BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. — Earnings Release 2006

Apr 10, 2006

Besi

FOR: BE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRIES N.V. Marconilaan 4 5151 DR Drunen The Netherlands

BE Semiconductor Announces Preliminary Net Sales and Orders for the First Quarter of 2006

Drunen, the Netherlands, April 10, 2006, BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. ("the Company" or "Besi") (Nasdaq: BESI; Euronext: BESI), a leading manufacturer of assembly equipment for the semiconductor industry, today announced preliminary sales and orders for the first quarter ended March 31, 2006. The Company will issue results for the first quarter of 2006 and hold a conference call with investors and analysts to review results on Wednesday, April 19, 2006.

Net sales for the first quarter ended March 31, 2006 are expected to be approximately € 44.0 million, a decrease of approximately 7.5% as compared to € 47.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2005, and an increase of approximately 20% as compared to net sales of € 36.6 million in the first quarter of 2005. Orders for the quarter ended March 31, 2006 totaled approximately € 60.0 million, an increase of approximately 22% as compared to € 49.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2005 and an increase of approximately 49% as compared to orders of € 40.3 million in the first quarter of 2005. In addition, backlog increased 27% to approximately € 72.0 million at March 31, 2006 as compared to € 56.8 million at December 31, 2005.

Richard W. Blickman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented: "We are pleased with our expected sales and order results for the first quarter of 2006, as these sales amounts were in-line with prior guidance and bookings exceeded expectations. The projected order growth this quarter was primarily driven by increased demand for assembly equipment for conventional leadframe applications as customers increased aggregate semiconductor manufacturing capacity. Equipment orders for array connect assembly applications also exceeded our expectations."

Investor Conference Call

BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. will report results for the first quarter 2006 on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 at 08.30 a.m. Continental European Time (02.30 a.m. New York Time). Besi will host a conference call on Wednesday, April 19, 2006 at 4:30 p.m. Continental European Time (3:30 p.m. London Time, 10:30 a.m. New York Time). Conference call details will be available through our website www.besi.com.

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Besi

About BE Semiconductor Industries N.V.

BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. designs, develops, manufactures, markets and services die sorting, flip chip bonding and multi-chip die bonding, packaging and plating equipment for the semiconductor industry's assembly operations. Its customers consist primarily of leading U.S., European, Asian, Korean and Japanese semiconductor manufacturers and subcontractors which utilize its products for both array connect and conventional leadframe manufacturing processes. For more information visit www.besi.com.

Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are found in various places throughout the press release, including statements relating to expectations of orders, net sales, product shipments, expenses, operating results and the impact of the acquisition of Datacon on Besi's net income in fiscal year 2005. The words "anticipate", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "will", "would", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements, although not all forward looking statements contain these identifying words. While these forward-looking statements represent our judgments and future 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 our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to, those listed or discussed in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2005, as well as the risk that anticipated orders may not materialize or that orders received may be postponed or canceled, generally without charges; the volatility in the demand for semiconductors and our products and services; acts of terrorism and violence; overall global economic conditions; 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 expanding and more diverse operations; and other key factors that could adversely affect our businesses and financial performance contained in our filings and reports, including those with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. 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.

Contacts:

Richard W. Blickman President & CEO tel. (31) 416 384345

Cor te Hennepe Director of Finance tel. (31) 416 384345

David Pasquale The Ruth Group tel. (1) 646 536 7006 dpasquale@theruthgroup.com