TAIPEI, Taiwan, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ -- Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. (TAIEX: 2311; NYSE: ASX) ("We", "ASE", or the "Company"), the world's largest independent provider of IC packaging and testing services, today reported unaudited net revenues (Note 1) of NT$26,293 million for the fourth quarter of 2009 (4Q09), up 44% year-over-year and up 4% sequentially. Net income for the quarter totaled NT$3,450 million, up from a net loss of NT$800 million in 4Q08 and up from net income of NT$3,187 million in 3Q09. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter was NT$0.66 (or US$0.102 per ADS), compared to losses per share of NT$0.15 for 4Q08 and diluted earnings per share of NT$0.61 for 3Q09. For the full year of 2009, the Company reported net revenues of NT$85,775 million and net income of NT$6,744 million. Diluted earnings per share for the full year of 2009 was NT$1.29, or US$0.195 per ADS. Note 1: All financial information presented in this press release is unaudited, consolidated and prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the Republic of China, or ROC GAAP. Such financial information is generated internally by us, and has not been subjected to the same review and scrutiny, including internal auditing procedures and audit by our independent auditors, to which we subject our audited consolidated financial statements, and may vary materially from the audited consolidated financial information for the same period. Any evaluation of the financial information presented in this press release should also take into account our published audited consolidated financial statements and the notes to those statements. In addition, the financial information presented is not necessarily indicative of our results for any future period. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS 4Q09 Results Highlights -- Net revenue contribution from IC packaging operations (including module assembly), testing operations, and substrates sold to third parties was NT$21,131 million, NT$4,563 million and NT$599 million, respectively, and each represented approximately 81%, 17% and 2%, respectively, of total net revenues for the quarter. -- Cost of revenues was NT$19,686 million, up 28% year-over-year and up 4% sequentially. * Raw material cost totaled NT$8,166 million during the quarter, representing 31% of total net revenue, compared with NT$7,442 million and 30% of total net revenue in the previous quarter. * Labor cost totaled NT$3,754 million during the quarter, representing 14% of total net revenue, compared with NT$3,590 million and 14% of total net revenue in the previous quarter. * Depreciation, amortization and rental expenses totaled NT$4,067 million during the quarter, down 5% year-over-year and down 1% sequentially. -- Total operating expenses during 4Q09 were NT$2,645 million, including NT$1,081 million in R&D and NT$1,564 million in SG&A, compared with operating expenses of NT$2,390 million in 3Q09. Total operating expenses as a percentage of net revenue for the current quarter were 10%, down from 12% in 4Q08 and up from 9% in 3Q09. -- Operating income for the quarter totaled NT$3,962 million, down from NT$3,967 million in the previous quarter. Operating margin decreased to 15% in 4Q09 from 16% in 3Q09. -- In terms of non-operating items: * Net interest expense was NT$256 million, down from NT$303 million a quarter ago primarily due to lower average interest rates and loan balance during the quarter. * Net foreign exchange gain of NT$35 million was primarily attributable to the depreciation of the U.S. dollar against the N.T. dollar. * Gain on equity-method investments of NT$135 million was primarily attributable to our investment in USI and HC. * Other non-operating income of NT$96 million was primarily related to scrap sales and other miscellaneous gains. Total non-operating income for the quarter was NT$10 million, compared to non-operating expenses of NT$1,275 million for 4Q08 and NT$110 million for 3Q09. -- Income before tax was NT$3,972 million for 4Q09, compared to NT$3,857 million in the previous quarter. We recorded income tax expense of NT$418 million during the quarter, compared to NT$558 million in 3Q09. -- In 4Q09, net income was NT$3,450 million, compared to a net loss of NT$800 million for 4Q08 and net income of NT$3,187 million for 3Q09. -- Our total number of shares outstanding at the end of the quarter was 5,488,829,114, including treasury stock owned by our subsidiaries. Our 4Q09 diluted earnings per share of NT$0.66 (or US$0.102 per ADS) was based on 5,200,502,367 weighted average number of shares outstanding in 4Q09. 2009 Full-Year Results -- Net revenues for the full year of 2009 amounted to NT$85,775 million, down 9% from 2008. The revenue contribution from IC packaging operations (including module assembly), testing operations, and substrates sold to third parties was NT$67,935 million, NT$15,795 million, and NT$2,045 million, respectively, and each represented approximately 79%, 19% and 2% respectively, of total net revenues for the year. -- Cost of revenues for the full year of 2009 were NT$67,629 million, compared with NT$72,661 million in 2008. -- Gross profit for the year was NT$18,146 million, down 17% compared to NT$21,770 million in 2008. Gross margin was 21% for the year, down from 23% in 2008. * Raw material cost totaled NT$25,536 million during the year, representing 30% of total net revenues, compared with NT$27,276 million and 29% of total net revenues in 2008. * Labor cost totaled NT$12,897 million during the year, representing 15% of total net revenues, compared with NT$14,550 million and 15% of total net revenues in 2008. * Depreciation, amortization and rental expenses totaled NT$16,603 million during the year, representing 19% of total net revenues, compared with NT$16,371 million and 17% of total net revenues in 2008. -- Total operating expenses during 2009 were NT$9,132 million, including NT$3,612 million in R&D and NT$5,520 million in SG&A. Total operating expenses as a percentage of net revenues was 11% in 2009, the same as the period in 2008. -- Operating income for the year was NT$9,014 million, compared to operating income of NT$11,246 for the previous year. Operating margin was 11% in 2009, down from 12% in 2008. -- Total non-operating expenses for the year were NT$626 million, compared to NT$1,770 million for 2008. The decrease was primarily due to the valuation adjustment from financial assets and liabilities, and the gain on equity-method long-term Investment. -- Income before tax was NT$8,388 million for 2009. We recognized an income tax expense of NT$1,485 million during the year. -- In 2009, net income amounted to NT$6,744 million, compared with a net income of NT$6,160 in 2008. -- Our total shares outstanding at the end of the year were 5,488,829,114, including treasury stock owned by our subsidiaries. Our diluted earnings per share for 2009 was NT$1.29, or US$0.195 per ADS, based on 5,207,574,499 weighted average number of shares outstanding. LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES -- As of Dec 31, 2009, our cash and other financial assets totaled NT$27,578 million, compared to NT$32,520 million as of Sep 30, 2009. -- Capital expenditures in 4Q09 totaled US$172 million, of which US$139 million was used for IC packaging, US$32 million was used for testing and US$1 million was used for interconnect materials. -- For the full year 2009, we spent US$349 million for capital expenditures, including US$274 million for IC packaging, US$73 million for testing, and US$2 million for interconnect material. -- As of Dec 31, 2009, we had total bank debt of NT$63,040 million, compared to NT$66,381 million as of Sep 30, 2009. Total bank debt consisted of NT$13,025 million of revolving working capital loans, NT$935 million of the current portion of long-term debt, and NT$49,080 million of long-term debt. Total unused credit lines amounted to NT$67,319 million. -- Current ratio as of Dec 31, 2009 was 1.78, compared to 1.52 as of Sep 30, 2009. Net debt to equity ratio was 0.47 as of Dec 31, 2009. -- Total number of employees was 29,538 as of Dec 31, 2009, compared to 26,977 as of Dec 31, 2008 and 27,940 as of Sep 30, 2009. Business Review IC Packaging Services (Note 2) -- Net revenues generated from our IC packaging operations were NT$21,131 million during the quarter, up NT$7,126 million, or 51% year-over-year, and up NT$1,126 million, or 6% sequentially. -- Net revenues from advanced substrate and leadframe-based packaging accounted for 87% of total IC packaging net revenues during the quarter, down by 1 percentage point from the previous quarter. -- Gross margin for our IC packaging operations during the quarter was 21%, up by 6 percentage points last year and the same as the previous quarter. -- Capital expenditures for our IC packaging operations amounted to US$139 million during the quarter, of which US$101 million was used for wirebonding packaging capacity and US$38 million was used for wafer bumping and flip chip packaging equipment. -- As of Dec 31, 2009, there were 9,515 wirebonders in operation. 796 wirebonders were added and 161 wirebonders were disposed of during the quarter. -- Net revenues from flip chip packages and wafer bumping services accounted for 14% of total packaging net revenues, down by 2 percentage points from the previous quarter. Note 2: IC packaging services include module assembly services. Testing Services -- Net revenues generated from our testing operations were NT$4,563 million, up NT$733 million, or 19% year-over-year, and down NT$25 million, or 1%, sequentially. -- Final testing contributed 83% to total testing net revenues, up by 1 percentage point from the previous quarter. Wafer sort contributed 14% to total testing net revenues, down by 1 percentage point from the previous quarter. Engineering testing contributed 3% to total testing net revenues, which remained unchanged from the previous quarter. -- Depreciation, amortization and rental expense associated with our testing operations amounted to NT$1,414 million, down from NT$1,575 million in 4Q08 and down from NT$1,436 million in 3Q09. -- In 4Q09, gross margin for our testing operations was 35%, up by 7 percentage points year-over-year and the same as the previous quarter. -- Capital spending on our testing operations amounted to US$32 million during the quarter. -- As of Dec 31, 2009, there were 1,603 testers in operation. 51 testers were added and 17 testers were disposed of during the quarter. Substrate Operations -- PBGA substrate manufactured by ASE amounted to NT$2,297 million during the quarter, up NT$799 million, or 53% year-over-year, and up NT$48 million, or 2% from the previous quarter. Of the total output of NT$2,297million, NT$599 million was from sales to external customers. -- Gross margin for substrate operations was 25% during the quarter, up by 13 percentage points year-over-year and up by 3 percentage points sequentially. -- In 4Q09, our internal substrate manufacturing operations supplied 57% (by value) of our total substrate requirements. Customers -- Our five largest customers together accounted for approximately 27% of our total net revenues in 4Q09, compared to 30% in 4Q08 and 27% in 3Q09. No single customer accounted for more than 10% of our total net revenues. -- Our top 10 customers contributed 42% of our total net revenues during the quarter, compared to 46% in 4Q08 and 42% in 3Q09. -- Our customers that are integrated device manufacturers, or IDMs, accounted for 38% of our total net revenues during the quarter, compared to 42% in 4Q08 and 35% in 3Q09. About ASE, Inc. ASE, Inc. is the world's largest independent provider of IC packaging services and testing services, including front-end engineering testing, wafer probing and final testing services. ASE, Inc.'s international customer base of more than 200 customers includes such leading names as ATI Technologies Inc., MediaTek Inc., NEC Electronics Corporation, NVIDIA Corporation, NXP Semiconductors, Qualcomm Incorporated, RF Micro Devices Inc. and STMicroelectronics N.V. With advanced technological capabilities and a global presence spanning Taiwan, Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the United States, ASE, Inc. has established a reputation for reliable, high quality products and services. For more information, visit our website at http://www.aseglobal.com/ . Safe Harbor Notice This presentation contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding our future results of operations and business prospects. Although these forward-looking statements, which may include statements regarding our future results of operations, financial condition or business prospects, are based on our own information and information from other sources we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this presentation. The words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "plan" and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify these forward-looking statements in this presentation. Our actual results of operations, financial condition or business prospects may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons, including risks associated with cyclicality and market conditions in the semiconductor industry; demand for the outsourced semiconductor packaging and testing services we offer and for such outsourced services generally; the highly competitive semiconductor industry; our ability to introduce new packaging, interconnect materials and testing technologies in order to remain competitive; our ability to successfully integrate pending and future mergers and acquisitions; international business activities; our business strategy; general economic and political conditions, including the recent global financial crisis; possible disruptions in commercial activities caused by natural or human-induced disasters; our future expansion plans and capital expenditures; the strained relationship between the Republic of China and the People's Republic of China; fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; and other factors. For a discussion of these risks and other factors, please see the documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our 2008 Annual Report on Form 20-F filed on June 24, 2009. Supplemental Financial Information Consolidated Operations Amounts in NT$ Millions 4Q/09 3Q/09 4Q/08 Net Revenues 26,293 25,205 18,311 Revenues by End Application Communication 44% 44% 46% Computer 18% 17% 19% Automotive and Consumer 37% 37% 35% Others 1% 2% 0% Revenues by Region North America 50% 52% 54% Europe 13% 13% 15% Taiwan 21% 20% 15% Japan 10% 10% 12% Other Asia 6% 5% 4% IC Packaging Services Amounts in NT$ Millions 4Q/09 3Q/09 4Q/08 Net Revenues 21,131 20,005 14,005 Revenues by Packaging Type Advanced substrate & leadframe based 87% 88% 86% Traditional leadframe based 6% 6% 6% Module assembly 4% 3% 4% Others 3% 3% 4% Capacity CapEx (US$ Millions) * 139 91 27 Number of Wirebonders 9,515 8,880 8,446 Testing Services Amounts in NT$ Millions 4Q/09 3Q/09 4Q/08 Net Revenues 4,563 4,588 3,830 Revenues by Testing Type Final test 83% 82% 81% Wafer sort 14% 15% 15% Engineering test 3% 3% 4% Capacity CapEx (US$ Millions) * 32 17 19 Number of Testers 1,603 1,569 1,583 * Capital expenditure amounts exclude building construction costs. Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. Summary of Consolidated Income Statements Data (In NT$ millions, except per share data) (Unaudited) For the three months For the years ended ended Dec. 31 Sep. 30 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 Dec. 31 2009 2009 2008 2009 2008 Net revenues: IC Packaging 21,131 20,005 14,005 67,935 73,392 Testing 4,563 4,588 3,830 15,795 19,021 Others 599 612 476 2,045 2,018 Total net revenues 26,293 25,205 18,311 85,775 94,431 Cost of revenues (19,686) (18,848) (15,375) (67,629) (72,661) Gross profit 6,607 6,357 2,936 18,146 21, 770 Operating expenses: Research and development (1,081) (956) (827) (3,612) (3,671) Selling, general and administrative (1,564) (1,434) (1,357) (5,520) (6,853) Total operating expenses (2,645) (2,390) (2,184) (9,132) (10,524) Operating income (loss) 3,962 3,967 752 9,014 11,246 Net non-operating (expenses) income: Interest expense - net (256) (303) (522) (1,334) (1,487) Foreign exchange gain (loss) 35 (30) (166) 4 282 Gain (loss) on equity-method investments 135 112 (125) 329 77 Others 96 111 (462) 375 (642) Total non-operating (expenses) income 10 (110) (1,275) (626) (1,770) Income (loss) before tax 3,972 3,857 (523) 8,388 9,476 Income tax benefit (expense) (418) (558) (300) (1,485) (2,268) (Loss) income from continuing operations and before minority interest 3,554 3,299 (823) 6,903 7,208 Minority interest (104) (112) 23 (159) (1,048) Net income (loss) 3,450 3,187 (800) 6,744 6,160 Per share data: Earnings (losses) per share - Basic NT$0.67 NT$0.62 NT$(0.15) NT$1.31 NT$1.14 - Diluted NT$0.66 NT$0.61 NT$(0.15) NT$1.29 NT$1.12 Earnings (losses) per equivalent ADS - Basic US$0.104 US$0.094 US$(0.023) US$0.198 US$0.181 - Diluted US$0.102 US$0.093 US$(0.023) US$0.195 US$0.178 Number of weighted average shares used in diluted EPS calculation (in thousands) 5,200,502 5,186,949 5,324,543 5,207,574 5,457,356 Exchange rate (NT$ per US$1) 32.26 32.81 32.83 33.01 31.47 Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. Summary of Consolidated Balance Sheet Data (In NT$ millions) (Unaudited) As of Dec. 31, As of Sep. 30, 2009 2009 Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 22,558 26,059 Financial assets - current 5,020 6,461 Notes and accounts receivable 17,812 16,847 Inventories 12,206 5,723 Others 3,817 4,397 Total current assets 61,413 59,487 Financial assets - non current 5,160 4,797 Properties - net 79,364 77,566 Intangible assets 12,232 12,900 Others 3,892 3,932 Total assets 162,061 158,682 Current liabilities: Short-term debts - revolving credit 13,025 17,856 Current portion of long-term debts 935 3,972 Notes and accounts payable 8,954 8,209 Others 11,660 9,047 Total current liabilities 34,574 39,084 Long-term debts 49,080 44,553 Other liabilities 3,693 3,807 Total liabilities 87,347 87,444 Minority interest 3,098 2,664 Shareholders' equity 71,616 68,574 Total liabilities & shareholders' equity 162,061 158,682 Current Ratio 1.78 1.52 Net Debt to Equity 0.47 0.48 Contact: ASE, Inc. Room 1901, No. 333, Section 1 Keelung Road, Taipei, Taiwan, 110 Tel: +886-2-8780-5489 Fax: +886-2-2757-6121 http://www.aseglobal.com/ Joseph Tung, CFO / Vice President Allen Kan, Manager Email: Clare Lin, Director (US Contact) Tel: +1-408-986-6524 Email: DATASOURCE: Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. CONTACT: Joseph Tung, CFO and Vice President; or Allen Kan, Manager, +886-2-8780-5489, or fax, +886-2-2757-6121, or ; or Clare Lin, Director (US Contact), +1-408-986-6524, or , all of Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc. Web Site: http://www.aseglobal.com/

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