CHELMSFORD, Mass., Nov. 11, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Brooks Automation, Inc. (Nasdaq:BRKS) announced financial results for the Company's fourth quarter and fiscal year 2008 ended on September 30, 2008.
Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2008 were $106.9 million, compared to revenues of $166.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, a decrease of 35.8%. Sequentially, revenues were down 13.8% from fiscal 2008 third quarter revenues of $124.0 million.
Loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 amounted to $216.2 million, or $3.45 per diluted share. This loss includes special charges totaling $206.2 million. Excluding special charges, the non-GAAP loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 was $10.0 million, or $0.16 per diluted share. The special charges taken during the quarter included a non-cash impairment charge of $203.6 million, primarily to write down the value of goodwill reflecting the current industry and economic environment which has significantly impacted the comparable company valuations and the Company's near term outlook. Other special charges taken during the quarter included restructuring costs of $1.6 million and a $1.0 million non-cash charge to recognize the impairment in value of a minority interest Brooks owns in a small Swiss public company.
The fiscal 2008 fourth quarter loss from continuing operations before special charges of $10.0 million, or $0.16 per diluted share, compares with a loss of $7.8 million, $0.12 in the third quarter of fiscal 2008 and profits of $2.4 million, or $0.03 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007.
Including the special charges, the fiscal 2008 fourth quarter loss from continuing operations of $216.2 million, or $3.45 per diluted share, compares with a loss from continuing operations of $1.3 million, or $0.02 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of the prior year. Sequentially, the loss from continuing operations increased $205.9 million compared to a fiscal 2008 third quarter loss of $10.3 million.
Adjusted Earnings before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Amortization for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 was ($1.9) million, which compared to $10.4 million in the prior year period and $1.8 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2008. Cash flows from operations, which benefited from strong working capital management, amounted to $6.0 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. This compared to $20.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007 and $1.4 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2008.
BROOKS AUTOMATION REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS
Revenues for the full fiscal year 2008 were $526.4 million, a 29.2% decrease from prior year revenues of $743.3 million. The net loss for fiscal 2008 was $235.9 million, or $3.66 per diluted share, compared to the prior year's net income of $151.5 million, or $2.04 per diluted share. The loss for fiscal 2008 included the non-cash impairment charges of $203.6 million, restructuring charges of $7.3 million, a $3.9 million loss on an investment which was partially offset by a $0.7 million gain in discontinued operations related to the resolution of certain contingencies in connection with the sale of the Brooks Software division, which in total amounted to $3.32 per diluted share. Net income for fiscal 2007 included an $83.9 million gain on the March 30, 2007 sale of the Brooks Software division and $13.3 million of income from that discontinued operation, restructuring charges of $7.1 million and a gain on an investment of $5.1 million, which in total amounted to $1.28 per diluted share.
Commenting on the fourth quarter results, Robert J. Lepofsky, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brooks stated, "Our results for the quarter are reflective of the challenging market conditions faced by every participant in the global electronics food chain. Order booking and shipment rates in the quarter slowed as economic conditions continued to weaken. Those declines have continued over the course of the past three weeks as most of our customers have announced lowered expectations and short-term action plans to reduce spending and conserve cash. Most are planning additional restructuring initiatives over the months ahead. The management team at Brooks has also been evaluating alternative scenarios and we will be reducing capacity, tightly controlling costs and carefully managing our working capital as well. Last quarter, our people adjusted to lower revenues and slowing orders and delivered better performance than we would have forecasted at those levels. The job ahead will be even more challenging."
Mr. Lepofsky continued, "While the decision to contract current operations in response to current market conditions is difficult, we also see the upcoming period as one of opportunity. We are a strategically critical partner of our customers and we remain committed to our long-term plan of creating value for our shareholders through growth initiatives that are aligned with the needs of those customers. While those needs may be delayed they are not disappearing. The commitment of our organization, our enviable market position and the strength of our debt-free balance sheet will ensure our ability to take full advantage of new opportunities that will emerge over the year ahead. One thing is clear -- we at Brooks plan to come out of this downturn as a stronger and better positioned company."
A reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the most nearly comparable GAAP measure follows the consolidated statements of operations, balance sheets and statements of cash flows attached to this release.
BROOKS AUTOMATION REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER FINANCIAL RESULTS
Brooks management will webcast its September quarter earnings conference call on Tuesday, November 11, 2008 at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the attached quarterly results and business highlights. During the call, Company management will respond to questions concerning, but not limited to, the Company's financial performance, business conditions and industry outlook. Their responses could contain information that has not been previously disclosed.
Analysts, investors and members of the media can access the live broadcast available on Brooks' website at www.brooks.com. The call will be archived on this website for convenient on-demand replay until Brooks reports fiscal 2009 first quarter results in mid-February, 2009.
About Brooks Automation, Inc.
Brooks is a leading worldwide provider of automation solutions and integrated subsystems to the global semiconductor and related industries. The company's advanced offerings in hardware and services can help customers improve manufacturing efficiencies, accelerate time-to-market and reduce cost-of-ownership. Brooks' products and global services are used in virtually every semiconductor fab in the world as well as in a number of diverse industries outside of semiconductor manufacturing. For more information see www.brooks.com or email co.csr@brooks.com.
"Safe Harbor Statement" under Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Some statements in this release are forward-looking statements made under Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees but involve risks and uncertainties, both known and unknown, that could cause Brooks' financial and business results to differ materially from our expectations. They are based on the facts known to management at the time they are made. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding our bookings, revenues, profit and loss and cash flow expectations, anticipated capacity reductions and cost controls, future business strategy and market opportunities, level of capital expenditures and bookings expectations in the semiconductor industry, demand for our new and existing products, purchasing and manufacturing trends among semiconductor manufacturing OEMs, our strategy of sourcing from low cost regions, and the outlook of the semiconductor industry. Factors that could cause results to differ from our expectations include the following: our dependence on the cyclical semiconductor industry; the possibility of downturns in market demand for electronics; our possible inability to meet increased demand for our products due to difficulties in obtaining components and materials from our suppliers in required quantities and of required quality; a decision by semiconductor manufacturing OEMs not to outsource increasing amounts of their manufacturing operations; our ability to continue to effectively implement our flexible manufacturing model and our supply chain consolidation; the highly competitive nature and rapid technological change that characterizes the industries in which we compete; decisions by customers to accelerate delivery under or to cancel or defer orders that previously had been accepted; decisions by customers to reject the products we ship to them; the inability of customers to make payments to us when due; the possibility that we may not be able to fulfill customer orders within a period of time acceptable to them; the fact that design-in wins do not necessarily translate to significant revenue; the timing and effectiveness of restructuring, cost-cutting, low cost sourcing and expense control measures; intense price competition; disputes concerning intellectual property; expenses associated with legal disputes and litigation, continuing uncertainties in global political and economic conditions, and other factors and other risks that we have described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, current reports on Form 8-K and our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q.
