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FASTECH SYNERGY LTD
ANNOUNCES 1Q 2006 FINANCIAL RESULTS
MANILA,
Philippines - 25 APRIL 2006. Fastech Synergy Ltd
announced today its Financial Results
for the first three months ended 31 March 2006.
The
Group' net sales for the first quarter of 2006 was $3.19 million, from
net sales of $3.21 million in the sequential quarter and $4.65 million
net sales in the first quarter of 2005.
Actual
production of 86.56 million units for the quarter was up by 2.4%, from
84.55 million units in the preceding quarter.
Value
Added Sales, defined as net sales less direct material cost, was $2.27
million for the quarter, up by 8% or $163,000 from $2.10 million in the
sequential quarter. This was a result of better product mix &
higher volume shipped during the current period.
Gross
loss from the quarter was $455,000 from a gross loss of $1.86 million
in the fourth quarter last year. The gross loss on the sequential
quarter however, included the one time audit adjustment totaling $1.20
million for the loss of impairment of fixed assets, provision for the
inventory obsolescence and the reclassification of the retrenchment
cost to manufacturing overhead from the other expenses.
The
Group's net loss for the quarter was $1.52 million from a net loss of
$2.84 million in the sequential quarter and net loss of $1.46 million
in the first quarter of 2005.
The
Group's semiconductor assembly and test business contributed 73% (from
63% in 2Q 2005) to the total sales while the RF Microwave business
added 27% (previously 37% in 2Q 2005). The semiconductor assembly and
test business includes discrete & power semiconductors products
and
integrated circuits. RF Microwave business, on the other hand, includes
PCB assemblies, micorwave modules and radio frequency devices.
Business
Outlook
"Based
on customer forecasts, the Group expects, for the coming quarter, a
slight improvement in its RF Microwave business while maintaining the
same level of performance for its semiconductor business." said Allan
P. Timonera, President.
FASTECH SYNERGY LTD
ANNOUNCES FY2005 FINANCIAL RESULTS
MANILA,
Philippines - 02 FEBRUARY 2006. Fastech Synergy Ltd
announced today its Financial Results
for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results ending 31
December 2005.
The
Group reported a net loss after tax of $7.33 million from a turnover of
$14.62 million.
The
net loss after tax of $7.33 million for 2005, which increased from a
net loss after tax of $3.60 million
for 2004, included extraordinary charges totalling $1.30 million. These
charges are composed of an
impairment loss amounting to $952,000 against the Group's plant,
property and equipment, retrenchment
cost of $202,000 incurred in Q1 and Q2 of 2005, provision for deferred
income tax of $111,000 and a
provision for inventory obsolescence of $65,000. All these adjustments
are in accordance with
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).
Production
for 2005 was lower by 30% than the previous year, or 414 million units
from 593 million units
in 2004. Consequently, the Group's turnover was down by 34% to $14.62
million from $22.24 million for
the previous year. The reduction in the current year was mainly due to
the impact of the transition in the
Company's business with a major customer from a captive line
arrangement to an open line arrangement.
In addition, the Company experienced weak demand from some of its
customers.
The
Group's continuing efforts to reduce its operating costs resulted to
the lower operating expenses of
$2.82 million in 2005 from $3.60 million in 2004.
4th
Quarter Highlights
The
Group's turnover for the last quarter of 2005 was $3.21 million, up
by$117,000 or 4% higher than the
turnover for the sequential quarter. Net loss was $2.9 million for the
quarter compared with the net loss of
$1.42 million in the previous quarter and net loss of $1.80 million for
the same period last year. This
included the extraordinary charges of $1.30 million mentioned above
which were booked in the current
quarter. In addition, the Group incurred foreign exchange losses of
$350,000 in the qua rter on account of
the strengthening of the Philippine Peso against the US Dollar.
Business
Outlook
The
Group expects a slight improvement in its sales level in the 1st
quarter of 2006, as some of its newly
qualified customers have started production. In addition, the Group
remains committed to reducing its
manufacturing and operating costs.
FASTECH SYNERGY LTD
ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT OF CEO
MANILA,
Philippines - 28 OCTOBER 2005. FASTECH Synergy Ltd
announced today the
retirement of MR. JOHN R. PAYNE as Chief Executive Officer from 1
January 2006. Mr. Payne
will continue to be a Director of FASTECH after his retirement.
Mr.
Saturnino G. Belen, Jr., the Chairman of the Board, will take a more
active executive role when
Mr. Payne retires. And, Mr. Allan P. Timonera, President of FASTECH,
will take over the major
operating functions previously handled by Mr. Payne.
The
Board of Directors wishes to acknowledge the crucial role that Mr.
Payne played in the
corporate transformation process that the Group launched in response to
the drastic downturn in the
semiconductor industry. The Board of Directors would like to extend to
Mr. Payne their deepest
appreciation for his contribution to the Group and looks forward to his
continuing involvement in
FASTECH at the Board level where he will focus on business development.
FASTECH SYNERGY LTD
ANNOUNCES 3rd QUARTER 2005 FINANCIAL RESULTS
MANILA,
Philippines - 28 OCTOBER 2005. Fastech Synergy Ltd
announced today its financial results for the
First Half and 2nd quarter (Q2) ending 30 September 2005.
The
Group registered a turnover of US$3.1 million for the quarter ending 30
September 2005, compared
to US$3.7 million turnover in the sequential quarter, and US$5.7
million in same quarter last year,
primarily due to lower volume in the current period.
Gross
loss of US$605,000 was registered for the third quarter 2005, compared
to gross loss of
US$422,000 for the previous quarter and gross profit of US$290,000 for
the same period last year. The
higher gross loss for Q3 2005 was mainly due to the lower revenue
registered during the period.
Net
loss after tax for Q3 2005 was registered at US$1.4 million, compared
to the net loss after tax of
US$1.6 million for the sequential quarter, and net loss after tax of
US$940,000 for the same period last
year.
Nine
Months Results
The
Group's turnover for the nine months ended 30 September 2005 was
registered at US$11.4 million
compared to the US$17.1 million turnover for the same period last year.
Net loss after tax for the nine
months of 2005 was US$4.4 million, compared to the net loss after tax
of US$1.7 million for the same
period last year.
Business
Mix
Fastech's
two major business groups, in terms of product segmentation, namely,
the Semiconductor
Components (which include discrete & power semiconductors and
integrated circuits) and Module
Assembly Products (which include PCB assemblies, microwave modules and
radio frequency devices)
accounted for 68% and 32% respectively, of total turnover for the nine
months of 2005, compared to 77%
and 23%, respectively, of the turnover for the nine months of last year.
Business
Outlook/Prospects
The
Group expects to maintain the same level of performance in the next
quarter. Initial production of
new customers experienced slight delays in the last quarter, but are
expected to be back on track in the 4th
quarter. These, however are not yet expected to impact revenues
significantly in the last quarter. "Our
focus on qualifying new customers continues and these efforts are
expected to bear fruit in the first half of
2006" says Allan P. Timonera, President.
FASTECH SYNERGY LTD
ANNOUNCES 2nd QUARTER 2005 FINANCIAL RESULTS
MANILA,
Philippines - 26 JULY 2005. Fastech Synergy Ltd
announced today its financial results for the
First Half and 2nd quarter (Q2) ending 30 June 2005.
The
Group recorded a lower turnover for the quarter amounting to $3.7
million, compared to $4.7 million
in the sequential quarter, and $6.3 million in same quarter last year,
primarily due to lower volume in Q2.
Units
shipped for Q2 2005 decreased to 111 million units from 125 million
units in Q1 2005, and 161
million units in Q2 2004. The expected decline in volume can be
attributed mainly to the transition from
captive line to open line arrangement with the Group's top customer,
which was completed middle of the
second quarter of this year, and partially due to the continued
volatile market of the Group's
semiconductor business.
Cost
of sales for Q2 2005 was at $4.1 million, compared with the $4.9
million cost of sales of the previous
quarter sequentially, and the cost of sales of $5.3 million of the same
quarter last year.
Gross
loss of $422,000 for Q2 2005, compared to the gross loss of $254,000
for the previous quarter, and
gross profit of $1.0 million for Q2 2004 was primarily the result of
the lower turnover for Q2 2005, as
mentioned above.
Net
loss after tax for Q2 2005 was $1.6 million, compared to the net loss
after tax of $1.5 million for the
sequential quarter, and net loss after tax of $243,000 for a year-ago
quarter.
In
order to bring costs more in line with the reduced revenue
expectations, the Group started
implementing a corporate restructuring program during the 1st quarter
2005. Also, in view of the negative
industry outlook that some analysts say may extend to 2006, the Group
has started to initiate further cost
reduction plans. According to Allan P. Timonera, President, "Other
manufacturing costs like power cost,
direct and indirect materials and operating expenses are continuously
being reviewed for further
reduction."
Six
Months Results
The
Group's turnover for the first six months of 2005 of $8.3 million was
down compared to the $11.3
million turnover for the same period last year. Gross loss of $676,000
was recorded for the 1st half of 2005
as against the 1st half 2004 gross profit of $1.5 million.
Net
loss after tax for the 1st half 2005 was higher at $3.0 million,
compared to the net loss after tax of
$819,000 for the 1st half 2004.
Business
Mix
Fastech's
two major business groups, in terms of product segmentation, namely,
the Semiconductor
Components (which include discrete & power semiconductors and
integrated circuits) and Module
Assembly Products (which include PCB assemblies, microwave modules and
radio frequency devices)
accounted for 68.8% and 31.2% respectively, of total turnover for the
1st half 2005, compared to 76.3%
and 23.7%, respectively, of the turnover for the 1st half of last year.
The increase in the contribution of the
Module Assembly Products can be attributed to the sustained growth by
the Group's RF-microwave
modules assembly business.
Business
Outlook/Prospects
The
Group expects about the same level of revenues in the next quarter,
improving slightly towards the
end of the year. New customers of radio frequency and microwave
products are expected to start initial
production with the Group in the 3rd quarter. Although orders are
starting to come in from new
customers, the Group still foresees that next quarter's overall
revenues will be flat.
"Our
focus is to put in place the groundwork to enable Fastech to pursue new
market opportunities", says
Allan P. Timonera, President. "We have already started by altering our
base cost structure and by
deploying our personnel to these emerging activities. These
initiatives, coupled with good execution, are
expected to benefit Fastech going forward", Mr. Timonera concluded.
FASTECH SYNERGY LTD
ANNOUNCES 1st QUARTER 2005 FINANCIAL RESULTS
MANILA,
Philippines - 27 APRIL 2005. Fastech Synergy Ltd
announced today the financial results for
the 1st quarter ended 31 March 2005 (1st quarter 2005).
The
Group's turnover for the quarter totaled $4.7 million compared to $5.2
million for the previous
quarter, and $5.0 million for the 1st quarter 2004. The lower turnover
was mainly due to lower volume
shipped during the quarter.
Units
shipped for 1st quarter 2005 decreased to 125 million units compared to
142 million units in the
previous quarter, and 138 million for the 1st quarter 2004. The lower
volume was reflective of still volatile
market conditions in the 1st quarter 2005. This was also partially
affected by the reduced loading by the
Group's top customer, which has been a continuing trend for the
previous 3 quarters and which is
expected to continue through 2nd quarter 2005.
The
group incurred Gross Loss of $262,000 for 1st quarter 2005 compared to
the Gross Profit of $46,000
for the previous quarter, and a gross profit of $464,000 for 1st
quarter 2004. This was mainly due to the
lower turnover for the quarter, the impact of higher power costs due to
increased power rates, and the
mandated labor rate increases implemented during the previous quarter.
Fastech
registered a net loss after tax for 1st quarter 2005 amounting to $1.5
million compared to the net
loss after tax of $1.7 million for the previous quarter, and net loss
after tax of $563,000 for 1st quarter
2004.
Earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
continued to be positive, totaling
$101,000 for 1st quarter 2005. EBITDA for the previous quarter was
$530,000, and $1.1 million for 1st
quarter 2004.
In
order to bring costs more in line with the reduced revenue
expectations, the Group started
implementing a corporate restructuring program during the 1st quarter
2005. Also, in view of the negative
industry outlook that some analysts say may extend to 2006, the Group
has started to initiate further cost
reduction plans. According to Allan P. Timonera, President, "Other
manufacturing costs like power cost,
direct and indirect materials and operating expenses are continuously
being reviewed for further
reduction."
In
terms of product segmentation, the Group's Semiconductor Components
segment (which include
discrete power semiconductors and integrated circuits) accounted for
74.0% of total turnover during the
quarter. The Module Assembly Products segment (which include PCB
assemblies, microwave modules
and radio frequency devices) contributed 26.0%. For the same period of
the previous year, semiconductor
components comprised 79.0% of total turnover while module assembly
products accounted for 21.0%.
The change in product segmentation coverage was attributed by the
sustained growth by the Group's RFmicrowave
modules assembly business.
Business
Outlook
The
Group expects the downward trend experienced in the 1st quarter 2005 to
continue to the next quarter
due to unfavorable market conditions. Moreover, the loss of the captive
line business of a major customer
that will happen starting the 2nd quarter 2005 will adversely impact
revenues for the balance of the year.
Moving
forward, Mr. John R. Payne, Chief Executive Officer, said "Fastech is
aggressively acquiring new
customers and currently has a high level of customer qualifications
which will result in a broader revenue
base in the second half of 2005 and beyond."
FASTECH SYNERGY LTD POSTS
21.2% GROWTH IN 2004
MANILA,
Philippines - 26 January 2005. Fastech Synergy Ltd
announced today its
Financial Results for the Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial
Results ending 31 December
2004. The Group reported a sustained improvement in its profitability
indicators compared
with its performance in the previous year.
The
Group's turnover for the year totaled $22.2 million which represented a
growth of $3.9
million or 21.2% over the previous year. Revenues from existing
customers increased by
$797,000 or 4.3%, while new customers contributed $3.1 million.
"The
Group sustained improvement in its sales performance over the previous
years with
higher loading from existing customers and the contribution of our new
customers," said Mr.
John R. Payne, Chief Executive of Fastech. "Product shipments to our
new major customer
began in the 1st quarter this year and three more new customers started
loading in the 3rd
quarter, giving the needed boost to our top line," remarked Mr. Payne.
Gross
profit of the Group for 2004 improved to $1.8 million, more than three
times better than
the previous year's level of $533,000. This was partly due to the
effects of the Group's
institutionalized cost reduction programs impacting on labor, materials
and overhead expenses.
As a result, cost of sales as a percentage of sales was brought down by
5.2 percentage points.
Fixed costs were kept relatively flat, while variable costs were held
to within 6.6% of the
previous year's level.
Operating
loss of the Group was brought down to $1.7 million, from the previous
year's
operating loss of $3.2 million, representing a 47.2% year-on-year
improvement. Net loss of
the Group in 2004 was reduced to $3.5 million or 22.9% lower than the
previous year's net loss
of $4.5 million. This year's performance included $681,000 of asset
impairment provisions in
compliance with the requirements of international accounting standards.
Earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
continued to be
positive, totaling $3.6 million for the year. This was 30.3% higher
compared with last year.
EBITDA during the previous year was $2.8 million.
In
terms of product segmentation, the Group's Semiconductor Components
segment (which
include discrete & power semiconductors and integrated
circuits) accounted for 76.5.0% of
total turnover during the year. The Module Assembly Products segment
(which include PCB
assemblies, microwave modules and radio frequency devices) contributed
23.5%. During the
previous year, semiconductor components comprised 86.6% of total
turnover while module
assembly products accounted for 13.4%. The change in product
segmentation coverage was
attributed to the acquisition this year of a new major customer for
RF-microwave modules.
4th
Quarter Highlights
The
Group's turnover for the 4th quarter was $5.2 million, which was
$989,000 or 23.6%
higher than that of the same period last year. With this, the Group
noted that all quarters of
the year 2004 showed better performance in terms of turnover compared
with the
corresponding periods of the previous year. Sequentially, turnover was
lower by $544,000 or
9.5% due to the general softening of the semiconductor business; the
onset of which was noted
as early as the 3rd quarter of the year.
Gross
profit for the quarter was recorded at $46,000, improving from the
gross loss of $40,000
posted during the same period last year. Sequentially, gross profit
declined by $244,000. The
Group is continuing to cut costs in order to bring expenses in line
with the prevailing general
business conditions in the industry.
Operating
loss for the 4th quarter was $568,000 a 46.7% improvement over the $1.1
million
operating loss recorded during the same period last year. Sequentially,
the 4th quarter operating
loss was lower by $166,000 or 22.6%. Net loss for the 4th quarter was
$1.7 million, inclusive of
provisions for asset impairment.
Business
Outlook
"The
industry outlook remains uncertain and the current slowdown is expected
to continue
through the first half of 2005. However, we are encouraged by the high
level of inquiries from
new customers and hopeful that the additional loading and revenue from
this growing customer
base will somewhat mitigate the current general slowdown. Overall, we
expect revenues to be
flat to slightly lower in Q1", said Mr. John R. Payne, Fastech CEO.
FASTECH REPORTS 28% Y-O-Y
GROWTH FOR 3Q04
MANILA,
Philippines - 27 October 2004. Fastech Synergy Ltd
announced today its Financial Results
for the 3rd Quarter and the Nine Months ending 30 September 2004.
The
Group's turnover for the 3rd quarter was $5.7 million, a 28.3% increase
compared with $4.4 million
reported for the same period last year. This was the 3rd consecutive
quarter of year-on-year growth for the
Group this year. The growth was fueled by strong customer demand and
the acquisition this year of a
major customer in the Group's module assembly products business
segment. Sequentially, the turnover
was lower by 9.3% compared with $6.3 million reported during the
previous quarter. The decline was
largely attributed to inventory corrections by some of its customers,
in line with the general trend in the
semiconductor industry.
"The
Group continues to improve its sales performance over the previous year
as its customer acquisition
program starts to bear fruit. Two new customers started loading in the
3rd quarter and would start to
contribute to our top line from the 4th quarter onward," said Mr. John
R. Payne, Chief Executive of
Fastech.
"We
are also pleased to announce that our joint venture company, 2Pi
Microwave Technology, Inc., has
been qualified by its first two customers and will commence production
runs in the next quarter," added
Mr. Payne.
Fastech
reported a 3rd quarter gross profit of $290,000, a 60.9% growth
compared to $180,000 for the
same period last year; and a 71.0% decline compared to $1.0 million
posted during the previous quarter.
Gross profit margin for the 3rd quarter improved to 5.1%, from 4.0%
during the same quarter last year.
On the other hand, gross profit margin declined from the 15.9% recorded
during the previous quarter due
to lower turnover.
Operating
loss for the 3rd quarter was $734,000, compared with an operating loss
of $791,000 in the same
period last year. During the 2nd quarter this year, the Group posted an
operating profit of $58,000. The
Group recorded a net loss for the 3rd quarter amounting to $941,000
compared with a net loss of $964,000
during the same period last year. Net loss during the previous quarter
was $243,000.
"We
are aggressively cutting costs in order to bring expenses in line with
the sales decline. We expect to
realize the benefits of our cost-cutting measures beginning 4th quarter
this year," Mr. Payne pointed out.
Earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA)
continued to be positive, totaling
$667,000 for the 3rd quarter. This was 14.8% lower compared with the
third quarter of 2003. EBITDA
during the previous quarter was $1.3 million.
In
terms of product segmentation, the Group's Semiconductor Components
segment (which include
discrete & power semiconductors and integrated circuits)
accounted for 77.0% of total turnover during the
3rd quarter. The Module Assembly Products segment (which include PCB
assemblies, microwave
modules and radio frequency devices) contributed 23.0%. During the same
period last year,
semiconductor components comprised 85.8% of total turnover while module
assembly products accounted
for 14.2%. The change in product segmentation coverage was attributed
to the acquisition this year of
new major customer for RF-microwave modules.
Nine
Months Performance
The
Group's turnover for the first nine months of 2004 grew by 20.5% to
$17.1 million compared with
$14.2 million during the same period last year.
Gross
profit year-to-date was recorded at $1.7 million, which was more than
twice the gross profit
recorded during the same period of the previous year.
Operating
loss was pared down by 47.5%, to $1.1 million compared with the $2.2
million posted in 2003.
Net loss for the first nine months was reduced by 37.8%, to $1.7
million, compared with last year's ninemonth
loss of $2.8 million.
EBITDA
was higher by 25.2%, at $3.1million for the first nine months of the
year, compared with $2.5
million during the same period last year.
Semiconductor
components accounted for 76.5% of total year-to-date turnover, while
Module assembly
products comprised 23.5%. During the same period last year,
semiconductor components contributed
86.3% of total turnover, while module assembly products contributed
13.7%.
Business
Outlook
On how
Fastech sees the rest of the year, Mr. Payne commented that "The
industry slow-down in the 3rd
quarter is expected to continue for the rest of the year. However, we
are encouraged that the addition of
new customers will lead to higher loading and renewed revenue growth in
the first half of 2005."
FASTECH SYNERGY LTD. POSTS
STRONGER QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE
MANILA,
Philippines - 28 July 2004. Fastech Synergy Ltd.
announced today its financial results for the 2nd Quarter and First
Half endind 26 June 2004.
The
Group's turnover continued to strengthen; from $5.0 million in Q1 2004
to $6.3 million in the current
quarter, representing a 25.0% growth. Gross Profit of the Group
improved to $1.0 million, which was
$536,000 higher, or up by 115.5% compared with the previous quarter;
and $711,000 higher, or up by
246.0%, compared with the same period last year. Gross profit margin
for the quarter was 15.9%, as
compared with 9.2% during the previous quarter, and 5.6% in Q2 last
year.
The
Group achieved an operating profit for the quarter of $58,000; a
significant milestone after eleven
quarters of losses brought about by the worldwide semiconductor
industry downturn that began in 2001.
This was primarily driven by higher revenues and the Group's
unrelenting efforts in controlling and
reducing costs.
Net
Results continued to improve as the Group was able to reduce its net
loss to $243,000, versus the
previous quarter's $563,000. During the same period last year, the
Group's net loss after tax stood at
$915,000.
Six
Months Highlights
The
Group registered 17% growth in revenues for the first six months of
2004, to $11.3 million, compared
with $9.7 million during the same period last year. Gross profit for
the Group improved to $1.5 million for
the current period as against $ 393,000 posted in the first half last
year. Loss from Operations during the
first half this year was trimmed down to $400,000, a 71% improvement
over last year's first half loss from
operations of $1.4 million.
Net
loss after tax for the first six months was reduced to $807,000,
compared to $1.8 million for the same
period last year.
Business
Mix
In
terms of product segmentation, the Group's Semiconductor Components
segment (which include discrete
& power semiconductors and integrated circuits) accounted for
76% of total revenues during the 2nd quarter.
The Module Assembly Products segment (which include PCB assemblies,
microwave modules and radio
frequency devices) contributed 24%. During the same period last year,
semiconductor components
comprised 87% of total revenues while module assembly products
accounted for 13%.
Business
Outlook
Fastech
revenues and results from the 2nd quarter and the 1st half year were
within expectations, and the
Group is now looking ahead to Q3 with guarded optimism.
Fastech
CEO, John R. Payne said, "We experienced 6 months of double-digit
revenue growth partly driven
by customers' inventory replenishment. However, given the current
industry outlook, we expect Fastech's
revenue levels to be flat or slightly higher in the second half of the
year."
FASTECH SYNERGY LTD. POSTS
STRONGER QUARTERLY PERFORMANCE
MANILA,
Philippines - 30 April 2004. Fastech Synergy Ltd.
announced today the financial results for the 1st Quarter ending 31
March 2004. The Group noted positive trends in its financial indicators.
Fastech's
1st Quarter turnover posted a growth of 20% against the prior quarter,
to $5.04 million compared with $4.2 million for the preceding quarter.
Year-on-year, this was an increase of 11% over the $4.6 million
revenues recorded during the same period. The boost in revenues came
mainly from strong loading by new customers, as well as increased
orders from existing customers. In terms of production volume, the
Group reported a 12% increase compared to the volume of prior quarter.
Compared with the same period last year, however, production volume was
lower by 6%. Fastech is seeing a shift in product mix, as it noted that
the growth in the modules assembly business segment outpaced
semiconductor components during the quarter.
The
Group also showed an improvement of gross profit to $463,000 for the
period, compared with $104,000 during the same quarter last year; and
($40,000) sequentially. Cost of sales as a percentage of sales improved
to 91%, from 98% last year and 101% during the previous quarter.
Operating expenses were kept to within 18% of sales.
Earnings
before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the
Group remained positive, amounting to $1.1 million during the quarter.
This is an increase of 38% compared with $0.8 million registered in the
same period last year. EBITDA margin climbed to 21%, compared with 18%
during the same period last year.
The
Group stayed oncourse in its path to profitability as net loss after
tax was pared down to $563,000 compared with $932,000 last year, and
$1.7 million sequentially.
Business
Mix
In
terms of product segmentation, semiconductor components (which include
discrete and power semiconductors and integrated circuits) accounted
for 78% of total sales during the 1st Quarter. Module assemblies (which
include PCB assemblies, microwave modules and radio frequency devices)
contributed 22%. During the same period of the previous year,
semiconductor components comprised 84% of total sales, while module
assemblies accounted for 16%.
Joint
Venture with 2Pi Microwave, Inc.
Fastech
announced that it has entered into a joint venture agreement with 2Pi
Microwave, Inc., a U.S. company based in Fremont, California, for the
development and manufacture of high quality RF and Microwave components
and modules.
Fastech
believes that the Joint Venture is in line with the Group's new
business directions, expanding its product capabilities and customer
base in the module assemblies segment.
The
Joint Venture is not expected to have a material effect on the earnings
per share or net tangible assets per share of the Group for the
financial year ending 31 December 2004.
Business
Outlook
Fastech's
1st quarter performance and upbeat feedback from customers reinforces
the Group's belief that better times are upon us. According to Mr. John
R. Payne, Fastech's CEO, "We are experiencing growth in all segments of
our business, with module assemblies leading the recovery. Inquiries
from new customers are continuing to come in. We are encouraged by
these developments and feel optimistic that our upturn can be sustained
through the first semester of the year."
TEMEX PHILS TRANSFERS
OPERATIONS TO FASTECH
Fastech
Advanced Assembly Inc, a subsidiary of Fastech Synergy | 
