Amtech Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASYS) Q4 2022 Earnings Call Transcript

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Kevin Garrigan: Okay, got it. That makes a lot of sense. Thank you for that. And then, Lisa, you’ve had a solid cash position, can you kind of give us a sense of what your focus is in terms of capital allocation?

Lisa Gibbs: Sure. As we’ve talked about the challenges, that we’re facing in capacity and supply chain. We’re looking very closely at what we need to do to build that up. So when I talk about capacity that can range from finding some contract manufacturing partners to help us work that backlog as well as some possible shift additions into our current workforce so that we can start to bring that backlog down in a more meaningful, faster way. So that’s part of it. We’ve talked about product development and we’re going to have some exciting products on the horizon in the next year. And then M&A, it continues to be something that we’re very focused and interested in. We’ll see if this current environment might present better opportunities than we saw during some of the peak cycles. So all of that is very much on our radar. And then as we’ve done in the past, as we work through those priorities, we’ll look at buybacks and other ways to return capital to our shareholders.

Kevin Garrigan: Okay. Perfect. And then just the last one, we just spoke about electric vehicles as you look out to 2023 just at a high level, what are kind of the one or two opportunities that are — that get you guys the most excited about next year? And then what are the one or two things that you’re most worried about or that keep you up at night?

Michael Whang: I’ll take the first swing at that. So what keeps me up at night is the continued uncertainty and volatility that we’re all facing, especially around trade sanctions, logistical flows, and supply chain. And I made this comment earlier is that, so what we’ve all experienced since 2020 is that we built a very nice fair weather global supply chain that couldn’t stand up to the rigors of the current volatilities and the storms that we’re facing. And we’re just now I think starting to adapt but that adaptation takes time because we invested just globally so much of our investments in this supply chain was in one geographic area and now we need to kind of mitigate the risks around that system, right? So that’s what keeps me up at night more than anything else.

Is this ongoing supply chain logistical issues. What I’m excited about is are two parts. It fits under one narrative right now and is that we have firmly latched on to the growth opportunities in electric vehicles, vehicles themselves and the broader infrastructure. And unlike prior years where we only had one business unit participate our materials and substrate. Now that has swung across to our other business unit and that’s very exciting. So we had a play on the material side with silicon carbide for the EV growth. And then we also have a play more downstream in the assemblies and modules from our belt furnaces made in the U.S. And I do anticipate that to grow in the coming years.

Kevin Garrigan: Okay, perfect. That’s awesome. Yes, that was all I had. Appreciate the color and congrats again.

Lisa Gibbs: Thank you, Kevin.

Michael Whang: Thank you.

Operator: And it looks like we have one more question from Mark Miller with The Benchmark Company. Please proceed with your question.

Mark Miller: Just wondering about the guidance. You had similar revenues in the June quarter of 2021 yet you had — it looks like an operating profit. I’m just wondering what’s differing is it margins or OpEx, what’s causing you to forecast operating a negative operating margin?

Lisa Gibbs: A lot of it is product mix. So right now, the softness that we’re seeing in our advanced packaging and SMT, which is our products that ship out of our Shanghai facility, that’s where we’re having the most softness in our bookings. So we’re relying more heavily on our U.S. build products, which have a lower gross margin profile to product mix. We are seeing some material cost increases as well, which we’re doing our best to counteract with some levels of price increases. We’re trying to hold OpEx as steady as we can, but labor certainly is driving some increases as well.

Mark Miller: Thank you.

Lisa Gibbs: Thanks Mark.

Operator: And we have reached the end of our question-and-answer session. And this also concludes today’s conference. And you may disconnect your lines at this time. Thank you for your participation.

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