DUIVEN, the Netherlands, April 06, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. (“the Company” or “Besi”), (Euronext Amsterdam: BESI; OTC: BESIY, Nasdaq International Designation), a leading manufacturer of assembly equipment for the semiconductor industry, today provided a trading update for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021.
Orders for Q1-21 reached a record of € 327 million, an increase of € 170 million, or 108%, versus the € 157.3 million recorded in Q4-20 and an increase of € 208 million, or 176%, versus Q1-20. For the six-month period ending March 31, 2021, orders aggregated € 484 million, an increase of 121% versus the comparable six-month period comprising Q4-19 and Q1-20.
Order strength in Q1-21 reflected a surge in demand across all Besi’s product groups and end user markets. There was particular strength in demand for high end smart phone applications associated with new product introductions offering 5G enhanced features and functionality. In addition, there was significant order growth for automotive applications versus Q4-20 and increased demand for high end logic devices used in high performance computing applications such as AI and data centers. Bookings during the quarter also included initial orders for Besi’s hybrid bonding systems from industry leading customers.
Revenue and operating profit for Q1-21 are anticipated to be within prior guidance for the quarter in terms of revenue, gross margin and operating profit. Besi will report its full results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 on April 30, 2021.
About Besi
Besi is a leading supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment for the global semiconductor and electronics industries offering high levels of accuracy, productivity and reliability at a low cost of ownership. The Company develops leading edge assembly processes and equipment for leadframe, substrate and wafer level packaging applications in a wide range of end-user markets including electronics, mobile internet, cloud server, computing, automotive, industrial, LED and solar energy. Customers are primarily leading semiconductor manufacturers, assembly subcontractors and electronics and industrial companies. Besi’s ordinary shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (symbol: BESI). Its Level 1 ADRs are listed on the OTC markets (symbol: BESIY Nasdaq International Designation) and its headquarters are located in Duiven, the Netherlands. For more information, please visit our website at www.besi.com.
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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, 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” contains such 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 any inability to maintain continued demand for our products; 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; the extent and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic and measures taken to contain the outbreak, and the associated adverse impacts on the global economy, financial markets, and our operations as well as those of our customers and suppliers; failure to develop new and enhanced products and introduce them at competitive price levels; failure to adequately decrease costs and expenses as revenues decline; loss of significant customers, including through industry consolidation or the emergence of industry alliances; lengthening of the sales cycle; acts of terrorism and violence; disruption or failure of our information technology systems; inability to forecast demand and inventory levels for our products; the integrity of product pricing and protection of our intellectual property in foreign jurisdictions; risks, such as changes in trade regulations, currency fluctuations, political instability and war, associated with substantial foreign customers, suppliers and foreign manufacturing operations, particularly to the extent occurring in the Asia Pacific region; potential instability in foreign capital markets; the risk of failure to successfully manage our diverse operations; any inability to attract and retain skilled personnel, including as a result of restrictions on immigration, travel or the availability of visas for skilled technology workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; those additional risk factors set forth in Besi’s annual report for the year ended December 31, 2020 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 expressly disclaim any obligation to update or alter our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
