Lev appointed Credence Systems CEO
-- Test & Measurement World, 12/7/2006 1:13:00 PM
Credence Systems has announced the appointment of Lavi Lev as president and CEO. He succeeds Dave Ranhoff, who has stepped down.
Lev has more than 20 years of experience in the design-tool and semiconductor industries at companies including National Semiconductor, Intel, Sun Microsystems, Silicon Graphics, MIPS Technologies, and Cadence. He most recently served as the executive VP and GM of the products and solution business at Cadence Design Systems, where he had responsibility for Cadence's worldwide product portfolio.
"Lavi Lev is the right person to lead Credence at this time as it begins its next phase of development," said Dave House, executive chairman of Credence Systems. "While Dave Ranhoff successfully completed the integration of recent acquisitions and aligned the company on a profitable business model, it is now time to focus on the next phase, that of building the products that will expand our businesses. Lavi's background in both the design-tool and semiconductor businesses and his experience in product development, management, and business development will serve Credence's customers, employees and investors well as we address the design-to-production test challenges faced by our customers today."
In other news, Credence reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended October 31, 2006. Net sales for the fourth quarter were $121.9 million, up 11% from the preceding quarter net sales of $109.6 million and up slightly from the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2005 revenue of $121.6 million. Orders for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 were $120.7 million, corresponding to a book-to-bill ratio of 0.99. Net loss for the quarter was $1.9 million, or $0.02 net loss per share, versus a net loss of $461.4 million, or $4.61 net loss per share, in the preceding quarter. The net loss in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2006 included restructuring charges of $7.8 million resulting primarily from previously announced headcount-reduction actions taken during the quarter partially offset by a $2.6 million gain associated with the repurchase of $35.0 million of convertible notes. Net loss from a year-ago fourth quarter was $22.5 million or $0.23 net loss per share.
For fiscal 2006, net sales were $474.4 million, an increase of 11% from net sales of $429.3 million in the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005. The net loss for fiscal 2006 was $481.6 million, or $4.82 net loss per share, compared to a net loss of $119.9 million, or $1.28 net loss per share in fiscal 2005. The net loss for fiscal 2006 included a $423.9 million write-down of goodwill on the company's books taken during the third fiscal quarter, and restructuring and inventory charges of $47.1 million.
