Kulicke and Soffa : & Soffa Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2014 Results

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: KLIC) (“Kulicke & Soffa”, “K&S” or the “Company”) today announced results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended September 27, 2014.

Bruno Guilmart, Kulicke & Soffa's President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “We ended fiscal 2014 with a great September quarter where we generated healthy revenues and strong margins. Throughout the fiscal year we have made positive steps to further enhance our profitability and market leadership positions, including expansion of our manufacturing footprint, execution of our aggressive product roadmaps and significant development progress within our organic core, advanced packaging and value-added-services programs.”

Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2014 Key Product Trends

• Ball bonder equipment net revenue increased 5.0% over the June quarter.
• 83.5% of ball bonder equipment was sold as copper capable.
• Wedge bonder equipment net revenue increased 47.8% over the June quarter.

Fiscal Year 2014 Financial Highlights

• Net revenue of $568.6 million.
• Gross margin of 48.1%.
• Net income was $63.0 million or $0.81 per diluted share.
• Cash, cash equivalents and investments were $597.1 million as at September 27, 2014.

First Quarter Fiscal 2015 Outlook

The Company expects net revenue in the first fiscal quarter of 2015 ending December 27, 2014 to be approximately $90 million to $100 million.

Looking forward, Bruno Guilmart commented, “We introduced eight new Equipment and Expendable Tools solutions this past fiscal year, which extend our reach into current markets, expand our applications served and are expected to broaden and diversify our customer base. We continue to receive tremendous interest from potential customers regarding our latest recently launched solution, the APAMA^TM, Chip-to-Substrate Thermo-Compression Bonder. We are increasingly well positioned to capitalize on the industry’s adoption of advanced packaging technologies.”

Earnings Conference Call Details

A conference call to discuss these results will be held today, November 6, 2014, beginning at 8:00 am (EST). To access the conference call, interested parties may call +1-877-407-8037 or internationally +1-201-689-8037. The call will also be available by live webcast at investor.kns.com.

A replay will be available from approximately one hour after the completion of the call through November 13, 2014 by calling toll-free +1-877-660-6853 or internationally +1-201-612-7415 and using the replay ID number of 13593103. A webcast replay will also be available at investor.kns.com.

About Kulicke & Soffa

Kulicke & Soffa (NASDAQ: KLIC) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of semiconductor and LED assembly equipment. As a pioneer in this industry, K&S has provided customers with market leading packaging solutions for decades. In recent years, K&S has expanded its product offerings through strategic acquisitions, adding wedge bonding and a broader range of expendable tools to its core ball bonding products. Combined with its extensive expertise in process technology, K&S is well positioned to help customers meet the challenges of assembling the next-generation semiconductor and LED devices. (www.kns.com)

Caution Concerning Results and Forward Looking Statements

In addition to historical statements, this press release contains statements relating to future events and our future results. These statements are “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and include, but are not limited to, statements that relate to our future revenue, sustained, increasing, continuing or strengthening demand for our products, the continuing transition from gold to copper wire bonding, replacement demand, our research and development efforts, our ability to identify and realize new growth opportunities and our ability to control costs. While these forward-looking statements represent our judgments and future expectations concerning our business, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to: the risk that customer orders already received may be postponed or canceled, generally without charges; the risk that anticipated customer orders may not materialize; the risk that our suppliers may not be able to meet our demands on a timely basis; the volatility in the demand for semiconductors and our products and services; a slowdown of transition from gold to copper wire bonding by our customers and the industry, volatile global economic conditions, which could result in, among other things, sharply lower demand for products containing semiconductors and for the Company’s products, and disruption of capital and credit markets; the risk of failure to successfully manage our operations; acts of terrorism and violence; risks, such as changes in trade regulations, currency fluctuations, political instability and war, which may be associated with a substantial non-U.S. customer and supplier base and substantial non-U.S. manufacturing operations; and the factors listed or discussed in Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K and our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. is under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

1. Represents customer purchase commitments. While the Company believes these orders will proceed, they are generally cancellable by customers without penalty.