VAN
NUYS, CALIFORNIA--
October
8, 2002 -- Trio-Tech
International (ASE:TRT) announced
a net loss for the three months ended June 30, 2002, of $2,043,000 or $0.70
per share, which included impairment charges of $1,089,000 (before tax) and
the write-down of certain inventory of manufactured goods of $511,000
(before tax).
Excluding these charges, the preliminary loss from operations for the
quarter was $578,000 (before tax).
For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2001, net income was $228,000, or
$0.08 per diluted share. Revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2002 was
$5,012,000 compared to $7,063,000 for the same period a year earlier.
Trio-Tech anticipates reporting final audited results in the near
future.
For
the twelve months ended June 30, 2002, the net loss was $3,547,000, or $1.21
per share, which included impairment charges of $1,631,000 (before tax) and
the inventory write-down mentioned above. This compares to net income of
$1,163,000, or $0.39 per diluted share, for fiscal 2001.
Revenue for fiscal 2002 declined to $19,617,000 from $36,133,000 for
fiscal 2001.
Net
sales for Trio-Tech's testing and burn-in segment declined to $8,942,000 for
fiscal 2002 from $11,112,000 for fiscal 2001.
Operating income in this segment increased to $771,000 from $743,000,
the result of improved efficiency and aggressive cost reductions.
Manufacturing segment revenue declined to $5,022,000 from
$18,472,000. The operating loss
in this segment was $4,084,000 compared to an operating loss of $197,000 a
year earlier. Distribution
segment revenue declined to $5,653,000 from $6,549,000.
The operating loss was $55,000 compared to operating income of
$390,000 for the prior year.
Cash
flow, as measured by earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and
amortization (EBITDA) and the impairment and inventory charges, was $587,000
for fiscal 2002 compared to $3,393,000 for the prior year.
President
and Chief Executive Officer S.W. Yong said, "We made significant
changes in our company during fiscal 2002 in response to the changing
realities in the global semiconductor industry.
Income from operations in our semiconductor testing and burn-in
segment increased by 4% for the year despite a 20% decline in revenue, which
is a tribute to the success of our cost reduction efforts and the
efficiencies we have achieved. Semiconductor
testing and burn-in is Trio-Tech's crown jewel, and we are focused on
continuing to expand this business and capitalizing on the operating
leverage we have built into it. Testing
and burn-in backlog continues to increase from the low point reported in
December, and we are making carefully targeted investments to accommodate
the higher volumes we are beginning to enjoy even during these difficult
times in the semiconductor industry.
"On the
other hand, due to the global downturn in capital spending in the
semiconductor industry, revenue in our manufacturing segment declined
precipitously during the past year, and our equipment distribution business
also was severely affected.
Accordingly, we implemented significant reductions in work force in
both of these business segments, wrote off certain inventory, and booked an
impairment charge to reduce goodwill, intangible assets and fixed assets
primarily associated with our manufacturing segment.
We
currently plan to stay in both of these businesses, and we believe that we
now have reduced our costs sufficiently to allow us to ride out this period
of weakness while remaining prepared to benefit from the inevitable industry
recovery."
