Migdal Ha’emek-based Camtek (Nasdaq: CAMT) announced on Wednesday that its revenue rose slightly in the third quarter, but warned it would fall in the fourth quarter, because of longer sales cycles in the printed circuit board (PCB) market.
Separately, Camtak announced it received a letter from Nasdaq that its shares would be delisted from the Nasdaq National Market at the opening of business on November 19, 2002, because its shares had failed to meet the $1 minimum for continued listing. The company says it intends to request a hearing before the Nasdaq Qualifications Panel to review Nasdaq’s decision, and is also considering the option of transferring its shares to Nasdaq Small Cap Market.
Camtek, which develops optical inspection for the PCB market, said revenue in the third quarter rose to $7.2 million, from revenue of $6.1 million in the second quarter of 2002 and from $7 million in the third quarter last year.
During the third quarter, the company took a one-time inventory write-off charge of $1.8 million to account for obsolescent inventory. This write-off is the result of major engineering enhancements to the Orion product line that enhanced its performance while significantly reducing the cost of goods sold. The Company chose to write off the inventory items that will not be used in future sales due to these enhancements.
Camtek reported a net loss for the third quarter of 2002 of $1.3 million, or $0.05 per share, excluding the inventory write-off, and a net loss of $3.1 million, or $0.12 per share, including the write-off.
This compares to a net loss of $1.7 million, or $0.08 per share in the second quarter of 2002, and a net loss of $4.8 million, or $0.22 per share for the third quarter of 2001.
Referring to expected results for the fourth quarter, Camtek CEO Rafi Amit said, "We are proceeding with our strategy of focusing our efforts in the unsaturated microelectronics and high density interconnect markets, while maintaining our activity in the PCB market. Given the newness of both technologies and markets, sales cycles in the first two segments are longer, resulting in reduced forecasting ability and delayed recognition of revenues. Therefore, we estimate that our revenues for the fourth quarter of 2002 will be within the range of $5 to $7 million."
Amit added, "Our on-going research and development efforts to improve performance and reduce costs have succeeded in making the Orion family, our flagship product, even more competitive. The reduction in product cost of goods sold allows us to cope with price erosion since the beginning of this recession and practically improves our gross margin.”
Camtek shares closed on Nasdaq on Wednesday at $0.45, indicating a company value of $10 million.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on 14 November, 2002