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SEZ Group Reports Record Quarter – New FEOL Process Introduced
- Preliminary net sales of CHF 99 million
- Order intake of CHF 104 million
- EBIT guidance for the second quarter raised to around 7 percent
- New ESA™ strip process represents FEOL breakthrough
In the second quarter 2006, the SEZ Group (SWX Swiss Exchange: SEZN) achieved new record levels for net sales and order intake. Preliminary net sales of CHF 99 million beat the prior quarter by 44 percent, while order intake increased by 14 percent to CHF 104 million. For the second quarter, EBIT guidance is being raised from the previous 5 percent to around 7 percent.
Moreover, SEZ achieved a breakthrough in one of the most important sectors of the front-end-of-line (FEOL) processing market—photoresist removal—with the development of its new Enhanced Sulfuric Acid™ (ESA™) strip process. The market for photoresist removal corresponds to about 40 percent of all FEOL wet processing steps. SEZ’s ESA strip process delivers the first all-wet-chemistry solution for single-wafer photoresist removal, and is being introduced during the SEMICON West conference, 11-13 July, in San Francisco, California. Corresponding multi-chamber production FEOL equipment for high-volume manufacturing will be introduced in the fourth quarter 2006.
Quarterly key figures (unaudited)
in CHF million | Q2/06 * | Q1/06 | Q2/045 | Order intake | 104 | 91.3 | 63.6 | Net sales | 99 | 68.9 | 77.4 | Order backlog end of period | 88 | 82.8 | 53.8 | Book-to-bill-ratio | 1.05 | 1.32 | 0.82 |
* preliminary
Key Figures After Six Months (unaudited) in CHF million | 06/06 * | 06/05 | Order intake | 195 | 132.6 | Net sales | 168 | 156.4 | Order backlog end of period | 88 | 53.8 | Book-to-bill ratio | 1.16 | 0.85 |
* preliminary
Average exchange rates for January – June 2006:
EUR/CHF 1.56292; USD/CHF 1.27051
Upcoming Financial Dates
17 August 2006 Press release and conference call on the results of the first six months 2006
About SEZ Group
The SEZ Group is the leading provider of single-wafer, wet-clean processing solutions for the global semiconductor industry, with an installed base of over 850 tools. The company maintains operations in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Japan and North America. Since 1996, registered shares of SEZ Holding Ltd. have been traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange under the symbol SEZN. Additional information about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.cez.com/.
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