Micronic presents fourth quarter and full year 2007

Taby, Sweden, January 28, 2008 – Micronic Laser Systems AB (listed on the OMX Stockholm Stock Exchange, in the category Mid cap, Information Technology": MICR) today presented the Group’s interim report for the fourth quarter of 2007 and year-end report for 2007. The information was submitted for publication on January 28, 8:00 a.m.

* Order intake for 2007 was SEK 634 million (604), of which SEK 136 million (60) was booked in the fourth quarter.
* Net sales for 2007 are reported at SEK 523 million (1,204), of which fourth quarter sales accounted for SEK 225 million (266).

* The operating loss for 2007 was SEK 291 million (+123). For the fourth quarter the operating loss was SEK 42 million (+9).

* The operating loss adjusted for capitalization and amortization of development costs was SEK 210 million (+220) for the full year 2007. For the fourth quarter the corresponding figure was a loss of SEK 35 million (+31).

* The loss after tax for 2007 was SEK 207 million (+93), equal to earnings per share of SEK -5.30 (2.37). The loss after tax for the fourth quarter was SEK 30 million (+10), equal to earnings per share SEK -0.77 (0.24).

* The order backlog at December 31, 2007, was SEK 332 million and consisted solely of systems. At year-end 2006 the order backlog was SEK 200 million.


“Sales declined from the prior year’s level and reached SEK 523 million, down by a full 57 percent. Since the drop in sales was largely attributable to the display market, where we have our highest margins, this strongly contributed to driving down gross margin to 29 percent. We were also impacted by the negative effects of developments in the foreign exchange market. As a result, Micronic posted an operating loss of SEK 291 million despite cost-cutting measures during the year. Development expenditure in 2007 fell by 12 percent, since we have already developed semiconductor and electronic packaging products for next technology node. The year’s development costs include SEK 81 million in net amortization of previously capitalized development costs. Our capitalized development costs for Sigma are now fully amortized,” says Sven Lofquist, President and CEO of Micronic Laser Systems AB.
“The market for LCD panels showed powerful development during the year and grew by 26 percent. In the third quarter, we also received system orders for next generation display manufacturing, so-called G10. Capacity expansion in the display industry is expected to accelerate sharply in 2008 and the growing market for LCD photomasks is forecast to stimulate pattern generator investments starting in the second half of 2008,” adds Sven Lofquist.

“The semiconductor market was a major disappointment for Micronic in 2007. The year’s flat sales were caused by a lack of capacity expansion for volume production of advanced photomasks (sub-100 nm technology nodes). Volume demand for advanced photomasks is proportional to the number of new chip designs, which is determined by the speed at which chip makers move to more advanced technology nodes. In view of this, we expect system sales to pick up in 2008.

Despite uncertainty in the global economy, there are several factors that indicate a growing electronics industry, such as the Olympic Games in China, the phase-out of analogue TV in the USA at the beginning of next year and a rising share of disposable income spent on electronic devices. On the whole, 2008 is expected to be significantly better for Micronic than 2007, but with the bulk of sales in the second half of the year,” concludes Sven Lofquist.

Company contacts:

Sven Lofquist
President & CEO
+46 8 638 52 00
sven.lofquist@micronic.se

Carl-Johan Blomberg
CFO
+46 8 638 52 00
carl-johan.blomberg@micronic.se