euro adhoc: Financial Figures/Balance Sheet
austriamicrosystems reports solid
revenue growth and record profitability for fiscal year 2006, expects further
business expansion in 2007
Unterpremstaetten, Austria (February 20, 2007) -
Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
annual report
20.02.2007
Detailed results for fiscal year 2006 and fourth quarter 2006
austriamicrosystems (SWX: AMS), a leading worldwide designer and manufacturer of high performance analog ICs for communications, industry & medical and automotive applications, showed solid revenue growth and record profitability in the fiscal year 2006 and particularly the fourth quarter 2006. The positive business development in the last fiscal year was due to the market success of austriamicrosystems' power and lighting management, mobile entertainment, car access, sensor and sensor interface solutions.
Financials
austriamicrosystems continued to grow revenues, gross margins and earnings in 2006. Group revenues for fiscal year 2006 reached EUR 196.4 million, increasing by EUR 18.0 million or 10.1% compared to the previous year. Revenues for the fourth quarter 2006 were EUR 62.0 million, an increase of 9.8% or EUR 5.6 million compared to the same quarter 2005. Among other factors, EUR/USD exchange rate movements in the fourth quarter 2006 negatively influenced revenue growth in this seasonally strong quarter and for the full year. Gross margin for full year 2006 reached a record 48%, up 3 percentage points from 45% for the previous year. In the fourth quarter 2006, gross margins reached 50%, compared to 46% in the same period 2005, demonstrating the strength of austriamicrosystems' business model and its successful further development.
The group result from operations (EBIT) according to IFRS for 2006 grew by 28% to EUR 33.4 million or 17% of revenues (2005: 15% of revenues). This EUR 7.3 million increase from full year 2005 was mainly driven by the improvement in gross margins. The group result from operations for the fourth quarter 2006 rose by 31% to EUR 14.8 million, an increase of EUR 3.5 million from EUR 11.3 million in the same period 2005.
Net income for the fiscal year 2006 reached EUR 31.7 million, an increase of EUR 8.6 million or 37% from EUR 23.1 million in the previous year. Basic and diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year 2006 were CHF 4.59 / EUR 2.91 (2005: CHF 3.26 / EUR 2.10). Net income for the fourth quarter 2006 was EUR 14.2 million, an increase of EUR 3.4 million compared to the same period 2005.
Cash flow from operations continued to be strong in fiscal year 2006, reaching EUR 42.4 million, an increase of EUR 1.0 million compared to 2005. Capital expenditures for 2006 were EUR 24.3 million, driven by the expansion of wafer fab and test operations and the opening of the new test facility in Asia. Total backlog reached EUR 55.2 million at year-end 2006 compared to EUR 54.2 million on December 31, 2005. Cash and short term investments stood at EUR 22.8 million on December 31, 2006 compared to EUR 22.3 million at the end of 2005. Net debt fell significantly to EUR 18.1 million on December 31, 2006 from EUR 38.1 million at year-end 2005, given the ongoing repayment of long-term debt related to the construction of the 200mm wafer fab. The equity ratio increased further to 58% at year-end 2006 from 54% at the end of 2005. The average number of employees for the group was 983 for fiscal year 2006, compared to 856 for the year 2005, and 1,046 for the fourth quarter 2006.
The strong increase in gross margin in 2006 was driven by cost benefits from the continuing expansion of the 200mm wafer fab, higher overall production efficiency and positive developments in the product mix. austriamicrosystems continued to invest strongly in research & development including several ongoing platform developments in the last fiscal year, spending 19% of revenues to support product roadmaps for future business growth and sustained technological leadership.
Business
austriamicrosystems' business continued to perform well in the past fiscal year. Building on its analog design expertise, integration skills and advanced process technologies, austriamicrosystems achieved significant market success with existing and new products across its target markets. Offering highly integrated analog ICs with outstanding performance was the key growth driver in 2006 and allowed to strengthen austriamicrosystems' position in the worldwide analog semiconductor market.
As a leader in low power consumption and high accuracy, austriamicrosystems launched numerous innovative standard products and product families in 2006, targeting applications in power management, sensors & sensor interfaces and mobile entertainment. In Communications, austriamicrosystems' lighting management expertise drove important platform wins at Top 5 mobile handset OEMs while its leading portfolio of portable media player solutions expanded austriamicrosystems' position in the attractive mobile entertainment market. Industry & Medical saw strong market success with digital X-ray and computer tomography solutions and industrial rotary encoders, complemented by good performance of metering, industrial automation and personal healthcare. Automotive was mainly driven by continuing access business and automotive safety solutions.
Demonstrating its technology capabilities and the strength of its product line- up, austriamicrosystems broadened its customer base in 2006, gaining new accounts and increasing penetration of existing customers. Asia/Pacific was the key growth region for austriamicrosystems in 2006 where the sales network was expanded to support the market and growth opportunities going forward.
The Full Service Foundry business unit is successfully positioned as a leading analog foundry focused on specialty processes, with new customer designs in 2006 solely focused on specialty technologies. In operations, the expansion of austriamicrosystems' state-of-the-art 200mm wafer fab to 8,000 WSPM (wafer starts per month) from 6,500 WSPM was started in fiscal year 2006 and is now nearing completion. This creates a strong platform to support continuing business growth as part of austriamicrosystems' manufacturing concept. A second test center was ramped-up in Asia in 2006, offering additional test capacity and improving the supply chain, and a new design center opened in India.
Outlook
austriamicrosystems is well positioned for further growth and business expansion in its target markets Communications, Industry & Medical and Automotive. This positive outlook is driven by a strong and growing portfolio of high performance standard products together with a broad range of customer- specific solutions.
Focused on bringing innovative products to the global analog semiconductor market, austriamicrosystems foresees its business to continue to develop positively in the current fiscal year. Based on available information, austriamicrosystems expects double-digit percentage revenue growth for full year 2007 compared to 2006, accompanied by a further meaningful improvement in margins and earnings.
Further information is available on the austriamicrosystems website at http://www.austriamicrosystems.com/08ir/ir_news_start.htm
About austriamicrosystems
austriamicrosystems is a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance analog ICs, combining more than 25 years of analog design capabilities and system know-how with its own state-of-the-art manufacturing and test facilities. austriamicrosystems leverages its expertise in low power and high accuracy to provide industry-leading customized and standard analog products. Operating worldwide with more than 1,000 employees, austriamicrosystems focuses on the areas of power management, sensors & sensor interfaces, portable audio and car access in its markets Communications, Industry & Medical and Automotive, complemented by its Full Service Foundry activities. austriamicrosystems is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange in Zurich (ticker symbol: AMS). For more information, please visit the web site at www.austriamicrosystems.com.
end of announcement euro adhoc 20.02.2007 06:30:00
Further inquiry note:
Moritz M. Gmeiner
Director Investor Relations
Tel: +43 3136 500-5970
Fax: +43 3136 500-5420
Email: investor@austriamicrosystems.com
Branche: Technology
ISIN: AT0000920863
WKN: 632638
Börsen: SWX Swiss Exchange / official dealing