Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Q4 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

Krish Sankar: Thanks for taking my question. I actually have 3 of them. First one, Fusen, when I look at your commentary into the March quarter and beyond, is it fair to assume you think the worst of the ball bonder bottom is behind us? And what kind of visibility do you have and conviction on why it should continue improving?

Fusen Chen: Okay. So Krish, you asked why ball bonder in the second half is high. Is that right?

Krish Sankar : Yes. Why you think is the worst is behind us?

Fusen Chen: Okay. So I think there are a few reasons. One is, of course, our customers’ feedback. And also, historically, we have second half actually higher than the first half and the industry actually went through a few inventory digestion. So we feel like it should grow. And also recent actually forecast from IDC and the Gartner, they all point to a strong CY over ’24. So especially, I think we see OSAT order, although I think we believe that they will even order more second half. Actually, we are quite close to our customers. So I hope I answered your questions.

Krish Sankar : Got it. That’s really helpful, Fusen. And then I just wanted to follow up on some of the commentary you made on the HBM and GPU applications. Number one, I’m kind of curious the status of your Thermocompression bonder eval at one of the large Taiwan foundries. And second, do you expect some — today many of the GPUs for AI are using CoWoS, do you see them migrating to TCB in the future?

Fusen Chen: Yes. Okay. So Kris, we are actually quite excited about prospects of our TCB. So look at the year 2000, our revenue is a single digit — I’m sorry, I think, 2020. And actually, 2023, actually, we reached $64 million and we expect our TCB will be over $100 million in 2025. So when we are in 2025 for TCB, the whole dedicated AP actually will be over 200. So the progress has been very good, backed up by strong technology. So currently, I think we have multiple engagement with OSAT with IDM and also with the foundry. And each company might also have a multiple project and the engagement in the past 2 quarters are even more. So going to your questions, with the company you ask. Currently, actually, we have engagement in both the C2W and C2S, so very strong solution, which is extendable to fine pitch.

The feedback has been good, and we hope to finish all qualification in the next few months, right? So I hope I answered your question. So next question is AI, GPU and HBM actually, it also require the TCB at the top 2 mega integration. So the tool actually supports multiple applications. And AI, the measure you mentioned is one of them. So I hope I answered all your questions.

Krish Sankar : Thanks, Fusen. Yes, that was very helpful. And then maybe a quick follow-up for Lester. Can you give some color on how much the backlog was? And how much was China of your total sales?

Lester Wong: Yes. Krish, thanks for the question. The backlog was $423 million at the end of Q4. And then as far as China is concerned, are you talking about how much was China revenue?

Krish Sankar : Yes, that’s right. Yes.

Lester Wong: So for Q4, China revenue was 49%, but 46% those are China headquarters, so not MNCs. And for the year, actually, China headquarters actually dropped down to about 40% for FY ’23. And FY ’24, it was actually closer to 46%.

Operator: [Operator Instructions] Our next questions come from the line of Dave Duley with Steelhead Securities. Dave, could you please check if you are self-muted?

David Duley: Yes. Thank you I was muted. Could you just talk a little bit about the general semi business recovery that you saw? How much that grew sequentially? What you would expect it to do in the following couple of quarters? And then as a follow-on, I think you mentioned that one of the IDC was forecasting strong unit volume growth in 2024. Could you talk about what sort of forecast you’re expecting for unit volume growth in 2024?

Fusen Chen: So talking about the quarter business expectation as you ask, so Dave, as you know, we actually — second half historically is stronger than the first half. So this means the seasonality will happen, the transition from second half to first half. So that caused seasonality from last September to December quarters. And average sequential revenue change from our September quarter to December, on average historically is 13%. So our Q1 FY ’24 guidance actually is in line with our historical average. So that’s Q1. So Q2, from all our current view and the customers’ feedback, we will see a sequential growth. And in terms of second half, currently, we have actually ongoing intensive and very intensive qualification with our customer on AP, but advanced display and very, very strong feedback on the dispensing and coupled with a broader ball bonder business recovery, which I think Krish just asked.