Photronics, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLAB) Q1 2024 Earnings Conference Call February 21, 2024 8:30 AM ET

Company Participants

Richelle Burr - Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer

Frank Lee - Chief Executive Officer

John Jordan - Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer

Christopher Progler - Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, Strategic Planning

Conference Call Participants

Tom Diffely - D.A. Davidson & Company

Operator

Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Photronics First Quarter Fiscal 2024 Earnings Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. After the speaker's presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded today, Wednesday, February 21st, 2024.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Richelle Burr, Chief Administrative Officer. Please go ahead.

Richelle Burr

Thank you, Lilian. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to our review of Photronics Fiscal 2024 First Quarter Results. Joining me this morning are Frank Lee, our Chief Executive Officer; Chris Progler, our Chief Technology Officer; John Jordan, our Chief Financial Officer; and Eric Rivera, our Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller.

The press release we issued earlier this morning, together with the presentation material that accompany our remarks are available on the Investor Relations section of our web page. Comments made by any participants on today's call may include forward-looking statements and include such words as anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, forecast, and 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.

During the course of our discussion, we will refer to certain non-GAAP financial metrics. These numbers are useful for analysts, investors and management to evaluate ongoing performance. A reconciliation of these metrics to GAAP financial results is provided in our presentation materials.

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

Frank Lee

Thank you, Richelle, and good morning, everyone. We achieved sales growth compared with last year and both IC and FPD increase with high-end growth being partially offset by soft mainstream demand in both sectors.

Compared with the fourth quarter, sales were down due to seasonal trends and four fewer days in the first quarter. Demand was weaker and sales were softer than we expected during the first month of the quarter for both IC and FPD.