Aehr Test Systems Reports Fiscal 2024 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results and Provides Fiscal 2025 Full Year Financial Guidance

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The latest financial results for Aehr Test Systems reveal a mixed but generally positive picture for the company's fiscal year 2024. The net revenue for the fourth quarter was $16.6 million, down from $22.3 million in the previous year, which might raise questions about the company's short-term performance and demand fluctuations, especially in the EV sector.

However, the company's GAAP net income saw a significant increase, standing at $23.9 million compared to $6.1 million the previous year. This marked improvement includes a substantial tax benefit of approximately $20.8 million, which bolstered the net income figures. For a clearer picture, it's useful to also focus on non-GAAP metrics, where net income was $24.7 million, compared to $6.8 million the previous year. This shows a more intrinsic improvement, free from one-off benefits.

The company's backlog is another critical indicator. The effective backlog stands at $20.8 million, up significantly, which could suggest anticipated strong demand and future revenue stability. Additionally, the company's cash and cash equivalents have grown from $47.6 million to $49.2 million, demonstrating a solid liquidity position.

For stakeholders, the guidance for the fiscal year 2025 is also noteworthy. Management expects total revenue of at least $70 million and a net profit before taxes of at least 10% of revenue. This forward-looking guidance indicates confidence in sustained growth, which can be reassuring for investors.

One point to keep an eye on is the customer pushouts of silicon carbide devices due to slower EV demand. While the long-term prospects for silicon carbide in EVs and other industrial applications look promising, short-term demand fluctuations could introduce volatility.

Aehr Test Systems' financial results and strategic updates underscore significant opportunities, particularly in the silicon carbide and AI processor markets. Silicon carbide's relevance in EVs and the broader industrial market is a key growth driver, with expected orders supporting this trajectory. Furthermore, the company's new orders, totaling $12.7 million, from existing customers for silicon carbide test solutions highlight ongoing demand.

The acquisition of Incal Technology is a strategic move, potentially expanding Aehr's market share in the AI processor reliability test segment. This acquisition not only broadens Aehr's product portfolio but also positions them well in a market estimated to exceed $100 million annually.

Additionally, the growing demand for AI processor test and burn-in solutions is a promising area. Working with an AI accelerator company demonstrates Aehr's capability to tap into this market, which is projected to grow significantly. Investors should watch how these new segments contribute to the overall revenue mix and growth trajectory.

However, despite these promising developments, the company's booking performance—only $4.0 million for the quarter—might indicate a need for more robust order inflows. This metric is vital for assessing the future revenue pipeline and business health.

Investors should also be aware of the potential risks associated with entering new markets and integrating acquisitions. While these moves can drive growth, they also come with execution and integration challenges.

07/16/2024 - 04:05 PM

FREMONT, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 16, 2024 / Aehr Test Systems (NASDAQ:AEHR), a worldwide supplier of semiconductor test and burn-in equipment, today announced financial results for its fiscal 2024 fourth quarter and full year ended May 31, 2024.

Fiscal Fourth Quarter Financial Results:

Net revenue was $16.6 million, compared to $22.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023
GAAP net income was $23.9 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, which includes the impact of a tax benefit resulting from the release of the Company's full income tax valuation allowance of approximately $20.8 million, compared to GAAP net income of $6.1 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
Non-GAAP net income was $24.7 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, which includes the tax benefit and excludes acquisition related costs and the impact of stock-based compensation, compared to non-GAAP net income of $6.8 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
Bookings were $4.0 million for the quarter
Backlog as of May 31, 2024, was $7.3 million. Effective backlog, which includes all orders received since the end of the fourth quarter, is $20.8 million.
Total cash and cash equivalents as of May 31, 2024 were $49.2 million, up from $47.6 million at February 29, 2024

Fiscal Year Financial Results:

Net revenue was a record $66.2 million, compared to $65.0 million in fiscal 2023
GAAP net income was $33.2 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, which includes the impact of a tax benefit resulting from the release of the Company's full income tax valuation allowance of approximately $20.8 million recognized in the fourth quarter, compared to GAAP net income of $14.6 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, in fiscal 2023.
Non-GAAP net income, which includes the tax benefit and excludes acquisition related costs and the impact of stock-based compensation, was $35.8 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $17.3 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, in fiscal 2023.

An explanation of the use of non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of Aehr's non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the accompanying tables.

Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented:

"Our full-year revenue and net income results exceeded our previously provided guidance and surpassed analyst consensus. Although we saw customer pushouts of silicon carbide devices due to slower electric vehicle (EV) demand in the second half of our fiscal year, we achieved another record year for annual revenue for Aehr.

"Wafer level test and burn-in of silicon carbide power semiconductors used in EVs was a key driver of our business in the last year, and we anticipate silicon carbide will continue to be a key contributor to revenue in the current fiscal year and beyond. To that point, we announced today that we received $12.7 million in orders from one of our silicon carbide test and burn-in customers for FOX WaferPak™ full wafer Contactors to support production of silicon carbide power devices for electric vehicles to be delivered over the next three months.

"The silicon carbide market continues to be an enormous opportunity for Aehr as we see more auto suppliers committed to silicon carbide in their EVs, as well as roadmaps that are based on modules for their electric motor power inverters. By 2030, battery EVs are forecasted to more than triple last year's sales to 30 million or 30% of total vehicles manufactured worldwide.

"We remain actively engaged with a significant number of new silicon carbide device and module suppliers and seek to meet their anticipated capacity coming online beginning in 2025. We are also seeing growing demand for silicon carbide devices beyond the EV market, such as solar, data center, and other industrial applications for power conversion. We believe we are well positioned to continue to grow our business in silicon carbide, and we expect to receive first orders from a significant number of additional silicon carbide customers by the end of this fiscal year.

"We are also seeing traction with several emerging opportunities for our test and burn-in solutions in new target markets and expect bookings and revenue across a much broader range of customers and markets this fiscal year.

"One of the key new market opportunities we are focusing on is the growing demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) processor test and burn-in at both the wafer level and the packaged part level.

"We are currently working with an AI accelerator company and have secured a commitment from them to evaluate our FOX solution for use in production wafer level burn-in of their high-power processors. Upon successful demonstration of wafer level test results and throughput, we expect they will utilize our new high-power FOX-XP systems for production of their next generation AI processors, starting this fiscal year.

"We also announced today in a separate press release our acquisition of Incal Technology, a manufacturer of highly acclaimed reliability test and burn-in solutions of a wide range of semiconductor devices and markets, with a new product family of ultra-high-power test solutions for AI accelerators, graphics & network processors, and high-performance computing processors. We believe that between wafer level and package part, the reliability test and production burn-in market for AI processors exceeds $100 million annually, and with this combined product portfolio we believe we have the opportunity to capture a meaningful share of the market this fiscal year.

"This past year we announced our first order for a FOX wafer level test and burn-in system for gallium nitride (GaN) devices. While silicon carbide will be the semiconductor material of choice for EV traction inverters, GaN is expected to gain significant penetration in the on-board charging market as well as other automotive, solar, and data center power conversion applications. We are working with several of the GaN market leaders, and received a significant number of WaferPak orders throughout the year for gallium nitride reliability test and qualification. We have now received our first forecasts for wafer level production burn-in systems to be delivered during this fiscal year. We continue to be encouraged by this market and believe it will be significant in market size for semiconductors and has the potential to be a solid market opportunity for Aehr's solutions.

"Within the silicon photonics market, we shipped the first order from a major silicon photonics customer for the new high-power configuration of our FOX-XP system this last fiscal year. This new configuration expands our market opportunity by enabling cost-effective volume production test of wafers of next-generation photonic ICs that are targeted for use in the new optical I/O or co-packaged optics market. Nvidia, AMD, and Intel have all discussed the potential for adding optical chip-to-chip communication for performance improvement and power savings for AI processors and High-Performance Computing chips.

"Looking ahead, we believe Aehr has significant opportunities for growth in fiscal 2025 and beyond with our industry-leading product portfolio, and we look forward to updating you on our progress throughout the year as we seek to capitalize on these exciting new opportunities."

Fiscal 2025 Financial Guidance:

For the fiscal year ending May 30, 2025, Aehr expects total revenue of at least $70 million and net profit before taxes of at least 10% of revenue.

Management Conference Call and Webcast:

Aehr Test Systems will host a conference call and webcast today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern (2:00 p.m. PT) to discuss its fiscal 2024 fourth quarter and full year operating results. To access the live call, dial +1 888-506-0062 (US and Canada) or +1 973-528-0011 (International) and give the participant passcode 196310.

In addition, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available over the Internet at www.aehr.com in the Investor Relations section and may also be accessed by clicking here. A phone replay of the conference call will also be available beginning approximately two hours after conclusion of the live call and will remain available for one week. To access the call replay, dial +1 877-481-4010 (US and Canada) or +1 919-882-2331 (International) and enter replay passcode 50772.

About Aehr Test Systems

Headquartered in Fremont, California, Aehr Test Systems is a leading provider of test solutions for testing, burning-in, and stabilizing semiconductor devices in wafer level, singulated die, and package part form, and has installed thousands of systems worldwide. Increasing quality, reliability, safety, and security needs of semiconductors used across multiple applications, including electric vehicles, electric vehicle charging infrastructure, solar and wind power, computing, data and telecommunications infrastructure, and solid-state memory and storage, are driving additional test requirements, incremental capacity needs, and new opportunities for Aehr Test products and solutions. Aehr has developed and introduced several innovative products including the FOX-P^™ families of test and burn-in systems and FOX WaferPak^™ Aligner, FOX WaferPak Contactor, FOX DiePak^® Carrier and FOX DiePak Loader. The FOX-XP and FOX-NP systems are full wafer contact and singulated die/module test and burn-in systems that can test, burn-in, and stabilize a wide range of devices such as leading-edge silicon carbide-based and other power semiconductors, 2D and 3D sensors used in mobile phones, tablets, and other computing devices, memory semiconductors, processors, microcontrollers, systems-on-a-chip, and photonics and integrated optical devices. The FOX-CP system is a low-cost single-wafer compact test solution for logic, memory and photonic devices and the newest addition to the FOX-P product family. The FOX WaferPak Contactor contains a unique full wafer contactor capable of testing wafers up to 300mm that enables IC manufacturers to perform test, burn-in, and stabilization of full wafers on the FOX-P systems. The FOX DiePak Carrier allows testing, burning in, and stabilization of singulated bare die and modules up to 1024 devices in parallel per DiePak on the FOX-NP and FOX-XP systems up to nine DiePaks at a time. For more information, please visit Aehr Test Systems' website at www.aehr.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements generally relate to future events or Aehr's future financial or operating performance. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "going to," "could," "intends," "target," "projects," "contemplates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," or "continue," or the negative of these words or other similar terms or expressions that concern Aehr's expectations, strategy, priorities, plans, or intentions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, future requirements and orders of Aehr's new and existing customers; bookings and revenue forecasted for proprietary WaferPak^™ and DiePak consumables, as well as the ability to generate bookings and revenue from application of Aehr's solutions in emerging markets; Aehr's ability to receive orders and generate revenue in the future, as well as Aehr's beliefs regarding the factors impacting the foregoing; preliminary financial guidance for the full fiscal year 2024; and expectations related to long-term demand for Aehr's products, the attractiveness of key markets and the ability for AEHR to successfully enter new markets. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are also subject to other risks and uncertainties, including those more fully described in Aehr's recent Form 10-K, 10-Q and other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Aehr disclaims any obligation to update information contained in any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.

Contacts:

Aehr Test Systems		MKR Investor Relations Inc.
Chris Siu		Todd Kehrli or Jim Byers
Chief Financial Officer		Analyst/Investor Contact
csiu@aehr.com		(323) 468-2300
		aehr@mkr-group.com

- Financial Tables to Follow -

AEHR TEST SYSTEMS
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended									Year Ended
	May 31,			Feb 29,			May 31,			May 31,			May 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)	2024			2024			2023			2024			2023
Revenue:
Product	$	15,805		$	6,730		$	21,002		$	61,729		$	60,717
Services		795			833			1,267			4,489			4,244
Total revenue		16,600			7,563			22,269			66,218			64,961
Cost of revenue:
Product ⁽¹⁾		7,519			3,948			10,020			31,093			29,759
Services⁽¹⁾		633			459			770			2,582			2,456
Total cost of revenue		8,152			4,407			10,790			33,675			32,215
Gross profit		8,448			3,156			11,479			32,543			32,746
Operating expenses:
Research and development		2,151			2,139			2,253			8,719			7,134
Selling, general and administrative		3,756			3,063			3,587			13,746			12,237
Total operating expenses		5,907			5,202			5,840			22,465			19,371
Income (loss) from operations		2,541			(2,046	)		5,639			10,078			13,375
Interest income, net		592			584			487			2,388			1,245
Other expense, net		(10	)		(2	)		(4	)		(8	)		(3	)
Income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)		3,123			(1,464	)		6,122			12,458			14,617
Income tax expense (benefit)		(20,741	)		7			11			(20,698	)		60
Net income (loss)	$	23,864		$	(1,471	)	$	6,111		$	33,156		$	14,557

Net income (loss) per share:
Basic	$	0.82		$	(0.05	)	$	0.21		$	1.15		$	0.52
Diluted	$	0.81		$	(0.05	)	$	0.21		$	1.12		$	0.50
Shares used in per share calculations:
Basic		28,953			28,866			28,425			28,818			27,785
Diluted		29,459			28,866			29,572			29,617			29,215

(1) Certain amounts in a prior period have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

AEHR TEST SYSTEMS
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP RESULTS
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended									Year Ended
	May 31,			Feb 29,			May 31,			May 31,			May 31,
(In thousands, except per share data)	2024			2024			2023			2024			2023
Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP gross profit
GAAP gross profit	$	8,448		$	3,156		$	11,479		$	32,543		$	32,746
Special items:
a) Stock-based compensation expense		108			58			79			330			331
Non-GAAP gross profit	$	8,556		$	3,214		$	11,558		$	32,873		$	33,077
Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP operating expenses
GAAP operating expenses	$	5,907		$	5,202		$	5,840		$	22,465		$	19,371
Special items:
a) Stock-based compensation expense		(667	)		(525	)		(574	)		(2,188	)		(2,417	)
b) Acquisition related costs		(107	)		-			-			(107	)		-
Non-GAAP operating expenses	$	5,133		$	4,677		$	5,266		$	20,170		$	16,954
Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP income (loss) from operations
GAAP income (loss) from operations	$	2,541		$	(2,046	)	$	5,639		$	10,078		$	13,375
Special items:
a) Stock-based compensation expense		775			583			653			2,518			2,748
b) Acquisition related costs		107			-			-			107			-
Non-GAAP (loss) income from operations	$	3,423		$	(1,463	)	$	6,292		$	12,703		$	16,123
Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)
GAAP income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)	$	3,123		$	(1,464	)	$	6,122		$	12,458		$	14,617
Special items:
a) Stock-based compensation expense		775			583			653			2,518			2,748
b) Acquisition related costs		107			-			-			107			-
Non-GAAP income (loss) before income tax expense (benefit)	$	4,005		$	(881	)	$	6,775		$	15,083		$	17,365
Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP net income (loss)
GAAP net income (loss)	$	23,864		$	(1,471	)	$	6,111		$	33,156		$	14,557
Special items:
a) Stock-based compensation expense		775			583			653			2,518			2,748
b) Acquisition related costs		107			-			-			107			-
Non-GAAP net income (loss)	$	24,746		$	(888	)	$	6,764		$	35,781		$	17,305
Reconciliation of GAAP net income (loss) per diluted share to non-GAAP net income (loss) per diluted share
GAAP net income (loss) per diluted share	$	0.81		$	(0.05	)	$	0.21		$	1.12		$	0.50
Special items:
a) Stock-based compensation expense		0.03			0.02			0.02			0.09			0.09
b) Acquisition related costs		0.00			-			-			0.00			-
Non-GAAP net income (loss) per diluted share	$	0.84		$	(0.03	)	$	0.23		$	1.21		$	0.59

a) Represents compensation expense for equity awards granted to employees and directors
b) Represents acquisition activity costs
Non-GAAP measures should not be considered a replacement for GAAP results. The non-GAAP measures indicated above are financial measures the Company uses to evaluate the underlying results and operating performance of the business. The limitation of these measures are that they exclude items that impact the Company's current period GAAP measures. This limitation is best addressed by using these measures in combination with the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures. These measures are not in accordance with GAAP and may differ from non-GAAP methods of accounting and reporting used by other companies.

We believe these measures enhance investors' ability to review the Company's business from the same perspective as the Company's management and facilitate comparisons of this period's results with prior periods.

AEHR TEST SYSTEMS
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Unaudited)

	May 31,
(In thousands, except par value)	2024			2023
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	49,159		$	30,054
Short-term investments		-			17,853
Accounts receivable, net		9,796			16,594
Inventories		37,470			23,908
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		1,423			621
Total current assets		97,848			89,030
Property and equipment, net		3,253			2,759
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net		5,734			6,123
Deferred tax assets, net		20,773			-
Other non-current assets		304			231
Total assets		127,912			98,143
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	5,332		$	9,206
Accrued expenses		3,366			4,143
Operating lease liabilities, short-term		465			137
Deferred revenue, short-term		1,345			2,822
Total current liabilities		10,508			16,308
Operating lease liabilities, long-term		5,732			6,163
Deferred revenue, long-term		41			31
Other long-term liabilities		38			41
Total liabilities		16,319			22,543

Shareholders' equity:
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value: Authorized: 10,000 shares;
Issued and outstanding: none		-			-
Common stock, $0.01 par value: Authorized: 75,000 shares;
Issued and outstanding: 28,995shares and 28,539 shares at May 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively		289			285
Additional paid-in-capital		130,612			127,776
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(158	)		(155	)
Accumulated deficit		(19,150	)		(52,306	)
Total shareholders' equity		111,593			75,600
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity	$	127,912		$	98,143

AEHR TEST SYSTEMS
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)

	Year Ended May 31,
(In thousands)	2024			2023
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$	33,156		$	14,557
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Stock-based compensation expense		2,518			2,748
Depreciation and amortization		657			450
Deferred income taxes		(20,773	)		-
Accretion of investment discount		(130	)		(576	)
Amortization of operating lease right-of-use assets⁽²⁾		706			649
Provision for credit loss		-			24
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable		6,790			(3,788	)
Inventories		(13,732	)		(9,469	)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets		(875	)		28
Accounts payable		(3,891	)		5,044
Accrued expenses		(792	)		528
Deferred revenue		(1,469	)		369
Operating lease liabilities ⁽²⁾		(423	)		(561	)
Income taxes payable		14			8
Net cash provided by operating activities		1,756			10,011

Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from maturities of investments		18,000			16,000
Purchases of investments		-			(33,294	)
Purchases of property and equipment		(749	)		(1,362	)
Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities		17,251			(18,656	)

Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of common stock under employee plans		1,807			2,562
Shares repurchased for tax withholdings on vesting of restricted stock units		(1,596	)		(2,060	)
Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net of issuance costs		(72	)		6,820
Net cash provided by financing activities		139			7,322

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash		(41	)		(37	)

Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash		19,105			(1,360	)

Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of year ⁽¹⁾		30,204			31,564
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of year ⁽¹⁾	$	49,309		$	30,204

Supplemental cash flow information:
Income taxes paid		90			21
Interest paid		-			15

Supplemental disclosure of non-cash flow information:
Net transfer of equipment between inventory and property and equipment		357			646

(1) Includes restricted cash in other non-current assets.
(2) Certain amounts in a prior period have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation.

SOURCE: Aehr Test Systems

View the original press release on accesswire.com

FAQ

What was Aehr Test Systems' revenue for fiscal 2024?

Aehr Test Systems reported record annual revenue of $66.2 million for fiscal 2024.

How much was Aehr's (AEHR) Q4 2024 net income?

Aehr's Q4 2024 GAAP net income was $23.9 million, or $0.81 per diluted share.

What is Aehr's (AEHR) revenue guidance for fiscal 2025?

Aehr expects total revenue of at least $70 million for fiscal year 2025.

Did Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) make any acquisitions in fiscal 2024?

Yes, Aehr announced the acquisition of Incal Technology, a manufacturer of reliability test and burn-in solutions for semiconductor devices.

What markets is Aehr Test Systems (AEHR) focusing on for growth?

Aehr is focusing on growth opportunities in silicon carbide, AI processors, and gallium nitride markets.

Aehr Test Systems Reports Fiscal 2024 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results and Provides Fiscal 2025 Full Year Financial Guidance

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Aehr Test Systems Reports Fiscal 2024 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Financial Results and Provides Fiscal 2025 Full Year Financial Guidance

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What was Aehr Test Systems' revenue for fiscal 2024?

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