At the end of Q2-18, cash and deposits aggregated € 395.5 million and net cash was € 110.2 million. As compared to Q2-17, Besi’s net cash and deposits decreased by € 21.3 million due to (i) € 174.0 million of cash dividend payments, (ii) € 23.0 million of share repurchases, (iii) € 9.1 million of capitalized development spending, (iv) € 7.0 million of capital expenditures and (v) € 3.9 million of debt retirement which were partially offset by cash flow from operations of € 181.9 million.

Share Repurchase Activity and Initiation of New Share Repurchase Program
During Q2-18, Besi repurchased 179,958 of its ordinary shares at an average price of € 31.48 per share (as adjusted for the two-for-one stock split on May 4, 2018) for a total of € 5.7 million. Cumulatively as of June 30, 2018, a total of approximately 1.5 million shares have been purchased under the current 2.0 million share repurchase program at an average price of € 24.78 per share for a total of approximately € 38.1 million.

Besi has initiated a new € 75 million share repurchase program through October 26, 2019 (the “2018 Program”) which represents approximately 4.2% of shares outstanding, net of treasury purchases, at current market prices. The 2018 Program was initiated for capital reduction purposes and to help offset dilution related to Besi’s Convertible Notes and shares issued under employee stock plans. It will be funded using Besi’s available cash resources and replaces the current 2.0 million share repurchase program. At present, Besi has authority until October 26, 2019 to purchase up to 10% of its shares outstanding (approximately 8.0 million shares).

The 2018 Program will be implemented in accordance with industry best practices and in compliance with European buyback rules and regulations and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. Besi has engaged an independent broker for the program and all purchases will be executed through Euronext Amsterdam (the “ Main  Exchange”) and Multilateral Trading Facilities as defined by the Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on markets in financial instruments (each being referred to as “ Exchanges”) and subject to the rules of the relevant Exchange. The timing and amount of any shares repurchased under this program will be determined by the independent broker independently of, and without influence by, Besi. The maximum purchase price to be paid per share under the program will not exceed the higher of the last independent trade price of the shares and the highest current independent bid price of the shares on the venue to which the purchase was carried out. Any repurchased shares will be available in the future for use in connection with Besi’s stock plans and other general corporate purposes, including acquisitions. The information included in this press release is made public under the Market Abuse Regulation (No. 596/2014/EU).

Outlook 
Based on its June 30, 2018 backlog of € 140.4 million and feedback from customers, Besi forecasts for Q3-18 that:

• Revenue will decrease by 25-30% vs. the € 161.1 million reported in Q2-18.
• Gross margin will range between 54-56% vs. the 56.5% realized in Q2-18.
• Operating expenses will be approximately equal to the € 31.8 million reported in Q2-18.

About Besi
Besi is a leading supplier of semiconductor assembly equipment for the global semiconductor and electronics industries offering high levels of accuracy, productivity and reliability at a low cost of ownership. The Company develops leading edge assembly processes and equipment for leadframe, substrate and wafer level packaging applications in a wide range of end-user markets including electronics, mobile internet, cloud server, computing, automotive, industrial, LED and solar energy. Customers are primarily leading semiconductor manufacturers, assembly subcontractors and electronics and industrial companies. Besi’s ordinary shares are listed on Euronext Amsterdam (symbol:BESI). Its Level 1 ADRs are listed on the OTC markets (symbol:BESIY Nasdaq International Designation) and its headquarters are located in Duiven, the Netherlands. For more information, please visit our website at www.besi.com.

Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains statements about management's future expectations, plans and prospects of our business that constitute forward-looking statements, which are found in various places throughout the press release, including, but not limited to, statements relating to expectations of orders, net sales, product shipments, backlog, expenses, timing of purchases of assembly equipment by customers, gross margins, operating results and capital expenditures. The use of words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “can”, “intend”, “believes”, “may”, “plan”, “predict”, “project”, “forecast”, “will”, “would”, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward looking statements, although not all forward looking statements contain these identifying words. The financial guidance set forth under the heading “Outlook” contains such forward looking statements. While these forward looking statements represent our judgments and expectations concerning the development of our business, a number of risks, uncertainties and other important factors could cause actual developments and results to differ materially from those contained in forward looking statements, including any inability to maintain continued demand for our products; failure of anticipated orders to materialize or postponement or cancellation of orders, generally without charges; the volatility in the demand for semiconductors and our products and services; failure to develop new and enhanced products and introduce them at competitive price levels; failure to adequately decrease costs and expenses as revenues decline; loss of significant customers, including through industry consolidation or the emergence of industry alliances; lengthening of the sales cycle; acts of terrorism and violence; disruption or failure of our information technology systems; inability to forecast demand and inventory levels for our products; the integrity of product pricing and protection of our intellectual property in foreign jurisdictions; risks, such as changes in trade regulations, currency fluctuations, political instability and war, associated with substantial foreign customers, suppliers and foreign manufacturing operations, particularly to the extent occurring in the Asia Pacific region; potential instability in foreign capital markets; the risk of failure to successfully manage our diverse operations; any inability to attract and retain skilled personnel; those additional risk factors set forth in Besi's annual report for the year ended December 31, 2017 and other key factors that could adversely affect our businesses and financial performance contained in our filings and reports, including our statutory consolidated statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation to update or alter our forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.