ASYS Amtech Systems, Inc.

Risks

• There is ongoing volatility in the semiconductor equipment industry.
• The semiconductor equipment industry is highly competitive and, because we are relatively small in size and have fewer financial and other resources compared to our competitors, we may not be able to compete successfully with them.
• We may not be able to generate sufficient cash flows or obtain access to external financing necessary to fund existing operations and planned expansions.
• We may not be able to find a buyer for our solar assets.
• The failure to successfully implement cost reduction initiatives through our restructuring activities, could materially adversely affect our business and results of operations.
• We may not be able to manage the business successfully through severe business cycles.
• Acquisitions can result in an increase in our operating costs, divert management’s attention away from other operational matters and expose us to other risks.
• Our reliance on sales to a few major customers, often on credit terms, places us at financial risk.
• If we are unable to require certain customers to make advance payments when they place orders with us, or if our customers fail to meet their payment obligations, we may experience increased needs to finance our working capital requirements and may be exposed to increased credit risk.
• Manufacturing interruptions or delays could affect our ability to meet customer demand and lead to higher costs.
• Because we depend on revenue from international customers, our business may be adversely affected by changes in the economies and policies of the countries or regions in which we do business.
• Our business may be adversely affected by significant exchange rate fluctuations.
• We are exposed to risks associated with an uncertain global economy.
• If we fail to maintain optimal inventory levels, our inventory obsolescence costs could increase, our liquidity could be significantly reduced or our revenue could decrease.
• Supplier capacity constraints, supplier production disruptions, supplier quality issues or price increases could increase our operating costs and adversely impact the competitive positions of our products.
• We might fail to develop adequate internal organizational structures, internal controls and risk monitoring and management systems for an organization of our scale.
• Unsatisfactory performance of, or defects in, our products may cause us to incur additional warranty expenses, damage our reputation and cause our sales to decline.
• We may incur impairment charges to goodwill or long-lived assets.
• Our officers, directors and largest shareholders could choose to act in their best interests and not necessarily those of our other shareholders.
• Information security breaches or failures of our information technology systems may have a negative impact on our operations and our reputation.
• Natural disasters, outbreaks of infectious diseases, terrorist attacks, wars and threats of war may negatively impact our operations, revenue, costs and stock price.
• Our business may be adversely affected by changes in or failure to comply with foreign and domestic laws.
• We are subject to U.S. and certain non-U.S. anti-corruption/anti-bribery, export and import controls, sanctions, embargoes, anti-money laundering, anti-terrorist financing, and other similar laws and regulations. Compliance with these legal standards could impair our ability to compete in domestic and international markets. We can face criminal liability and other serious consequences for violations of these laws and regulations which can harm our business.
• Recent changes to U.S. tax laws may adversely affect our financial condition or results of operation and create the risk that we may need to adjust our accounting for these changes.
• We are subject to environmental regulations, and our inability or failure to comply with these regulations could result in significant costs or the suspension of our ability to operate portions of our business.
• We face the risk of product liability claims or other litigation, which could be expensive and may divert management’s attention from running our business.
• We may not be able to keep pace with the rapid change in the technology needed to meet customer requirements.
• Our research and development investments may not result in timely new products that can be sold at favorable prices and obtain market acceptance.
• Third parties may violate our proprietary rights, in which we have made significant investments, resulting in a loss of value of some of our intellectual property or costly litigation.
• We may face intellectual property infringement claims that could be time-consuming and costly to defend and could result in our loss of significant rights and the assessment of treble damages.
• Our results of operations are difficult to predict, and, we have experienced, and may continue to experience, significant volatility in our stock price as a result.
• If securities analysts do not publish research or reports about our business or if they downgrade our stock, the price of our stock could decline.