue rose to a record $83.4 million, a 74% increase over $48.0 million for fiscal 1997. Eliminating the effects of the acquisitions mentioned above, total revenue increased by 42% for fiscal 1998 over 1997. Net earnings for fiscal 1998 also reached a record $4.0 million or $0.47 per share diluted, up from $938,000, or $0.14 per share diluted in the prior year. Without the ASTeX CPI in-process research and development expense in fiscal 1997, earnings would have been $1.88 million, or $0.28 per share diluted, adjusting for any tax benefit. Net cash provided by operating activities during fiscal 1998 funded the company's strong growth during the year. Sales of common stock raised $16 million, which was used to eliminate all bank debt and acquire ASTeX Sorbios, leaving a balance of $7.7 million at yearend. Dr. Richard S Ri·chard , Joseph Henri Maurice Known as "Rocket." 1921-2000. Canadian hockey player. A right wing for the Montreal Canadiens (1942-1960), he led his team to eight Stanley Cup championships and was the first player to score 50 goals in a . Post, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "This has been an outstanding year for ASTeX with record revenues and earnings being achieved despite the semiconductor downturn, which impacted us in the second half of the year. We made significant progress in building the Company's global infrastructure during the year by acquiring ASTeX Sorbios in Berlin, Germany Germany (jûr`mənē), Ger. Deutschland, officially Federal Republic of Germany, republic (2005 est. pop. 82,431,000), 137,699 sq mi (356,733 sq km). , where we will establish ASTeX Europe Europe (y  r`əp), 6th largest continent, c.4,000,000 sq mi (10,360,000 sq km) including adjacent islands (1992 est. pop. 512,000,000). , including research and development and
manufacturing, in addition to sales and service. During the year, we
focused on developing common processes to integrate our acquisitions
into the Company. Global Customer Operations was established to provide
regional sales and service. We achieved ISO (1) See ISO speed.(2) (International Organization for Standardization, Geneva, Switzerland, www.iso.ch) An organization that sets international standards, founded in 1946. The U.S. member body is ANSI. 9001 certification and implemented a new ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) An integrated information system that serves all departments within an enterprise. Evolving out of the manufacturing industry, ERP implies the use of packaged software rather than proprietary software written by or for one customer. system in Woburn, which will form the basis for the next phase of our growth. Through consolidation, we expect to achieve a profitable operation independent of the semiconductor equipment industry recovery. This new organization should deliver stronger profitability when the industry recovers and be less impacted by future industry downturns. We continued to strengthen our management team and believe we are well positioned to accelerate our growth when the semiconductor industry recovers." "ASTeX has several new technology products that offer sales potential in the current downturn: ASTRON ASTRON Astronomy , Liquozone, RF for HDP-CVD and new laser power supplies. ASTRON for CVD CVD Cardiovascular disease, see there chamber clean has been shipped on one customer's system with five more customers at various stages of productization. Liquozone, our new de-ionized water/ozone system from ASTeX Sorbios has already shipped to our customer who has established beta partners. The four channel RF and microwave microwave, electromagnetic wave having a frequency range from 1,000 megahertz (MHz) to 300,000 MHz, corresponding to a wavelength range from 300 mm (about 12 in.) to 1 mm (about 0.04 in.). Like light waves, microwaves travel essentially in straight lines. system for HDP-CVD is expected to ramp with fab production sales beginning in fiscal second quarter 1999. Our new CWT-6000 laser power supply will roll out this quarter, significantly expanding our opportunities in continuous wave laser products. Our sales of specialty A contract under seal. A specialty is a written document that has been sealed and delivered and is given as security for the payment of a specifically indicated debt. power supplies and industrial plasma equipment outside the semiconductor industry contributed $8.6 million or 43% of total revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal 1998. Our product and market diversity, derived de·rive v. de·rived, de·riv·ing, de·rives v.tr. 1. To obtain or receive from a source. 2. from our core technologies, helps us during semiconductor industry slow-downs." Dr. Post concluded, "As previously announced, we continue to be affected by the semiconductor equipment industry downturn. However, our balance sheet remains strong and we are committed to new product development and to the creation of a strong global infrastructure to support our customers and meet our overall growth objectives. We continue to see acquisition and partnership opportunities, and expect that these will continue to play a major role in our growth. We believe the Company will be well positioned when the market recovers." ASTeX is a leading provider of innovative production technology for the manufacture of advanced semiconductor devices. ASTeX markets its plasma sources Plasma sources generate plasmas. Excitation of a plasma requires partial ionisation of neutral atoms and/or molecules of a medium. There are several ways to cause ionisation: collisions of energetic particles, strong electric fields acting on bond electrons, or ionising and subsystems, ozone ozone (ō`zōn), an allotropic form of the chemical element oxygen (see allotropy). Pure ozone is an unstable, faintly bluish gas with a characteristic fresh, penetrating odor. The gas has a density of 2.144 grams per liter at STP. generators and subsystems, and specialty power sources to the world's leading semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers. ASTeX markets the same underlying core technology for medical, electro-optic Refers to the effects electricity has on optical materials such as a change in refraction or birefringence. The term was coined before "optoelectronic," but both terms are often used synonymously. See refraction, birefringent, photonics, optoelectronic and integrated optics. and synthetic diamond Synthetic diamond, also called lab-created, manufactured, "lab-grown" or cultured diamond is a term used to describe diamond (the tetrahedral carbon allotrope) which has been produced by a technological process, as opposed to natural diamond, which is applications. For more information, visit the ASTeX web site at www.astex.com. "Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. " statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995: This release contains forward looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive products and pricing, product demand and market acceptance, new product development, reliance on key customers and suppliers, uncertainty regarding the recovery of the semiconductor capital equipment industry, availability of acquisition and partnership opportunities, fluctuations in operating results and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Applied Science and Technology, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Three Months Ended Twelve Months Ended
June 27, June 28, June 27, June 28,
1998 1997 1998 1997
(unaudited) (unaudited)
Product sales, net $18,451,737 $16,813,549 $77,958,080 $43,934,476
Research contract
revenue 91,684 190,821 785,607 982,383
Other revenue 1,569,782 797,120 4,692,448 3,050,279
Total revenue 20,113,203 17,801,490 83,436,135 47,967,138
Cost of sales and revenue:
Product sales and
other revenue 14,452,433 11,348,331 54,563,883 30,052,877
Research contracts 122,494 138,400 422,724 504,357
Total cost of sales
and revenue 14,574,927 11,486,731 54,986,607 30,557,234
Gross profit 5,538,276 6,314,759 28,449,528 17,409,904
Operating expenses:
Research and development
expenses 2,822,947 2,528,536 11,253,491 7,343,190
Selling expenses 1,264,461 945,545 4,426,521 2,950,117
General and administrative
expenses 1,569,436 1,337,125 6,648,054 3,957,792
Acquisition-related
expenses 0 1,500,000 212,423 1,500,000
Total operating
expenses 5,656,844 6,311,206 22,540,489 15,751,099
Earnings (loss) from
operations (118,568) 3,553 5,909,039 1,658,805
Other expense (income):
Interest expense 324 153,840 196,392 585,462
Interest income (133,416) (82,506) (514,363) (396,114)
Other expense
(income) (6,774) 3,363 (259,594) (18,302)
Total other expense
(income) (139,866) 74,697 (577,565) 171,046
Earnings (loss) before
income taxes 21,298 (71,144) 6,486,604 1,487,759
Income tax expense
(benefit) 8,000 (27,000) 2,466,000 550,000
Net earnings
(loss) $ 13,298 $ (44,144) $4,020,604 $ 937,759
Basic net earnings (loss)
per share $ 0.00 $ (0.01) $ 0.50 $ 0.14
Diluted net earnings (loss)
per share $ 0.00 $ (0.01) $ 0.47 $ 0.14
Weighted average common shares
outstanding used to calculate
basic earnings
per share 8,588,920 6,730,320 8,052,926 6,686,253
Weighted average common shares
outstanding used to calculate
diluted earnings
per share 8,912,314 6,730,320 8,528,947 6,777,440
Applied Science and Technology, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Assets June 27, June 28,
1998 1997
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 7,686,805 $ 3,246,337
Trade receivables, net 12,734.381 11,915,919
Inventories 13,737,212 10,013,422
Prepaid expenses and other assets 548,709 276,682
Deferred income taxes 1,356,044 895,237
Total current assets 36,063,151 26,347,597
Property and equipment:
Land 473,000 473,000
Building and improvements 1,643,072 1,621,469
Equipment 11,107,731 7,871,718
Furniture and fixtures 1,032,497 741,143
Leasehold improvements 2,228,246 1,946,800
16,484,546 12,654,130
Less accumulated depreciation
and amortization (7,960,282) (5,150,881)
Net property and equipment 8,524,264 7,503,249
Other assets:
Patents, net 1,095,090 148,794
Goodwill, net of accumulated
amortization 4,042,031 3,261,652
Long-term investments 0 1,299,545
Deferred income taxes 1,099,998 0
Notes receivable, less
current maturities 468,772 383,080
Other, net 0 383,304
Total other assets 6,705,891 5,476,375
$51,293,306 $39,327,221
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of long-term debt $ 0 $ 1,824,397
Accounts payable 3,011,798 3,869,521
Accrued expenses 1,935,229 1,374,635
Accrued compensation expense
and related costs 1,993,027 1,448,928
Accrued income tax expense 293,444 647,142
Commissions payable and customer advances 259,154 226,672
Total current liabilities 7,492,652 9,391,295
Long-term debt, less current maturities 0 6,368,913
Deferred income taxes 0 78,003
Total liabilities 7,492,652 15,838,211
Stockholders' equity:
Preferred stock 0 0
Common stock 86,065 67,785
Additional paid-in capital 44,193,116 27,837,250
Accumulated deficit (247,095)(4,267,699)
Cumulative translation adjustment (83,106) 0
Less: Notes receivable for common stock purchases
(148,326) (148,326)
Total stockholders' equity 43,800,654 23,489,010
$51,293,306 $39,327,221
CONTACT:John Tarrh
Applied Science and Technology, Inc.
781/937-5135
or
Investor Relations Contact:
Donna N. Stein, APR/Keil Decker
Morgen-Walke Associates, Inc.
212/850-5600
Press Contact:Lee Foley/Hud Hellman
Morgen-Walke Associates, Inc.
212/850-5600
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