SÜSS MicroTec SE

Earnings Release • May 3, 2006

News Details

Ad-hoc | 3 May 2006 18:19

Süss MicroTec AG: A Very Positive First Quarter 2006

Ad hoc announcement transmitted by DGAP – a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. —————————————————————————— – Sales and order entry: at their highest since 2001 – Earnings after taxes at EUR 3.7 million, clearly positive – Market remains positive Munich, May 3, 2006 – Following a decidedly good fourth quarter in 2005 SUSS MicroTec (ISIN DE0007226706) has started the year 2006 on a very successful note. Sales rose 98% to EUR 39.1 million (previous year: EUR 19.7 million). The gross profit margin improved from 35.4% to 45.0%. On EBIT level the company reached a positive result of EUR 4.8 million (previous year: minus EUR 4.9 million). The positive effects of the restructuring measures carried out by the semiconductor equipment supplier over the last two years are now also evident for the first time in its results. Both the gross profit margin and overhead costs are now fully within the target area. At EUR 40.6 million and up 69% from Q1/2005 (EUR 24 million), the order entry data further underline this positive business development. The readiness to invest by microsystems technology and advanced packaging customers confirms the company’s optimistic estimates regarding market development. The Lithography and Substrate Bonder segments profited most from this favorable environment. Segment Overview for the first quarter of 2006 in a year-on-year comparison: LITHOGRAPHY: In this segment, the biggest in the Group (share of sales 66%), sales (EUR 25.7 million compared to EUR 11.5 million; +124%), order entry (EUR 25.3 million compared to EUR 11.1 million; +128%) and segment results (EUR 5.6 million compared to minus EUR 2.5 million; +325%) developed very positively. The high demand for lithography products (Mask Aligner, Coater and Developer) remained unchanged. SUBSTRATE BONDER: SUSS achieved noticeable growth in sales (EUR 3.3 million compared to EUR 0.6 million) and order entry (EUR 4.7 million compared to EUR 0.8 million). These developments show that the market position of this product line has obviously advanced. Segment results improved from minus EUR 0.8 million to minus EUR 0.1 million. The Substrate Bonder for production applications in particular is being well received by the market. The brisk demand for these automatic bonders is based on SUSS’ competitive advantage. DEVICE BONDER: Order entry improved to EUR 1.7 million compared to EUR 0.9 million. Sales declined somewhat (EUR 0.3 million compared to EUR 0.5 million). This can be attributed to the fact that final acceptances were deferred into the second quarter. Earnings improved somewhat from minus EUR 0.5 to minus EUR 0.3 million. A significant increase in sales in the second quarter with a corresponding improvement in earnings is expected. TEST SYSTEMS: While sales developed positively (EUR 6.5 million compared to EUR 5.2 million; +26%) order entry (EUR 5.7 million compared to EUR 8.3 million; minus 32%) failed to reach the very good value of Q1/2005. However, quotation activity is at a very high level in this segment, so a trend reversal is not expected. Segment results could be increased from minus EUR 0.7 million to EUR 0.7 million (+190%). OTHERS: In addition to the business units photo masks, micro-optics and holding functions, this segment also includes C4NP. Sales in the first quarter increased in a year-on-year comparison from EUR 1.9 million to EUR 3.3 million (+68%), primarily due to the positive development of the photo mask business. Order entry reached EUR 3.3 million compared to EUR 2.9 million (+14%). Segment results amounted to minus EUR 0.8 million (Q1/2005: minus EUR 1.6 million), though this loss is due to structural reasons: the costs of the holding company not allocated to the segments are included in these results. With respect to C4NP, the target continues to be to obtain orders for two to three lines in the current fiscal year. SUSS MicroTec remains very confident that they will achieve sales growth of approximately 10% in 2006 compared to the previous year in accordance with the general expectations for the semiconductor supplier industry. This corresponds to sales in 2006 of approximately EUR 130 million. On the basis of such sales SUSS expects an EBIT margin of 6% to 8%. An overview of results in Q1/2006: Amounts in EUR millions Q1/2006 Q1/2005 Order entry 40.6 24.0 Order backlog 85.5 69.9 Sales revenue 39.1 19.7 Shareholders’ equity 87.7 84.2 Equity ratio 55.4% 53.5% Free cash flow 6.7 3.7 Gross earnings 17.6 7.0 Gross earnings margin 45.0% 35.4% EBIT 4.8 -4.9 EBIT margin 12.3% -24.7% EAT (Earnings after taxes) 3.7 -5.3 EPS, diluted (Earnings per share in EUR) 0.20 -0.35 Employees 689 715 The Q1/2006 quarterly report can be found at www.suss.de (PDF for downloading) For further information, please contact: SUSS MicroTec AG, Investor Relations, Barbara v. Frankenberg Tel.: +49 (0) 89 / 320 07-314 Fax: +49 (0) 89/ 320 07-450 E-mail: b.frankenberg@suss.de (c)DGAP 03.05.2006 ————————————————————————— language: English emitter: Süss MicroTec AG Schleissheimer Strasse 90 85748 Garching b. München Deutschland phone: +49 (0)89 32007-314 fax: +49 (0)89 32007-450 email: ir@suss.de WWW: www.suss.de ISIN: DE0007226706 WKN: 722670 indexes: stockmarkets: Geregelter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin-Bremen, Düsseldorf, Hamburg, München, Stuttgart End of News DGAP News-Service —————————————————————————