Detailed results for fiscal year 2005 and fourth quarter 2005

austriamicrosystems (SWX: AMS), a leading worldwide supplier of high performance analog ICs for communications, industry & medical and automotive applications, announces detailed financial results for the full year 2005 and fourth quarter 2005.

Financials
austriamicrosystems continued to show substantial growth in revenues and earnings in 2005. Group revenues for the past fiscal year reached EUR 178.4 million, increasing by 11.2% or EUR 17.9 million compared to the previous year. Revenues for the fourth quarter 2005 were EUR 56.4 million, an increase of 11.7% (or EUR 5.9 million) compared to the same quarter 2004.

Gross margin for the full year 2005 reached 45%, up from 43% in the previous fiscal year. In the fourth quarter 2005, gross margin rose to 46% compared to 44% in the same period 2004. The group result from operations (EBIT) according to IFRS for 2005 grew by EUR 5.5 million to EUR 26.1 million due to lower research & development and stable sales, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of revenues for 2005. The group result from operations for 2005 increased by 27% compared to 2004 despite a EUR 2.2 million restructuring charge. The group result from operations for the fourth quarter 2005 amounted to EUR 11.3 million, rising EUR 1.9 million from EUR 9.4 million in the same period 2004.

Net income for the fiscal year 2005 rose strongly to EUR 23.1 million from EUR 3.7 million in the previous year, an increase of EUR 19.4 million. Basic and diluted earnings per share for the fiscal year 2005 were CHF 3.26 / EUR 2.10. The ability to utilize previously unrecognized off-balance sheet tax loss carry forwards resulted in a very limited tax burden from the third quarter of 2005 onwards and for the whole year 2005 while, on the other hand, net income for 2004 had been unfavorably impacted by one-time tax effects. Net income for the fourth quarter 2005 reached EUR 10.8 million, an increase of EUR 3.3 million compared to the same period 2004.

Cash and short term investments stood at EUR 21.3 million on December 31, 2005 compared to EUR 17.3 million at the end of 2004. The continuing repayment of long-term debt related to the construction of wafer fab B resulted in net debt falling from EUR 53.4 million at year-end 2004 to EUR 38.1 million on December 31, 2005 and financing costs for fiscal year 2005 decreasing considerably compared to 2004. The equity ratio showed a strong increase to 54% at year-end 2005 from 45% at the end of 2004. Cash flow from operations in the year 2005 continued to grow reaching EUR 41.4 million, an increase of EUR 2.5 million compared to 2004. Capital expenditures for 2005 were EUR 27.1 million, driven by further expansion of the wafer fab and test operations. Total backlog reached EUR 54.2 million at year-end 2005 compared to EUR 45.3 million on December 31, 2004. The average number of employees was 856 for fiscal year 2005, compared to 819 for the year 2004, and 895 for the fourth quarter 2005.

The increase in gross margin in 2005 is the result of cost benefits from the expansion of the 200mm wafer fab, higher overall production efficiency and a more favorable product mix. austriamicrosystems continued to invest strongly in research & development in the last fiscal year, spending more than 17% of revenues to lay the foundation for future growth and continuing technological leadership.

Business
austriamicrosystems’ business performed again strongly in the past fiscal year. austriamicrosystems achieved significant market success with existing and new products for an expanding global customer base, building on its analog design expertise, integration skills and advanced process technologies. The ability to offer highly integrated ICs with outstanding analog performance, based on more than 20 years experience in analog chip design, continued to be the key growth driver for austriamicrosystems in 2005. As a result, austriamicrosystems strengthened its position in the worldwide analog semiconductor market further.

austriamicrosystems introduced a broad range of innovative new standard products and product families in 2005, leveraging its know-how in low power consumption and high accuracy. Successful launches with existing and new customers included power and lighting management solutions for portable devices such as handsets, satellite radio and GPS receivers, complete portable audio solutions and audio/power management subsystems, magnetic rotary encoder variants, metering solutions and a large number of high performance analog standard products. In addition, austriamicrosystems continued to expand its customized solutions business in markets such as computer tomography, personal healthcare, industrial automation and automotive safety.

With significant growth in the key regions United States and Asia/Pacific, austriamicrosystems demonstrated the strength of its worldwide sales and distribution network as an increasing number of key players across attractive markets rely on austriamicrosystems IC solutions for their analog needs.

austriamicrosystems’ business unit Full Service Foundry continued to position itself successfully as a leading analog foundry focused on specialty processes, with new customer designs concentrating on our advanced high voltage and SiGe processes. In operations, austriamicrosystems expanded its state-of-the-art 200mm wafer fab further to 6,500 WSPM (wafer starts per month), creating a strong platform to support current and future growth. At the same time, the legacy 100mm wafer fab was closed down after 22 years of successful operation.

Outlook
austriamicrosystems is strongly positioned for continuing growth in its product markets Communications, Industry & Medical and Automotive with innovative standard product solutions and customer-specific developments.

As an innovative and well positioned player in the global analog semiconductor market, austriamicrosystems looks to the future with confidence and expects its business to show further growth in the current fiscal year. Based on available information, austriamicrosystems currently foresees revenue growth of between 10 and 15% and continued strong growth in earnings for fiscal year 2006.

About austriamicrosystems
austriamicrosystems is a leading designer and manufacturer of high performance analog ICs, combining more than 20 years of analog design capabilities and system know-how with its own state-of-the-art manufacturing and test facilities. austriamicrosystems leverages its expertise in low power and high accuracy to provide industry-leading customized and standard analog products. Operating worldwide with more than 850 employees, austriamicrosystems focuses on the areas of power management, sensors & sensor interfaces, portable audio and car access in its markets Communications, Industry & Medical and Automotive, complemented by its Full Service Foundry activities. austriamicrosystems is listed on the SWX Swiss Exchange in Zurich (ticker symbol: AMS).