euro adhoc: austriamicrosystems AG / Financial Figures/Balance Sheet / austriamicrosystems reports revenues and earnings for fiscal year 2008

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annual report

23.02.2009

Detailed results for fiscal year 2008 and fourth quarter 2008

Unterpremstaetten, Austria (February 23, 2009) — austriamicrosystems
(SWX: AMS), a leading worldwide designer and manufacturer of high
performance analog ICs for communications, industry & medical and
automotive applications, recorded audited revenues and earnings for
fiscal year 2008 below the previous year. The company´s full year
revenue development was strongly affected by the widening economic
downturn in the fourth quarter. Net earnings were negatively impacted
by a previously announced extraordinary charge from currency hedging
activities.

Financials

Group revenues for fiscal year 2008 reached EUR 184.7 million, 4.7%
below the previous year´s revenues. On a constant currency basis,
full year revenues decreased by only 2.2% compared to the previous
year. Revenues for the fourth quarter 2008 were EUR 43.2 million,
27.4% lower than the EUR 59.5 million recorded in the same quarter
2007. On a constant currency basis, revenues for the fourth quarter
decreased by 29.7% compared to the same quarter 2007.

Gross margin for the full year 2008 exceeded 50% again at 50.6%,
slightly above the previous year´s 50.4%. Full year gross margin
remained strong despite a disappointing revenue development given
active cost management, a full natural hedge in the production costs
and positive efficiency effects. Gross margin was 49.3% in the fourth
quarter 2008 compared to 52.2% in the same period 2007, mainly as a
result of lower revenues in an increasingly challenging environment.

The IFRS group result from operations (EBIT) for 2008 was EUR 25.0
million or 13.5% of revenues (2007: 14.4% of revenues). EBIT
decreased by EUR 3.0 million or 10.7% compared to full year 2007, in
line with previous guidance. Investment in research & development was
EUR 43.6 million, almost unchanged from 2007, or 23.6% of revenues to
support long term product roadmaps. The group EBIT for the fourth
quarter 2008 was EUR 4.9 million, compared to EUR 10.9 million in the
same period 2007.

The net financial expense for 2008 was EUR -12.5 million, compared to
EUR -0.9 million for 2007, reflecting the expected EUR 10 million
extraordinary charge due to the revaluation of hedging instruments
which had been announced in November 2008, and higher financing
costs. The net financial expense for the fourth quarter 2008 was EUR
-11.5 million, compared to EUR -0.5 million in the same period 2007.

Net income for the fiscal year 2008 reached EUR 12.3 million, a
decrease of 53.2% from EUR 26.3 million in the previous year. Basic
and diluted earnings per share for 2008 were CHF 1.78 / EUR 1.13 and
CHF 1.77 / EUR 1.12 respectively (2007: CHF 3.98 / EUR 2.42 and CHF
3.96 / EUR 2.41). Net income for the fourth quarter 2008 was EUR -6.2
million, compared to EUR 10.1 million for the same period 2007,
mainly due to the negative effect from currency hedging described
above. Basic and diluted earnings per share for the fourth quarter
were CHF -0.86 / EUR -0.57 and CHF -0.87 / EUR -0.58 respectively
(2007: CHF 1.55 / EUR 0.93 and CHF 1.53 / EUR 0.92).

Cash flow from operations in 2008 reached EUR 47.5 million (2007: EUR
27.0 million), driven by reduced capital expenditures and lower
accounts receivable. Capital expenditures for 2008 were EUR 14.4
million, 60% lower than EUR 36.0 million recorded in 2007. Total
backlog reached EUR 29.8 million at year-end 2008 compared to EUR
41.2 million on December 31, 2007. Total backlog at year-end 2008
does not reflect additional levels of consignment stock held for
major customers.

Cash and short term investments stood at EUR 30.7 million on December
31, 2008 compared to EUR 23.1 million at the end of 2007. Further
undrawn credit facilities are available to the company. Net debt
reached EUR 31.2 million on December 31, 2008, increasing from EUR
27.1 million at year-end 2007 due to long-term financing activities.
The equity ratio was 62% at year-end 2008, compared to 63% at the end
of 2007. The average number of group employees was 1,129 for fiscal
year 2008, compared to 1,071 for the year 2007, and 1,155 for the
fourth quarter 2008.

In order to return cash to shareholders on a consistent basis,
austriamicrosystems has decided to install a cash dividend policy.
The dividend policy calls for regular distribution of 25% of the net
result each year and is expected to be implemented this year for the
first time based on 2008 earnings. Consequently, the company will
propose a dividend of EUR 0.28 per share for 2008.

Business

austriamicrosystems´ business performed below previous expectations
in the past year. While business was still on an upward trend through
the first nine months, the financial and economic crisis of the
fourth quarter had a noticeable negative effect also on
austriamicrosystems resulting in lower full year revenues and
profitability compared to the year before. austriamicrosystems was
still successful in its target markets as a leader in low power
consumption, high accuracy and analog performance, building on its
analog design expertise. The company launched numerous new products
and product families in 2008 with a focus on lighting management,
magnetic sensors, RFID, and specialty sensor interfaces.

In Communications, austriamicrosystems saw growth particularly in
lighting management applications for handsets and other mobile
devices. austriamicrosystems continued to serve Top 5 handset
manufacturers with lighting and power management ICs in significant
volumes, adding a leading Asian mobile phone vendor to its customer
base last year. New products were introduced for LED LCD backlighting
and advanced noise cancellation for handsets, and innovative digital
camera modules using austriamicrosystems products are being
industrialized. MEMS microphone ICs grew strongly as this microphone
technology quickly penetrates the global handset and also notebook
market.

Industry & Medical was again successful with magnetic encoders and
specialized sensor interfaces as well as industrial control products
even though the first negative effects from the weak economic
situation started to become evident towards year-end. Magnetic
encoders continued to show attractive growth, additional products
including linear encoders were introduced and new applications opened
up for the future. The new RFID reader IC product line met with
success in the marketplace, first end products became available last
year. Business in medical imaging which comprises digital X-ray, CT
and ultrasound sensor interfaces for leading global OEMs continued to
increase in 2008.

Automotive showed a positive development for nine months, but was
negatively impacted by the sharp automotive industry downturn towards
year-end. Still, austriamicrosystems´ customers continued development
efforts on next generation technologies where austriamicrosystems
offers innovative solutions in areas such as FlexRay data bus,
position measurement and battery management. The Full Service Foundry
business secured its position as a leading analog foundry focused on
specialty processes. austriamicrosystems opened a new design center
in Spain to focus on innovative IC solutions for renewable energy
generation, a market offering attractive growth potential for the
future.

Notwithstanding the difficult market environment, austriamicrosystems
broadened its customer base in 2008, adding new accounts and
increasing penetration of existing customers based on its strong
product portfolio. The company´s international manufacturing model
including its Asian test center enabled full natural hedging of
production costs in 2008, supporting gross margins in a volatile
currency market.

As soon as the effects of the financial crisis became evident,
austriamicrosystems identified cost reduction potentials across all
areas of the company and implemented corresponding measures beyond
its continuous cost optimization efforts. These measures will result
in operating cost savings of over EUR 10m in 2009. In this context,
the company announced worldwide staff cuts of approximately 70
employees (around 6% of its total), to be completed in Q1 2009.
Should the market situation turn even more negative as the year
progresses, austriamicrosystems has the ability to implement further
cost savings for 2009.

Outlook

Despite the current economic downturn, austriamicrosystems remains
well positioned in its target markets Communications, Industry &
Medical and Automotive for the longer term, based on a solid business
model, excellent products and high quality customers. A strong
portfolio of high performance analog solutions and continuing
research and development into innovative products offer
differentiation in a fast-changing marketplace.

austriamicrosystems nevertheless expects the difficult current
environment with extremely limited visibility across markets to
persist through 2009. Consequently, austriamicrosystems is not in a
position to provide revenue or earnings expectations for full year
2009. austriamicrosystems expects a negative business trend for at
least the first quarter and first half of 2009, resulting in a
meaningful decline in revenues compared to last year´s first quarter
and first half and a negative result on the EBIT and net level.

Additional financial information is available on the
austriamicrosystems website at
http://www.austriamicrosystems.com/eng/Investor

end of announcement euro adhoc
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ots Originaltext: austriamicrosystems AG
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Further inquiry note:

Moritz M. Gmeiner

Director Investor Relations

Tel: +43 3136 500-5970

Fax: +43 3136 500-5420

Email: investor@austriamicrosystems.com

Branche: Technology
ISIN: AT0000920863
WKN: 632638
Börsen: SWX Swiss Exchange / official dealing