NEW YORK (AP) -- Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc. said Tuesday its fiscal first-quarter net income slid 58 percent as revenue declined and costs rose. The maker of semiconductor equipment also issued weak guidance, and its shares fell sharply in morning trading.
The Singapore-based company earned $3.6 million, or 5 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 29, compared with net income of $8.5 million, or 11 cents per share, a year earlier. Results in the latest quarter were reduced by adjustments related to the company's research grant program. Excluding the item, Kulicke & Soffa would have earned 7 cents per share.
Revenue declined 5 percent to $114 million from $120 million, while costs rose 10 percent to $47.3 million.
Gross margins declined by 90 basis points year over year to 45.2 percent.
Analysts, on average, expected net income per share of 6 cents and revenue of $107.2 million, according to FactSet.
Kulicke & Soffa said the December quarter is traditionally its weakest of the year and it took unspecified measures to manage its costs. For the second quarter, the company forecast revenue of $90 million to $100 million, the midpoint of which is 25 below the average analyst estimate of $127 million.
The company added that it expects its business to improve as the year progresses, and it expects "increased visibility from customers after the Chinese New Year Holiday."
Shares of the company traded down $1.19, or 9.3 percent, to $11.66 in morning trading. The stock has traded between $8.05 and $13.69 in the past 52 weeks.
