ChipMOS REPORTS SECOND QUARTER 2017 RESULTS

HSINCHU, , Aug. 10, 2017 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

2Q17 Highlights (as compared to 1Q17):

• Net Revenue at US$149.5 Million Compared to US$150.1 Million
• Gross Profit of US$30.0 Million Compared to US$26.9 Million
• Gross Margin at 20.1% Compared to 17.9%
• Net Earnings of US$0.25 Per Diluted ADS Compared to US$1.82 Per Diluted ADS; Net Earnings of US$0.01 Per Diluted Common Share Compared to US$0.09 Per Diluted Common Share; 1Q17 Includes a Net Income Benefit of US$62.8 Million from the ChipMOS Shanghai Equity Interest Transfer to Tsinghua Unigroup Led Strategic Investors, which Did Not Repeat in 2Q17
• Distributed Cash Dividend of NT$1.0 Per Common Share on July 12, 2017 and US$0.655 Per ADS on July 19, 2017
• Retained Balance of Cash and Cash Equivalents at US$364.7 Million, with Net Debt Balance of US$48.8 Million
• ChipMOS Shanghai Joint-Venture Funded, Ramping Production, and Qualifying Additional Customer Programs

ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC. ("ChipMOS" or the "Company") (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 8150 and NASDAQ: IMOS), an industry leading provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test services ("OSAT"), today reported unaudited consolidated financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2017. All U.S. dollar figures in this release are based on the exchange rate of NT$30.38 against US$1.00 as of June 30, 2017.

All the figures were prepared in accordance with Taiwan-International Financial Reporting Standards ("Taiwan-IFRS"). In March 2017, the Company completed the sale and transfer of 54.98% equity interests of its former wholly-owned subsidiary ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES (Shanghai) LTD. ("ChipMOS Shanghai") to Tsinghua Unigroup led investors ("Strategic Investors").  Under Taiwan-IFRS, starting in Q1 2017 the revenue generated by ChipMOS Shanghai is no longer included in the Company's consolidated revenue.  The Company, however, recognizes 45.02% of the net income generated from ChipMOS Shanghai on an ongoing basis.  Revenue from ChipMOS Shanghai has been excluded from all periods indicated. 

Net revenue for the second quarter of 2017 was NT$4,541.2 million or US$149.5 million, a decrease of 0.4% from NT$4,560.3 million or US$150.1 million in the first quarter of 2017 and an increase of 0.8% from NT$4,504.0 million or US$148.3 million for the same period in 2016. 

Net earnings for the second quarter of 2017 was US$0.25 per diluted ADS, compared to US$1.82 per diluted ADS for the first quarter of 2017.  Net income for the first quarter of 2017 included US$62.8 million related to the completion of ChipMOS Shanghai equity interest transfer to Strategic Investors.  Net income attributable to equity holders of the Company for the second quarter of 2017 was NT$321.4 million or US$10.6 million, and NT$0.38 or US$0.01 per basic common share and NT$0.38 or US$0.01 per diluted common share, as compared to net income attributable to equity holders of the Company for the first quarter of 2017 of NT$2,380.1 million or US$78.3 million, and NT$2.82 or US$0.09 per basic common share and NT$2.77 or US$0.09 per diluted common share, and compared to net income attributable to equity holders of the Company in the second quarter of 2016 of NT$314.9 million or US$10.3 million, and NT$0.37 or US$0.01 per basic common share and NT$0.36 or US$0.01 per diluted common share.

S.J. Cheng, Chairman and President of ChipMOS, said, "We are pleased that we were able to expand our gross margin to 20.1% in 2Q17 from 17.9% in 1Q17 on relatively flat revenue.  This underscores the leverage in our business model, as we further improved our overall utilization level to 77%, led by strength in our higher margin testing business.  Revenue growth was offset primarily by a lower allocation from our largest DRAM customer, and continued China handset market softness, which is impacting small panel LCD driver demand.  We are confident we will be able to offset the softness with more financially attractive business diversification led by new programs we are now ramping with some of world's largest consumer and technology product companies, combined with the progress we are making at our Shanghai facility. We also expect DDIC demand will continue to improve as we benefit from the ongoing 4K2K/UHD TV market development, combined with new model/feature introductions and requirements from smartphones, including OLED, TDDI, narrow bezel and larger screens.  In addition to increased driver volumes, these trends mean longer test times.  With respect to the China market, we were pleased to report that our China JV is now funded, ramping production and qualifying a variety of new customer programs.  Our strategic partners' buildout of their semiconductor ecosystem is now expected to be even more aggressive and on a larger scale than originally contemplated.  The fact that ChipMOS is positioned as the OSAT services company within the Unigroup ecosystem gives us excellent growth prospects as DDIC ramps in the near-term followed by growth in domestic China memory production over the longer-term."

S.K. Chen, Chief Financial Officer of ChipMOS, said, "This was an unfavorable quarter on quarter comparison as net income in the first quarter of 2017 included US$62.8 million related to the completion of ChipMOS Shanghai equity interest transfer to Strategic Investors, which did not repeat in the second quarter of 2017.  Our gross margin moved to 20.1%, with some additional room for improvement likely as the DRAM revenue declining is being replaced with higher margin revenue opportunities.  We also expect to see some improvement for stabile to higher utilization levels.  We remain in a financially strong position, ending the second quarter with a balance of cash and cash equivalents of US$364.7 million, and a net debt balance of US$48.8 million with net debt to equity ratio of 8.3%.  This is after CapEx of US$45.9 million in the quarter, the majority of which was invested in expanding our DDIC test capacity to meet customer demand levels.  We continue to execute on our core business, target sustainable higher margin growth opportunities, and prioritize capital expenditures in support of our long-term growth strategy in both Taiwan and China."

Investor Conference Call / Webcast Details

ChipMOS will host two conference calls on Thursday, August 10, 2017 to discuss the Company's financial results for the second quarter of 2017. 

1. Date: Thursday, August 10, 2017
   Time: 4:00PM Taiwan (4:00AM New York)
   Dial-In: +886-2-21928016
   Password:  625427#
   Replay Starting 2 Hours After Live Call Ends: www.chipmos.com
   Language: Mandarin
   
2. Date: Thursday, August 10, 2017
   Time: 8:00PM Taiwan (8:00AM New York)
   Dial-In: +1-201-689-8562
   Password: 13666216
   Replay Starting 2 Hours After Live Call Ends: +1-412-317-6671, with ID 13666216
   Webcast of Live Call and Replay: www.chipmos.com
   Language: English

About ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC.:
ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES INC. ("ChipMOS" or the "Company") (Taiwan Stock Exchange: 8150 and NASDAQ: IMOS) (http://www.chipmos.com) is an industry leading provider of outsourced semiconductor assembly and test services. With advanced facilities in Hsinchu Science Park, Hsinchu Industrial Park and Southern Taiwan Science Park in Taiwan, ChipMOS provide assembly and test services to a broad range of customers, including leading fabless semiconductor companies, integrated device manufacturers and independent semiconductor foundries.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as 'believes,' 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'projects,' 'intends,' 'should,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,' 'future' or similar expressions or by discussion of, among other things, strategy, goals, plans or intentions. These statements may include financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Actual results may differ materially in the future from those reflected in forward-looking statements contained in this document, due to various factors. Further information regarding these risks, uncertainties and other factors are included in the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and in the Company's other filings with the SEC.

About Non-Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("Non-GAAP") Financial Measures
To supplement the consolidated financial results presented in accordance with the Taiwan-IFRS, ChipMOS uses non-GAAP free cash flow, non-GAAP earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") and non-GAAP net debt to equity ratio in this press release. The non-GAAP free cash flow represents operating profit plus depreciation, amortization and interest income and less capital expenditures, predecessors' interests, interest expenses, income tax expense and dividend. The non-GAAP EBITDA represents operating profit plus depreciation and amortization. The non-GAAP net debt to equity ratio represents the ratio of net debt, the sum of debt less cash and cash equivalent, divided by equity attributable to equity holders of the Company.  These non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. Other companies may calculate similarly titled measures differently.

The presentation of non-GAAP financial measures is not intended to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with the Taiwan-IFRS.

ChipMOS considers the use of non-GAAP free cash flow, non-GAAP EBITDA and non-GAAP net debt to equity ratio provides useful information to management to manage the Company's business and make financial and operational decisions and also to the investors to understand and evaluate the Company's business and operating performance. For more information on these non-GAAP financial measures, please refer to the table captioned "Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Measures to the Nearest Comparable GAAP Measures" in this press release.

- FINANCIAL TABLES FOLLOW BELOW -

Contacts:

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