Aehr Test Systems Reports Financial Results for First Quarter Fiscal 2010

FREMONT, Calif., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aehr Test Systems (Nasdaq: AEHR), a technology leader in the semiconductor test and burn-in equipment industry, today announced financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2010 ended August 31, 2009.

Net sales were $1.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2010, compared with $9.7 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Aehr Test reported net income of $1.0 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2010, compared with net income of $0.9 million, or $0.10 per diluted share, in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. Net income in the first quarter of fiscal 2010 included a pre-tax gain of approximately $3.3 million from the sale of a portion of the Company's bankruptcy claim against its customer, Spansion Inc.

"Our business in the first quarter continued to be impacted by the challenging global macroeconomic climate, coupled with weak capital spending trends in the semiconductor industry," said Rhea Posedel, chairman and chief executive officer of Aehr Test Systems. "That said, net sales of $1.3 million were up slightly on a sequential quarter basis and we are encouraged by important new orders that we booked in recent months. These included a follow-on order of more than $1 million for our FOX-15 wafer-level burn-in and test system along with orders from two customers for our new Advanced Burn-in and Test System (ABTS(TM)). The new ABTS family significantly expands our product portfolio and provides us with an excellent opportunity to grow our business going forward.

"Despite the near-term hurdles resulting from the current macroeconomic cycle, recent reductions in our cost structure and improvements in our product offerings have made me more confident in Aehr Test's ability to increase market share and return to a growth path as industry conditions improve to more typical levels," said Mr. Posedel.

At August 31, 2009, cash and cash equivalents were $2.7 million. The proceeds of approximately $3.3 million from the sale of a portion of the bankruptcy claim were received in September 2009. Aehr Test completed the first quarter of fiscal 2010 with no outstanding debt and shareholders' equity of $11.2 million, or $1.32 per share outstanding at August 31, 2009.

Management Conference Call

Management of Aehr Test will host a conference call and webcast today, September 30, 2009 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern (2:00 p.m. Pacific) to discuss the Company's first quarter fiscal 2010 operating results. The conference call will be accessible live via the internet at www.aehr.com. Please go to the website at least 15 minutes before start time to register, download and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the webcast will be available at www.aehr.com for 90 days.

About Aehr Test Systems

Headquartered in Fremont, California, Aehr Test Systems is a leading worldwide provider of systems for burning-in and testing DRAMs, flash, and other memory and logic integrated circuits and has an installed base of more than 2,500 systems worldwide. Aehr Test has developed and introduced several innovative products, including the ABTS, FOX(TM), MTX and MAX systems and the DiePak(®) carrier. The ABTS is Aehr Test's newest system for packaged part test during burn-in for both low-power and high-power logic as well as all common types of memory devices. The FOX system is a full wafer contact test and burn-in system. The MTX system is a massively parallel test system designed to reduce the cost of memory testing by performing both test and burn-in on thousands of devices simultaneously. The MAX system can effectively burn-in and functionally test complex devices, such as digital signal processors, microprocessors, microcontrollers and systems-on-a-chip. The DiePak carrier is a reusable, temporary package that enables IC manufacturers to perform cost-effective final test and burn-in of bare die. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.aehr.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties relating to projections regarding revenues and customer demand and acceptance of Aehr Test's products. Actual results may vary from projected results. These risks and uncertainties include without limitation, world economic conditions, the timing of the recovery of the semiconductor equipment market, the Company's ability to maintain sufficient cash to support operations, acceptance by customers of Aehr Test's technologies, acceptance by customers of the systems shipped upon receipt of a purchase order and the ability of new products to meet customer needs or perform as described, and the Company's development and manufacture of a commercially successful wafer-level test and burn-in system. See Aehr Test's recent 10-K and other reports from time to time filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a more detailed description of the risks facing our business. The Company 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.

                            (Financial Tables to Follow)

                         AEHR TEST SYSTEMS AND SUBSIDIARIES
                    Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income
                       (in thousands, except per share data)
                                     (unaudited)

                                                 Three Months Ended
                                                      August 31,
                                                      ---------
                                                    2009     2008
                                                    ----     ----

    Net sales                                     $1,268   $9,690
    Cost of sales                                  1,325    4,772
                                                   -----    -----
    Gross (loss) profit                              (57)   4,918
                                                     ---    -----
    Operating expenses:
      Selling, general and administrative          1,313    2,085
      Research and development                       942    1,478
      Gain on sale of bankruptcy claim            (3,289)       -
                                                  ------      ---
        Total operating expenses                  (1,034)   3,563
                                                  ------    -----

        Income from operations                       977    1,355

    Interest income                                    1       63
    Other expense, net                                14        7
                                                     ---      ---
        Income before income tax expense             964    1,411

    Income tax expense                                 3      546
                                                     ---      ---
        Net income                                  $961     $865
                                                    ====     ====

    Net income per share
        Basic                                      $0.11    $0.10
        Diluted                                    $0.11    $0.10

    Shares used in per share calculations:
        Basic                                      8,496    8,395
        Diluted                                    8,512    8,753

                         AEHR TEST SYSTEMS AND SUBSIDIARIES
                   Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results
                       (in thousands, except per share data)
                                    (unaudited)

                                                      Three Months Ended
                                                           August 31,
                                                           ---------
                                                          2009    2008
                                                          ----    ----

    GAAP net income                                       $961    $865
    Gain on sale of bankruptcy claim (1)                (3,289)      -
    Stock compensation expense                             305     286
    Income tax effect on non-GAAP adjustments                -    (123)
                                                           ---    ----
    Non-GAAP net (loss) income                         $(2,023) $1,028
                                                       =======  ======

    GAAP net income per diluted share                    $0.11   $0.10
                                                         =====   =====
    Non-GAAP net (loss) income per diluted share        $(0.24)  $0.12
                                                        ======   =====
    Shares used in GAAP diluted shares calculation       8,512   8,753
                                                         =====   =====
    Shares used in non-GAAP diluted shares calculation   8,496   8,753
                                                         =====   =====

    (1) The Company's largest customer, Spansion Inc. ("Spansion") filed for
        bankruptcy in February and March 2009.  The Company has filed a claim
        in the Spansion U.S. bankruptcy action.  In the first quarter of
        fiscal 2010, the Company sold a portion of its bankruptcy claim to a
        third party for net proceeds of approximately $3.3 million and
        recorded the amount in income from operations.

        Non-GAAP net income is a non-GAAP measure and should not be considered
        a replacement for GAAP results.  Non-GAAP net income is a financial
        measure the Company uses to evaluate the underlying results and
        operating performance of the business.  The limitation of this measure
        is that it excludes items that impact the Company's current period net
        income.  This limitation is best addressed by using this measure in
        combination with net income (the most comparable GAAP measure).

                         AEHR TEST SYSTEMS AND SUBSIDIARIES
                       Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
                       (in thousands, except per share data)
                                   (unaudited)

                                                   August 31,   May 31,
                                                      2009       2009
                                                      ----       ----
    ASSETS

    Current assets:
      Cash and cash equivalents                      $2,745    $4,360
      Accounts receivable, net                          718       931
      Inventories                                     4,118     4,472
      Prepaid expenses and other                      3,752       879
                                                      -----       ---
        Total current assets                         11,333    10,642

    Property and equipment, net                       2,563     2,741
    Other assets                                        531       528
                                                        ---       ---
        Total assets                                $14,427   $13,911
                                                    =======   =======

    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

    Current liabilities:
      Accounts payable                                 $588      $995
      Accrued expenses                                1,831     2,107
      Deferred revenue                                  161       241
                                                        ---       ---
        Total current liabilities                     2,580     3,343

    Income tax payable                                  299       299
    Deferred lease commitment                           301       306
                                                        ---       ---
        Total liabilities                             3,180     3,948

    Shareholders' equity                             11,247     9,963
                                                     ------     -----

        Total liabilities and shareholders' equity   $14,427   $13,911
                                                     =======   =======

    Contact:

    Gary Larson
    Chief Financial Officer
    (510) 623-9400 x321

SOURCE Aehr Test Systems