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FSI International, Inc. Announces First Quarter Fiscal 2009 Financial Results

^{Published on 2008-12-23 13:07:21, Last Modified on 2008-12-23 13:09:43 - Market Wire}
 

MINNEAPOLIS--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--FSI International, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSII), a manufacturer of capital equipment for the microelectronics industry, today reported financial results for its fiscal 2009 first quarter ended November 29, 2008.

First Quarter Financial Results

Sales for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 were $12.2 million, as compared to $22.4 million for the same period of fiscal 2008. The Company's net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 was $5.3 million, or $0.17 per share, compared to net loss of $2.1 million, or $0.07 per share for the first quarter last year.

Orders for the first quarter of fiscal 2009 of $11.3 million were below the $13 to $15 million guidance the Company provided during its fourth quarter conference call, primarily due to continued weak industry conditions and customer initiated delays.

Cost Control Initiatives

"The tightening of the credit market, a decline in the value of personal investments and increasing unemployment are adversely impacting consumer confidence and technology spending," said Don Mitchell, FSI chairman and chief executive officer. "As a result most semiconductor manufacturers are reducing production and their factory utilization levels are on a decline. We anticipate that this situation will persist until at least the middle of calendar 2009."*

"As a consequence, we have and will continue to take the actions that are necessary to control our costs while remaining aligned with our customer requirements," continued Mitchell. "In addition to recently implemented salary reductions and other cost reduction initiatives, going forward we will be realigning our cost structure to support the anticipated revenue run rate while funding the programs that provide the most significant opportunity for near term revenue and future market share gains."

In addition to the $5.0 to $6.0 million of annual cost savings anticipated from the previously announced September 2008 cost reduction plan, the actions that the Company has started to initiate are expected to reduce the Company's annual costs an additional $4.0 to $5.0 million.* At the anticipated lower cost run rate the Company's quarterly breakeven revenue level is expected to be between $18 and $21 million and the operating cash flow neutral revenue level should be reduced to $15 to $18 million.* The Company intends to manage its operations with a goal to end fiscal 2009 with greater than $15 million in cash, restricted cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.*

Balance Sheet

On November 29, 2008, the Company maintained a strong balance sheet with approximately $80 million in assets, including $18 million in cash, restricted cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. During the first quarter of fiscal 2009, the Company used $4.6 million of net cash in operating activities. At the end of the first quarter, the Company had a current ratio of 3.3 to 1.0 and a book value of $2.03 per share.

Outlook

Fiscal 2009 second quarter orders are expected to be between $11.0 and $14.0 million, including the receipt of orders that were originally anticipated during the first quarter, the ORION^® system order announced today and several follow-on orders.*

Based on the backlog and deferred revenue levels at the end of the first quarter and anticipated second quarter orders, the Company expects second quarter fiscal 2009 revenues to be between $11.0 and $14.0 million.* A portion of the expected revenue is subject to the receipt of purchase orders, shipments and the recognition of revenue occurring in the quarter.

Based upon the anticipated gross profit margin and the benefit from current and prior quarter cost reductions, the Company expects to report between a $4.0 and $5.5 million loss for the second quarter.*

The Company expects to use between $5.0 and $6.5 million of net cash for operating activities in the second quarter as several shipments are scheduled to occur late in the quarter.* Depreciation and amortization is expected to be between $900,000 and $1.0 million in the second quarter.*

Conference Call Details

FSI investors have the opportunity to listen to management's discussion of its financial results on a conference call at 3:30 p.m. CT today. The Company invites all those interested to join the call by dialing 888.469.0866 and entering access code 3791177. The webcast is also being distributed through the Thomson ONE StreetEvents Network to both institutional and individual investors. Individual investors can listen to the call at [ www.earnings.com ], Thomson/CCBN's individual investor portal, powered by StreetEvents. Institutional investors can access the call via Thomson's password-protected event management site, StreetEvents ([ www.streetevents.com ]). For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay will be available shortly after the call by dialing 402.220.6433.

About FSI

FSI International, Inc. is a global supplier of surface conditioning equipment, technology and support services for microelectronics manufacturing. Using the Company's broad portfolio of cleaning products, which include batch and single-wafer platforms for immersion, spray, vapor and CryoKinetic technologies, customers are able to achieve their process performance flexibility and productivity goals. The Company's support services programs provide product and process enhancements to extend the life of installed FSI equipment, enabling worldwide customers to realize a higher return on their capital investment. For more information, visit FSI's website at [ http://www.fsi-intl.com ],

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

This press release contains certain "forward-looking" statements (*), including, but not limited to, expected annual cost savings, expected breakeven revenue level, expected operating cash flow revenue level, expected year end cash, expected orders, expected revenues, expected financial results, expected cash usage, other expected financial performance for the second quarter of fiscal 2009. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements involving risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, changes in industry conditions; order delays or cancellations; general economic conditions; changes in customer capacity requirements and demand for microelectronics; the extent of demand for the Company's products and its ability to meet demand; global trade policies; worldwide economic and political stability; the Company's successful execution of internal performance plans; the cyclical nature of the Company's business; volatility of the market for certain products; performance issues with key suppliers and subcontractors; the level of new orders; the timing and success of current and future product and process development programs; the success of the Company's direct distribution organization; legal proceedings; the potential impairment of long-lived assets; and the potential adverse financial impacts resulting from declines in the fair value and liquidity of investments the Company presently holds; as well as other factors listed herein or from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including our latest 10-K annual report and our 10-Q quarterly reports. The Company assumes no duty to update the information in this press release.

*Deferred profit reflects deferred revenue less manufacturing and other related costs.