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Compared to the year-ago quarter, for its fiscal fourth-quarter 2008 (to end March) plasma etch and deposition system maker Tegal Corp of Petaluma, CA, USA has seen rises in revenue (up 19.5% from $6.2m to $7.4m), gross margin (from 31.5% to 50.6%), operating income (from -$2m to +$0.8m), and net income (from -$2m to +$15.2m, although this included $15m mainly from the settlement of a fee dispute with company attorneys).

For fiscal 2008 (compared to fiscal 2007), Tegal saw rises in revenue (up 47.9% from $22.3m to $32.9m), gross margin (from 24.8% to 42.6%), operating income (from -$13.4m to +$1.6m) and net income (from - $13.2m to +$18.1m).

“Fiscal 2008 was the culmination of a successful three-year effort to turn our company around,” says chairman, president and CEO Thomas Mika. “We were fortunate this year to be able to overcome a strong headwind in the semiconductor capital equipment market, due largely to our focus on faster-growth, non-mainstream device markets,” he adds. “Compared to many of our competitors, including companies much larger than Tegal, we are in an enviable position of having a relatively strong balance sheet, a lean organization, and the needed flexibility to prosper in a challenging environment.”

In March, Tegal signed a distributor agreement with Shanghai-based WESI Technology (China), a joint-venture between distributor WKK and ECI Technology Inc, for the sales, service and technical support of its products in China and Taiwan.

Also, following the fiscal year-end, Tegal announced a beta-site agreement with a high-brightness LED maker that will include the shipment early in fiscal second-quarter 2009 of a Compact 360 NLD cluster tool (a 200mm/300mm-capable bridge tool supporting Tegal’s patented nano-layer deposition processes).

See related items:

Tegal agrees beta-site NLD shipment to HB-LED maker

Tegal signs WESI as distributor in China and Taiwan

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Visit: www.tegal.com