ATMI Posts 1Q Loss, Sharp Revenue Drop; Shares Dip

DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — ATMI Inc., which provides specialty materials to semiconductor makers, posted a first-quarter net loss Wednesday, hurt by charges and a sharp revenue drop.

The company's shares fell $1.65, or 9.2 percent, to $16.30 in midday trading following the news, having changed hands between $8.70 and $31.11 in the past year.

ATMI posted a loss of $18.4 million, or 59 cents per share, for the quarter, down from a profit of $10.4 million, or 32 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.

During the quarter the company posted 23 cents in charges for the impairment of certain manufacturing and other assets and the impairment of an auction rate security, as well as an increase in reserves for bad debts and inventories.

Excluding the charges, the company lost 36 cents per share in the latest quarter.

Revenue fell 60 percent to $37.4 million from $92.8 million.

Analysts, on average, were expecting a loss of 17 cents per share on sales of $53.6 million.

Like the overall chip industry, ATMI said its results by hurt by inventory reductions throughout the semiconductor supply chain and weak demand.

The company noted it generated positive cash flow from operations during the quarter.

"While we have recently seen increased customer activity turn into order rate increases for several of our consumable materials, we do not yet feel confident that a sustainable and meaningful recovery is under way," said Tim Carlson, chief financial officer, in a statement.