FREMONT, Calif., Jan. 6, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aehr Test Systems (Nasdaq:AEHR), a worldwide supplier of semiconductor test and burn-in equipment, today announced financial results for the second quarter ended November 30, 2010.
Net sales were $3.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2011, compared with $1.6 million in the second quarter of fiscal 2010. Aehr Test reported a net loss of $0.8 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2011. This compares to a loss of $2.2 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, in the second quarter of fiscal 2010. Included in the results for the second quarter of fiscal 2011 was the receipt of a dividend payment of $0.6 million related to a long-term investment reported in other income.
Commenting on the results of the second quarter of fiscal 2011, Rhea Posedel, chairman and chief executive officer of Aehr Test Systems, said, "At the top line, net sales of $3.6 million more than doubled when compared to the second quarter of last year. During the quarter, we benefitted from the revenue recognized from previously announced orders of approximately $2 million for multiple FOX™-1 WaferPak contactors from a leading manufacturer of semiconductor memory devices. In addition, we recently announced that this customer placed more orders for additional WaferPak contactors totaling approximately $3 million. We believe these new WaferPak orders validate the cost saving advantages of using our FOX-1 tester, which can test a full wafer with thousands of die in a single touchdown.
"We are pleased to announce that we have completed the development and shipped a new Advanced Burn-in and Test System (ABTS™) to a major Japanese IC manufacturer. This new ABTS system is targeting production test and burn in of microcontrollers for automotive and high end consumer applications. We also received an order during the quarter from a leading U.S. military defense customer for our newly configured ABTS. This production configuration of the ABTS system was chosen for its 72 burn-in board capacity and its ability to burn-in and test future higher pin-count ASIC and custom logic devices.
"Looking ahead to the second half of fiscal 2011, we are encouraged by the increase in WaferPak contactor orders from our FOX customers and the higher quoting activity we are seeing for our FOX and ABTS product lines. We offer our customers unique technology with our FOX systems and WaferPak contactors and we feel confident in our ability to win additional new accounts with our new ABTS products that address growing market segments," concluded Posedel.
Net sales were $5.7 million in the first six months of fiscal 2011 compared with $2.9 million in the first six months of fiscal 2010. Net loss for the six months ended November 30, 2010 was $2.3 million, or $0.26 per diluted share, compared with net loss of $1.2 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, in the same period of the prior fiscal year.
Aehr Test closed the second quarter of fiscal 2011 with no outstanding debt.
Management Conference Call
Management of Aehr Test will host a conference call and webcast today, January 6, 2011 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern (2:00 p.m. Pacific) to discuss the Company's second quarter fiscal 2011 operating results. The conference call will be accessible live via the internet at . Please go to the website at least 15 minutes before start time to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the webcast will be available at www.aehr.com for 90 days.
About Aehr Test Systems
Headquartered in Fremont, California, Aehr Test Systems is a worldwide provider of systems for burning-in and testing DRAMs, flash and other memory and logic integrated circuits and has an installed base of more than 2,500 systems worldwide. Aehr Test has developed and introduced several innovative products, including the ABTS, FOX and MAX systems and the DiePak® carrier. The ABTS system is Aehr Test's newest system for packaged part test during burn-in for both low-power and high-power logic as well as all common types of memory devices. The FOX system is a full wafer contact test and burn-in system. The MAX system can effectively burn-in and functionally test complex devices, such as digital signal processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers and systems-on-a-chip. The DiePak carrier is a reusable, temporary package that enables IC manufacturers to perform cost-effective final test and burn-in of bare die. For more information, please visit the Company's website at .
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties relating to projections regarding revenues, net sales and customer demand and acceptance of Aehr Test's products. Actual results may vary from projected results. These risks and uncertainties include without limitation, world economic conditions, the state of the semiconductor equipment market, the Company's ability to maintain sufficient cash to support operations, acceptance by customers of Aehr Test's technologies, acceptance by customers of the systems shipped upon receipt of a purchase order, the ability of new products to meet customer needs or perform as described and the Company's development and manufacture of a commercially successful wafer-level test and burn-in system. See Aehr Test's recent 10-K, 10-Q and other reports from time to time filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a more detailed description of the risks facing our business. The Company disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.
CONTACT: Gary Larson Chief Financial Officer (510) 623-9400 x321
