Camtek Announces First Quarter 2008 Results

MIGDAL HAEMEK, Israel, May. 15 /PRNewswire/ --

MIGDAL HAEMEK, Israel, May 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Camtek Ltd. , today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008.

The Company reported revenues for the first quarter of $21.3 million, an increase of 47% over the $14.5 million reported in the first quarter of last year and a slight increase sequentially from the $21.0 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2007.

Gross profit margin for the first quarter of 2008 improved to 44.5%, as compared to 41.5% for the first quarter of 2007, and 43.7% for the fourth quarter of 2007.

Operating income for the first quarter of 2008 was $114 thousand (0.5% of revenues), compared with an operating loss of $4.3 million in the first quarter of 2007 and an operating income of $126 thousand (0.6% of revenues) in the prior quarter.

The Company's profitability was affected by strong devaluation of the US dollar against the Israeli shekel in the first quarter of 2008, which increased Israel-based shekel costs in dollar terms. However, the company hedged its dollar/shekel exposure and subsequently reported increased financial income which compensated for the increase in expenses due to the devaluation of the dollar.

Financial income in the quarter of $467 thousand, compared with $133 thousand in the first quarter of 2007 and $66 thousand in the prior quarter.

Net income for the first quarter of 2008 was $493 thousand, or $0.02 per diluted share. This is compared to a net loss of $4.3 million, or $0.14 per share, in the first quarter of 2007. For the previous quarter in 2007, net income was $247 thousand, or $0.01 per diluted share.

The Company reported a positive operating cash flow of $307 thousand in the quarter. As of March 31st, 2008, the Company reported a net cash and equivalents of $20.7 million as compared with $20.0 million at December 31st, 2007.

"We are satisfied with our first quarter results, especially with the increase in profitability and positive cash flow", commented Rafi Amit, Camtek's CEO. "We maintained our revenues at similar level to that of the last two quarters in spite of the on-going macroeconomic situation and the weakness of the electronic industry. Our activity in the PCB sector has been stable, while we recorded a slight increase in revenues from the semiconductors manufacturing and packaging industry. We attribute this growth to technology-driven demand for our wafer inspection systems.

Mr. Amit continued, "Following our continuous investment in R&D, we have recently introduced three new lines of inspection systems: Planet, for ultra-fine line PCB panels; Mustang for finished boards of mobile products; and Falcon 1000, enhanced performance wafer inspection systems. Products from all the new lines have already been sold to customers.

"At the same time, we continue to look for additional growth opportunities - both internal and external - in related markets into which we can leverage our technologies and global organization."

Mr. Amit concluded, "We expect second quarter revenues at a similar level to that of the current quarter, between $20 and 22 million."

The Company also announced the appointment of Roy Porat to the newly created position of General Manager at the Company's headquarters in Israel. Roy's previous role was President of Camtek HK, where he oversaw all of Camtek's activities in Asia. Aharon Sela, previously VP of Sales at Camtek Europe, was appointed to replace Mr. Porat in Camtek HK.

Conference call

Camtek will host a conference call today, May 15, at 9:00am ET. Rafi Amit, Chief Executive Officer, and Ronit Dulberg, Chief Financial Officer will host the call and will be available to answer questions after presenting the results.

To participate, please call one of the following telephone numbers at least 10 minutes before the start of the call, referencing the "Camtek results conference call".

US toll free: 1-888-935-4577 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time Israel toll free: 1-809-246-002 at 4:00 p.m. Israel Time International: +1-718-354-1389

For those unable to participate, the teleconference will be available for replay on Camtek's website http://www.camtek.co.il beginning 24 hours after the call.

Upcoming presentations

Camtek's management will be presenting at a number of upcoming industry and investor events:

- Oppenheimer Investor Conference in Tel Aviv, Israel on May 18 - IEEE SW_TEST in San Diego on June 8-11 and - Semicon West in San Francisco - Yield Management session on July 15, and test session on July 17;

Should you like to schedule a meeting with management, please contact Camtek's investor relations team.

About Camtek Ltd.

With headquarters in Migdal Ha'Emek Israel, Camtek Ltd., designs, develops, manufactures, and markets automatic optical inspection systems and related products. Camtek's automatic inspection systems are used to enhance both production processes and yield for manufacturers in the printed circuit board industry, the high density interconnect substrate industry and the semiconductor manufacturing and packaging industry.

This press release is available at http://www.camtek.co.il

This press release may contain projections or other forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future performance of the Company. These statements are only predictions and may change as time passes. We do not assume any obligation to update that information. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected, including as a result of changing industry and market trends, reduced demand for our products, the timely development of our new products and their adoption by the market, increased competition in the industry, price reductions as well as due to risks identified in the documents filed by the Company with the SEC.

Camtek Ltd. Consolidated Balance Sheets (in thousands, except share data) March December 2008 2007 U.S. Dollars ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents 19,758 18,601 Marketable securities 900 1,395 Accounts receivable, net 26,375 23,500 Inventories 32,215 34,243 Due from affiliates 278 251 Other current assets 2,535 2,616 Deferred tax 158 158 Total current assets 82,219 80,764 Fixed assets, net 15,084 15,325 Marketable securities 575 1,075 Deferred tax 308 308 Other assets 1,211 993 2,094 2,376 Total assets 99,397 98,465 LIABILITIES CURRENT LIABILITIES Convertible loan 1,666 1,666 Accounts payable -trade 7,552 7,960 Due to affiliates 852 866 Other current liabilities 12,235 11,465 Total current liabilities 22,305 21,957 Convertible loan 3,334 3,334 Liability for employee severance benefits 290 268 Total liabilities 25,929 25,559 SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Ordinary shares NIS 0.01 par value, authorized 100,000,000 shares, issued 31,149,934 in 2008 and 31,145,334 in 2007, outstanding 30,138,315 in 2008 and 30,133,715 in 2007. 132 132 Additional paid-in capital 59,947 59,878 Accumulated other comprehensive loss Unrealized loss on marketable securities - - Retained earnings 14,382 13,889 74,461 73,899 Treasury stock, at cost (1,011,619 shares in 2008 and (993) (993) 2007) Total shareholders' equity 73,468 72,906 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity 99,397 98,465 Camtek Ltd. Consolidated Statements of Operations (in thousands, except share data) Three Months ended Year ended March 31, December 31, 2008 2007 2007 U.S. dollars U.S. dollars Revenues 21,292 14,468 70,969 Cost of revenues 11,815 8,442 41,940 Gross profit 9,477 6,026 29,029 Research and development costs 2,995 3,724 12,111 Selling, general and administrative expenses 6,368 6,606 24,119 9,363 10,330 36,230 Operating income (loss) 114 (4,304) (7,201) Financial income (expenses), net 466 133 (128) Income (loss) before income taxes 580 (4,171) (7,329) Income tax (87) (66) (362) Net income (loss) 493 (4,237) (7,691) Net income (loss) per ordinary share: Basic 0.02 (0.14) (0.25) Diluted 0.02 (0.14) (0.25) Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding: Basic 30,231 30,208 30,145 Diluted 30,247 30,208 30,145 Contact Details CAMTEK IR INTERNATIONAL Ronit Dulberg, CFO GK International IR Tel: +972-4-604-8308 Ehud Helft / Kenny Green Fax: +972-4-604 8300 Tel: (US) +1-646-201-9246 Mobile: +972-54-9050776 info@gkir.com ronitd@camtek.co.il