TAIPEI, Taiwan, Jan. 31 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Advanced
Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (TAIEX: 2311; NYSE: ASX) ("We",
"ASE", or the "Company"), the world's largest independent provider
of IC packaging and testing services, today reported unaudited net
revenues (Note 1) of NT$28,976 million for the fourth quarter of
2007 (4Q07), up 28% year-over-year and up 4% sequentially. Net
income for the quarter totaled NT$3,704 million, up from NT$2,734
million in 4Q06 and down from NT$4,225 million in 3Q07. Diluted
earnings per share for the quarter was NT$0.66 (or US$0.102 per
ADS), compared to NT$0.51 for 4Q06 and NT$0.79 for 3Q07. Note 1:
All financial information presented in this press release is
unaudited, consolidated and prepared in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the Republic of China, or ROC
GAAP. Such financial information is generated internally by us, and
has not been subjected to the same review and scrutiny, including
internal auditing procedures and review by our independent
auditors, to which we subject our audited consolidated financial
statements, and may vary materially from the audited consolidated
financial information for the same period. Any evaluation of the
financial information presented in this press release should also
take into account our published audited consolidated financial
statements and the notes to those statements. In addition, the
financial information presented is not necessarily indicative of
our results for any future period. For the full year of 2007, the
Company reported net revenues of NT$101,163 million and net income
of NT$12,165 million. Diluted earnings per share for the full year
of 2007 was NT$2.26, or US$0.344 per ADS. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
4Q07 Results Highlights -- Net revenues contribution from IC
packaging operations (including module assembly), testing
operations, and substrates sold to third parties were NT$22,561
million, NT$5,676 million and NT$739 million, respectively, and
each represented approximately 78%, 20% and 2% respectively, of
total net revenues for the quarter. -- Cost of revenues was
NT$19,603 million, up 21% year-over-year and up 2% sequentially. --
As a percentage of total net revenues, cost of revenues was 68% in
4Q07, down from 72% in 4Q06 and down from 70% in 3Q07. -- Raw
material cost totaled NT$8,004 million during the quarter,
representing 28% of total net revenues, compared with NT$7,830
million and 28% of net revenues in the previous quarter. --
Depreciation, amortization and rental expenses totaled NT$4,141
million during the quarter, up 9% year-over-year and up 1%
sequentially. -- Total operating expenses during 4Q07 were NT$2,730
million, including NT$1,128 million in R&D and NT$1,602 million
in SG&A. Compared with operating expense of NT$2,321 million in
3Q07, the sequential increase was primarily attributable to the
expansion of our R&D function and the expenses incurred from
our new initiatives in China, as well as the professional fees
related to the privatization of ASE Test. Total operating expenses
as a percentage of net revenues for the current quarter were 9%,
down from 10% in 4Q06 and up from 8% in 3Q07. -- Operating profit
for the quarter totaled NT$6,643 million, up from NT$6,109 million
in the previous quarter. Operating margin increased from 22% in
3Q07 to 23% in 4Q07. -- In terms of non-operating items, -- Net
interest expense was NT$293 million, slightly up from NT$273
million a quarter ago. -- Net exchange gain of NT$198 million was
primarily attributable to the exchange gain from the appreciation
of the Renminbi against the U.S. dollar. -- Gain on long-term
investment of NT$96 million was primarily attributed to investment
income of NT$99 million from USI, investment income of NT$1 million
from Hung Ching Construction, and partially offset by investment
loss of other invested companies. -- Total non-operating expenses
totaled NT$987 million, compared to NT$185 million for 4Q06 and
NT$280 million for 3Q07. Due to the low utilization of our build-up
substrate operation, the company took an asset impairment loss and
provision for inventory adjustment for a total amount of NT$853
million. -- Income before tax was NT$5,656 million for 4Q07,
compared with NT$5,829 million in the previous quarter. We recorded
an income tax expense of NT$1,165 million during the quarter,
compared with an income tax expense of NT$1,008 million in 3Q07.
Minority interest was NT$787 million for 4Q07. -- In 4Q07, net
income was NT$3,704 million, compared to net income of NT$2,734
million for 4Q06 and NT$4,225 million for 3Q07. -- Our total number
of shares outstanding at the end of the quarter was 5,255,505,908,
excluding treasury stock. Our diluted EPS for 4Q07 was NT$0.66, or
US$0.102 per ADS, based on 5,559,851,477 weighted average number of
shares outstanding during the fourth quarter. 2007 Full-year
Results -- Net revenues for the full year of 2007 amounted to
NT$101,163 million, up 1% from 2006. The revenue contribution from
IC packaging operations (including module assembly), testing
operations, and others were NT$78,517 million, NT$20,007 million,
and NT$2,639 million, respectively, and each represented
approximately 78%, 20% and 2% respectively, of total net revenues
for the year. -- Costs of revenues for the full year of 2007 were
NT$71,961 million, a slight increase compared to 2006. -- As a
percentage of net revenues, cost of revenues was 71% in 2007,
relatively unchanged compared to 2006. -- Depreciation,
amortization and rental expenses totaled NT$16,359 million during
the year, up 8% compared to 2006. As a percentage of net revenues,
depreciation, amortization and rental expenses were 16% during the
year, up from 15% in 2006. The increase in depreciation,
amortization and rental expense was primarily due to our new
operations set up in China and Chung Li during 2007. -- Gross
profit for the year was NT$29,202 million, up 1% compared to
NT$28,780 million in 2006. Gross margin was 29% for the year,
relatively unchanged compared to 2006. -- Total operating expenses
during 2007 were NT$9,791 million, including NT$3,284 million in
R&D and NT$6,507 million in SG&A. Total operating expenses
as a percentage of net revenues was 10% in 2007, up from 8% in
2006. -- Operating income for the year was NT$19,411 million,
compared to income of NT$20,446 for the previous year. Operating
margin was 19% in 2007, which decreased from 20% in 2006. -- Total
non-operating expenses for the year was NT$2,059 million, compared
to non-operating income of NT$1,806 million for 2006. The
difference was primarily due to the insurance payment received in
2006, and the impairment loss recorded in 2007. -- Income before
tax was NT$17,352 million for 2007. We recognized an income tax
expense of NT$3,358 million during the year. Minority interest was
NT$1,829 million. -- In 2007, net income amounted to NT$12,165
million, compared with a net income of NT$17,416 in 2006. -- Our
total shares outstanding at the end of the year were 5,255,505,908,
excluding treasury stock. Our diluted EPS for 2007 was NT$2.26, or
US$0.344 per ADS, based on 5,436,442,583 weighted average number of
shares outstanding. LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES -- As of
December 31, 2007, our cash and other financial assets totaled
NT$28,216 million, compared to NT$24,631 million on September 30,
2007. -- Capital expenditures in 4Q07 totaled US$162 million, of
which US$97 million was for IC packaging, US$60 million was for
testing, and US$5 million was for interconnect materials. -- For
the full year 2007, the Company spent US$446 million for capital
expenditures, including US$262 million for IC packaging, US$178
million for testing, and US$6 million for interconnect material. --
As of December 30, 2007, we had total bank debts of NT$39,710
million, compared to NT$38,145 million as of September 30, 2007.
Total bank debts consisted of NT$9,072 million of revolving working
capital loans, NT$5,327 million of current portion of long-term
debts, NT$1,375 million of current portion of bonds payable,
NT$18,046 million of long-term debts and NT$5,890 million of long-
term bonds payable. Total unused credit lines were NT$57,471
million. -- Current ratio as of December 31, 2007 was 1.59,
compared to 1.69 as of September 30, 2007 and net debt to equity
ratio was 0.13 as of December 31, 2007. -- Total number of
employees was 29,942 as of December 31, 2007. Business Review IC
Packaging Services (Note 2) -- Net revenues generated from our IC
packaging operations were NT$22,561 million during the quarter, up
by NT$5,375 million or 31% year-over-year and up by NT$917 million
or 4% sequentially. On a sequential basis, the increase in
packaging net revenue was primarily due to volume increase. -- Net
revenues from advanced substrate and leadframe-based packaging
accounted for 83% of total IC packaging net revenues during the
quarter, down by two percentage points compared with the previous
quarter. -- Gross margin for our IC packaging operations was 28%,
up by 3 percentage points year-over-year and up by 2 percentage
points sequentially. -- Capital expenditure for our IC packaging
operations amounted to US$97 million during the quarter, of which
US$78 million was for wirebonding packaging capacity, and US$19
million was for wafer bumping and flip chip packaging equipment. --
As of December 31, 2007, there were 8,003 wirebonders in operation,
of which 528 wirebonders were added and 174 wirebonders were
disposed of during the quarter. -- Net revenues from flip chip
packages and wafer bumping services accounted for 10% of total
packaging net revenues, relatively unchanged compared with the
previous quarter. Note 2: IC packaging services include module
assembly services. Testing Services -- Net revenues generated from
our testing operations were NT$5,676 million, up by NT$879 million
or 18% year-over-year and up by NT$394 million or 7% sequentially.
The increase in testing net revenues was primarily due to an
increase in testing volume. -- Final testing contributed 76% to
total testing net revenues, relatively unchanged compared with the
previous quarter. Wafer sort contributed 22% to total testing net
revenues, up by one percentage point from the previous quarter.
Engineering testing contributed 2% to total testing net revenues,
down by one percentage point from the previous quarter. --
Depreciation, amortization and rental expense associated with our
testing operations amounted to NT$1,538 million, down from NT$1,556
million in 4Q06 and up from NT$1,517 million in 3Q07. -- In 4Q07,
gross margin for our testing operations was 45%, up by nine
percentage points year-over-year and up by four percentage points
sequentially. The sequential increase in gross margin was primarily
due to the increase of sales and utilization. -- Capital spending
on our testing operations amounted to US$60 million during the
quarter. -- As of December 31, 2007, there were 1,534 testers in
operations, of which 56 testers were added and 102 testers were
disposed of during the quarter. Substrate Operations -- PBGA
substrate manufactured by ASE amounted NT$2,529 million for the
quarter, up by NT$660 million or 35% from a year-ago quarter, and
down by NT$83 million or 3% from the previous quarter. Of the total
output of NT$2,529 million, NT$739 million was from sales to
external customers. -- Gross margin for substrate operations was
20% during the quarter, down by four percentage points compared
with the year-ago quarter and the previous quarter. -- In 4Q07, the
Company's internal substrate manufacturing operations supplied 56%
(by value) of our total substrate requirements. -- As of December
31, 2007, the Company's PBGA capacity was at 48 million units per
month. Customers -- Our five largest customers together accounted
for approximately 23% of our total net revenues in 4Q07, compared
to 27% in 4Q06 and 26% in 3Q07. No single customer accounted for
more than 10% of our total net revenues. -- Our top 10 customers
contributed 43% of our total net revenues during the quarter,
relatively unchanged compared to 4Q06 and 3Q07. -- Our customers
that are integrated device manufacturers, or IDMs, accounted for
42% of our total net revenues in 4Q07, compared to 47% in 4Q06 and
38% in 3Q07. About ASE, Inc. ASE, Inc. is the world's largest
independent provider of IC packaging services and, together with
its subsidiary ASE Test Limited (NASDAQ:ASTSF), the world's largest
independent provider of IC testing services, including front-end
engineering testing, wafer probing and final testing services. ASE,
Inc.'s international customer base of more than 200 customers
includes such leading names as ATI Technologies Inc., CSR plc,
Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., MediaTek Inc., NEC Corporation,
NVIDIA Corporation, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm Incorporated, RF
Micro Devices Inc., STMicroelectronics N.V. and VIA Technologies,
Inc. With advanced technological capabilities and a global presence
spanning Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the United
States, ASE, Inc. has established a reputation for reliable, high
quality products and services. For more information, visit our
website at http://www.aseglobal.com/ . Safe Harbor Notice This
press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the
Exchange Act, including statements regarding our future results of
operations and business prospects. Although these forward-looking
statements, which may include statements regarding our future
results of operations, financial condition or business prospects,
are based on our own information and information from other sources
we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on
these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date
of this press release. We were not involved in the preparation of
these projections. The words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate",
"expect", "intend", "plan" and similar expressions, as they relate
to us, are intended to identify these forward-looking statements in
this press release. Our actual results of operations, financial
condition or business prospects may differ materially from those
expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a
variety of reasons, including risks associated with cyclicality and
market conditions in the semiconductor industry; demand for the
outsourced semiconductor packaging and testing services we offer
and for such outsourced services generally; the highly competitive
semiconductor industry; our ability to introduce new packaging,
interconnect materials and testing technologies in order to remain
competitive; international business activities; our business
strategy; our future expansion plans and capital expenditures; the
strained relationship between the ROC and the PRC; general economic
and political conditions; possible disruptions in commercial
activities caused by natural or human-induced disasters;
fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; and other factors.
For a discussion of these risks and other factors, please see the
documents we file from time to time with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including our 2006 Annual Report on Form 20-F
filed on June 25, 2007, as amended. -- Tables to Follow --
Supplemental Financial Information Consolidated Operations Amounts
in NT$ Millions 4Q/07 3Q/07 4Q/06 Net Revenues 28,976 27,733 22,574
Revenues by End Application Communication 43% 44% 38% Computer 25%
22% 25% Automotive and Consumers 31% 33% 37% Others 1% 1% 0%
Revenues by Region North America 51% 49% 54% Europe 13% 13% 13%
Taiwan 20% 22% 18% Japan 7% 8% 10% Other Asia 9% 8% 5% IC Packaging
Services Amounts in NT$ Millions 4Q/07 3Q/07 4Q/06 Net Revenues
22,561 21,644 17,186 Revenues by Packaging Type Advanced substrate
& leadframe based 83% 85% 82% Traditional leadframe based 4% 4%
5% Module assembly 6% 6% 8% Others 7% 5% 5% Capacity CapEx (US$
Millions) * 97 83 33 Number of Wirebonders 8,003 7,649 6,526
Testing Services Amounts in NT$ Millions 4Q/07 3Q/07 4Q/06 Net
Revenues 5,676 5,282 4,797 Revenues by Testing Type Final test 76%
76% 77% Wafer sort 22% 21% 18% Engineering test 2% 3% 5% Capacity
CapEx (US$ Millions) * 60 55 33 Number of Testers 1,534 1,580 1,305
* Capital expenditure amounts exclude building construction costs.
Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. Summary of Consolidated
Income Statements Data (In NT$ millions, except per share data)
(Unaudited) For the three For the months ended period ended Dec. 31
Sep. 30 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 2007 2007 2006 2007 2006 Net
revenues: IC Packaging 22,561 21,644 17,186 78,517 76,820 Testing
5,676 5,282 4,797 20,007 21,430 Others 739 807 591 2,639 2,174
Total net revenues 28,976 27,733 22,574 101,163 100,424 Cost of
revenues 19,603 19,303 16,176 71,961 71,644 Gross profit 9,373
8,430 6,398 29,202 28,780 Operating expenses: Research and
development 1,128 748 690 3,284 2,632 Selling, general and
administrative 1,602 1,573 1,485 6,507 5,702 Total operating
expenses 2,730 2,321 2,175 9,791 8,334 Operating income (loss)
6,643 6,109 4,223 19,411 20,446 Net non-operating (income)
expenses: Interest expenses -- net 293 273 214 1,225 1,214 Foreign
exchange loss (gain)(198) (39) (159) (403) (93) Loss (gain) on
long-term investment (96) (111) (136) (348) (499) Others 988 157
266 1,585 (2,428 Total non-operating (income) expenses 987 280 185
2,059 (1,806) Income (loss) before tax 5,656 5,829 4,038 17,352
22,252 Income tax expense (benefit) 1,165 1,008 766 3,358 2,085
Income (loss) from continuing operations 4,491 4,821 3,272 13,994
20,167 Cumulative effect of change in accounting principle -- -- --
-- 343 Income (loss) before minority interest 4,491 4,821 3,272
13,994 19,824 Minority interest 787 596 538 1,829 2,408 Net income
(loss) 3,704 4,225 2,734 12,165 17,416 Per share data: Earnings
(loss) per share -- Basic NT$0.71 NT$0.81 NT$0.53 NT$2.34 NT$3.41
-- Diluted NT$0.66 NT$0.79 NT$0.51 NT$2.26 NT$3.25 Earnings (loss)
per pro forma equivalent ADS -- Basic US$0.109 US$0.123 US$0.081
US$0.356 US$0.525 -- Diluted US$0.102 US$0.120 US$0.077 US$0.344
US$0.500 Number of weighted average shares used in diluted EPS
calculation (in thousands) 5,559,851 5,402,951 5,441,561 5,436,443
5,407,829 Exchange rate (NT$ per US$1) 32.44 32.86 32.84 32.80
32.48 Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. Summary of
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data (In NT$ millions) (Unaudited) As of
Dec. 31, As of Sep. 30, 2007 2007 Current assets: Cash and cash
equivalents 17,158 16,990 Financial assets -- current 11,058 7,641
Notes and accounts receivable 18,765 18,074 Inventories 5,597 5,740
Others 4,328 3,788 Total current assets 56,906 52,233 Financial
assets -- non current 4,850 4,813 Properties -- net 81,788 80,056
Other assets 8,872 9,762 Total assets 152,416 146,864 Current
liabilities: Short-term debts -- revolving credit 9,072 7,279
Short-term debts -- current portion of long-term debts 5,327 2,382
Short-term debts -- current portion of bonds payable 1,375 0 Notes
and accounts payable 9,343 9,709 Others 10,669 11,624 Total current
liabilities 35,786 30,994 Long-term debts 18,046 20,817 Long-term
bonds payable 5,890 7,667 Other liabilities 2,954 3,097 Total
liabilities 62,676 62,575 Minority interest 14,567 13,260
Shareholders' equity 75,173 71,029 Total liabilities &
shareholders' equity 152,416 146,864 Current Ratio 1.59 1.69 Net
Debt to Equity 0.13 0.16 Contact: ASE, Inc. Joseph Tung, CFO / Vice
President Freddie Liu, Vice President Tel: +886-2-8780-5489 Fax:
+886-2-2757-6121 Email: Clare Lin, Director (US Contact) Tel:
+1-408-986-6524 Email: Website: http://www.aseglobal.com/
DATASOURCE: Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. CONTACT:
Joseph Tung, CFO or Vice President, or Freddie Liu, Vice President,
+886-2-8780-5489, or fax, +886-2-2757-6121, or , or Clare Lin,
Director (US Contact), +1-408-986-6524, or , all of ASE Web Site:
http://www.aseglobal.com/
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