ChipMOS REPORTS FOURTH QUARTER AND FULL YEAR 2017 RESULTS

HSINCHU, , March 15, 2018 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --

Full Year 2017 Highlights (as compared to the Full Year 2016):

• Net Revenue at US$605.3 Million Compared to US$620.4 Million
• Gross Profit of US$109.2 Million Compared to US$122.9 Million
• Gross Margin at 18.0% Compared to 19.8%
• Net Earnings of US$2.36 Per Diluted ADS Compared to US$1.19 Per Diluted ADS; Net Earnings of US$0.12 Per Diluted Common Share Compared to US$0.06 Per Diluted Common Share
• Generated US$160.4 Million Cash from Operations in 2017
• Ended 2017 with Cash and Cash Equivalents Balance of US$271.1 Million After Distributing Cash (Including Cash Dividend and Capital Surplus) of US$28.9 Million to Shareholders; and Investing US$158.7 Million in CapEx in 2017
• Completed ChipMOS Shanghai Equity Interest Transfer to Tsinghua Unigroup Led Strategic Investors, and Recently Completed Capital Injections.

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 fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2017. All U.S. dollar figures cited in this press release are based on the exchange rate of NT$29.64 against US$1.00 as of December 29, 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 fourth quarter of 2017 was NT$4,408.2 million or US$148.7 million, a decrease of 0.5% from NT$4,431.1 million or US$149.5 million in the third quarter of 2017 and a decrease of 5.5% from NT$4,667.1 million or US$157.5 million for the same period in 2016.  Net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company for the fourth quarter of 2017 was NT$163.0 million or US$5.5 million, and NT$0.19 or US$0.01 per basic common share and NT$0.19 or US$0.01 per diluted common share, as compared to net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company for the third quarter of 2017 of NT$162.0 million or US$5.5 million, and NT$0.19 or US$0.01 per basic common share and NT$0.19 or US$0.01 per diluted common share, and compared to net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company in the fourth quarter of 2016 of NT$613.9 million or US$20.7 million, and NT$0.72 or US$0.02 per basic common share and NT$0.72 or US$0.02 per diluted common share. 

Net revenue for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 was NT$17,940.8 million or US$605.3 million, a decrease of 2.4% from NT$18,387.6 million or US$620.4 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.  Net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 was NT$3,026.5 million or US$102.1 million, and NT$3.57 or US$0.12 per basic and NT$3.50 or US$0.12 per diluted common share, compared to net profit attributable to equity holders of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 was NT$1,532.3 million or US$51.7 million, and NT$1.78 or US$0.06 per basic and NT$1.76 or US$0.06 per diluted common share.

S.J. Cheng, Chairman and President of ChipMOS, said, "We are pleased that we were able to achieve revenue in Q4 flat with Q3, despite the continued headwinds in our business, including the lower allocation from our largest DRAM customer, product mix changes in our Niche DRAM business and demand softness for gold bumping services.  Our ability to offset the pressure was due to the customer, business and geographic diversification strategy we have been executing for the past few years.  As a result, we benefitted from growth in DDIC demand, which is being led by higher driver demand from smartphone customers and stable demand from 4K TV customers.  We are also encouraged by strong demand for our NOR Flash business, led by wafer test services, which has resulted in NOR wafer test capacity being fully utilized.  Overall, we are optimistic for 2018 and expect to benefit from an increased revenue contribution from higher growth markets, including Automotive and Industrial, 3D optical sensing, TDDI, OLED, and 12 inch fine pitch chip on film ("COF").  Many of these growth opportunities are related to mobile devices, including 18:9 screens and new smartphone models featuring bezel-less panels, along with tablets, and wearable devices.  By offering tailored, reliable turnkey solutions that integrate wafer bumping and assembly, with leading edge OSAT services ChipMOS is positioned to drive growth in revenue and profitability capable of building further Shareholder value in 2018 and beyond."

Silvia Su, Senior Director of Finance and Accounting, commented, "We exited 2017 in a very strong competitive and financial position, with net earnings of US$2.36 per diluted ADS or net earnings of US$0.12 per diluted common share.  Our core business remains healthy led by our diversification efforts.  Our geographic diversification strategy further enhanced our competitive position and long-term growth potential. Importantly, we generated US$160.4 million cash from operations in 2017, ending 2017 with a cash and cash equivalents balance of US$271.1 million.  This is after we distributed cash (including cash dividend and capital surplus) of US$28.9 million to shareholders, and invested US$158.7 million in CapEx during 2017. We continue to make significant progress in our efforts to increase return on investment and shareholder value, with catalysts in 2017 including the completion of the sale and transfer of 54.98% equity interests of ChipMOS TECHNOLOGIES (Shanghai) LTD. to Tsinghua Unigroup led strategic investors, and funding of the manufacturing facility.  We will maintain a prudent CapEx strategy in 2018 as we continue to support our customers' efforts in existing program areas and in new, high potential growth markets where we can further leverage ChipMOS's technical expertise, geographic footprint and financial strength."

Investor Conference Call / Webcast Details
ChipMOS will host two conference calls on Thursday, March 15, 2018 to discuss the Company's financial results for the fourth quarter and full year of 2017. 

1. Date: Thursday, March 15, 2018
Time: 4:00PM Taiwan (4:00AM New York)
Dial-In: +886-2-21928016
Password:  387437#
Replay Starting 2 Hours After Live Call Ends: www.chipmos.com.tw
Language: Mandarin

2. Date: Thursday, March 15, 2018
Time: 7:00PM Taiwan (7:00AM New York)
Dial-In: +1-201-689-8562
Password: 13676518
Replay Starting 2 Hours After Live Call Ends: +1-412-317-6671, with ID 13676518
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. ChipMOS along with strategic investors, also owns an advanced facility in Shanghai.

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 -

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