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News

TEMPE, AZ, July 28 -- Three-Five Systems today reported a second-quarter net loss of $6.7 million on sales of $37.6 million.

The loss worsened from the March quarter ($6.6 million) and a year ago $(4.9 million). CFO Jeffrey Buchanan blamed product pricing and mix issues at the EMS firm's Redmond, WA, facility and the integration of Integrex, another EMS company.

Gross margin was 5.4%, excluding writeoffs and the Redmond plant results. Overall the gross margin showed a loss of 0.5%.

For the quarter, operating cash outflow was $5.4 million and net capital expenditures were $5.1 million. At quarter's end TFS had $18.7 million in cash, vs. $26.5 million sequentially.

Sequentially, sales outstanding improved by three days, to 59 days. Inventory turns slowed to 5.4 from 5.7

TFS guided for third-quarter sales of $38 million and $41 million and a net loss of 24 to 26 cents. Q4 revenue of $48 million and $60 million is expected.

PALO ALTO, CA, July 28 -- Varian Inc. today reported record third-quarter sales of $236.7 million, up 13.4% over last year, on strength in all its primary sectors.

"We are pleased with the results, particularly in a third quarter, which is traditionally a challenging quarter for us," said Garry W. Rogerson, president and CEO, in a statement.

Pro-forma net earnings were $16.1 million, up from $12.3 million last year. GAAP net earnings were $15.4 million, vs. $10.7 million, when the company wrote down $1.6 million in restructuring and other one-time charges.

Last quarter Varian took $1.6 million in restructuring charges due to a previously announced consolidation of consumables factories in southern California.

EMS revenues were up 17.5%, to $52.7 million, on higher demand for medical and industrial equipment. The EMS pro-forma and GAAP operating profit margin was 12.2%.

Overall, the operating profit margin was 10.5% on a pro-forma basis and 8.9% on a GAAP basis.

Weymouth, UK -- DEK (www.dek.com) has developed a high throughput backside wafer coating process, hosted on a mass imaging platform and capable of exceeding the ± 12.5 µm total thickness variation (TTV) stipulated by most wafer processing specialists. The new process is compatible with underfill or adhesive-type coatings, normally applied at a nominal 50 µm thickness to the backside of semiconductor wafers ahead of singulation.

"TTV is the critical success factor for any backside wafer coating process," said Clive Ashmore of DEK's global applied process engineering group. "By demonstrating our ability to meet the established criteria for backside wafer processing, we have opened new opportunities for semiconductor packaging specialists to increase throughput and reduce the cost per package by using high accuracy mass imaging."

The new process is compatible with the company's metal stencil and emulsion screen technologies.

Binghamton, NY -- July 22 -- Universal Instruments Corp. today announced the resignation of its president, Ian McEvoy, who is leaving the industry to pursue other interests.

Ian deSouza, Universal senior vice president of operations and systems, was promoted to president, effective Aug. 16.

"I also look forward to the prospect of having very little to change. Our customers will notice no difference, except our continuing progress, growth and commitment," deSouza said in a press statement.

During the past three years, deSouza was responsibile for global supply chain, software development and manufacturing activities, including the company's new operations in China.

In a statement, Universal said DeSouza is considered the "right and natural choice" to take the company forward. For over three years he has been McEvoy's deputy.

"I welcome the opportunity to take the reins from an old friend who has distinguished himself well in the role," said deSouza.

McEvoy plans to return to the U.K., where his family resides. He is credited for pulling the company through the 2001-02 recession and returning it to profitability in 2003.

McEvoy and deSouza worked closely for the past 20 years, through prior stints at Domino Printing Science and Cambridge Instruments. They were colloquially known within Universal as the "two Ian's."

Toronto -- July 22 -- Celestica Inc. reported June quarter revenue rose 45% over last year, to $2.3 billion, in line with guidance. Sequentially, revenue grew 15%, though the company remained in the red.

The top tier EMS company showed a GAAP net loss of $25.5 million, including a pretax charge of $51.5 million for restructuring. Celestica lost $39.8 million last year.

"Stable end markets, improved operating efficiency and benefits from cost cutting have allowed Celestica to show improvements in its second quarter results," said Steve Delaney, CEO, in a statement. "Our revenue is growing, our margins are improving, our European and Americas operations are profitable again and we are starting to show positive earnings momentum.

Celestica guided for third-quarter sales of $2.25 billion to $2.40 billion and adjusted earnings per share of 11 to 17 cents.

Celestica is continuing its acquisition of another major EMS firm, MSL. In a research note, Deutsche Bank forecast Celestica's internal restructuring, new program ramps and the acquisition of MSL would drive continued sequential operating improvement in the September quarter.

Willow Grove, PA —Tyco Electronics' (http://automation.tycoelectronics.com) P350 is an x-y insertion machine for automatic insertion of PCBs.

The fully automatic machine can apply a variety of terminals for PCBs with three product-specific insertion heads. Each head has a rotary insertion finger that allows products to be applied at different angles without rotating the PCB. Conversion kits for different insertion tools are available to allow as production requirements change.

The machine is SMEMA compatible and supplied with PCB transfer belts for inline operation. PCBs are positioned under the insertion head by an x-y table driven by servo motors. A multi-tasking controller controls the entire system by driving the motors and monitoring the insertion process. Operator interface is via icon driven software with a touch screen monitor.

It can insert up to 350 pins per minute, has a maximum insertion area of 600 x 400 mm, and features 0.02 mm repeatability.

SAN JOSE, July 20 - Sanmina-SCI showed a third-quarter profit as revenues jumped nearly 16% from the year-ago quarter, but the company will take a $100 million restructuring charge as it reduces capacity in North America and Europe.

For the third quarter ended June 26, Sanmina-SCI reported revenues of $3.07 billion, up 7.2% sequentially and 15.9% over last year. Operating income was $68.8 million, an increase of 21.1% over the prior quarter and up 72% from last year.

Sanmina will incur a restructuring charge of up to approximately $100 million as it shifts capacity from North America and Western Europe to Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia.

"Our Eastern European, Latin American and Asian operations are operating more efficiently than previously forecast," said Jure Sola, Sanmina's chairman and CEO, in a statement. "As a result, we plan to realign our manufacturing operations in high-cost locations, and leverage our expanding capacity and technical capabilities in more cost-efficient regions such as Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia." However, Sanmina's PCB capacity utilization rates are reportedly somewhat lower than other major firms. Merix, for example, recently reported capacity utilization rates of over 90%.

By restructuring, Sanmina-SCI expects to save $22 million to $24 million per quarter, president and COO Randy Furr said Tuesday on a conference call with analysts. The company did not say which plants were targeted for closure.

Earlier in the quarter, Sanmina-SCI announced the pending purchase of Pentex-Schweizer, a Singapore-based PCB company.

For the quarter, cash cycle days improved to 31 days and inventory turns rose from 9.3 in Q2 to 10.4. At quarter's end, Sanmina reported $1 billion in cash and short-term investments, working capital of $2.2 billion and stockholders' equity of $3.3 billion.

"Our results this quarter are primarily due to growth in key customer end-markets and increased demand for our high-end EMS product programs," said Sola.

Sanmina-SCI reaffirmed its guidance for fourth-quarter revenue to be in the range of $3.1 billion to $3.3 billion.

SAN JOSE, July 19 -- Orders for semiconductor equipment rose sharply in June as North American manufacturers posted a 90-day book-to-bill of 1.08.

The 90-day average of worldwide bookings was $1.61 billion, up 3% from the revised May numbers and 123% year-on-year.

The 90-day average of worldwide billings was $1.48 billion, up 5% from May and 91% ahead of last year.

"Despite the premature negative commentary by some Wall Street analysts, the semiconductor equipment industry continues to maintain growth at high levels," said Stanley Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "Total bookings remained strong throughout the second quarter and are at levels more than double that of one year ago."

A book-to-bill of 1.08 means that $108 worth of orders were received for every $100 of product billed for the month.

Carlsbad, CA -- Asymtek (www.asymtek.com) has developed a method for applying solder ball reinforcement material to semiconductor packages that can eliminate the need for dispensing secondary underfill in PCB assembly.

The company's DispenseJet DJ-9000 shoots a fluid stream of underfill adhesive as small as 100 micrometers wide between balls on CSPs and other BGA packages during the semiconductor packaging process. Other methods of pre-applied underfill have resulted in contaminating the solder balls or have been too costly to ramp into production.

Jetting the underfill prior to board assembly without contaminating the solder balls allows semiconductor packaging companies to offer packages with improved reliability without the cost of traditional underfilling.

Typically, CSPs or other BGA packages require adhesive underfill to glue the component rigidly to the PCBA to prevent failures due to shock. If the primary failure of a non-underfilled CSP or other BGA package occurs at the ball-package interface, the pre-applied solder ball reinforcement reduces the probability of joint failure at that interface.

The cured reinforcement material relieves the stress at the ball-substrate interface by reducing the geometric stress concentration factor at that point. Therefore, the solder joint withstands more load during shock-loading or thermal cycling.

MfgQuote (www.mfgquote.com) is an online sourcing solution for custom manufactured parts and engineered components. Buyers, engineers and purchasing professionals submit and distribute request for quotes (RFQs) through the secure online system.

Suppliers have the opportunity to match their expertise, equipment and capacity to the buyers who need their services. The site gives them the tools to identify and build relationships with the right customers for their business with complete confidentiality.

The service is free to buyers (engineers, inventors and students), with suppliers and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) paying a subscription fee for the opportunity to sell to the buyers.

Cognex Corp (www.cognex.com) is hosting a seminar, Understanding and Applying Machine Vision Sensors, throughout North America this fall. Attendees will find out how machine vision sensors work, learn how applications can be set up quickly and easily, see live vision sensor demonstrations and learn how to reduce production costs.

All seminar participants will receive VisionGuide, which includes free In-Sight Explorer trial software.

The scheduled dates are:

ALABAMA

Huntsville, AL - Nov 17

Auburn, AL - Dec 1

ARIZONA

Phoenix, AZ - Oct 26

Tucson, AZ -Oct 28

ARKANSAS

Fayetteville, AR - Oct 28

CALIFORNIA

Emeryville, CA - Aug 5

San Diego, CA - Aug 10

San Jose, CA - Aug 18

Los Angeles, CA - Aug 19

Petaluma, CA - Sept 22

Fresno, CA - Oct 7

Santa Ana, CA - Nov 3

COLORADO

Denver, CO - Sept 28

CONNECTICUT

Hartford, CT - Nov 11

FLORIDA

Tampa, FL - Sept 21

GEORGIA

Augusta, GA - Sept 23

College Park, GA - Oct 12

IDAHO

Boise, ID - Sept 16

ILLINOIS

Burr Ridge, IL - Aug 18

Mount Vernon, IL - Aug 25

Tinley Park, IL - Sept 2

Deerfield, IL - Sept 21

Glendale Heights, IL - Oct 26

Peoria, IL - Nov 4

Elgin, IL - Nov 16

INDIANA

Evansville, IN - Nov 30

Indianapolis, IN - Dec 1

IOWA

Des Moines, IA - Aug 17

Cedar Rapids, IA - Aug 31

KANSAS

Topeka, KS - Sept 7

Wichita, KS - Oct 13

KENTUCKY

Louisville, KY - Oct 14

Bowling Green, KY - Dec 16

MARYLAND

Hunt Valley, MD - Sept 29

MASSACHUSETTS

Woburn, MA - Sept 15

Natick, MA - Nov 3

MICHIGAN

Adrian, MI - Aug 4

Dearborn, MI - Aug 5

Sterling Heights, MI - Aug 12

Saginaw, MI - Aug 24

Grand Rapids, MI - Sept 7

Cadillac, MI - Sept 15

Ypsilanti, MI - Sept 16

Battle Creek, MI - Oct 6

Pontiac, MI - Oct 12

Livonia, MI - Nov 18

MINNESOTA

Minneapolis, MN - Sept 9

Rochester, MN - Nov 2

NEBRASKA

Lincoln, NE - Oct 5

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Lebanon, NH - Sept 22

NEW JERSEY

Mahwah, NJ - Oct 13

Somerset, NJ - Oct 20

Mt. Laurel, NJ - Nov 10

Parsippany, NJ - Nov 30

NEW YORK

Albany, NY - Oct 27

NORTH CAROLINA

Winston-Salem, NC - Sept 16

Charlotte, NC - Oct 7

OHIO

Defiance, OH - Aug 3

Mansfield, OH - Aug 26

Toledo, OH - Oct 14

Dayton, OH - Oct 19

Akron, OH - Oct 21

Cincinnati, OH - Nov 4

Independence, OH - Nov 16

OREGON

Portland, OR - Aug 26

PENNSYLVANIA

Mars, PA - Aug 17

State College, PA - Aug 18

King of Prussia, PA - Sept 1

Canonsburg, PA - Sept 28

RHODE ISLAND

Providence, RI - Sept 8

SOUTH CAROLINA

Greenville, SC - Nov 2

SOUTH DAKOTA

Sioux Falls, SD - Aug 3

TENNESSEE

Nashville, TN - Sept 2

Jackson, TN - Sept 14

Cleveland, TN - Sept 30

Oak Ridge, TN - Nov 10

Clarksville, TN - Dec 2

TEXAS

Austin, TX - Aug 12

Dallas, TX - Oct 19

UTAH

Salt Lake City, UT - Sept 30

VIRGINIA

Fredericksburg, VA - Oct 21

Williamsburg, VA - Nov 17

Harrisonburg, VA - Dec 14

WASHINGTON

Spokane, WA - Sept 14

WISCONSIN

Menomonee Falls, WI - Aug 25

Wausau, WI - Sept 1

Racine, WI - Sept 23

Eau Claire, WI - Oct 5

Green Bay, WI - Nov 18

CANADA

Vancouver - Canada - Aug 24

Oshawa - Canada - Aug 31

Kingston - Canada - Sept 29

Mississauga - Canada - Oct 6

Cambridge - Canada - Oct 27

London - Canada - Nov 9

Chatham - Canada - Nov 23

Windsor - Canada - Dec 15

MEXICO

Juarez - Mexico - Dec 14

Reynosa - Mexico - Dec 16

PUERTO RICO

San Juan - Puerto Rico - Nov 9

Arecibo - Puerto Rico - Nov 11

To register, visit:

http://www.imakenews.com/eletra/go.cfm?z=cognex%2C18305%2Cb19Stk4q%2C20643%2Cb3kghhW

Singapore -- Flextronics, the world's largest EMS provider, reported net sales rose 25% to $3.88 billion for its recently ended first quarter.

Net income rose 283% to $78.3 million, excluding restructuring and other charges. GAAP net income was $74.3 million, up from a loss of $289.7 million a year ago. Cash flow from operations was $166 million.

Gross and operating margins were up 110 basis points.

Michael Marks, chief executive, said in a statement, "The improvement in margins was driven by effective management of our operations, which included aggressive restructuring in prior periods as well as continuous cost reductions. Additionally, a healthier demand environment not only improves our factory utilization and increases overhead absorption, but also provides an opportunity for us to improve our pricing."

According to one analyst, sales from Sony Ericsson increased roughly 40% sequentially to 15% of total revenue in the quarter. Sales to other customers dropped about 2% sequentially, said Deustche Bank. Communications infrastructure sales were down moderately, DB said.

Inventories rose by four days, to 34 days.

Flextronics guided for September earnings of 15 to 18 cents and December earnings of 21 to 24 cents.

Yet Flextronics should benefit from greater outsourcing of handsets. "Anecdotes from Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Intel, AMD [and] Philips suggest that handset demand in 2Q was healthy," wrote analyst Chris Whitmore of Deustche Bank. "We expect further commoditization of the handset market to force more outsourcing, benefiting ODMs like Flextronics."