Photronics Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Q3 2022 Earnings Conference Call August 30, 2022 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Frank Lee - Chief Executive Officer

John Jordan - Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Chris Progler - Chief Technology Officer

Richelle Burr - Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer

Conference Call Participants

Patrick Ho - Stifel

Gus Richard - Northland Capital Markets

Operator

Good day and thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Photronics Q3 Fiscal Year ’22 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speakers’ presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during that session, you will need to press star-one-one on your phone. Please be advised that today’s conference is being recorded.

And I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Ms. Richelle Burr, Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer and General Counsel. Ms. Burr, please go ahead.

Richelle Burr

Thank you Chris. Good morning everyone. Welcome to our review of Photronics fiscal 2022 third quarter results. Joining me this morning are Frank Lee, our Chief Executive Officer, John Jordan, our Chief Financial Officer, Chris Progler, our Chief Technology Officer, and Eric Rivera, our Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer.

The press release we issued earlier this morning along with the presentation material which accompanies our remarks are available on the Investor Relations section of our webpage.

Comments made by any participants on today’s call may include forward-looking statements that include such words as anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, forecast, or in our view. These forward-looking statements are based upon a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that are difficult to predict. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking information.

At this time, I will turn the call over to Frank.

Frank Lee

Thank you, Richelle, and good morning, everyone.

Q3 was an outstanding quarter. We achieved new records in both revenue and profit. Demand for our photomask remains strong for IC and FPD, both high end and mainstream applications. With our global presence, in-store production capacity and deep portfolio of customer partnership, we increased revenue 8% sequentially. Once again, it is our sixth consecutive quarter of record revenue.

Gross margin and operation margin also reached 25-year record highs of 38% and 29%, respectively, as we benefit from higher price, operational capacity in most locations, and superior cost control. The net result was earnings of $0.51 per share. Cash generation was also strong and we ended the quarter with $324 million in net cash, positioning us to continue investing in profitable growth opportunities. I am very proud of the entire Photronics organization and what we have been able to accomplish by working together and serving our customers to deliver great results.