FEI Sees Record Sales Continue

Online Staff -- Electronic News, 4/29/2004

Hillsboro, Ore.-based tool vendor FEI Co. posted its consecutive quarter of record sales Wednesday, recording net sales of $105.1 million for its fiscal Q1 2004, which ended April 4.

Those sales were up 8 percent sequentially and up 23 percent year over year. Earnings for the quarter were $1.9 million or 6 cents per fully diluted share, compared with $3.3 million, or 10 cents per fully diluted share in the prior quarter and $1.9 million, or 6 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Bookings for FEI's April quarter came in at $108.4 million, resulting in a book-to-bill ratio of 1.03 and a backlog of $125.0 million at the end of the quarter. Bookings increased 7 percent sequentially and 31 percent year over year.

"The record first quarter revenue was aided by solid performance in the industry and institute markets which are driving nanotechnology research, as well as growth from the data storage market," Vahe A. Sarkissian, chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. "Revenue from the semiconductor industry was down compared with the fourth quarter, but orders were strong from those customers, giving us five straight quarters of increasing orders from the semiconductor market.

"On the cost side, gross margins improved, operating expenses were down and our operating income increased significantly," Sarkissian said. "We continue to believe that the trends in scientific research, semiconductors and data storage will continue to provide us with major long-run potential."

By market, sequential sales to institute and industrial customers grew 1 percent, data storage sales were up by 284 percent from the unusually low fiscal Q4 levels, and sales to semiconductor customers were down 4 percent sequentially. By product, microelectronics product sales in fiscal Q1 were up 8 percent sequentially, electron optics product sales were up 25 percent, while component sales were down 4 percent sequentially. Service sales decreased 14 percent from the prior quarter.

FEI currently expects bookings growth for the current quarter to continue at approximately the same sequential rate as Q1. It anticipates net sales to be approximately level with the prior quarter, and earnings to be in the range of 8 cents to 12 cents per share.