EANS-Adhoc: ams AG ams reports positive first quarter results in a demanding
market environment; first quarter revenues near upper end of guidance range;
increased market uncertainty drives expected flattish second quarter revenues of
EUR 127-134 ...
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Financial Figures/Balance Sheet/3-month report
25.04.2016
Key financial data for first quarter 2016
Premstaetten, Austria (25 April 2016) - ams (SIX: AMS), a leading worldwide
manufacturer of high performance sensor and analog solutions, reports positive
first quarter results in a demanding market environment with revenues of EUR
137.2 million near the upper end of the guidance range and a gross margin of
57%. For the second quarter 2016, ams sees increased end market and
macroeconomic uncertainty and expects flattish revenues of EUR 127-134 million
including negative revenue effects from the deterioration of the USD/EUR
exchange rate.
First quarter group revenues were EUR 137.2 million, decreasing 11% year-on-year
from EUR 153.3 million in the same quarter 2015 and decreasing 7%
quarter-on-quarter. On a constant currency basis, first quarter revenues were
11% lower when compared to the first quarter last year.
In the first quarter, gross margin excluding acquisition-related and share-based
compensation costs remained unchanged from the previous quarter at 57% compared
to 56% in the same quarter 2015. Gross margin excluding acquisition-related
costs was 56%, unchanged from the same quarter 2015, while IFRS reported gross
margin (including acquisition-related and share-based compensation costs) was
54%, unchanged from the same quarter 2015.
The result from operations (EBIT) excluding acquisition-related and share-based
compensation costs for the first quarter was EUR 28.2 million or 21% of
revenues, down from EUR 43.4 million in first quarter 2015. The result from
operations (EBIT) excluding acquisition-related costs was EUR 26.0 million or
19% of revenues, down from EUR 42.1 million in the same period 2015, while the
IFRS reported EBIT (including acquisition-related and share-based compensation
costs) was EUR 19.7 million or 14% of revenues, down from EUR 38.2 million in
the same period 2015. This expected development includes effects from a higher
run rate of R&D costs following the acquisition of CMOSIS. The net result for
the first quarter was EUR 13.6 million compared to EUR 42.2 million in the same
period 2015. Basic and diluted earnings per share were CHF 0.22/0.21 or EUR
0.20/0.19 based on 68,667,002/70,932,874 shares (basic/diluted; weighted
average) compared to CHF 0.65/0.62 or EUR 0.62/0.59 for the first quarter 2015
based on 68,638,875/71,483,195 shares (basic/diluted; weighted average).
Operating cash flow for the first quarter was EUR 7.5 million, down from EUR
38.5 million in the first quarter last year. Total backlog on March 31, 2016
(excluding consignment stock agreements) was EUR 126.2 million with current
backlog on a comparable level, compared to EUR 119.4 million at the end of the
fourth quarter 2015 and EUR 150.7 million on March 31, 2015.
ams' business showed an attractive performance in the first quarter of 2016
despite softness in the smartphone and consumer market which noticeably exceeded
typical seasonality, general seasonal effects, and volatile customer behavior.
ams' consumer and communications product lines remained the most important
driver of the company's business development with ams' light sensor business as
the largest overall revenue contributor. For its portfolio of intelligent light
sensors ams continued to see high volume shipments to leading consumer and
smartphone OEMs including support for newly released customer devices. This
includes high performance ambient light sensing and ams' gesture sensor solution
combining gesture recognition with RGB color, proximity sensing, and other
functions, shipping at attractive run rates. The current subdued demand
environment in the consumer end market also influenced other consumer and
communications product areas including audio and wireless solutions.
Nevertheless, shipments of ams' products continued at high volumes supporting
leading vendors' devices.
ams' industrial, medical, and automotive businesses saw good results in the
first quarter supported by their broad product portfolios. In ams' industrial
end markets, the company is an important player in precision sensor and sensor
interface solutions offering high sensitivity and analog performance. Supplying
a customer base of leading industrial OEMs, ams' products play a key role in a
wide range of applications in position sensing and automation.
In the quarter, ams began sample shipments for its range of new environmental
sensor products to industrial customers as planned. Given the advantages of full
CMOS-based integration of temperature, relative humidity, and pressure sensing,
ams expects this innovative product area to drive significant growth
opportunities from 2017 onwards. ams' medical business remained stable with its
focus on digital imaging sensor solutions for advanced computed tomography (CT),
digital X-ray, and mammography.
Providing high value sensor and sensor interface solutions, ams' automotive
business also performed to expectations in the quarter. ams' automotive sensor
expertise supports a broad range of expanding applications including advanced
driver assistance LIDAR, position sensing, and level and chassis control.
For the second quarter 2016, ams sees ongoing volatility in demand patterns as
well as in customer and supply chain behavior in the consumer market. End market
and macroeconomic uncertainties are starting to spread beyond the consumer
market into industrial automation for China end markets creating an unfavorable
dynamic. In addition, the development of the USD/EUR exchange rate is expected
to result in a negative quarter-on-quarter revenue effect. Based on available
information and a USD/EUR exchange rate of 1.13, ams expects second quarter
revenue development to be flattish translating into expected revenues of EUR
127-134 million which reflects the deterioration of the USD/EUR exchange rate
compared to the first quarter.
At the same time, ams anticipates gross margin for the second quarter excluding
acquisition-based and share-based compensation costs to remain on a level
comparable to the first quarter. Operating margin excluding acquisition-based
and share-based compensation costs is expected to be around 17-19% reflecting
the higher run rate of R&D costs for large-scale development projects across end
markets including acquisitions.
Despite these short-term influences ams confirms its 2019 organic revenue goal
of EUR 1bn based on the company's leading position in sensor solutions, strong
customer relationships, and major opportunities for revenue and earnings growth
over the coming years. In this context, ams continues to evaluate complementary
strategic transactions and additions to its sensor technologies portfolio to
help accelerate the implementation of its strategy.
Additional financial information for the first quarter 2016 is available on the
company website at www.ams.com/eng/Investor/Financial-Reports. Concurrently, ams
has published the Annual Report 2015 which is also available on the company
website at www.ams.com/eng/Investor/Financial-Reports .
Further inquiry note:
Moritz M. Gmeiner
Senior Director Investor Relations
Tel: +43 3136 500-31211
Fax: +43 3136 500-931211
Email: investor@ams.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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issuer: ams AG
Tobelbader Strasse 30
A-8141 Unterpremstaetten
phone: +43 3136 500-0
FAX: +43 3136 500-931211
mail: investor@ams.com
WWW: www.ams.com
sector: Technology
ISIN: AT0000A18XM4
indexes:
stockmarkets: official dealing: SIX Swiss Exchange
language: English