BILLERICA, Mass. -- With no recovery signs visible in chip-production systems, PRI Automation Inc. today reported a 21% sequential drop in revenues to $59.2 million in the company's fiscal fourth quarter, ended Sept. 30, compared to $75.2 million in the prior quarter, based on historical accounting methods. PRI's revenues were 26% below $79.7 million in the same quarter last year.
Based on new SAB 101 accounting practices, PRI's net revenues were $49.1 million in the just-ended quarter and the company posted a net loss of $41.7 million, including special charges for layoffs, plant closings, and inventory write-downs.
"We haven't seen any signs of an upturn, and clearly the full-scale transition to 300-mm wafer fabs has been delayed," said Mitch Tyson, president and CEO of the Billerica-based company. "However, based on conversations with customers, we believe that the market may be bottoming out."
The severe downturn in semiconductor capital spending played a role in PRI's decision to be acquired by Brooks Automation Inc. in Chelmsford, Mass. Under the pending transaction, Brooks will purchase PRI for about $380 million in stock and merge the two companies to form a much larger supplier of automation, called Brooks-PRI Automation Inc. (see Oct. 24 story).
Tyson said PRI's gross bookings in the just-ended quarter were just $25 million. However, the chief executive officer remains optimistic despite the delay of a recovery in fab systems markets. "Semiconductor manufacturers are proceeding with evaluations -- they don't want to be caught unprepared when the upturn occurs," he said.
For the fiscal 2001 year, ended Sept. 30, PRI's net revenue $268.6 million and its net loss, before special charges, was $51.9 million, based on the new SAB 101 accounting methods. Including charges of $41.1 million in the fiscal year, PRI's net loss totaled $99.0 million for the just-ended fiscal year.
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