Cohu Reports First Quarter 2009 Operating Results
Thursday, April 23, 2009
POWAY, Calif., April 23, 2009 -- Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) today announced that net sales were $36.6 million for the first quarter ended March 28, 2009 compared to $58.4 million for the first quarter ended March 29, 2008 and $41.4 million for the fourth quarter ended December 27, 2008. Net loss for the first quarter of 2009 was $(6.3) million or $(0.27) per share compared to net income of $2.0 million or $0.08 per share for the first quarter of 2008 and a net loss of $(7.6) million or $(0.33) per share for the fourth quarter of 2008. Net loss for the first quarter ended March 28, 2009 and the fourth quarter ended December 27, 2008 included pretax charges of $2.6 million and $5.5 million, respectively, for the write-down of inventory due to weak business conditions in the back-end semiconductor equipment industry. Net loss for the fourth quarter ended December 27, 2008 also included a $2.6 million charge for acquired in-process research and development associated with our acquisition of Rasco GmbH that closed on December 9, 2008.
Cohu is presenting unaudited non-GAAP financial measures to provide additional insight into underlying operating performance on a comparable basis. The unaudited non-GAAP financial measures exclude charges and the related income tax effect for share-based compensation and the amortization of acquired intangible assets. On a non-GAAP basis, the net loss for the first quarter of 2009 was $(4.7) million or $(0.20) per share compared to net income of $3.1 million or $0.13 per share in the same period last year.
Sales of semiconductor equipment accounted for 67.2% of first quarter 2009 sales. Microwave communications equipment and television cameras and related equipment contributed 22.1% and 10.7%, respectively, for the same period.
Orders were $34.4 million for both the first quarter of 2009 and the fourth quarter of 2008. Orders for semiconductor equipment were $20.2 million in the first quarter of 2009 compared to $21.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. Total consolidated backlog was $44.4 million at March 28, 2009 compared to $46.6 million at December 27, 2008. Cohu expects second quarter 2009 sales to be approximately $31 million.
James A. Donahue, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "After a sequential decrease of 32% in the fourth quarter of 2008, orders for Cohu's semiconductor equipment were down only 4% sequentially in Q1. This is in line with recent comments from some semiconductor companies that business may have reached a bottom in the first quarter. We received the first orders for Pyramid, our new IC test handler that incorporates proprietary thermal technology to optimize speed grading of microprocessors and high-speed graphics chips. Characterization and production qualification is underway at a major microprocessor manufacturer."
Donahue continued, "Our microwave equipment operations recorded increased orders and had another excellent quarter. With a record backlog and solid order pipeline, principally in defense and law enforcement applications, we expect BMS to have a strong second quarter."
Donahue concluded, "Equipment utilization on some IC test floors is trending up slightly and certain customers have increased their forecasts in recent weeks. While this is encouraging, the business environment remains difficult and equipment utilization is still well below normal levels. During this downturn, we have reduced costs and with our strong balance sheet, we are continuing to make investments that will enable Cohu to benefit as business conditions improve."
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information:
Included within this press release are non-GAAP financial measures that supplement the Company's Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations prepared under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These non-GAAP financial measures adjust the Company's actual results prepared under GAAP to exclude certain charges. Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP amounts for the periods presented herein are provided in schedules accompanying this release and should be considered together with the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations.
These non-GAAP measures are not meant as a substitute for GAAP, but are included solely for informational and comparative purposes. The Company's management believes that this information can assist investors in evaluating the Company's operational trends, financial performance, and cash generating capacity. Management believes these non-GAAP measures allow investors to evaluate Cohu's financial performance using some of the same measures as management. However, the non-GAAP financial measures should not be regarded as a replacement for (or superior to) corresponding, similarly captioned, GAAP measures.
Forward Looking Statements:
Certain matters discussed in this release, including statements concerning Cohu's new products and expectations of business conditions, orders, sales, revenues and operating performance are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or forecasted. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, difficulties in integrating the Rasco acquisition; expected synergies and cost savings from the acquisition may not be realized; market opportunities as a result of the acquisition may be smaller than anticipated or may not be realized; reduced demand for our products as a result of the global economic crisis; customer orders may be canceled or delayed; the concentration of our revenues from a limited number of customers; our ability to convert new products under development into production on a timely basis, support product development and meet customer delivery and acceptance requirements for next generation equipment; failure to obtain customer acceptance resulting in the inability to recognize revenue and accounts receivable collection problems; inventory, goodwill, other intangible asset and deferred tax asset write-downs; intense competition in the semiconductor test handler industry; our reliance on patents and intellectual property; compliance with U.S. export regulations; and the cyclical and unpredictable nature of capital expenditures by semiconductor manufacturers. These and other risks and uncertainties are discussed more fully in Cohu's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recently filed Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Cohu assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.
About Cohu:
Cohu is a supplier of test handling, burn-in and thermal solutions used by the global semiconductor industry, microwave communications and closed circuit television equipment.
Cohu will be conducting their conference call on Thursday, April 23, 2009 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time/5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The call will be webcast at www.cohu.com. Replays of the call can be accessed atwww.cohu.com.
For press releases and other information of interest to investors, please visit Cohu's website at www.cohu.com. Contact: Jeffrey D. Jones - Investor Relations (858) 848-8106
Full Press Release including Consolidated Statements of Operations and Consolidated Balance Sheets
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