RoodMicrotec N.V. POSITIVE OPERATING RESULT HY2 2012; ANTICIPATES TENTATIVE MARKET RECOVERY

February 26, 2013 - London

Zwolle, 26 February 2013

2012 HIGHLIGHTS

Commercial/operational

• Strengthening of our position in Supply Chain Management by introducing eXtended Supply Chain Management.
• Strengthening of our sales organisation by recruiting an additional Sales & Marketing Manager.
• Extension of our engineering capabilities by establishing a design support department.
• Optimisation of our critical installed equipment base.
• Increase in the number of applications and orders in SCM.

Financials

• Sales in 2012 of € 12 million fell by 24 % compared to 2011 (EUR 15.7 million).
• Operating expenses fell by approx. EUR 1.5 million compared to 2011.
• EBITDA: EUR 0.7 million; strong recovery in the second half of 272%
• EBIT (operating result): EUR 181,000 negative; but recovery in second half to EUR 97,000
• EBT: EUR 507,000 negative; recovery in second half to EUR 85,000 negative
• Net income EUR 82,000 negative
• Solvency remained stable with 48% (2011: 48%)

Key figures
(EUR x 1,000 unless stated otherwise)

Financial key figures second half of 2012 vs. first half of 2012
(EUR x 1,000 unless stated otherwise)

* The half-year figures have not been audited.
** In euros

The fall in automotive was caused mainly by the products we tested for an IDM coming to the end of their lifecycle. The share of the automotive segment decreased to 32% (2011: +41%) of total sales.

The Industrial/Medical market segment concerns complex activities, which largely remained stable. These are for example the conversion of 'translation' data into digital signals. We have strengthened our market position as a high-quality service provider.

Test, Test Engineering and Supply Chain Management decreased by 37%, 21% and 31% respectively, while Failure & Technology Analyses showed significant growth of 15%. Qualification & Reliability remained stable.

The sales decrease in Supply Chain Management has two different aspects. There was a fall in market volume, but we also saw a rise in the number of customers. Unfortunately, this could not set off the decline of business. We did, however, strengthen our position in the market.

The recovery in the second half of 2012 was driven by both the industrial/medical and the automotive market segments. The increase in the automotive market was caused mainly by the increasing prevalence of electronics in cars, while the car production output as far as relevant for us did not show any increase.

* The half-year figures have not been audited.

Our total sales of EUR 6.3 million in the second half of 2012 represented an 11% increase compared to our sales in the first half of 2012 (approx. EUR 5.7 million). There was a significant decrease in the second quarter in particular. But the third and fourth saw the beginning of a recovery.

'We are experiencing a recovery especially in the countries in which we directly or indirectly realise our sales, and this is being reflected in increasing sales activities. For this reason, we anticipate our business to recover in 2013, and expect it to occur in the second half of 2013 in particular.' Philip Nijenhuis, RoodMicrotec CEO.

Finance
The gross margin increased to 81%.
The operating expenses excluding depreciation decreased by 14% (EUR 1,492,000) compared to 2011. The decrease in operating expenses was partly due to the positive results of the restructuring of our test business unit in 2011.

RoodMicrotec's equity increased by EUR 0.2 million, mainly due to issuance of an additional Mezzanine capital (EUR 0.5 million). The EUR 0.2 million in compensation paid for the Mezzanine capital was included directly in equity. The balance sheet total increased to EUR 13.135 million (2011: EUR 12.857 million).

On balance our solvency remained stable with 48% in 2012 (2011: 48%).

Taxation

The deferred tax asset on the carry forward losses shows a positive effect, which results inter alia from the estimated forecasts of the company and from the alignment of the estimation period with her German subsidiaries. For the next few years, the company's forecasted results and related deferred tax asset have been reassessed, and the outcome has been included fully in the 2012 result.

Personnel and organisation
At year-end 2012, RoodMicrotec had 103 employees on permanent staff (FTE), a decrease of 3 employees (-3%) compared to year-end 2011 (106). The average workforce was 103 (2011: 106).

Sales by FTE decreased by 22% from EUR 142,000 in 2011 to EUR 116,000 in 2012.
Our strategy remains focused on strictly limiting the increase of fixed employee labour costs relative to sales growth.

Strategy
We aim to position ourselves at the first class one-stop-shop supply chain provider to OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) and Fabless Companies in Europe. We will continue to focus on innovative, high-tech markets, which we support with our services in developing high-quality reliable products.With our powerful solutions we have built up a strong position in Europe. We wish to grow further by inter alia strengthening, broadening and expanding our high-quality engineering capabilities, supplemented with management support for our customers by means of project management.
The company does not rule out partnerships and/or mergers with other companies, especially if it reduces the company's risk exposure. This would benefit all stakeholders, especially if such a partnership or merger was formed with a profitable industry party, as we would be able to effect tax losses to be realised more quickly.

Outlook for 2013

After disappointing market developments in 2012, in 2013 4.5% growth of the global market is being forecast and 5.2% in 2014, according to the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS). However, these figures are still below the multi-year average of 6%. Analogous to the forecasts of the WSTS for 2013 and beyond, RoodMicrotec anticipates a recovery of its business and the realisation of its growth objectives. We aim to grow at least at a faster rate than the global market, which we have done almost without fail in the last 9 years.
The ongoing increase of the number of applications backs up our confidence that in 2013 we will once again grow more strongly than the market.
However, the macroeconomic developments force us to remain cautious. For this reason, we do not pronounce any concrete predictions for 2013.
Long-term (as from 2014) we aim to maintain our growth at least at the same level as the global semiconductor market.

Financial agenda

Audit
The audit of the financial statements 2012 has not been finalized yet.

Forward-looking statements
This press release contains a number of forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and prognoses of the board of management and on the information currently available to the company. The statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which are hard to evaluate, such as the general economic conditions, interest rates, exchange rates and amendments to statutory laws and regulations. The board of management of RoodMicrotec cannot guarantee that its expectations will materialise. Furthermore, RoodMicrotec does not accept any obligation to update the statements made in this press release.

About RoodMicrotec
With 40 years' experience as an independent value-added microelectronics and optoelectronics service provider, RoodMicrotec offers a one-stop shopping proposition to fabless companies, OEMs and other business partners.

RoodMicrotec has built up a strong position in Europe with its powerful solutions. Its services comply with the highest industrial and quality requirements as demanded by the high-reliability/aerospace, automotive, telecommunications, medical, IT and electronics sectors.

'Certified by RoodMicrotec' concerns certification of products inter alia to the stringent ISO/TS 16949 standard for suppliers to the automotive industry. The company has an accredited laboratory for testing and calibration activities in accordance with the ISO/IEC 17025 standard.

The value-added services include Extended Supply Chain Management Failure & Technology Analysis, Qualification & Monitoring Burn-In, Test- & Product engineering, Production Test (including device programming and end-of-line service), ESD/ESDFOS assessment & training, quality & reliability consulting, supply chain management and total manufacturing solutions with partners.

RoodMicrotec has facilities in Germany (Dresden, Nördlingen, Stuttgart), UK (Bath) and in the Netherlands (Zwolle).

Further information:
Philip Nijenhuis, CEO
Telephone       +31 (0) 38 4215216
Email:            investor-relations@roodmicrotec.com
Website:         www.roodmicrotec.com

Consolidated income statement

Consolidated balance sheet (before appropriation of net result)

Thomson Reuters

Comment on this story

Recent News

AndhraNews on Social Networks