GRENOBLE, France, June 7, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- SOITEC, the world's leading supplier of S.O.I. wafers*, today announced its consolidated results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001. This is the first year that SOITEC has made a profit after significant investment to start-up its exclusive Smart Cut(r) technology,
(in millions of Euros) Fiscal year Fiscal year %
2000/2001 1999/2000 change
Net Sales 43.3 16.3 +166%
Gross margin 11.6 (2.8)
% of net sales 27% -17%
Research & Development 1.4 1.0 +32%
SG & A 7.8 3.7 +112%
Operating income (loss) 2.4 (7.5)
Net income (loss) 4.1 (7.9)
These positive results flow from the very strong level of business, particularly during the second half of the year, in combination with continuing strict control of production costs.
Growth in Production
SOITEC maintained a strong level of activity during the fiscal year recording sales of 43.3 million Euros, equal to 2.7 times sales for the previous year.
Demonstrating the continued success of the exclusive Smart Cut(r) technology developed by SOITEC, this excellent performance is the result of:
-- continued steady market demand for SOI for high-end applications
with strong added value, a market in which SOITEC is now the
leader;
-- a significant acceleration of sales to customers with products in
qualification, representing 12 customers and sales growth of 237%
over the prior year;
-- the volume ramp up of customers who moved into production during
the year bringing the total to 8 who are now in the production
phase.
SEH, as the first Smart Cut(r) sub-licensee, began to ship third party sales towards the end of the fiscal year 2000 / 2001 and royalty revenue will be included in group sales one quarter in arrears i.e. with effect from the year 2001/2002.
On March 21, 2001, SOITEC announced the signature of a major collaboration project and a new licensing agreement for its exclusive Smart Cut(r) process with the Japanese group Seiko Epson for the production of Silicon on Quartz (S.O.Q.) wafers. This first agreement for materials other than Silicon on Insulator demonstrates once again the success of proprietary Smart Cut(r) technology developed by SOITEC.
Control of Production Costs
The growth in business during the year 2000/2001 has resulted in a very strong improvement to the profit and loss account. For the first time since the Smart Cut(r) technology was introduced, SOITEC moved into profit for the year 2000/2001 showing operating income of 2.4 million Euros and net income of 4.1 million Euros, equal to 0.07 Euros per share.
The manufacturing margin, which was 27.8% of sales (versus 14.0% of sales last year) benefited from significant leverage effect - the result of controlling raw material costs through improved yields and process costs through higher volumes. Thus, for the year 2000/2001 the volume of wafers produced (primarily 200 mm) increased by 152% whilst raw material costs rose by 127% and process costs rose by only 33%.
These satisfactory results, which are above the company's forecast, confirm SOITEC's business model. The group while actively increasing production has been able to improve its profitability thanks to the Smart Cut(r) process, which enables the optimization of production efficiency by using standard production equipment.
A Solid Financial Balance Sheet Position
SOITEC also reinforced its financial structure in the course of the year 2000/2001 with a successful capital increase completed in June 2000. At the year-end 31 March 2001 shareholders' funds equaled 124.1 million Euros and net debt was 15.9 million Euros, primarily the residual value of its capital lease.
As at March 31, 2001, SOITEC held available cash of 88.5 million Euros.
Outlook for Continued Growth and Improved Profitability
The very positive trends observed in 2000 / 2001 for S.O.I. have been confirmed at the start of the current fiscal year.
As at March 31, 2001, the total value of the order book was 39.1 million Euros, which is nearly double the value at the end of September 2000. As indicated the year 2001/2002 will also include the first royalties from the SEH license.
Positioned to respond to the high value added sector of the market for which demand remains steady in the current semi-conductor climate, SOITEC expects to maintain a strong growth rate over the coming years.
SOITEC's objectives for the fiscal year 2001/2002 are sustained sales growth combined with an improvement in profitability and positive operating cash flow.
Agenda
Sales for the first quarter of 2001/2002 will be announced July 16, 2001.
About SOITEC
Silicon-On-Insulator Technologies (SOITEC) is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of SOI wafers. Using the Smart Cut(r) technology, SOITEC produces an extensive line of fine layer advanced materials for microelectronics, including the SOI products (UNIBOND(r)) for microelectronics and silicon on quartz/glass wafers. SOITEC is traded on the Nouveau March(c) of the Paris Bourse -Sicovam Code 7206 -The SOITEC warrants are also traded on the Nouveau March(c) of the Paris Bourse. Additional information can be obtained on the website: http://www.soitec.com.
* Silicon On Insulator
APPENDIX :
Download the following appendix: Consolidated income statement - Consolidated balance sheet - Consolidated cash flow statement: http://www.prline.com\pub\7206\RES_00_01_EN.pdf