First quarter net sales of $699 million were down sequentially 6.3% from the fourth quarter of 2007 and up 7.4% from the first quarter of 2007. First quarter net income was $72 million, down 23% from the fourth quarter of 2007 and up 108% from the first quarter of 2007. First quarter earnings per diluted share was $0.36, down 22% from the fourth quarter of 2007 and up 100% from the first quarter of 2007.
“We delivered solid first-quarter results, which reflected a seasonal slowdown in demand following an exceptionally strong fourth quarter,” said James Kim, Amkor’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We exceeded our sales and profitability targets for the first quarter due to select customer demand in certain wireless communications and networking applications, which partially offset the overall seasonal slowing that we had expected. Our first quarter net income included an approximately $9.5 million foreign currency gain principally due to the depreciation of the Korean won and the resulting remeasurement of our Korean employee benefit plan liability.”
“We believe that our stability within a challenging economy comes as a result of our continued focus on advanced product development paired with long-standing relationships and collaboration with leading semiconductor companies as well as our world-class manufacturing capabilities,” added Kim. “As we look to the second quarter, we expect revenues to grow sequentially by 1% to 3%, slightly lower than historical seasonality but near historical peak revenues on a dollar basis.”
“Net sales decreased $47 million or 6.3% sequentially, while unit shipments decreased 7.2% compared to the fourth quarter of 2007,” said Joanne Solomon, Amkor’s chief financial officer. “First quarter 2008 sales reflect the benefit of our capital investments in advanced technologies and strong demand from our fabless customers supporting mobile phones and networking applications.”
Gross margin for the first quarter was 25.2%, down from 27.2% in the fourth quarter of 2007, reflecting the impact of lower sales volume. Gross margin for the first quarter of 2008 improved from 22.6% for the first quarter of 2007, primarily as a result of higher capacity utilization, enriched product mix and improved factory performance. Amkor generated $92 million of free cash flow in the first quarter, compared to $113 million in the fourth quarter of 2007 and $72 million in the first quarter of 2007.
“During the first quarter, we repaid $101 million of debt, which included the remaining $88 million of 9.25% senior notes we retired in February, bringing our total debt to under $1.7 billion at quarter end. Net interest expense for the quarter was $29 million, a 21% decrease from net interest expense of $37 million for the first quarter of 2007. We are scheduled to repay an additional $53 million of maturing and amortizing debt throughout the remainder of 2008. Our cash balance at the end of the first quarter was $412 million, roughly flat compared to year-end 2007,” said Solomon.
“First quarter capital additions totaled $95 million, which was less than we anticipated due to a delay in timing of planned expenditures into the second quarter. Capital additions are expected to be approximately $140 million in the second quarter of 2008,” said Solomon. “Although our capital investment is expected to be higher in the first half of 2008 due to the longer lead times associated with the expansion of our wafer bumping capacity, we remain focused on disciplined capital spending for the full year. For 2008, we expect our capital intensity to be 12% to 14% of full year revenues. Our capital additions are aligned with our advanced product development roadmaps and are focused on expanding our product portfolio capabilities in support of the demand from our largest customers.”
Amkor’s effective income tax rate for the first quarter was 7.6%, and the anticipated effective tax rate for the full year 2008 is approximately 8%.
Selected operating data for the first quarter of 2008 is included in a section before the financial tables.
Business Outlook
On the basis of customers’ forecasts, we have the following expectations for the second quarter of 2008:
- Sales – Up 1% to 3% from the first quarter of 2008
- Gross Margin – approximately 25%
- Net income – in the range of $0.32 to $0.36 per diluted share
