EANS-Adhoc: ams AG ams pre-announces fourth quarter 2014 revenues exceeding
guidance at EUR 139.0 million, first quarter 2015 revenues expected to grow
quarter-on-quarter and a fourth quarter 2014 operating margin impact from faster
R&D expansion ...
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announcement.
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Financial Figures/Balance Sheet/Pre-announcement
19.01.2015
Unterpremstaetten, Austria (19 January 2015) - ams (SIX: AMS), a leading
worldwide manufacturer of high performance sensor and analog solutions,
pre-announces fourth quarter 2014 revenues of EUR 139.0 million, above the upper
end of revenue guidance of EUR 133-138 million, and first quarter 2015 revenues
expected to grow quarter-on-quarter contrary to typical seasonality. At the same
time, ams sees fourth quarter 2014 operating profitability impacted by a
faster-than-expected addition of over 40 design engineers and an additional
design center as well as two one-time effects. As a consequence, fourth quarter
2014 operating (EBIT) margin is expected to be around 23%, below previously
communicated guidance.
Realizing the planned expansion of engineering resources to cover a full
multi-year project pipeline earlier than expected, ams has successfully added
more than 40 design engineers and a design center in Japan already in the fourth
quarter 2014. The resulting increase in R&D expenses together with usual
project-related quarterly R&D expense movements is expected to account for about
half of the expected margin differential. The two one-time effects, which are
each expected to account for about a quarter of the expected margin
differential, are certain additional supplier costs in the fourth quarter 2014
to satisfy very strong customer demand for ams' consumer solutions and an
exceptional one-time customer-related write-off resulting from a product
improvement for an Asian customer.
For the first quarter 2015, ams expects revenues to grow quarter-on-quarter in
strong contrast to typical sector seasonality with first quarter revenues
expected up to 5% higher compared to the fourth quarter 2014. This expectation
is based on a confirmed total order backlog of EUR 131.3 million at 31 December
2014 (30 September 2014: EUR 119.8 million; 31 December 2013: EUR 76.6 million).
ams will publish its complete fourth quarter and full year 2014 results
including first quarter 2015 guidance on 3 February 2015 at 7.15 am CET as
previously communicated.
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about ams
ams is a global leader in the design and manufacture of advanced sensor
solutions and analog ICs. Our mission is to shape the world with sensor
solutions by providing a seamless interface between humans and technology.
ams' high-performance analog products drive applications requiring extreme
precision, dynamic range, sensitivity, and ultra-low power consumption. Products
include sensors, sensor interfaces, power manage-ment and wireless ICs for
consumer, communications, industrial, medical, and automotive markets.
With headquarters in Austria, ams employs over 1,600 people globally and serves
more than 8,000 customers worldwide. ams is listed on the SIX Swiss stock
exchange (ticker symbol: AMS). More information about ams can be found at
www.ams.com.
Further inquiry note:
Moritz M. Gmeiner
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:
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language: English