HSINCHU, May 14, 2014 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- 

1Q14 Highlights (as compared to 4Q13):

• Net Revenue Increased 2.0% to US$163.8 Million from US$160.6 Million
• Gross Profit Increased to US$32.4 Million from US$30.5 Million
• Gross Margin Improved to 19.8% from 19.0%
• Net Earnings on an IFRSs Consolidated Basis of US$0.37 Per Basic and US$0.36 Per Diluted Share Compared to US$0.19 Per Basic and US$0.18 Per Diluted Share
• Generated US$12.0 Million of Free Cash Flow after US$18.7 Million of CapEx
• Reduced Total Debt by an additional US$44.5 million to US$203.5 million
• Retained Balance of Cash and Cash Equivalents at US$404.2 Million
• Company's Majority Owned Subsidiary Commenced Trading on Taiwan's Main Stock Exchange on April 11, 2014

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, 2014. All U.S. dollar figures in this release are based on the exchange rate of NT$30.45 against US$1.00 as of March 31, 2014.

Net revenue for the first quarter of 2014 was NT$4,989.0 million or US$163.8 million, an increase of 2.0% from NT$4,890.1 million or US$160.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2013 and an increase of 12.9% from NT$4,420.7 million or US$145.2 million for the same period in 2013.  This is at the high-end of the Company's guidance for first quarter of 2014 revenue to be flat to up in the low single digits as compared to the fourth quarter of 2013.

Net income for the first quarter of 2014 was NT$331.1 million or US$10.9 million, and NT$11.14 or US$0.37 per basic common share and NT$10.87 or US$0.36 per diluted common share, as compared to net income for the fourth quarter of 2013 of NT$170.8 million or US$5.6 million, and NT$5.77 or US$0.19 per basic common share and NT$5.63 or US$0.18 per diluted common share, and compared to net income in the first quarter of 2013 of NT$363.6 million or US$11.9 million, and NT$12.58 or US$0.41 per basic common share and NT$12.31 or US$0.40 per diluted common share.

The unaudited consolidated financial results of ChipMOS for the first quarter ended March 31, 2014 included the financial results of ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC. ("ChipMOS Taiwan"), ChipMOS U.S.A., Inc., ThaiLin Semiconductor Corp. and MODERN MIND TECHNOLOGY LIMITED and its wholly-owned subsidiary ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES (Shanghai) LTD.

S.J. Cheng, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ChipMOS, said, "We started the year off with first quarter revenue growth in a normally seasonally lower quarter.  Strength in our LCD driver and our memory markets helped us achieve first quarter 2014 revenue at the high-end of the Company's guidance.  Revenue from DRAM, mainly niche DRAM, increased 16.3% in Q1'14 sequentially and our WLSCP revenue grew 20.8% in Q1 compared to Q4'13.  Our overall capacity utilization rate improved to 77% compared to 76% in Q4'13 and 75% in the same period one year ago.  We are optimistic about the future for ChipMOS given the Company's market leadership, optimized customer base and our financial strength.  We are executing on our business strategy and have numerous catalysts for profitable growth.  We expect to see continued momentum in 2014, led by robust demand in our LCD driver and memory demand in mobile applications and UHD TVs." 

S.K. Chen, Chief Financial Officer of ChipMOS, said, "Our business mix and improved utilization allowed us to drive further improvements in gross margin to 19.8% in the first quarter.  We expect to achieve further improvements in gross margin in the second quarter, led by our business momentum, improved utilization and overall conservative CapEx strategy.  We exited the first quarter with a strong balance of cash and cash equivalents at US$404.2 million, with free cash flow of US$12.0 million in Q1 2014 after CapEx of US$18.7 million in the first quarter.  Our total debt was reduced by another US$44.5 million to US$203.5 million, which in turn improved our net debt to equity ratio to -44.0% as of March 31, 2014.  The increase in consolidated income taxes for the first quarter is due to the higher amount paid by ThaiLin for the gain recognized on the share sales related to the Company's efforts in enabling ChipMOS Taiwan to meet the listing eligibility requirements for Taiwan Stock Exchange ("TWSE") and our consolidated income tax rate will revert to a normalized level in the second quarter of 2014."