Q1 2004 Genus, Inc. Earnings Conference Call - Final.

Original Source: FD (FAIR DISCLOSURE) WIRE

OPERATOR: Welcome to the Genus 2004 1st quarter results conference call.

At this time all participants in a listen-only mode. Following the management's prepared remarks, we will hold a question-and-answer session. To ask a question, please press star, followed by 1 on your touch tone phone. If anyone has difficulty hearing the conference, please press star, zero for operator assistance. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded April 20, 2004.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Miss Dunlop. Please go ahead, ma'am.

IRENE DUNLOP (ph), GENUS, INC.: Thank you.

Hello, everyone and thank you for joining us this afternoon for the Genus 1st quarter results conference call. By now you all should have received a fax or an e-mail of the press release. But if you've not, please feel free to contact our office at 408-747-7140 and we will get that right out to you. The press release is also posted on the Genus website at www.Genus.com.

With us from management today are Bill Elder, Chairman and CEO, and Shum Mukherjee, Executive Vice President of Finance and CFO.

Before I turn the call over to Bill, I will read the following Safe Harbor statement. Statements made in the course of this conference call regarding the companies or management's intentions, hopes, believes, expectations or predictions of the future are forward-looking statements. It is important to note that the company's actual results could differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements.

Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in the company's S.E.C. filings, including but not limited to, the company's annual report on Form 10K for the year ending December 31st, 2003, and in subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10Q. Copies of these filings may be obtained by contacting the company or the Securities and Exchange Commission.

And with that, I'd like to turn the call over to Bill.

WILLIAM ELDER, CHAIRMAN, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, GENUS, INC.: Thank you, Irene.

Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to Genus' 1st quarter 2004 conference call. I would like to thank all of you for your participation in today's conference call, and for your continued support of Genus.

As the semiconductor equipment industry continued its path towards recovery, Genus added two new customers in the 1st quarter of this year. One was a significant win in the Asian DRAM market as our 300mm CVD system was selected as the tool of choice for this new customer's initial 300mm pilot production line. The second new customer selected the Genus 200mm ALD technology as this particular customer, located in Taiwan, committed to ALD in manufacturing. At Genus, we are pleased to add these two new customers to our growing customer base.

I will now pass it over to Shum to give his 1st quarter financial performance update and I will then return to give a detailed overview of Q1. Shum?

SHUM MUKHERJEE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT OF FINANCE, CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER, GENUS, INC.: Thank you, Bill.

Orders recorded in Q1 of 2004 were $14 million, compared to bookings of $12.2 million in Q1 of 2003, and bookings of $15.5 million in Q4 of 2003. Q1, 2004 bookings included orders from two new semiconductor customers, located in Asia. This brings our total active customer base to 12 customers, 6 of whom have qualified the ALD technology for volume production. Q1 bookings included orders for three CVD systems and one ALD system. Shipments during Q1 of 2004 were $10.4 million, compared to shipments of $23.5 million in Q1, 2003 and $15.2 million in Q4 of 2003. During Q1 of 2004, we also produced and tested two systems for the University of Albany, which were shipped in the first week of April.

Revenues for the quarter were $12.2 million, compared to revenues of $17.7 million, recorded in Q1 of 2003, and revenues of $15.3 million in Q4 of 2003. Q1, 2004 revenues included revenue recognition for two, 300mm CVD systems for the semiconductor segment, and two 200mm ALD systems for the data storage segment. Revenues for three of these systems were based upon a methodology called multiple element accounting, which as been widely adopted by the semiconductor equipment industry, and was adopted by us in Q3 of 2002.

Under multiple element accounting, companies are required to separate revenue recognition of certain types of systems …