Cohu Reports Third Quarter 2008 Operating Results

Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ:COHU) today announced that net sales were $48.0 million for the third quarter ended September 27, 2008 compared to $64.5 million for the third quarter ended September 29, 2007 and $51.8 million for the second quarter ended June 28, 2008. Net income for the third quarter of 2008 was $37,000, or $0.00 per share compared to $2.2 million or $0.10 per share for the third quarter of 2007 and $0.2 million or $0.01 per share in the second quarter of 2008.

Net sales for the first nine months of 2008 were $158.3 million with net income of $2.2 million or $0.09 per share compared to net sales of $184.3 million with net income of $5.9 million or $0.26 per share for the first nine months of 2007.

Semiconductor test handling equipment accounted for 79.3% of total third quarter 2008 sales, microwave communications equipment contributed 11.9% and closed circuit television cameras and related equipment were 8.8% of sales for the same period.

Consolidated orders for the third quarter of 2008 were $46.0 million compared to $50.1 million for the second quarter of 2008. Third quarter 2008 orders for semiconductor equipment decreased from $39.0 million in the second quarter of 2008 to $31.0 million in the third quarter of 2008. Backlog was $52.0 million at September 27, 2008 compared to $54.0 million at June 28, 2008. Cohu expects fourth quarter 2008 sales to be approximately $37.0 million.

James A. Donahue, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "An already challenging environment for semiconductor equipment has been further impacted by the global financial crisis. Last week, SEMI reported that preliminary September orders for test and assembly equipment declined 47% compared to September 2007 and that the book to bill ratio fell to 0.70."

Donahue concluded, "Visibility in the backend semiconductor industry is limited to several quarters at best, and over this time horizon, we expect business conditions to remain difficult. Despite the current economic headwinds, we are optimistic about the long term prospects for our industry and confident in our products, people and strategy. Through this downturn, we plan to continue to invest in new product development and key initiatives to improve gross margin and operating performance that will benefit the Company when industry conditions improve."

Cohu’s Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.06 per share payable on January 2, 2009 to shareholders of record on November 28, 2008. Cohu has paid consecutive quarterly cash dividends since 1977.

Certain matters discussed in this release, including statements concerning Cohu’s new products and expectations of business conditions, orders, revenues and operating performance are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or forecasted. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the concentration of our revenues from a limited number of customers; our ability to convert new products under development into production on a timely basis, support product development and meet customer delivery and acceptance requirements for next generation equipment; failure to obtain customer acceptance resulting in the inability to recognize revenue and accounts receivable collection problems; inventory write-offs; intense competition in the semiconductor test handler industry; our reliance on patents and intellectual property; compliance with U.S. export regulations; the cyclical and unpredictable nature of capital expenditures by semiconductor manufacturers; difficulties in integrating acquisitions and new technologies and other risks addressed in Cohu’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the most recently filed Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Cohu assumes no obligation to update the information in this release.

Cohu is a supplier of test handling, burn-in and thermal solutions used by the global semiconductor industry, microwave communications and closed circuit television equipment.

Cohu will be conducting a conference call on Thursday, October 23, 2008 at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time. The call will be webcast at www.cohu.com. Replays of the call can be accessed at www.cohu.com.

For press releases and other information of interest to investors, please visit Cohu’s website at www.cohu.com.