Aehr Test Narrows Loss on Lower Sales
Online staff -- EDN, March 25, 2005
Semiconductor test and burn-in equipment maker Aehr Test Systems reported slightly lower net sales and a narrowed net loss for its fiscal Q3.
Aehr Test reported a net loss of $1.2 million or 16 cents per diluted share on net sales of $2.1 million for Q3. That compares with a net loss of $1.7 million or 24 cents per diluted share on net sales of $2.2 million for the same period a year ago at the Fremont, Calif.-based company.
"Our level of net sales for the quarter was lower than we had anticipated," said Rhea Posedel, chairman and CEO, in a statement. “Three MAX systems, originally planned to ship in the third quarter of fiscal 2005, are now expected to ship in the current quarter. Despite our reduced net sales level, we made significant operational progress during the quarter.”
That progress included completing another milestone on the company’s FOX full wafer contact tester development project, putting Aehr Test on track to start shipping FOX testers later this calendar year, according to Posedel.
"During the quarter, we also received several system orders from new customers, including one for an MTX-Fp+ massively parallel memory test and burn-in system and another for a next generation MAX test during burn-in system for advanced logic devices," continued Posedel.
On February 28, 2005, cash, short-term investments and long-term investments were $9.4 million, compared to $11.8 million at the end of fiscal 2004. Aehr Test ended the third quarter of fiscal 2005 with no outstanding debt and shareholders' equity of $19.1 million, or $2.57 per diluted share, the company said.
"Orders in the third quarter of fiscal 2005 improved from the low point seen in the preceding quarter," said Gary Larson, VP and CFO. "Although we are maintaining a somewhat cautious outlook, we expect fourth quarter orders to continue to improve over the level of the previous quarter. As a result, we anticipate solid growth in fourth quarter net sales over the quarter just reported."
