ASTeX Announces Record Fiscal 1998 Third Quarter Earnings; Reports All-Time Record Quarterly Revenues and Earnings.WOBURN Woburn, village, England Woburn (w  `bərn), village, Bedfordshire, S central England. , Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 1998--Applied Science
and Technology, Inc. ("ASTeX") (Nasdaq: ASTX) today reported
record financial results for the fiscal 1998 third quarter and nine
months ended March 28, 1998.
Total revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 1998 was an all-time all-time adj. Exceeding all others up to the present time: an all-time speed skating record. all-time Adjective Informal record $23.5 million, an increase of 113% versus $11.0 million for the third quarter of fiscal 1997. Excluding the recently acquired ASTeX Sorbios and 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 , which were not included in the comparable quarter of 1997, total revenue for the third quarter of fiscal 1998 was $18.0 million, an increase of 63% versus the prior year. Net earnings for the quarter grew to an all-time record $1.6 million, or $0.18 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. , compared to net earnings of $390,000, or $0.06 per share diluted, in last year's comparable quarter. Total revenue for the nine months ended March 28, 1998, was $63.3 million, an increase of 110% versus $30.2 million for the nine months of fiscal 1997. Net earnings for the nine months rose to $4.0 million, or $0.47 per share diluted, compared to $982,000, or $0.15 per share diluted, in the previous year. Dr. Richard 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, "Our record operating results for the quarter reflect increasing market penetration Noun 1. market penetration - the extent to which a product is recognized and bought by customers in a particular market penetration - the act of entering into or through something; "the penetration of upper management by women" and our diverse markets. Demand for RF products for high-density high-den·si·ty adj. Having a high concentration: high-density urban areas. plasma CVD CVD Cardiovascular disease, see there and oxide oxide, chemical compound containing oxygen and one other chemical element. Oxides are widely and abundantly distributed in nature. Water is the oxide of hydrogen. Silicon dioxide is the major component of sand and quartz. etch To create a design in a material by digging out the material. The circuit designs on printed circuit boards and chips are etched by acid. See chip and printed circuit board. applications has been strong, offsetting a decline in demand for our microwave and ozone equipment for semiconductor production related to the semiconductor equipment industry slowdown For articles with similar titles, see Slow Down (disambiguation). A slowdown is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. . We successfully executed a production ramp of RF products to meet customer demand, and this revenue increased 75% over the second quarter of fiscal 1998. Our record results also benefited from the strength of sales in non-semiconductor markets, including 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 , which comprised 37% of total revenues, an increase from 32% in the previous quarter. This increase was the result of strong demand for DC switching power supplies Switch´ing power supply n. 1. a device used as part of an electronic device, which transforms electrical current from an AC line circuit to DC for use in electronic devices, and which can use either 110 volt or 220 volt AC line curent. for pulsed lasers used in dermatology dermatology (dûrmətŏl`əjē), branch of medicine concerned with diagnosis and treatment of diseases and disorders of the skin. applications, RF generators for medical applications, and plasma equipment for advanced industrial production applications." "We see expanded acceptance of ASTRON ASTRON Astronomy , our new product for chamber clean applications. The Company anticipates strong demand for our SmartPower microwave generator generator, in electricity, machine used to change mechanical energy into electrical energy. It operates on the principle of electromagnetic induction, discovered (1831) by Michael Faraday. products due to their advanced features and superior price performance. ASTeX will begin shipping them to customers in Q4. We will announce the LIQUOZONE 100 ozonated liquid delivery tool at Semicon West in July July: see month. . In the area of specialty power supplies, we introduced new RF MRI 1. (application) MRI - Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 2. MRI - Measurement Requirements and Interface. amplifiers, establishing improved price performance for the MRI industry, and new laser power supplies. These products are aimed at continuing and expanding ASTeX's market leadership." "Continuing to strengthen our infrastructure and management," Dr. Post continued, "we have recently hired Avishay Katz Katz , Bernard 1911-2003. German-born British physiologist. He shared a 1970 Nobel Prize for the study of nerve impulse transmission. and Jill E. Maunder. Dr. Katz, Senior Vice President, Global Customer Operations, has extensive electronics industry experience, most recently as Vice President and Chief Technical Officer at Watkins-Johnson, and previously in management positions with AT&T-Bell Laboratories and EPRI EPRI Electric Power Research Institute EPRI European Parliaments Research Initiatives . Ms. Maunder, Vice President of Human Resources The fancy word for "people." The human resources department within an organization, years ago known as the "personnel department," manages the administrative aspects of the employees. , joins ASTeX from Outsourcing (1) Contracting with outside consultants, software houses or service bureaus to perform systems analysis, programming and datacenter operations. Contrast with insourcing. See netsourcing, ASP, SSP and facilities management. Solutions, Inc. where she was co-founder and President and previously in human resources positions at Bull HN Information Systems, Gen Rad, Inc. and Commercial Union Assurance Company." "We continue to invest in the integration of the Company's manufacturing sites and management systems. During the quarter we began installation of a new Enterprise Resource Planning See ERP. (application, business) Enterprise Resource Planning - (ERP) Any software system designed to support and automate the business processes of medium and large businesses. computer system which we plan to implement at two sites by the end of fiscal 1998, and company-wide in fiscal 1999. Furthermore, we continue toward our goal of having 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 registered facilities by the end of 1998," stated Dr. Post. "As we look into the near future, we expect revenues from new products related to technology buys and from non-semiconductor markets to continue the strength shown in the third quarter. However, we expect a further decline in revenues from products that are primarily related to semiconductor fab See fab. capacity as our customers further reduce inventory. These factors may result in a 5%-10% sequential One after the other in some consecutive order such as by name or number. decline in Q4 revenues. Based on the revenue and product mix outlook for the fourth quarter, we expect gross margins may decline and fourth quarter net income may decline sequentially se·quen·tial adj. 1. Forming or characterized by a sequence, as of units or musical notes. 2. Sequent. se·quen approximately 50% despite expense control measures that have been implemented." Dr. Post concluded, "We are very pleased with the progress we have made in offering innovative solutions to our customers. We have made significant progress toward integration of our internal resources. Through the relationships between ASTeX and its customers, we have introduced several new product lines which have increased our market share. Consequently, we believe we are in a position to take advantage of significant growth opportunities in the future." 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 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 and synthetic diamond applications. For more information, visit the new ASTeX web site at www.astex.com. -0- "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 strategic alliances, availability of raw materials, the regulatory environment, fluctuations in operating results and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. -0-
Applied Science and Technology, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Operations
Three Months Ended
March 28, March 29,
1998 1997
(unaudited) (unaudited)
Product sales, net $ 22,195,896 $ 10,123,941
Research contract
revenue 293,503 247,332
Other revenue 972,437 641,259
Total revenue 23,461,836 11,012,532
Cost of sales and revenue:
Product sales and other
revenue 15,076,802 6,995,463
Research contracts 177,617 130,733
Total cost of sales and revenue 15,254,419 7,126,196
Gross profit 8,207,417 3,886,336
Operating expenses:
Selling expenses 1,145,261 605,724
General and administrative
expenses 1,791,298 886,740
Research and development
expenses 3,019,286 1,735,389
Acquisition-related expenses 0 0
Total operating
expenses 5,955,845 3,227,853
Earnings from
operations 2,251,572 658,483
Other expense (income):
Interest expense 36 138,200
Interest income (157,522) (99,126)
Other expense (income) (37,463) (990)
Total other (income) expense (194,949) 38,084
Earnings before
income taxes 2,446,521 620,399
Income tax expense 869,000 230,000
Net earnings $ 1,577,521 $ 390,399
Basic net
earnings per share $ 0.19 $ 0.06
Diluted net
earnings per share $ 0.18 $ 0.06
Weighted average common shares
outstanding used to calculate
basic earnings per share 8,482,518 6,671,963
Weighted average common shares
outstanding used to calculate
diluted earnings per share 8,922,323 6,793,079
-0-
Nine Months Ended
March 28, March 29,
1998 1997
(unaudited) (unaudited)
Product sales, net $ 59,506,344 $ 27,120,927
Research contract
revenue 693,923 791,562
Other revenue 3,122,666 2,253,159
Total revenue 63,322,933 30,165,648
Cost of sales and revenue:
Product sales and other
revenue 40,111,450 18,681,827
Research contracts 300,230 388,676
Total cost of sales and revenue 40,411,680 19,070,503
Gross profit 22,911,253 11,095,145
Operating expenses:
Selling expenses 3,162,060 2,004,572
General and administrative
expenses 5,078,619 2,620,667
Research and development
expenses 8,430,544 4,814,654
Acquisition-related
expenses 212,423 0
Total operating
expenses 16,883,646 9,439,893
Earnings from
operations 6,027,607 1,655,252
Other expense (income):
Interest expense 196,068 431,622
Interest income (380,947) (313,608)
Other expense (income) (252,820) (21,665)
Total other (income) expense (437,699) 96,349
Earnings before
income taxes 6,465,308 1,558,903
Income tax expense 2,458,000 577,000
Net earnings $ 4,007,306 $ 981,903
Basic net
earnings per share $ 0.51 $ 0.15
Diluted net
earnings per share $ 0.47 $ 0.15
Weighted average common shares
outstanding used to calculate
basic earnings per share 7,874,262 6,670,166
Weighted average common shares
outstanding used to calculate
diluted earnings per share 8,455,678 6,737,677
-0-
Applied Science and Technology, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
Assets March 28, June 28,
1998 1997
(unaudited)
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 6,647,058 $ 3,246,337
Short-term marketable investments 1,299,884 0
Accounts receivable, trade, net 13,101,423 11,915,919
Inventories 15,858,422 10,013,422
Prepaid expenses and other assets 507,568 276,682
Deferred income taxes 1,389,945 895,237
Total current assets 38,804,300 26,347,597
Property, plant and equipment:
Land 473,000 473,000
Building and improvements 1,625,360 1,621,469
Equipment 10,141,769 7,871,718
Furniture and fixtures 968,577 741,143
Leasehold improvements 2,093,540 1,946,800
15,302,246 12,654,130
Less accumulated depreciation
and amortization (7,394,607) (5,150,881)
Net property, plant
and equipment 7,907,639 7,503,249
Other assets:
Patents, net 1,134,260 148,794
Goodwill, net of accumulated
amortization 4,153,047 3,261,652
Long-term investments 0 1,299,545
Notes receivable less
current maturities 373,160 383,080
Deferred income taxes 1,027,384 0
Other 0 383,304
Total other assets 6,687,851 5,476,375
$53,399,790 $39,327,221
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity
Current Liabilities:
Current maturities of
long-term debt $ 0 $1,824,397
Accounts payable 4,796,373 3,869,521
Accrued expenses 2,136,361 1,374,635
Accrued compensation expense
and related costs 2,030,112 1,448,928
Accrued income tax expense 1,043,031 647,142
Commissions payable and
customer advances 282,655 226,672
Total current liabilities 10,288,532 9,391,295
Long-term debt, less current maturities 0 6,368,913
Deferred income taxes 0 78,003
Total liabilities 10,288,532 15,838,211
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock 85,517 67,785
Additional paid-in capital 43,535,091 27,837,250
Accumulated deficit (260,393) (4,267,699)
Cumulated translation adjustment (100,631) 0
Less: Notes receivable for
common stock purchases (148,326) (148,326)
Total stockholders' equity 43,111,258 23,489,010
$53,399,790 $39,327,221
CONTACT: Applied Science and Technology, Inc. John Tarrh, 781/937-5135 or Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. Contact: Donna N. Stein Stein , William Howard 1911-1980. American biochemist. He shared a 1972 Nobel Prize for pioneering studies of ribonuclease. , APR/Dan Durkin/Keil Decker Morgen-Walke Associates, Inc. 212/850-5600 Press Contact:Lee Foley/Elizabeth Pieroni Morgen-Walke Associates, Inc. 212/850-5600 |
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