BE Semiconductor Industries N.V.

Earnings Release • Apr 29, 2010

PRESS RELEASE

Record Quarterly Orders. First Quarter Revenue and Profitability Exceed Expectations

Duiven, the Netherlands, April 29, 2010 - BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. ("the Company" or "Besi") (Euronext: BESI), a leading manufacturer of assembly equipment for the semiconductor industry, today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2010.

Key Highlights

• Q1-10 orders up 64.4% vs. Q4-09 as industry recovery accelerated. Order growth primarily focused on increased demand for die attach systems.
• Q1-10 revenue growth (6.4%) and gross margins (37.9%) exceed prior guidance reflecting improved industry conditions and benefits of restructuring efforts.
• Backlog of € 91.7 million up 79.8% vs. Q4-09.
• Quarterly reported net loss reduces to € 2.6 million in Q1-10 vs. € 13.5 million net loss in Q4-09.
• Quarterly adjusted net income increases to € 1.2 million in Q1-10 vs. € 3.8 million net loss in Q4-09.
• Q2-10 outlook: Sequential quarterly profit improvement continues on 40%-45% forecast revenue growth.

	Q1-	Q4-		Q1-
(€ millions)	2010	2009	Δ	2009	Δ
Revenue	56.6	53.2	6.4%	15.6	263%
Operating income (loss)	(1.0)	(13.0)	NM	(9.3)	NM
Net income (loss)	(2.6)	(13.5)	NM	(9.4)	NM
Adjusted net income (loss)a	1.2	(3.8)	NM	(7.3)	NM
Orders	97.3	59.2	64.4%	12.8	660%
Backlog	91.7	51.0	79.8%	22.6	306%
Cash flow (deficit) from ops.	(16.9)	7.4	NM	(7.9)	NM
Cash	47.7	73.1	-34.7%	59.2	-19.4%
Total Debt	46.8	53.5	-12.5%	55.8	-16.1%

a See accompanying tables for an analysis of Besi's first quarter 2010 income statements before acquisition, restructuring and other adjustments.

Richard W. Blickman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Besi, commented: "Our first quarter results reflect continued progress in executing our business strategy and restoring profitability. Consistent with recent industry trends, we received record levels of orders in the first quarter of 2010 due to an acceleration of customer demand for new semiconductor assembly capacity and new product introductions, particularly in memory and personal computing applications. Backlog growth resulted primarily from a substantial increase in demand for our die attach equipment by Asian subcontractors. From a strategic perspective, our focus this quarter was on ramping our production capacity and supply chain as rapidly as possible in order to meet increased market demand and restructuring our packaging equipment operations as announced in December 2009. As a means of further improving returns from our product portfolio, we will also take steps in the second quarter of 2010 to rationalize our wire bonding business to increase its long term structural profitability by emphasizing its service/upgrade revenue potential.

Besi achieved an adjusted net profit of € 1.2 million in the first quarter of 2010, significantly in excess of initial expectations. Revenue and gross margins exceeded prior guidance while overhead levels declined as anticipated versus the fourth quarter of 2009. Our profitability this quarter was favorably influenced by improved industry conditions as well as the benefits of our restructuring activities, particularly in our die attach and packaging and plating systems product lines. We expect positive sequential profit trends to continue into the second quarter of 2010 based on forecasted revenue growth of 40-45% and increased operating margins."

Quarterly Financial Performance

Our quarterly financial performance has improved significantly since 2009 due to improved industry conditions, the acquisition of Esec on April 1, 2009 and benefits from our restructuring and Esec integration efforts. Set forth below is a summary of Besi's quarterly combined revenue, adjusted net income (loss) and backlog for 2009 and the first quarter of 2010 as if the Esec acquisition had occurred on January 1, 2009.

	Pro Forma
(€ millions)	Q1 2009	Q2 2009	Q3 2009	Q4 2009	Q1 2010
Revenue	21.1	30.5	48.7	53.2	56.6
Adjusted net income (loss)	(19.2)	(10.9)	(6.0)	(3.8)	1.2
Backlog	33.6	40.7	44.9	51.0	91.7

First Quarter Results of Operations

Besi's € 3.4 million (6.4%) quarterly sequential revenue increase in the first quarter of 2010 was primarily due to increased shipments of die attach systems reflecting improved market conditions and higher than anticipated order levels, a portion of which were shipped during the quarter. The increase was above prior guidance (flat sequentially). Revenue in the first quarter of 2010 substantially exceeded the € 15.6 million reported in the first quarter of 2009 (prior to the Esec acquisition), a period which represented the bottom of the most recent industry downturn.

Orders for the first quarter of 2010 were € 97.3 million, an increase of € 38.1 million, or 64.4%, as compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 and an increase of € 84.5 million as compared to the first quarter of 2009. The quarterly sequential order growth was primarily focused on increased orders for Besi's portfolio of die attach systems as the industry recovery accelerated and customers added assembly capacity for new and existing applications. On a customer basis, orders in the first quarter of 2010 as compared to the fourth quarter of 2009 reflected a € 26.0 million (82.5%) increase by subcontractors and a € 12.1 million (43.7%) increase by IDMs. Backlog at March 31, 2010, was approximately € 92 million, an increase of € 41 million, or 80%, as compared to December 31, 2009, with shipment delivery dates scheduled primarily over the next six months.

Besi's gross margin for the first quarter of 2010 was 37.9% as compared to 20.1% in the fourth quarter of 2009 and 16.4% in the first quarter of 2009 and exceeded prior guidance (31-33%). In the fourth quarter of 2009, Besi's adjusted gross margin was 30.3% (excluding € 5.4 million of inventory write-downs). The increase as compared to the adjusted gross margin in the fourth quarter of 2009 was due primarily to higher revenue and gross margins contributed by die attach systems and, to a lesser extent, to increased packaging and plating systems margins.

Besi's total operating expenses were € 22.4 million in the first quarter of 2010 as compared to € 23.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 and € 11.8 million in the first quarter of 2009. Operating expenses in the first quarter of 2010 included € 4.5 million of restructuring charges primarily related to the personnel reduction plan announced in December 2009. Excluding restructuring charges, operating expenses were € 17.9 million in the first quarter of 2010 million as compared to € 19.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2009 as a result of the absence of certain one-time general and administrative expenses incurred in the fourth quarter of 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, we capitalized € 1.9 million of development expenses as compared to € 2.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2009.

Net financial expense was € 0.5 million in the first quarter of 2010 as compared to € 0.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, Besi recognized a one-time gain of € 0.8 million from the repurchase of € 8.5 million of its 5.5% Convertible Notes at a discount. This gain was partially offset by foreign exchange losses on hedging contracts.

Financial Condition

Our cash and cash equivalents were € 47.7 million at March 31, 2010 as compared to € 73.1 million at December 31, 2009. Total debt and capital leases decreased from € 53.5 million at December 31, 2009 to € 46.8 million at March 31, 2010. The decrease in sequential quarterly cash was due primarily to (i) the funding of € 16.7 million of increased working capital requirements in support of the 64% quarterly sequential increase in orders received in the first quarter and (ii) the repurchase of € 8.5 million of Convertible Notes at a discount.

Outlook

We have experienced broad based growth in demand across our entire system portfolio beginning in the third quarter of 2009 consistent with the global economic recovery with an acceleration of growth rates in the first quarter of 2010.

Based on our March 31, 2010 backlog, we forecast for Q2-10 that:

• Revenue will increase by approximately 40%-45% as compared to the € 56.6 million reported in Q1-10.
• Gross margins will range between 36%-38% as compared to 37.9% realized in Q1-10.
• Operating expenses (excluding restructuring charges) will increase by approximately 10% as compared to € 17.9 million reported in Q1-10.
• Capital expenditures will be approximately € 1.5 million as compared to € 0.9 million in Q1-10.

As a result, we anticipate that our net profit will continue to improve sequentially in Q2-10 as compared to Q1-10. In addition, we expect to incur restructuring charges of approximately € 0.5 million in Q2-10 related to the rationalization of our wire bonding product line.

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 44 228. To access the audio webcast, please visit www.besi.com.

About Besi

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-use 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 its headquarters are located in Duiven, the Netherlands. For more information, please visit our website at www.besi.com.

Contacts:

Richard W. Blickman Jan Willem Ruinemans President & CEO Chief Financial Officer Tel. (31) 26 319 4500 Tel. (31) 26 319 4500

European IR contact:

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

investor.relations@besi.com investor.relations@besi.com

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, 2009 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)
	2010	2009
Revenue	56,576	15,566
Cost of sales	35,116	13,006
Gross profit	21,460	2,560
Selling, general and administrative expenses	17,581	8,672
Research and development expenses	4,866	3,171
Total operating expenses	22,447	11,843
Operating income (loss)	(987)	(9,283)
Financial expense (income), net	492	647
Income (loss) before taxes	(1,479)	(9,930)
Income tax expense (benefit)	1,123	(566)
Net income (loss)	(2,602)	(9,364)
Net income (loss) per share – basic	(0.08)	(0.30)
Net income (loss) per share – diluted	(0.08)a	(0.30)b
Number of shares used in computing per
share amounts:
- basic	33,805,787	30,815,311
- diluted	33,805,787a	30,815,311b

^a 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). 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 antidilutive effect (7,082,927 ordinary shares).

Consolidated Statements of Operations

For the Three Months ended March 31, 2010 excluding Acquisition, Restructuring and Other Adjustments

(for analysis purposes only)

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

	Three Months Ended March 31, 2010
	As reported	Adjustments	As Adjusted
Revenue	56,576	-	56,576
Cost of sales	35,116	-	35,116
Gross profit	21,460	-	21,460
Selling, general and administrative expenses	17,581	(4,521)a	13,060
Research and development expenses	4,866	-	4,866
Total operating expenses	22,447	(4,521)	17,926
Operating income (loss)	(987)	4,521	3,534
Financial expenses (income), net	492	(758)b	1,250
Income (loss) before taxes	(1,479)	3,763	2,284
Income tax expense (benefit)	1,123	-	1,123
Net income (loss) before minority interest	(2,602)	3,763	1,161
Net income (loss) per share – basic Net income (loss) per share – dilutedc	(0.08) (0.08)		0.03 0.03
Number of shares used in computing per
share amounts: - basic - dilutedc	33,805,787 33,805,787		33,805,787 33,805,787

^a Restructuring charges related to December 2009 headcount reduction plan.

^b Gain related to repurchase of € 8.5 million of 5.5% Convertible Notes due January 2012 at a discount.

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

(euro in thousands)	March 31,	December
	2010	31, 2009
	(unaudited)	(audited)
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	47,714	73,125
Accounts receivable	52,391	36,341
Inventories	65,158	55,133
Income tax receivable	515	487
Other current assets	9,296	7,714
Total current assets	175,074	172,800
Property, plant and equipment	24,863	24,312
Goodwill	43,686	43,162
Other intangible assets	21,244	19,696
Deferred tax assets	8,717	8,429
Other non-current assets	1,215	1,141
Total non-current assets	99,725	96,740
Total assets	274,799	269,540
Notes payable to banks Current portion of long-term debt and	15,526	13,908
financial leases	1,962	1,911
Accounts payable	31,334	27,290
Accrued liabilities	35,844	30,247
Total current liabilities	84,666	73,356
Convertible notes Other long-term debt and financial	27,021	35,068
leases	2,258	2,570
Deferred tax liabilities	518	530
Other non-current liabilities	1,322	1,740
Total non-current liabilities	31,119	39,908
Total equity	159,014	156,276
Total liabilities and equity	274,799	269,540

Consolidated Balance Sheets

The financial information has been prepared in accordance with IFRS.

(euro in thousands)	Three Months Ended March 31, (unaudited)
	2010	2009
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income (loss)	(2,602)	(9,364)
Depreciation and amortization Other non-cash items	2,042 407	1,957 (892)
Changes in working capital	(16,720)	411
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	(16,873)	(7,888)
Cash flows from investing activities: Capital expenditures Capitalized development expenses Proceeds from sale of equipment	(904) (1,899) -	(164) (1,346) 222
Net cash used in investing activities	(2,803)	(1,288)
Cash flows from financing activities: Payments of (proceeds from) bank lines of credit Payments of debt and financial leases Repurchase of convertible notes Other financing activities	1,352 (959) (7,352) (45)	(1,885) (3,754) - -
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities	(7,004)	(5,639)
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents Effect of changes in exchange rates on cash and cash equivalents	(26,680) 1,269	(14,815) 53
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period	73,125	74,008
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period	47,714	59,246

Consolidated Cash Flow Statements

The financial information has been prepared in accordance with IFRS.

Supplemental Information (unaudited)

(euro in millions, unless stated otherwise)

REVENUE		Q2-2008 Q3-2008		Q1-2008				Q4-2008		Q1-2009		Q2-2009		Q3-2009		Q4-2009		Q1-2010
Per geography:
Asia Pacific	24.4	66%	30.2	65%	22.3	64%	14.5	48%	8.3	53%	24.0	79%	36.7	76%	40.0	75%	44.6	79%
Europe and ROW	9.2	25%	14.6	31%	10.3	29%	12.4	41%	5.1	33%	4.2	14%	8.2	17%	7.1	13%	8.2	14%
USA	3.5	9%	1.7	4%	2.6	7%	3.7	12%	2.2	14%	2.3	8%	3.8	8%	6.1	11%	3.8	7%
Total	37.1	100%	46.5	100%	35.2	100%	30.6	100%	15.6	100%	30.5	100%	48.7	100%	53.2	100%	56.6	100%
ORDERS	Q1-2008		Q2-2008		Q3-2008			Q4-2008		Q1-2009		Q2-2009		Q3-2009	Q4-2009		Q1-2010
Per geography:
Asia Pacific	23.9	61%	30.1	67%	14.2	59%	11	60%	6.8	53%	28.6	76%	42.1	80%	47.9	81%	80.6	83%
Europe and ROW	12.4	31%	12.9	29%	7.0	29%	3.6	20%	4.0	31%	5.0	13%	7.7	15%	7.2	12%	9.8	10%
USA	3.1	8%	1.8	4%	3.0	12%	3.6	20%	2.0	16%	3.9	10%	3.1	6%	4.1	7%	6.9	7%
Total	39.4	100%	44.8	100%	24.2	100%	18.2	100%	12.8	100%	37.5	100%	52.9	100%	59.2	100%	97.3	100%
Per customer type:
IDM	22.4	57%	21.4	48%	14.8	61%	12.8	70%	5.9	46%	16	43%	18.4	35%	27.7	47%	39.8	41%
Subcontractors	17.0	43%	23.4	52%	9.4	39%	5.4	30%	6.9	54%	21.5	57%	34.5	65%	31.5	53%	57.5	59%
Total	39.4	100%	44.8	100%	24.2	100%	18.2	100%	12.8	100%	37.5	100%	52.9	100%	59.2	100%	97.3	100%
BACKLOG	Mar 31, 2008		Jun 30, 2008		Sep 30, 2008		Dec 31, 2008		Mar 31, 2009		Jun 30, 2009 1)		Sep 30, 2009 1)		Dec 31, 2009 1)		Mar 31, 2010 1)
Backlog	50.6		48.9		37.8		25.4			22.6		40.6	44.8		51.0		91.7
1) Including opening backlog Esec
HEADCOUNT 2)	Mar 31, 2008		Jun 30, 2008		Sep 30, 2008		Dec 31, 2008		Mar 31, 2009		Jun 30, 2009		Sep 30, 2009		Dec 31, 2009		Mar 31, 2010
Europe	633	55%	651	55%	660	55%	650	55%	583	54%	766	54%	750	54%	728	53%	684	50%
Asia Pacific	475	41%	477	41%	490	41%	485	41%	463	43%	613	43%	601	43%	614	44%	640	47%
USA	51	4%	48	4%	46	4%	47	4%	42	4%	41	3%	42	3%	42	3%	43	3%
Total	1,159	100%	1,176	100%	1,196	100%	1,182	100%	1,088	100%	1,420	100%	1,393	100%	1,384	100%	1,367	100%
2) Excluding temporary staff

Supplemental Information (unaudited)

(euro in millions, unless stated otherwise)

OTHER FINANCIAL DATA	Q1-2008		Q2-2008		Q3-2008			Q4-2008		Q1-2009		Q2-2009		Q3-2009		Q4-2009		Q1-2010
Gross profit:	12.8	34.5%	16.6	35.7%	13.1	37.2%	9.0	29.4%	3.5	22.4%	9.6	31.5%	13.5	27.7%	16.3	30.6%	21.3	37.6%
Amortization of intangibles	(0.3)	-0.9%	(0.3)	-0.7%	(0.3)	-0.8%	(0.4)	-1.3%	(0.3)	-1.4%	(0.3)	-0.8%	(0.3)	-0.6%	(0.2)	-0.3%	(0.2)	0.3%
Restructuring charges	-		-		-		(0.3)	-1.0%	(0.7)	-4.5%	-		-		(5.4)	-10.2%	-
Release purchase oblig/fair value adj. Esec	-		-		-		-		-		1.6	5.2%	3.4	7.0%	-		-
Total	12.5	33.6%	16.3	35.0%	12.8	36.4%	8.3	27.1%	2.6	16.5%	10.9	35.9%	16.6	34.1%	10.7	20.1%	21.1	37.9%
Selling, general and admin expenses:
SG&A expenses	9.5	25.6%	9.4	20.2%	9.2	26.1%	9.3	30.4%	7.2	46.2%	12.7	41.6%	12.4	25.5%	14.1	26.5%	12.9	22.8%
Amortization of intangibles	0.1	0.3%	0.1	0.2%	0.1	0.3%	0.2	0.7%	0.1	0.6%	0.1	0.3%	0.1	0.2%	0.1	0.2%	0.1	0.2%
Restructuring charges	-		-		0.4	1.1%	3.4	11.1%	1.4	9.0%	0.6	2.0%	0.9	1.8%	4.4	8.3%	4.5	8.0%
Acquisition gain	-		-		-		-		-			(41.2) -135.1%	-		-		-
Impairment charges	-		-		-		20.2	66.0%	-		-		-		-		-
Total	9.6	25.9%	9.5	20.4%	9.7	27.6%	33.1	108.2%	8.7	55.8%	(27.8)	-91.1%	13.4	27.5%	18.6	35.0%	17.5	30.9%
Research and development expenses:
R&D expenses	5.1	13.7%	4.7	10.1%	3.9	11.1%	4.5	14.7%	4.0	25.6%	8.1	26.6%	6.3	12.9%	6.7	12.6%	6.6	11.7%
Capitalization of R&D charges	(0.7)	-1.9%	(0.7)	-1.5%	(0.7)	-2.0%	(1.4)	-4.6%	(1.3)	-8.3%	(1.8)	-5.9%	(1.7)	-3.5%	(2.1)	-3.9%	(1.9)	-3.4%
Amortization of intangibles	0.3	0.8%	0.3	0.6%	0.4	1.1%	0.3	1.0%	0.3	1.9%	0.3	1.0%	0.3	0.6%	0.5	0.9%	0.2	0.4%
Restructuring charges	-		-		-		0.1	0.3%	0.2	1.3%	-		-		-		-
Total	4.7	12.7%	4.3	9.2%	3.6	10.2%	3.5	11.4%	3.2	20.5%	6.6	21.6%	4.9	10.1%	5.1	9.6%	4.9	8.7%
Financial expense (income), net:
Interest expense (income), net	0.5		0.5		(0.9)		0.5		0.6		0.5		0.7		0.5		(0.2)
Foreign exchange (gains) \ losses	0.7		(0.5)		-		0.1		0.1		0.7		0.4		(0.1)		0.7
Non recurring charge related to statutory tax	-		(0.4)		-		-		-		-		-		-		-
Total	1.2		(0.4)		(0.9)		0.6		0.7		1.2		1.1		0.4		0.5
Operating income (loss)
as % of net sales	(1.8)	-4.9%	2.5	5.4%	(0.5)	-1.5%	(28.4)	-92.8%	(9.3)	-59.6%	32.2	105.6%	(1.6)	-3.3%	(13.0)	-24.4%	(1.0)	-1.8%
EBITDA
as % of net sales	0.0	0.0%	4.3	9.2%	1.2	3.5%	(5.9)	-19.3%	(7.3)	-47.0%	34.4	112.8%	1.1	2.3%	(10.1)	-19.0%	1.0	1.8%
Net income (loss)
as % of net sales	(2.1)	-5.7%	2.2	4.8%	0.4	1.0%		(34.0) -111.1%	(9.4)	-60.3%	31.5	103.3%	(3.2)	-6.6%	(13.5)	-25.4%	(2.6)	-4.6%
Income per share
Basic	(0.069)		0.072		0.013		(1.103)		(0.300)		0.938		(0.107)		(0.400)		(0.077)
Diluted	(0.069)		0.071		0.013		(1.103)		(0.300)		0.784		(0.107)		(0.400)		(0.077)