BE Semiconductor Industries N.V.

Earnings Release • Apr 28, 2011

PRESS RELEASE

Besi Q1-11 Revenue and Profit Exceed Expectations. Orders Increase 54% vs. Q4-10

Duiven, the Netherlands, April 28, 2011 - BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. ("the Company" or "Besi") (NYSE Euronext: BESI; OTCQX: BESIY), a leading manufacturer of assembly equipment for the semiconductor industry, today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

Key Highlights

• Q1-11 revenue € 91.1 million is 9% above prior guidance (€ 83.5 million) due to higher than anticipated die attach orders/shipments. Up 61% vs. Q1-10 and down 13% vs. Q4-10
• 54% sequential order increase confirms improved order outlook after H2-10 slowdown due to increased demand for die attach systems in advanced applications (tablets, smart phones, automotive electronics)
• Gross margin (40.0%) at high end of guidance (38.5-40.5%)
• Net income of € 9.6 million in Q1-11 vs. net loss of € 2.6 million in Q1-10 due to increased revenue and successful execution of business strategy
• Sequential net income down by € 9.8 million caused by absence of € 5.4 million tax credit and 13% sequential revenue reduction, but better than expectations

(€ millions; except EPS)	Q1-2011	Q4-2010	Δ	Q1-2010	Δ
Revenue	91.1	104.4	-12.7%	56.6	61.0%
Operating income (loss)	13.5	17.4	-22.4%	(1.0)	NM
EBITDA	16.3	20.9	-22.0%	1.1	NM
Net income (loss)	9.6	19.4	-50.5%	(2.6)	NM
EPS (diluted)	0.26	0.50	-48.0%	(0.08)	NM
Orders	88.3	57.4	53.8%	97.3	-9.2%
Backlog	73.7	76.4	-3.5%	91.7	-19.6%
Cash flow (deficit) from ops.	1.5	19.0	-92.1%	(16.9)	NM
Cash	65.5	69.3	-5.5%	47.7	37.3%
Total Debt	45.9	46.4	-1.1%	46.8	-1.9%

Richard W. Blickman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Besi, commented: "We are pleased to report better than anticipated first quarter results. Q1-11 revenue and net income increased by € 34.5 million (61%) and € 12.2 million, respectively, as compared to the first quarter of 2010. As expected, this quarter's revenue and operating profit were lower than Q4-10 but exceeded prior guidance due to higher than anticipated demand by Asian subcontractors for our assembly equipment, particularly leading edge flip chip, die bonding and die sorting systems. Q1-11 revenue and operating profit were negatively influenced to a minor degree (less than 5% of revenue) from production delays caused by a disruption to our Asian supply chain from the Japanese earthquake. We do not anticipate any material impact from the earthquake on our Q2-11 operating results.

Our operating profit in Q1-11 exceeded expectations as we were able to maintain gross margins roughly equal to Q4-10 in spite of a 13% sequential revenue decrease while reducing our overhead costs. We also continued to make progress this quarter in our Asian production transfer, as measured by a significant quarterly sequential ramp of ES 2100 die bonding production in Malaysia.

Besi's 54% sequential order increase in Q1-11 confirms our improved order outlook after a temporary slowdown in the second half of 2010 as customers significantly increased spending for advanced assembly applications. Our broad portfolio of die attach and packaging systems for use in array connect and wafer level packaging applications has positioned us well to capitalize on opportunities currently resulting from increased demand for smart phones, tablets, personal productivity devices and automotive electronics. Based on current customer feedback and order trends, we see stable revenue and operating profits in Q2-11 as compared to Q1-11 and maintain a positive outlook for the remainder of the year ."

First Quarter Results of Operations

Besi's Q1-11 revenue of € 91.1 million increased by € 34.5 million (61.0%) as compared to Q1-10 primarily due to significantly higher sales of our portfolio of die attach systems partially offset by lower wire bonding revenue as a result of that unit's business rationalization in Q2-10. Revenue in Q1-11 exceeded prior guidance (approximately € 83.5 million). On a sequential basis, revenue decreased by € 13.3 million (12.7%) as compared to Q4-10 primarily due to lower shipments of die bonding and flip chip die bonding systems.

Orders for Q1-11 were € 88.3 million, an increase of € 30.9 million, or 53.8%, as compared to Q4-10. The quarterly sequential order increase was across the product portfolio, but primarily focused on increased demand by Asian subcontractors for die bonding and flip chip die bonding systems, and to a lesser extent, die sorting and molding systems. Q1-11 orders declined by 9.2% as compared to Q1-10 due to lower wire bonding and die bonding bookings. On a customer basis, the sequential order increase in the first quarter of 2011 reflected a € 24.4 million (108.9%) increase by subcontractors and a € 6.5 million (18.6%) increase by IDMs. Backlog at March 31, 2011, was € 73.7 million, a decrease of € 2.7 million, or 3.5%, as compared to December 31, 2010.

Besi's gross margin was 40.0% in Q1-11 as compared to 40.2% in Q4-10 as lower die attach gross margins were partially offset by a significant improvement in packaging gross margins. Q1-11 gross margins were at the high end of prior guidance (38.5%-40.5%). The Q1-11 gross margin increased by 6.6 points as compared to 33.4% in Q1-10 due primarily to significantly higher shipments, an increased proportion of higher margin die attach systems in the Company's product mix, benefits from Besi's 2010 product line restructuring and increased manufacturing efficiencies.

Besi's operating expenses were € 22.9 million in the first quarter of 2011 as compared to € 24.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and € 19.9 million in the first quarter of 2010. Q1-11 operating expenses were slightly above guidance (€ 22.1 million) primarily due to one time items. Lower sequential operating expenses in Q1- 11 as compared to Q4-10 were primarily due to reduced warranty, development and selling expenses. In Q1- 11, Besi capitalized € 1.5 million of development expenses as compared to € 1.6 million in Q4-10. As a % of revenue, total operating expenses were 25.1% in the first quarter of 2011 as compared to 23.5% in the fourth quarter of 2010 and 35.1% in the first quarter of 2010.

Q1-11 net income of € 9.6 million increased by € 12.2 million as compared to a net loss of € 2.6 million in Q1- 10. The net income improvement was primarily due to a 61% year over year revenue improvement, significantly improved gross and operating margins as a result of an increase in the product mix represented by die attach systems and cost reductions and efficiencies realized from Besi's product line and organizational restructuring and ongoing transfer of production to Asia. On a sequential quarterly basis, Besi's net income declined by € 9.8 million from € 19.4 million in Q4-10 primarily due to: (i) the absence of a deferred tax write-up of € 5.4 million recognized in Q4-10, (ii) a 13% revenue reduction, and (iii) increased financial expense, net of € 1.2 million related primarily to higher foreign exchange losses recognized.

Financial Condition

Cash and cash equivalents decreased by € 3.8 million to € 65.5 million at March 31, 2011 as compared to € 69.3 million at December 31, 2010 while total debt and capital leases declined sequentially by € 0.5 million to € 45.9 million at March 31, 2011. The € 3.3 million sequential decrease in Besi's net cash position at March 31, 2011 was primarily due to an investment in working capital of € 14.5 million in order to support the 54% sequential order increase, capitalized development spending of € 1.5 million and net capital expenditures of € 1.5 million partially offset by net income and depreciation aggregating € 12.4 million.

In April 2011 € 2 million notional Convertible Notes were converted and 390,242 shares were issued.

Outlook

Based on our March 31, 2011 backlog and feedback from customers, we forecast for Q2-11 that:

• Revenue will be approximately equal to the € 91.1 million reported in Q1-11.
• Gross margins will range between 39.0%-41.0% as compared to the 40.0% realized in Q1-11.
• Operating expenses will increase by approximately 0-5% as compared to the € 22.9 million reported in Q1-11.
• Capital expenditures will be approximately equal to the € 1.5 million incurred in Q1-11.

Investor and media conference call

A conference call and webcast for investors and media will be held today at 11:30 a.m.CET (5:30 a.m. New York time). The dial-in for the conference call is (31) 10 29 44 215. To access the audio webcast, please visit www.besi.com.

Besi is a leading supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment for the global semiconductor and electronics industries. The Company develops leading edge assembly processes and equipment for leadframe, array connect and wafer level packaging applications in a wide range of end-user markets including electronics, computer, automotive, industrial, RFID, LED and solar energy. Customers are primarily leading semiconductor manufacturers, assembly subcontractors and electronics and industrial companies. Besi's ordinary shares are listed on NYSE Euronext Amsterdam (symbol: BESI) and OTCQX International (symbol: BESIY) and its headquarters are located in Duiven, the Netherlands. For more information, please visit our website at www.besi.com.

Contacts:

Richard W. Blickman Cor te Hennepe Tel. (31) 26 319 4500 Tel. (31) 26 319 4500

President & CEO Senior Vice President Finance investor.relations@besi.com investor.relations@besi.com

Citigate First Financial Uneke Dekkers/Frank Jansen Tel. (31) 20 575 4021 / 24 Uneke.Dekkers@citigateff.nl Frank.Jansen@citigateff.nl

Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains statements about management's future expectations, plans and prospects of our business that constitute forward-looking statements, which are found in various places throughout the press release, including, but not limited to, statements relating to expectations of orders, net sales, product shipments, backlog, expenses, timing of purchases of assembly equipment by customers, gross margins, operating results and capital expenditures. The use of words such as "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "can", "intend", "believes", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "forecast", "will", "would", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements, although not all forward looking statements contain these identifying words. The financial guidance set forth under the heading "Outlook" constitute forward looking statements. While these forward looking statements represent our judgments and expectations concerning the development of our business, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from those contained in forward looking statements, including our inability to maintain continued demand for our products, the impact of the worldwide economic downturn on our business, failure of anticipated orders to materialize or postponement or cancellation of orders, generally without charges; the volatility in the demand for semiconductors and our products and services; failure to adequately decrease costs and expenses as revenues decline, loss of significant customers, lengthening of the sales cycle, incurring additional restructuring charges in the future, acts of terrorism and violence; risks, such as changes in trade regulations, currency fluctuations, political instability and war, associated with substantial foreign customers, suppliers and foreign manufacturing operations; potential instability in foreign capital markets; the risk of failure to successfully manage our diverse operations; those additional risk factors set forth in Besi's annual report for the year ended December 31, 2010 and other key factors that could adversely affect our businesses and financial performance contained in our filings and reports, including our statutory consolidated statements. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Consolidated Statements of Operations

(euro in thousands, except share and per share data)

	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
	(unaudited)
	2011	2010 c
Revenue	91,079	56,576
Cost of sales	54,685	37,701
Gross profit	36,394	18,875
Selling, general and administrative expenses	16,499	14,221
Research and development expenses	6,387	5,641
Total operating expenses	22,886	19,862
Operating income (loss)	13,508	(987)
Financial expense (income), net	1,348	492
Income (loss) before taxes	12,160	(1,479)
Income tax expense (benefit)	2,610	1,123
Net income (loss)	9,550	(2,602)
Net income (loss) per share – basic	0.28	(0.08)
Net income (loss) per share – diluted	0.26	(0.08)
Number of shares used in computing per
share amounts:
- basic	33,943,901	33,805,787
- diluted	39,378,047a
		33,805,787b

a The calculation of the diluted income (loss) per share assumes conversion of the Company's 5.5% convertible notes due 2012 as such conversion would have a dilutive effect (5,434,146 ordinary shares). b

The calculation of the diluted income (loss) per share does not assume conversion of the Company's 5.5% convertible notes due 2012 as such conversion would have an anti-dilutive effect (5,434,146 ordinary shares). c

During 2010 Q2, a portion of the Q1 2010 restructuring charges were retrospectively reallocated from selling, general and administrative expenses to R&D expenses (€ 0.8 mio) and cost of sales (€ 2.6 mio).

(euro in thousands)	March 31,	December 31,
	2011	2010
	(unaudited)	(unaudited)
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	65,543	69,305
Accounts receivable	86,585	86,889
Inventories	82,368	79,269
Income tax receivable	205	205
Other current assets	11,689	8,620
Total current assets	246,390	244,288
Property, plant and equipment	25,272	26,032
Goodwill	43,277	43,823
Other intangible assets	23,018	22,919
Deferred tax assets	10,982	12,131
Other non-current assets	1,286	1,291
Total non-current assets	103,835	106,196
Total assets	350,225	350,484

Consolidated Balance Sheets

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

Notes payable to banks Current portion of long-term debt	15,824	16,038
and financial leases	1,896	2,186
Accounts payable	38,652	42,626
Convertible notes	27,466	-
Accrued liabilities	38,745	37,892
Total current liabilities	122,583	98,742
Convertible notes Other long-term debt and	-	27,386
financial leases	731	766
Deferred tax liabilities	597	656
Other non-current liabilities	3,889	3,922
Total non-current liabilities	5,217	32,730
Total equity	222,425	219,012
Total liabilities and equity	350,225	350,484

(euro in thousands)	Three Months Ended
	March 31,
		(unaudited)
	2011	2010
Cash flows from operating activities:
Operating income (loss)	13,508	(987)
Depreciation and amortization Share-based compensation expense Other non-cash items	2,772 717 (37)	2,042 131 (1,513)
Changes in working capital Income taxes paid Interest received (paid)	(14,509) (91) (873)	(16,410) 168 (304)
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	1,487	(16,873)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures Capitalized development expenses Proceeds from sale of equipment	(1,520) (1,542) 40	(904) (1,899) -
Net cash used in investing activities	(3,022)	(2,803)
Cash flows from financing activities:
(Payments of) proceeds from bank lines of credit Repurchase of convertible notes	(54) -	1,352 (7,352)
Payments of debt and financial leases Other financing activities	(347) -	(959) (45)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	(401)	(7,004)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents Effect of changes in exchange rates on cash and	(1,936)	(26,680)
cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the	(1,826)	1,269
period	69,305	73,125
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period	65,543	47,714

Consolidated Cash Flow Statements

Supplemental Information (unaudited)

(euro in millions, unless stated otherwise)

REVENUE		Q1-2010 Q2-2010			Q3-2010 Q4-2010		Q1-2011
Per geography:
Asia Pacific	44.6	79%	73.1	82%	81.0	81%	78.2	75%	66.8	73%
Europe and ROW	8.2	14%	9.7	11%	12	12%	17.1	16%	18.0	20%
USA	3.8	7%	6.7	7%	7.6	8%	9.1	9%	6.3	7%
Total	56.6	100%	89.5	100%	100.6	100%	104.4	100%	91.1	100%
ORDERS		Q1-2010		Q2-2010	Q3-2010		Q4-2010		Q1-2011
Per geography:
Asia Pacific	80.6	83%	108.3	81%	68.7	78%	36.8	64%	64.2	73%
Europe and ROW	9.8	10%	16.8	13%	12.9	15%	10.9	19%	17.4	20%
USA	6.9	7%	8.6	6%	6.5	7%	9.7	17%	6.7	7%
Total	97.3	100%	133.7	100%	88.1	100%	57.4	100%	88.3	100%
Per customer type:
IDM	39.8	41%	61.5	46%	52.1	59%	35.0	61%	41.5	47%
Subcontractors	57.5	59%	72.2	54%	36.0	41%	22.4	39%	46.8	53%
Total	97.3	100%	133.7	100%	88.1	100%	57.4	100%	88.3	100%
BACKLOG	Mar 31, 2010		June 30, 2010		Sep 30, 2010		Dec 31, 2010		Mar 31, 2011
Backlog	91.7		136.0			123.5		76.4		73.7
HEADCOUNT 1)	Mar 31, 2010		June 30, 2010		Sep 30, 2010		Dec 31, 2010		Mar 31, 2011
Europe	698	47%	721	46%	738	44%	739	43%	757	44%
Asia Pacific USA	753 44	50% 3%	810 44	51% 3%	876 46	53% 3%	921 44	54% 3%	922 47	53% 3%
Total	1,495	100%	1,575	100%	1,660	100%	1,704	100%	1,726	100%
1) including temporaries
OTHER FINANCIAL DATA	Q1-2010		Q2-2010		Q3-2010		Q4-2010		Q1-2011
Gross profit:	21.7	38.3%	34.8	38.9%	40.5	40.3%	42.1	40.3%	36.4	40.0%
Amortization of intangibles	(0.2)	-0.3%	(0.1)	-0.2%	(0.1)	-0.2%	(0.1)	-0.1%	-	0.0%
Restructuring charges	(2.6)	-4.6%	-		-		-		-
Total	18.9	33.4%	34.7	38.7%	40.4	40.1%	42.0	40.2%	36.4	40.0%
Selling, general and admin expenses:
SG&A expenses	12.9	22.8%	14.1	15.8%	14.6	14.5%	17.0	16.3%	16.4	18.0%
Amortization of intangibles	0.1	0.2%	0.1	0.1%	0.1	0.1%	0.1	0.1%	0.1	0.1%
Restructuring charges	1.2	2.1%	0.4	0.4%	-		0.4	0.4%	-
Total	14.2	25.1%	14.6	16.3%	14.7	14.6%	17.5	16.8%	16.5	18.1%
Research and development expenses:
R&D expenses	6.6	11.7%	6.5	7.3%	6.4	6.4%	7.5	7.2%	6.8	7.5%
Capitalization of R&D charges	(1.9)	-3.4%	(1.2)	-1.3%	(1.3)	-1.3%	(1.6)	-1.5%	(1.5)	-1.6%
Amortization of intangibles	0.2	0.4%	0.8	0.9%	1.1	1.1%	1.2	1.1%	1.1	1.2%
Restructuring charges	0.7	1.2%	-		-		-		-
Total	5.6	9.9%	6.1	6.8%	6.2	6.2%	7.1	6.8%	6.4	7.0%
Financial expense (income), net:
Interest expense (income), net	0.6		0.6		0.6		0.7		0.6
Foreign exchange (gains) \ losses	0.7		0.3		0.5		(0.6)		0.7
Gain on extinguishment of debt	(0.8)		-		-		-		-
Total	0.5		0.9		1.1		0.1		1.3
Operating income (loss) as % of net sales	(1.0)	-1.8%	13.9	15.5%	19.5	19.4%	17.4	16.7%	13.5	14.8%
EBITDA
as % of net sales	1.0	1.8%	16.2	18.1%	22.2	22.1%	20.9	20.0%	16.3	17.9%
Net income (loss)
as % of net sales	(2.6)	-4.6%	15.4	17.2%	15.0	14.9%	19.4	18.6%	9.6	10.5%
Income per share
Basic	(0.08)		0.45		0.44		0.57		0.28
Diluted	(0.08)		0.40		0.39		0.50		0.26