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SEZ Group Exceeds Sales and Profit Expectations for 2000
VILLACH, Austria-March 14, 2001
-The SEZ Group (SWX: SEZN) announced that for business year 2000 it has increased its consolidated net sales by 133 percent to CHF 195.2 million [USD 115.6 million], up from CHF 83.7 million [USD 55.7 million] in 1999. Net income tripled to CHF 31.8 million [USD 18.8 million] from CHF 10.4 million [USD 6.9 million] the previous year, with a net profit margin of 16.3 percent versus 12.4 percent the year before. In the same period of time, the company's operating income (EBIT) improved by 311 percent to CHF 49.4 million [USD 29.3 million], versus CHF 12.0 million [USD 8.0 million] in 1999. The EBIT-margin improved to 25.3 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 1999. SEZ expects its net sales to increase to CHF 290 million [USD 175 million] in the business year 2001, with a high number of shipments during the first months, strong order backlog as well as anticipated orders for 300 mm equipment.
"The SEZ Group's sales growth made it the fastest growing company among the mid-size and large-size semiconductor equipment suppliers," explained Kurt Lackenbucher, senior vice president of the SEZ Group. "Our Spin-Process technology leads the industry for backside wafer treatment. During 2001 we will continue to expand our product portfolio outside of our core market to address the entire market for wet chemical treatment of wafer surfaces. This market has a total annual investment volume of USD 3 billion. Additionally, our leadership in 300 mm processing is expected to contribute to continued growth."
Net sales for January and February 2001 increased more than 100 percent in comparison to the same period in the previous year from CHF 28.8 million [USD 17.9 million] to CHF 58.9 million [35.7 million]. As of February 28, 2001 SEZ reported an order backlog of CHF 121.4 million [USD 72.8 million] up from CHF 57.4 million [USD 34.5 million] during the same period of time last year. After the first two months of 2001, order income was CHF 35.6 million [USD 21.6 million] in comparison to CHF 32.6 million in 2000 [USD 20.2 million]. The book-to-bill-ratio for the period of January 1 to February 28 stood at 0.61. The book-to-bill-ratio reflects the high sales to date this year and the wait-and-see policy of some chip manufacturers within the last few weeks. For the second half of this year SEZ expects a market recovery, especially in the 300 mm market where capital expenditure continues to move forward.
About SEZ
The SEZ Group is a leading supplier of wet wafer surface preparation equipment to the global semiconductor manufacturing industry. The company's breakthrough proprietary Spin-Processor technology forms the basis of a broad portfolio of single wafer backside and frontside wafer surface conditioning products for semiconductor chipmakers worldwide. Additionally, the company offers a complete range of wet bench equipment for batch processing. SEZ maintains development, manufacturing, sales, marketing and service operations in Europe, Asia and North America. Registered in Zurich, Switzerland, SEZ Holding AG is listed on the Swiss Exchange under the symbol (SWX: SEZN). SEZ also can be found on the world wide web at www.sez.com.
Dates:
April 18, 2001: Presentation of financial results, Zurich
May 10, 2001: Annual shareholders' meeting, Zurich
This media information contains certain forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements relate to anticipated product shipments under existing orders, shipment schedules, the prospective demand for the company's products, acceptance and competitiveness of the company's products and market transition to new processes. Such statements are based on current expectations and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and changes in condition. The company undertakes no obligation to update the information in this media information.
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