HSINCHU, Taiwan, May 12, 2016 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

1Q16 Highlights (as compared to 4Q15):

• Net Revenue of US$146.8 Million Compared to US$147.8 Million
• Gross Profit Was US$28.3 Million Compared to US$28.3 Million
• Gross Margin of 19.3% Compared to 19.1%
• Foreign Exchange Loss of US$5.3 Million
• Net Earnings of US$0.11 Per Basic Common Share and US$0.10 Per Diluted Common Share Compared to US$0.08 Per Basic Common Share and US$0.07 Per Diluted Common Share
• Generated US$39.0 Million Cash from Operations
• Used US$14.7 Million to Repurchase Shares of ChipMOS Taiwan
• New 15 Million Share Repurchase Authorized from May 13 to July 12, 2016
• Retained Balance of Cash and Cash Equivalents at US$411.9 Million compared to US$376.9 Million, with Net Cash Balance of US$131.9 Million

ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES (Bermuda) LTD. ("ChipMOS" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: IMOS), an industry leading provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test services ("OSAT"), today reported unaudited consolidated financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2016. All U.S. dollar figures in this release are based on the exchange rate of NT$32.18 against US$1.00 as of March 31, 2016.

Net revenue for the first quarter of 2016 was NT$4,724.1 million or US$146.8 million, a decrease of 0.6% from NT$4,755.0 million or US$147.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2015 and a decrease of 9.5% from NT$5,218.1 million or US$162.2 million for the same period in 2015.

Net income attributable to equity holders of the Company for the first quarter of 2016 was NT$92.4 million or US$2.9 million, and NT$3.38 or US$0.11 per basic common share and NT$3.35 or US$0.10 per diluted common share, as compared to net income attributable to equity holders of the Company for the fourth quarter of 2015 of NT$65.9 million or US$2.0 million, and NT$2.42 or US$0.08 per basic common share and NT$2.38 or US$0.07 per diluted common share, and compared to net income attributable to equity holders of the Company in the first quarter of 2015 of NT$377.6 million or US$11.7 million, and NT$13.23 or US$0.41 per basic common share and NT$12.96 or US$0.40 per diluted common share. 

The unaudited consolidated financial results of ChipMOS for the first quarter ended March 31, 2016 included the financial results of ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC. ("ChipMOS Taiwan"), ChipMOS U.S.A., Inc. and ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES (BVI) LTD. and its wholly-owned subsidiary ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES (Shanghai) LTD ("ChipMOS Shanghai").

S.J. Cheng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ChipMOS, said, "First quarter revenue and gross margin were in-line with expectations in a traditionally seasonally weak quarter.  We expect this to represent a trough point for 2016 quarterly revenue and our overall capacity utilization level.  Given our positive outlook and view that our shares remain undervalued, our Board of Directors authorized a new repurchase program for 15 million shares of ChipMOS Taiwan from the open market in Taiwan during the period of May 13 to July 12, 2016.  From a business standpoint, we expect to benefit starting in Q2 from a channel inventory rebuild related to the broader 4K2K TV market, and new product cycles in smartphones later in the year.  We continued to gain momentum in Q1 in our LCD driver business, led by strength for large panels.  Demand was seasonally softer from customers in our small panel LCD driver business.  In memory, we also saw a mixed performance, with commodity DRAM demand higher and Flash related revenue slightly lower.  We continue to gain traction in growth areas, with revenue in our mixed-signal business up 20.6% compared to 4Q15, and our WLCSP revenue up 71.9% compared to 4Q15. Overall, we are very optimistic about our prospects moving forward based on customer demand requirements, growth initiatives and expected improvements in the macro market.  Our planned China expansion remains central to our longer-term success.  Of note, we continue to work through the regulatory approval process related Tsinghua Unigroup's proposed investment in ChipMOS Taiwan.  While we are optimistic we will have a favorable outcome, we do not control the regulatory approval process or ultimate outcome.  Importantly, our strong balance sheet will enable us to move forward in the near-term, if we need to, by self-financing our planned China expansion in the event of any delay on Tsinghua Unigroup's investment.  In line with this, our Board of Directors authorized ChipMOS Taiwan to enter a NT$13.2 billion (approximately US$410.2 million) syndication loan agreement in order to refinance our existing credit facilities on more favorable terms and to provide additional working capital for general corporate purposes.  We expect to sign the new agreement with a syndicate of 10 Taiwan banks on May 16, 2016.  Finally, we continue to make progress in the proposed merger of ChipMOS Taiwan and ChipMOS Bermuda.  We filed our prospectus on February 26 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and filed an amendment to our prospectus on April 18.  We are hopeful that we can hold shareholder votes in 3Q16, with a targeted closure on track for later in 3Q16."

S.K. Chen, Chief Financial Officer of ChipMOS, said, "We held gross margin at 19.3% in 1Q16 on slightly lower revenue.  Our core operating results were actually better than reported if not for the negative impact of a US$5.3 million foreign exchange loss.  We ended the first quarter with a net cash balance of US$131.9 million, after generating US$39.0 million in cash from operations, with US$35.0 million invested in CapEx, and US$14.7 million used for the repurchase of shares of ChipMOS Taiwan in 1Q16.  We plan to spend US$134 million on CapEx for the full year 2016, including approximately US$53 million for LCD driver capacity build up at our China facility.  This is part of our conservative, strategic investment approach, notwithstanding the lower utilization rate in 1Q16, which reflects seasonality.  In fact, 87% of our driver assembly and test capacity for our higher margin LCD TV business is currently being utilized.  Demand will only increase further as the market is moving to the 4K spec., which requires a significant increase in LCD driver content.  As a result, it is imperative that we continue to add capacity in order to maintain our market share and to solidify our position in China's rapidly expanding market."