9 April 1998: Southwall Technologies Inc., designer and producer of thin film coatings, announced that it anticipates a lower than expected revenue and a loss for its first quarter ending 29 March 199…
9 April 1998: Southwall Technologies Inc., designer and producer of thin film coatings, announced that it anticipates a lower than expected revenue and a loss for its first quarter ending 29 March 1998. The US company anticipates reporting the results of operations for the quarter on or before 27 April 1998. The anticipated revenue shortfall is primarily due to lower product yields in anti-reflective film for computer screens and Heat Mirror XIR(R) films for the automotive market, said the company. The company reportedly experienced several mechanical and process problems that contributed to lower than expected yields on its anti-reflective film in the new production machine in the Tempe, Arizona facility in the US. Additionally, the company said that throughput and yield issues have negatively impacted production of its XIR automotive product, manufactured in Palo Alto, California. “Orders continue to exceed supply and improvements are anticipated in the second quarter to further relieve this situation,” said the company. Thomas G. Hood, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, “Although we are disappointed to report an anticipated loss, we are confident that we will overcome these growth issues and land on our feet quickly. Our actions in this quarter will lead to better yields in the future for both the anti-reflective and automotive film products. We are confident that we are resolving the equipment problems at Tempe, and that our planned production ramp-up is now back on target.”