BESIY - BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. Announces Q1-24 Results

Q1-24 Revenue of € 146.3 Million and Net Income of € 34.0 Million
Revenue Exceeds Midpoint of Guidance and Gross Margin above Guidance

DUIVEN, the Netherlands, April 25, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. (the “Company" or "Besi") (Euronext Amsterdam: BESI; OTC markets: BESIY), a leading manufacturer of assembly equipment for the semiconductor industry, today announced its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2024.

Key Highlights

• Revenue of € 146.3 million, above midpoint of guidance. Down 8.3% vs. Q4-23 due primarily to lower shipments for high-performance computing and automotive end-user markets, partially offset by higher shipments for high-end mobile applications. Up 9.7% vs. Q1-23 due to higher shipments for 2.5D and 3D applications partially offset by weakness in smartphone end user markets
• Orders of € 127.7 million down 23.3% vs. Q4-23 principally due to a pause in demand for 2.5D and 3D applications following strong H2-23 and ongoing softness in mainstream assembly markets. Vs. Q1-23, orders decreased 10.1% due primarily to weakness in high-end mobile and automotive markets
• Gross margin of 67.2% rose by 2.1 points vs. Q4-23 and by 3.0 points vs. Q1-23 due primarily to a more favorable product mix
• Net income of € 34.0 million decreased 38.1% vs. Q4-23 and 1.4% vs. Q1-23 primarily due to higher share-based incentive compensation and, to a lesser extent, increased R&D spending. Besi’s net margin declined to 23.2% vs. 34.4% in Q4-23 and 25.9% in Q1-23
• Ex share-based incentive compensation, Besi’s adjusted net income (net margin) was € 49.5 million (33.8%) vs. € 57.7 million (36.2%) in Q4-23 and € 43.0 million (32.2%) in Q1-23
• Net cash of € 180.9 million increased € 67.9 million, or 60.1%, vs. Q4-23 due to strong cash flow from operations and the conversion into equity of Convertible Notes

Outlook

• Revenue expected to be flat (plus or minus 5%) vs. € 146.3 million reported in Q1-24
• Gross margin expected to range between 63-65% vs. 67.2% realized in Q1-24 due to the anticipated product mix
• Operating expenses expected to decrease 15%-20% vs. € 57.6 million in Q1-24 due to a reduction in share-based compensation expense
  
  

* Excluding share-based compensation expense, Besi’s adjusted net income (net margin) would have been € 49.5 million (33.8%), € 57.7 million (36.2%) and € 43.0 million (32.2%) in Q1-24, Q4-23 and Q1-23, respectively.

Richard W. Blickman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Besi, commented:
“Besi delivered solid first quarter results in an extended assembly market downturn. Revenue of € 146.3 million was above the midpoint of prior guidance and represented a 9.7% increase versus Q1-23. Year over year revenue growth reflected strength in both 2.5D and 3D AI related applications partially offset by continued weakness in mobile and automotive markets. Similarly, net income adjusted for share-based compensation rose to € 49.5 million, an increase of 15.1% versus Q1-23, with adjusted net margins increasing to 33.8% versus 32.2%. Profit growth was primarily attributable to increased revenue combined with a 3.0 point increase in gross margins to 67.2% associated with a more favorable product mix and net forex benefits. Our financial position also improved with net cash increasing by 60.1% from year end to reach € 180.9 million due to strong cash flow generation and the conversion into equity of Convertible Notes.

Order trends in Q1-24 reflected a number of cross currents affecting assembly equipment markets currently. For the quarter, orders decreased by 10.1% versus Q1-23 and by 23.3% sequentially. Mainstream assembly markets continue to be soft, particularly for smartphone and automotive applications, despite increasing utilization rates generally. For smartphone applications, it reflects both ongoing weakness in Chinese markets and limited new product innovation this year. For automotive applications, it reflects excess assembly capacity after a period of strong growth over the past two years. We also noted a pause in advanced packaging order development this quarter, particularly for 2.5D and 3D applications, after a strong ramp in H2-23 as customers install new incremental capacity. We expect these orders to revive in Q2-24. Orders for photonics applications continued to be strong in Q1-24. In addition, we received a follow on order for our new, in-line flip chip system for CoWoS applications, shipped a TCB Next system for evaluation to a second customer and received indications of interest for additional systems from multiple customers.

It appears that the recovery of the assembly equipment market in 2024 is progressing more slowly than previously anticipated due to continued excess capacity conditions in a number of our end-user markets. Many industry analysts now expect the upturn in mainstream assembly applications to be more H2-24 focused. However, our advanced packaging prospects continue to be favorable based on customer investment plans for 2.5D and 3D AI applications, particularly in the areas of hybrid bonding, CoWoS and photonics assembly. We anticipate orders for 25-35 hybrid bonding systems in Q2-24 from multiple customers, substantially all of which are for Besi’s most advanced 100nm accuracy generation. As such, we are increasing our R&D investment in each of these assembly processes to take advantage of growth anticipated in 2025-2027. We have also expanded our resource commitment to next generation TCB systems. We see a parallel path pursued by leading memory customers for the adoption of both hybrid bonding and next generation TCB assembly processes in order to meet the significant demand for high bandwidth memory necessary to support AI related capacity growth.

For Q2-24, we forecast that revenue will be flat plus or minus 5% versus Q1-24 with gross margins of 63%-65% based on our projected product mix. Aggregate operating expenses are forecast to decrease by 15-20% versus Q1-24 due to a reduction in share-based compensation expense.”

Share Repurchase Activity
During the quarter, Besi repurchased approximately 100,000 of its ordinary shares at an average price of € 146.11 per share for a total of € 14.8 million. Cumulatively, as of March 31, 2024, a total of € 24.4 million has been purchased under the current € 60 million share repurchase plan at an average price of € 136.47 per share. As of March 31, 2024, Besi held approximately 3.4 million shares in treasury equal to 4.2% of its shares outstanding.

Convertible Notes
At March, 31, 2024, Besi’s total principal amount of its Convertible Notes outstanding equaled € 290.0 million. During the quarter, € 38.2 million of Convertible Notes due 2024 and 2027 were converted into approximately 0.8 million shares. Subsequent to quarter end, an additional € 89.5 million of Convertible Notes due 2027 were converted into approximately 1.8 million shares. As a result, Besi’s total principal amount of Convertible Notes outstanding decreased to € 200.5 million at April 25, 2024.

Basis of Presentation
The accompanying condensed Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) as adopted by the European Union. Reference is made to the Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements as included in our 2023 Annual Report, which is available on www.besi.com .

Contacts:
Richard W. Blickman, President & CEO
Leon Verweijen, SVP Finance
Claudia Vissers, Executive Secretary/IR coordinator
Edmond Franco, VP Corporate Development/US IR coordinator
Tel. (31) 26 319 4500
investor.relations@besi.com

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) and its headquarters are located in Duiven, the Netherlands. For more information, please visit our website at www.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, 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 and other global pandemics and the associated adverse impacts on the global economy, financial markets, global supply chains 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; consolidation activity and industry alliances in the semiconductor industry that may result in further increased customer concentration, 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, conflict minerals 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 where we have a substantial portion of our production facilities; 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; those additional risk factors set forth in Besi's annual report for the year ended December 31, 2023 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.

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1 )} The calculation of diluted income per share assumes the exercise of equity settled share based payments and the conversion of all Convertible Notes outstanding