<PAGE> 1
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
EARNINGS RELEASE
STATS LOWERS FOURTH QUARTER
REVENUE AND EARNINGS EXPECTATIONS
SINGAPORE -- DECEMBER 22, 2000 -- ST Assembly Test Services Ltd
(Nasdaq: STTS and SGX: ST Assembly) announced that it now expects fourth quarter
revenues to be flat compared to third quarter revenues of US$90.5 million, with
diluted earnings per ADS of about $0.06 to $0.07. The revised expectation for
revenues represents a reduction from the prior guidance of 8% to 10% sequential
revenue growth.
Said Tan Bock Seng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer "In recent weeks,
like many semiconductor companies, we are seeing a downward revision of demand
from our customers. The softening of demand is due primarily to weaknesses in
end markets for personal computers and wireless handsets. We expect this
downward revision in demand to persist into the first quarter of next year.
Based on current visibility, we expect first quarter revenues to be down
sequentially from this quarter.
Our long-term outlook for our business however remains positive driven by
growing outsourcing by integrated device manufacturers and fabless semiconductor
companies, and our strong position in mixed signal testing and advanced
packaging serving communications customers. Despite the weakness in the fourth
quarter, we expect to finish fiscal full-year 2000 with record revenue and
earnings growth in excess of 60% and 1,000% respectively over 1999."
The company will host a conference call on Thursday, December 21 at 4:00 PM
PST (or Friday, December 22 at 8:00 AM Singapore time) to discuss this business
update as well as its view on business prospects for 2001. The call may be
accessed by calling (719) 457-2654 or U.S. toll-free number (888) 208-1812 and
referencing confirmation code 461772. The call will be available for replay
at 4:30PM PST and may be accessed by calling (719) 457-0820 and referencing
the same confirmation code of 461772. The company will also webcast the
conference call live at http://www.stats.com.sg/investor relations or
http://www.statsus.com/investor relations. Our fiscal Q4 earnings release date
is currently scheduled for January 30, 2001, U.S. time.
<PAGE> 2
ABOUT ST ASSEMBLY TEST SERVICES LTD. (STATS)
ST Assembly Test Services Ltd ("STATS" -- NNM: STTS and SGX: ST Assembly)
is a leading semiconductor test and assembly service provider to fabless
companies, integrated device manufacturers and wafer foundries. With its
principal operations in Singapore and global operations in the United States,
United Kingdom, Japan and Taiwan, STATS offers full back-end turnkey solutions
to customers worldwide. STATS' expertise is in testing mixed-signal
semiconductors which are extensively used in fast growing communications
applications such as data networking, broadband and mobile communications. STATS
also offers advanced assembly services and has developed a wide array of
traditional and advanced leadframe and laminate based products, including
various ball grid array packages to serve some of the world's technological
leaders. STATS was listed on the Nasdaq National Market and The Singapore
Exchange in January 2000. Further information is available at www.stats.com.sg
or www.statsus.com.
Certain of the statements in this press release including statements of our
future revenues, net income, other operating results and the outlook for the
semiconductor industry are forward-looking statements that involve a number of
risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: general business and
economic conditions and the state of the semiconductor industry; demand for
end-use applications products such as communications equipment and personal
computers; decisions by customers to discontinue outsourcing of test and
assembly services; changes in customer order patterns; rescheduling or
cancellation of customer orders; changes in product mix; capacity utilization;
level of competition; pricing pressures; continued success in technological
innovation; delays in acquiring or installing new equipment; litigation and
other risks described from time-to-time in the Company's SEC filings, including
its annual report on Form 20-F dated March 30, 2000. The Company undertakes no
obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
<S> <C>
Lim Beng See Lisa Lavin
Director, Corporate Communications Manager, Marketing
Tel: (65) 7511111, Fax: (65) 7555431 Tel: (208) 9384557, Fax: (208) 6726132
email: [email protected] email: [email protected]
</TABLE>
INVESTOR CONTACTS:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
<S> <C>
Drew Davies Elaine Ang
Director, Investor Relations Manager, Investor Relations
Tel: (408) 941 3021, Fax: (408) 941 3014 Tel: (65) 751 1738, Fax: (65) 755 1585
email: [email protected] email: [email protected]
</TABLE>
