ESI announces ‘solid progress’ in first quarter 2016

03 Aug 2015

Year on year quarter sales up 23% to $43m, net losses fall 36% to $4.1m.

Electro Scientific Industries, a developer of laser-based manufacturing solutions for the microtechnology industry, has announced results for its fiscal 2016 first quarter. Q1 revenue was $43.1 m, compared to $37.6m in Q4 2015 and $35.0m in Q4 2015. Non-GAAP net loss was $4.5m or $0.14 per share.

Ed Grady, president and CEO of ESI, commented "Overall, the first quarter 2016 was another quarter of solid progress toward our corporate revitalization as we grew our revenues, introduced key new products, controlled spending, improved earnings and generated positive cash flow from operations. We continued to expand our product portfolio with the introduction of the Jade low-cost laser micromachining platform, which is specifically targeting the China market."

Bookings for Q1 were $41.9m, ($40.0m in the prior quarter and $47.2m last year). Grady continued, "Bookings reflected solid performance, with continued strong demand for our interconnect products and sequential growth in micromachining and service. Our Lumen platform contributed with a new design win in the first quarter, and we are seeing additional customer interest early in the second quarter."

Non-GAAP gross margin was 37%, (38% in the prior quarter). Operating expenses were $21.5m, which included $1.4m of purchase accounting and stock compensation, and $0.2m of one-time charges related to the Topwin acquisition and the Chelmsford facility closing. On a non-GAAP basis, operating expenses were $19.9m ($20.6m in the previous quarter). Non-GAAP operating loss was $4.1m, compared to $6.4m in the fourth quarter.

Grady added, ”Over the next year we expect to further expand our product portfolio, which will enable us to achieve our goal of tripling our addressable market and drive revenue growth for many years to come. At the same time, we are optimizing our cost structure and driving lean programs across the company. As our new products gain traction in the market we expect top line growth, combined with our focus on cost control, to enable us to achieve our objective of returning the company to growth and profitability."

ESI has launched the Ultras laser processing system.

ESI also announced the launch of the Ultrus laser processing system, designed to provide semiconductor manufacturers with new options for reducing production costs, improving quality and increasing back-end yields.

Michael Darwin, General Manager of the Industrial Products Division at ESI, commented, “With the Ultrus system we have directly addressed specific hurdles related to using lasers efficiently for wafer grooving and scribing, giving semiconductor manufacturers the ability to more accurately remove materials at higher speeds than was previously possible.”

The Ultrus system combines ultrafast high-pulse-rate lasers and ESI’s proprietary beam positioning technology to provide a high-throughput, high-accuracy grooving solution that addresses the challenges associated with processing thinner and more fragile materials. Since the system allows for higher die break strength and a smaller heat affected zone, semiconductor manufacturers can now process newer thin wafers efficiently at the higher level of accuracy required and low-k materials—as well as current materials—without risking damage to the underlying devices.

“For semiconductor manufacturers, just keeping pace with Moore’s Law requires constant innovation across their processing operations,” said Darwin. “With the Ultrus system we have directly addressed specific hurdles related to using lasers efficiently for wafer grooving and scribing, giving semiconductor manufacturers the ability to more accurately remove materials at higher speeds than was previously possible.”