Greetings and welcome to the Kulicke & Soffa, Inc. 2022 fourth quarter fiscal results call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Joseph Elgindy , Senior Director of Investor Relations for Kulicke & Soffa, Inc. Joseph, you may begin.
Thank you. Welcome everyone to Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc.'s fiscal fourth quarter 2022 conference call. Fusen Chen, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Lester Wong, Chief Financial Officer, are both also joining on today's call. For those who have not received the recent results, the earnings release, as well as our supplemental earnings presentation, are both available in the investor relations section of our website at investor.kns.com. In addition to historical statements, today's remarks will contain statements relating to future events and our future results. These statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from what is indicated in those forward-looking statements. For a complete discussion of the risks associated with Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc.
That could affect our future results and financial condition, please refer to our recent SEC filings, specifically the 10-K for the year ended October 2nd, 2021, and the 8-K filed yesterday. With that said, I would now like to turn the call over to Fusen Chen for the business overview. Please go ahead, Fusen.
Thank you, Joseph. Over the past five years, we have evolved into a more resilient, growth-oriented, and a dramatically more profitable company by focusing on our corporate cultures, strengthen our established position, and expanding our served available market . In parallel to these fundamental internal effort, semiconductor assembly winning both the high volume and the leading-edge market is now a more significant contributor to the industry's value chain. Over the past year, we flexed our capacity and overcame broad supply chain disruptions to support customers through a rapid period of industry expansion. In parallel, we execute on multiple advanced development projects and continue our market expansion strategy. Collectively, this effort has increased our base level of revenue and are clearly reflected in our financial results.
Through fiscal 2022, we again generated over $1.5 billion of revenue, in line with the fiscal 2021, although our non-GAAP earnings per share increased by 21% over the same period. This higher level of performance increased our resiliency as we look into fiscal 2023. Over recent months, industry leader and forecaster lowered WFE and the semiconductor unit outlook due to increased uncertainty related to interest rates, global trade tension, and the ongoing supply chain disruption, which negatively impact both inventory and the demand level across general semiconductor, LED, and memory end market. Considering this dynamic environment, we recently conduct scenario planning across our individual business lines. Based on this detailed feedback, we currently expect fiscal 2023 revenue to meet or exceed our previous cyclical peak revenue in fiscal 2018.
This outlook suggests a more typical seasonal pattern through fiscal 2023, with ongoing digestion in the first fiscal half, followed by gradual demand improvement in the second fiscal half. Expected second half improvements are supported by well-known seasonal dynamics, in addition to a heavier weighting of advanced display and advanced packaging revenue. Despite this dynamic macro and the industry environment, secular trends in advanced display, advanced packaging, and the automotive have continued to be very resilient. Lester will provide additional detail on our outlook shortly. Over the prior year, we generated revenue of $1.5 billion and a non-GAAP EPS of $7.45, representing an increase of more than two times over our prior 2018 peak year, which help to highlight how our cyclical performance has improved. While semiconductor growth has contributed.
Since 2018, prudent partnership, acquisitions, and aggressive development expanded our served available market by 51% to approximately $4.7 billion. This change, which excludes our pending acquisition, provides a more sustainable and a consistent path for growth going forward. We remain focused on our long-term strategy and the outlook over the coming years. Fiscal 2023 is a critical adoption period for our higher growth solutions supporting advanced packaging, automotive, and advanced display, which are increasingly aligned with long-term fundamental technology transition already underway. Despite the softer environment, customer engagement and the interest for our growing portfolio of solutions continue to expand. I will provide an update to these key growth initiatives shortly. In addition to our ongoing organic development effort, we have been seeking competency-based acquisition that can further accelerate our growth potential. On September 8th, we announced an agreement to acquire Advanced Jet Automation , AJA.
AJA's technology portfolio will further expand our available market, while also materially increasing our access to the evolving micro and the mini LED opportunity. Over the past years, success with the Assembléon acquisition has allowed us to enter the advanced display market. This access offer the opportunity to identify and engage with innovative providers, including AJA, who are also supporting this emerging high-growth opportunity. AJA's unique and complementary dispense solutions, which provide market-leading placement accuracy and repeatability, already address the high accuracy needs of advanced display and are positioned to address the growing complexity of semiconductor and the consumer electronics assembly. In total, AJA provide K&S with access of roughly $2 billion total addressable market in dispense, providing an additional layer of growth. This sizable new market access and the impressive competency in the emerging advanced display space supplement our broad organic growth initiative.
Our existing technical competency, sales and distribution network, and the operational strength can help AJA better commercialize new solution and accelerate growth potential. Turning to our end market, we generated $242.1 million of sales from our capital equipment businesses in the September quarters, which represent a 23% increase over our five years average. Within the general semiconductor market, a softer outlook is expected due to the lower consumer spending level and also indirect effect of new trade restrictions. However, we continue to execute on share gain in the power semi market, advanced packaging, and soon, also within electronics assembly. Our advanced display business is progressing better than expected, and we significantly exceed our $80 million advanced display revenue target. Advanced display represent nearly 60% of our total 2022 LED revenue.
As we execute on development and further drive adoption across a growing customer base, we expect this market to grow materially. After several quarters of rapid automotive capacity expansion, we have returned to a more reasonable level of demand for our core automotive solution. We continue to closely support our automotive customers through our leading semiconductor, electronics, and battery assembly solution, which are directly addressing many of the sensing, power management, power storage, and the power distribution needs for current and future electric and autonomous vehicles. These trends are significant and expected to continue supporting above-average automotive semiconductor growth over the long term. Today, we continue to extend our fundamental strengths by supporting our own capacity expansion plan and the new product initiatives, while delivering on several intimate customer engagement. Our ongoing progress and execution increasing optimism into FY 2024 allow me to provide a brief update.
First, we now have multiple facility expansion and the renovation program in Singapore and Pennsylvania, which are providing critically needed cleanroom, lab, and metrology spaces that will enhance our manufacturing and development capabilities. This expansion effort better support the growing trend and demand for our new advanced packaging and advanced display solution. Our dedicated semiconductor advanced packaging business has grown by 34% over fiscal 2021, and it is projected to continue growing materially over the coming years. Customer interest and feedback for our fluxless thermocompression system have increased over the past quarters. We continue to expect this process will address the majority of heterogeneous assembly needs down to a 10-micron pitch. We currently have an industry leadership position in Chip-to-Substrate process and have multiple promising new opportunity with key customer in Chip-to-Wafer process over the coming years.
In addition to our focus on emerging heterogeneous integration opportunity, TCB also support the high-growth, high-volume System-in-Package market for emerging logic, processor, mixed signal, silicon photonics, and sensing application. This new access to high-growth opportunity provides specific example of how we expanded our market reach and are raising our base level of business. As the value of semiconductor assembly increase, our engagement with multiple fabless company have also increased. While these are not traditional end customers, the assembly process is currently becoming a more significant factor in IC design than in the past. Even for our new solution continue to improve across our growing base of fabless foundry, IDM, and the OSAT customers. We are working aggressively to support broadening customer engagements. Considering this new momentum, we anticipate thermocompression to provide meaningful growth over the coming years.
To highlight this momentum, our thermocompression businesses grew by nearly five times year-over-year. We have also currently identified specific TCB customer opportunities of over $300 million cumulative through 2025. In addition to advanced packaging, we are strategically focused on extending market shares through the pending release of our latest electronic assembly system. Looking back, our 2015 acquisition of Assembléon provides several market-expanding opportunity for K&S, including additional access into the automotive market, new access into System-in-Package solution market, and also new access into the emerging mini and micro LED space through the success of PIXALUX. After securing position in these adjacent markets, we are also targeting share gain within the core electronics assembly market.
Recent and ongoing development efforts have positioned us well to expand our access within electronics assembly, which represent a served available market in excess of $2 billion. Over the past years, we have delivered a new system architectures, which addresses the growing accuracy and the throughput needs of next-generation electronics assembly. Initial customer feedback has been well received, and we look forward to officially releasing our latest system in the second half of fiscal 2023. The last update is regarding our growing portfolio of advanced display solutions, which continue to track to expectations into fiscal 2023. Sustained development efforts have created multiple advanced display solutions, PIXALUX, LUMINEX, and also cross-customer development programs, which comprehensively address the LED placement requirements of emerging backlighting and direct emission applications.
At the high level, LED technology, which represent the vast majority of display production, will benefit significantly from emerging backlighting trends over the long term. To be clear, LCD technology offer lower production costs and a longer useful life than current alternative display technology like OLED. Emerging backlighting trends, supported by success of PIXALUX and the growing interest of LUMINEX, further optimize the cost over performance trade-off for LCD technology, specifically with the larger format display. Alternatively, OLED technology provides a thinner, higher quality image, supporting higher relative shares with a smaller format display. A low image degradation and the production cost has limited broad OLED adoption in high volume, larger format display market. Over the coming years, direct emissive display using only advanced matrix of very small LEDs, have the potential to challenge OLED technology from a performance and a power efficiency standpoint.
This trend is only beginning to play out, and we are well-positioned to participate through our cross-customer development initiative and also the success of LUMINEX over the coming quarters. For most advanced backlighting and direct emission approach to be adopted, low production cost is critically important to driving market adoption. While production costs of mini and micro LED will improve, we are most focused on delivering higher throughput solutions while support both of these long-term trends. Our foremost position and success with PIXALUX have provide us with the largest install base of ultra-high speed pick and place tool for advanced display. This level of performance improve with LUMINEX laser-based transfer method. With LUMINEX, we are on track to achieve three times the productivity benefit of PIXALUX over the coming months. Our R&D team are actively supporting several ongoing qualifications in parallel for LUMINEX as they reach this new milestone.
We continue to expand our advanced display install base and pursue multiple LUMINEX engagement while making consistent progress across several customer development initiatives. Customer interest in our latest LUMINEX system remain very strong. We have also recently shipped a new customer-specific advanced display solution that further increase our optimism. In the long-term potential with this broad technology trend, while the end-item industry growth rate routinely change across the semiconductor market, our position have fundamentally improved and better correlate with the secular trend, shaping the future of advanced packaging, automotive, and the advanced display market. Through ongoing execution of our development program, integration of AJA, and driving customer adoption, we are well-positioned to further enhance our market access, growth prospects, and fundamental strengths over the near term. With that said, I will now turn the call over to Lester, who will discuss our financial performance and outlook. Lester?
Thank you, Fusen. My remarks today will refer to GAAP results unless noted. First, I would like to address the recent changes to U.S. trade regulations, which have clearly impacted many front-end solution providers' ability to support existing production and ship tools to many Chinese companies involved in IC fabrication. While we are still receiving confirmation from customers, we do not anticipate any material direct impact to demand. The vast majority of the systems we ship into China are simply not restricted. Additionally, none of our products support IC fabrication. Our products only support IC assembly, which is excluded from the new restrictions. While we don't anticipate direct impacts, the new rules will likely create near-term supply chain disruptions, which may indirectly impact demand for our products.
As Fusen explained in detail, the current macro environment remains dynamic, and we remain committed to expanding our product portfolio and market access in a fundamental, long-term, and sustainable way. Our strategic path includes many facets, customer engagements, technology partnerships, development programs, qualifications, and highly selective acquisitions, which sustainably enhance our technology-orientated growth. As we strategically expand our market access and product diversification, through-cycle operating leverage and free cash flow generation will continue to improve. Over the past fiscal year, we quickly flexed our manufacturing to meet an unprecedented level of demand for our high-volume ball bonder business, generating revenues of over $1.5 billion, non-GAAP net income of $455.6 million, and non-GAAP earnings per share of $7.45. As Fusen mentioned, non-GAAP EPS actually increased by 21% year-over-year, despite a similar level of revenue.
The largest individual driver to this benefit was due to our 380 basis points improvement in gross margin during fiscal 2022. To be clear, the growing capital intensity of the semiconductor assembly process is directly benefiting the value proposition and long-term growth rates of our leading ball bonding solutions. Our strengthening position in advanced display, advanced packaging, automotive, and electronics assembly may be easier for investors to digest. Although we have also optimized the core high-volume ball bonder business. While ball bonding has historically been underappreciated, the underlying business has fundamentally improved. Since fiscal 2020, our ball bonder gross margins have increased by 340 basis points, largely due to stronger demand for our high-performance systems, which are more capable to run multi-die applications.
Specifically, the RAPID series of ball bonders, our most advanced architecture, grew from representing only 21% of total ball bonder units in fiscal 2020 to representing 69% of total ball bonder units in fiscal 2022. New complex packaging trends enhance our existing leadership position and the longer-term growth rates within this large, well-established process. Turning to our recent results. During the September quarter, we generated revenue of $286.3 million, gross margins above 46%, non-GAAP net income of $70.2 million, and non-GAAP EPS of $1.19. Gross margins came in slightly below our guidance range, largely due to accounting associated with customer-related development efforts.
Non-GAAP operating expenses during the quarter came in better than expectations due to immediate cost control efforts, a reduced pace of hiring, and foreign exchange gains related to a strengthening U.S. dollar. Finally, tax expense for the quarter came in at $6.6 million, slightly better than expectations. Over the past year, our total cash position increased by $35.7 million after committing $322.2 million to investors through dividends and share repurchase activities. Working capital days increased to 341 days in the September quarter, representing a sequential reduction in revenue, sequential increase in cash, and a collective decline in accounts receivable, inventories, and accounts payable. Through fiscal 2022, we generated $367.4 million of adjusted free cash flow, highlighting our longer-term earnings potential.
Through the September quarter, we repurchased an additional $60.2 million of shares, bringing our fiscal year total to $282.8 million, which represent 5.6 million shares, or nearly 10% of our fiscal 2022 weighted diluted share average. At the end of the September quarter, we had nearly $250 million remaining under our repurchase authorization. Continue to manage an active open market repurchase strategy. In addition to the repurchase activity, we have also just announced our third consecutive annual dividend raise, bringing our total dividends per share to $0.76 annually and maintaining a competitive dividend yield. The ongoing repurchase program and steadily growing dividend help stabilize our valuation while optimizing our fundamental market expansion effort on a per-share basis.
For the December quarter, in line with Fusen's comments regarding softening macro and industry environments, we anticipate revenue of approximately $175 million ± $20 million. Gross margins are expected to reduce to 45% ± 50 basis points due to product mix, accounting related to our customer development initiatives, additional expediting fees, near-term facility resizing efforts, and also higher than expected inflation. Non-GAAP operating expenses is anticipated to be approximately $68 million ± 2% due to ongoing expansion efforts in addition to inflation. Over the last month, we have reduced our rate of hiring and limited non-critical expenses as we have during prior soft demand periods. Non-GAAP EPS is expected to be $0.20 ± 10%, which considers an effective tax rate of just over 20%.
This increase is partially related to regional income mix, although it's primarily due to mandatory capitalization of R&D expenses under Section 174 beginning in fiscal 2023. Unless repealed or modified, this provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 is expected to broadly affect all U.S. corporate taxpayers with R&D activities. As we look further through fiscal 2023, we continue to anticipate a period of capacity digestion to extend into the March quarter, with typical seasonality trends driving more distinct capacity needs in the second fiscal half. It remains a very exciting time for the company as we have been significantly broadening our alignment with fundamental technology change across the semiconductor, advanced display, electronics assembly, and automotive markets. As the industry recovers and we continue to execute, we are well-positioned to reach new levels of financial performance beyond 2023.
While there are near-term challenges for the entire industry, our fundamental improvements, enviable financial position, and active roles enabling several long-term technology transitions will allow us to emerge an even stronger and more profitable company. This concludes our prepared comments. Operator, please open the call for questions.
Thank you. We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star keys. One moment, please, while we poll for your questions. Our first questions come from the line of Krish Sankar with Cowen. Please proceed with your questions.
Yeah, hi. Thanks for taking my question. I had a few of them. First one, Fusen, when you look into the December quarter and subsequently into the March, is it fair to assume pretty much all segments are sequentially down in December and then March, like General Semi, Memory, Auto, and LED? Is there strength in any of them into the December quarter?
Well, I think what we are seeing in our revenue and the perspective of, you know, next couple quarters, we feel other than the unique growth-related products, actually other products grow pretty well. We feel like 2022 probably a period of digestion, all these inventory. We think it's like our situation probably will get better after that.
Got it.
I think. Yeah, I wish I answer your question.
Got it. You know, just out of curiosity, what kind of gives you the comfort that your fiscal second half demand will recover, i.e., from the June quarter onwards?
There are a few things. One is, of course, our customer feedback. Continue have a talk with the customer. I think our inventory digestion has been for a period of time already. People feel like maybe they are more open, actually by the second half, our second half. From our point of view, I think we have advanced display and advanced packaging. They are more weighted, you know, in the second half. I think a few market forecasts feel the same way. Probably, I think after March quarter, situation will get better.
Got it. All right. I just have two other quick questions. In the September quarter, what was your percentage of sales to China?
It's just around 50%, Krish.
50%. It's kind of been in the same range for a while though now, right?
Yes. 20% of that actually it's international customers, but with their factories in China.
Got it. A final question. You know, in the past, look, I think you kind of mentioned that in FY 2022, advanced display is about 60% of total LED sales. Do you expect that dollar value to decline in FY 2023 for advanced display given where your LED revenues are right now? You actually think year-over-year FY 2023 advanced display revenues would grow?
Well, we anticipate that advanced display for FY 2023 will be about similar to FY 2022, roughly about $100 million.
Which I think in my script I mentioned display. Actually in 2023, component one is PIXALUX. PIXALUX is this product with an enlarged area, working area of a product. LUMINEX, we are actually in a multiple qualification, multiple times for both direct-emissive and also backlighting qualification. We also just ship specific customer products, and all these are strung together. You know, actually the timing also impact a little bit on this advanced display. Because it is all under qualification, we actually target 2023 advanced display to be $80 million-$100 million.
Got it. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Our next questions come from the line of David Duley with Steelhead Securities. Please proceed with your questions.
Thanks for taking my questions. I guess first of all, you talked a lot about the thermocompression bonding opportunity. I was wondering if you could just elaborate a little bit more on what you think the size of that market is in dollars on an annual basis, and what your market share is. You know, your competitor, I think on their conference call was making a big deal about working with AMD or logic provider. Could you talk about who your key customers are? What end markets your efforts are in?
Okay. David, I think TCB in the recent, just recently, I think the prospect actually increased a lot. Other than that, I think also people transfer like advanced three chip to advanced, you know, thermocompression. I think in my previous call, we mentioned we have backlog of $80 million. Of course, we ship to our customer. In the meantime, we also get a new PO. Our PO, I think we have requirement. It's not only order. We got to have a specific delivery time. Sometimes I think our backlog is not the best judgment. We actually conduct a study after we visit a lot of customers from IDM, design house, foundry, and many, many customers.
We feel like actually this is a very actually promising market. Let me make a clarification. I think TCB, particularly we're talking about fluxless TCB. We have a fluxless because of when the TCB process enter into about 30 micron, the flux become a contamination. We also have a proprietary special technology. We are able to make a very clean silicon to silicon contact. When actually the biggest volume at this moment actually is between 30 microns-10 microns. Our flux TCB differ from hybrid bonding in two ways. Number one, I think a hybrid bonding is a focus on pitch below 10 microns. I continue to say we are focused on up to 10 microns.
Actually our focus right now at this moment is between 30 to a 10 microns. Actually at this moment is a very large market, right? That's the first difference is at this moment, these two technology are not overlap. The second difference actually is our fluxless TCB is a pure backend process. Hybrid bonding, you know, is a co-exist with some front-end process. Some front-end investment is needed, right? At this moment, it's really not overlap at all. We don't know, maybe a few later they will have overlap. At this moment, we did not claim to take any market shares from. Within the TCB, I think our TCB actually are still dealing with the two process.
One is a Chip-to-Wafer, one is a Chip-to-Substrate. We actually are the leader of Chip-to-Substrate. We actually are shipping a few Chip-to-Wafer system to significant customers. We do expect that we will gain market shares for Chip-to-Wafer process. At this moment, I think Chip-to-Wafer and Chip-to-Substrate, they are equally large. Right. I hope I answer your questions.
Yeah. Just as a follow-on to the thermocompression bonding, this is a process that's used mainly in the logic segment, right? As your competitor has talked about it. Is that where you're seeing your success is with, you know, logic providers? Are there other markets that would be adopting this technology?
Well, you mean thermocompression, right? Yeah, I think high-bandwidth memory, of course, people also talking about, you know, it's a hybrid bonding. We don't have a comment on that. Let me go back. I think we mentioned about identify high potential over $300 million. Previous call, actually, we say $80 million backlog. This pretty much will be shipped within 2023. The $300 million we talk, the majority will ship in 2025.
Okay. I just wanted to clarify. In your prepared remarks, I think you said something comparing your current business levels to 2018. Could you just repeat what you said? I just didn't hear.
Sure.
The point you were trying to make.
Okay. Let me make a this comment. I think that during this cycle, the upturn actually starts from 2020 to 2021. Our 2020's revenue is $630, I think, if I remember right. We end 2021 with $1.585 billion. Actually the growth rate actually is 160%. I think in the downturn, you know, after the second this, the trade restriction to China, actually a lot of people dialed down the wafer fab expansion, you know, about roughly 15%-20%. This will also indirectly impact the demand for the back end. We are part of it.
In addition, I think the unit growth rate also revise down. Therefore, it's very difficult to predict, you know, how the annual of FY 2023 is going to be ended. You know, after detail, actually study internally, we feel like we comfortably can meet the 2018, which was a previous cycle peak at around $900 million. Actually, more precise is $890 million. We feel like this is achievable from our side, and it's quite difficult. We feel like we can do at the least or better than that. It's quite difficult to predict the full years. That's what I think.
We feel like, you know, we are at probably $900s, probably will be about like a high 30-some%-40% down. The upturn actually brought us about 160% up. You know, on the worst case scenario, we are seeing probably downturn will bring us down about next month, 40%.
Okay, final question for me. Lester, you mentioned how you've seen improvement in the core wire bonder gross margin over the last two years. I think it was 340 basis points or a very robust number. Correct me if I'm wrong, don't you have a new wire bonder coming out next calendar year that should also help improve wire gross margins? Could you elaborate a little bit more on that?
Yes. We continue to introduce new products into our core business. We believe that the ball bonder gross margin will continue to remain high, and we'll continue to look for ways to increase the margin on our core business in ball bonder as well as wedge bonder.
TCB, David, you know, in downturn, actually, you know, the demand and the market share and the price is also have some correlation. We will do our best, you know, to increase our gross margin, while also make sure we get enough market share as well.
Yeah. I guess what I was referring to is, in the past, you've talked about being able to improve overall margins by 400 basis points-500 basis points, and I think that was kind of from a 47% level. I realize you're going into a downturn, so during that period, gross margin improvement, you know, doesn't happen. When we get back to, I guess, normal levels at one point or another, do you still think you can improve the overall gross margins to that level?
Yes. Our target has always been 50% gross margins in a non-downturn year, right? We believe that in 2024 and beyond, we can reach that goal and not higher.
Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Craig Ellis with B. Riley. Please proceed with your questions.
Hey, thanks for taking the question. Team, congratulations on the dividend increase and the cash used to share buybacks and some tech-focused M&A. Fusen, I wanted to start just by seeing if you could provide some color around some of the fiscal 2023 commentary. Very helpful to hear that, you know, it seems reasonable from the company view that sales might be down 30%-40%. The question is, as you look at that and going back to the comments about customer interaction and conviction that they have that things can move up in the back half of the year, how should we look at trends for general semi, advanced display, auto and industrial, and memory? Which of those would be relatively stronger next year? Which relatively weaker based on what you're hearing from your customers?
Well, I think memory, you know, probably is looking at the 2024, but the later part of the 2023, I think we might have some chance. Memory, I think everybody know that at this moment that it is weak. For the display, actually in a consumer market, you know, I think that's why we always need to focus on our high throughput. The display actually is also not a very easy market. For the consumer part, it's going to be impact a little bit. For the long term, I think we are firmly believer that mini LED and the micro LED is here to stay. We also have a lot of qualification activity with the customers. It's really not only like a volume related. There's a lot of new projects.
In terms of advanced display, we are looking at, you know, 2021, I think our revenue was $80 million. 2022, actually last quarter, we end the last quarter $90 million. After this quarter, the full year, I think we are slightly over $100 million for advanced display. For 2023, we actually have a target to be $80 million-$100 million, I think, at this moment. Advanced display, I think is a little weakness, but we have a lot of qualification. Customer use it as an opportunity to qualify the products. Advanced packaging, I think we actually cannot ship more than enough. A lot of requests, actually, we are increase our capacity and try to meet, you know, customer's demand. Right. I hope I answered your question.
For the unique growth-related products, actually, we have two. One is ball bonder. We feel like actually already significantly, you know, the inventory, actually, issue. Actually, I think at this moment we are at a quite low level already. Another one actually is a wedge bonder. Wedge bonder, I think in our 2018, when we qualified with our first EV customer, the revenue is $100 million. This quarter, actually, we are looking very close to about $200 million. This is right in the auto trend. We should give you some color about our target customers.
Yeah, that's really helpful, Fusen. Thank you for that. Lester, I wanted to understand more about what was happening with operating expense control. I think you talked about slowing hiring and a few other things that happened tactically. There was some, I think, FX benefit. Can you quantify the FX benefit and what should we expect with operating expense quarter-on-quarter? I'm sure it'll be down just given the variable cost model, but are there incremental tactical or structural cost savings that are coming into the model as we look at fiscal 1Q?
Yeah, thanks, Craig. I think for Q4, we did have about $4 million positive Forex that helped bring the OpEx down. I think the other thing is we are implementing cost control, but as we have always done, we focus on our critical projects. We continue to invest in our critical projects. I think in Q4, we budgeted, you know, in hiring certain personnel in critical projects and R&D. The labor market is still a little bit tight, so some of those hires did not happen. We expect that to happen in Q1. Of course, we will continue to look at the non-critical controllable costs.
We'll push it out to the second half if we can, or delay it all the way to FY 2024. For critical projects in advanced display and advanced packaging, we will continue to invest in Q1 and throughout FY 2023. We believe that will put us in a very strong position when the recovery comes in 2024 to really ramp and take advantage of that.
That's helpful. Thanks, Lester. Lastly, Fusen talked about some positives that you're seeing in the compound semi part of the business, and I was hoping you could just elaborate on what you're seeing and what investors could expect in fiscal 2023.
I'm sorry. It's a misunderstanding. I was talking about high-power semiconductor. That really is our wedge bonder. High-power semiconductor.
Is that IGBTs, Fusen? Are you talking about silicon carbide?
No. IGBT.
Yep. Okay.
Yeah. Thank you.
I take it that's auto-related?
I'm sorry. Oh, yeah. Auto-related.
Is that an auto-related application?
Yes.
That's correct.
Okay.
Power control.
Thank you very much. I appreciate the help.
Yeah. Thank you.
Thank you. Our next question has come from the line of Charles Shi with Needham & Company. Please proceed with your questions.
Hi. Thank you for taking my questions. I wanna go back to your comment on fiscal 2023 revenue number. You think it's gonna be closer or, I mean, meet or exceed the fiscal 2018 number, roughly $900 million. You already guided the first quarter, well, roughly $175. You also provided that in March quarter, you expect a little bit more like a bottom level run rate quarter. You expect second half to make up more of the growth to get you to roughly $900 million for the full year. That would require second half, June quarter, September quarter run rate to be somewhere closer to $300 million per quarter.
How do we bridge between, like, your guidance for the first quarter fiscal and second fiscal quarter, something like well below $200 million to something like close to $300 million in the second half? That's my first question. Thank you.
Hi, Charles. Thanks for the question. Traditionally, the second half for us has been much strong than the first half. In fact, historically, it's been, you know, +60% of the year's revenue is in the second half. Fusen did say that, you know, yeah, the first half is softer. The trough will either be Q1, probably, and with Q2 maybe up a little bit or a little bit flat. We also, as we indicated, based on the macroeconomic factors which he talked about, right? In terms of, within semiconductor also just general macroeconomic factors improving in the second half of our fiscal 2023. We have, again, some of the new projects will start providing more meaningful revenue in the second half of 2023.
I think between all those factors, we do believe that the second half will be stronger than the first half, and it does provide us a path for FY 2022 to exceed FY 2018.
Yeah. You are basically assuming, I think you mentioned about capacity digestion. That's gonna only last a couple quarters for you this down cycle. If I look at historically, at least at the 2018-2019 cycle, yeah, the digestion probably actually lasted about two years. How do you think this cycle is gonna be different from the last down cycle if you are assuming like a relatively brief capacity digestion here?
Yeah, Charles, I think that we are not saying it's going to be at a very, very high level. At this moment, you know, if you look at our unit-related product, I think it's probably very, very low already. If we have two quarter of this, that's what, $360? About $360, right? Just to make a comment, I think historically, I think our second half is about 60%, right? 60% times say $900 million, that's $540. You add this up, I think probably roughly about $900 million. We also feel like we probably have a strength on some products can do better in the second half.
Even $300 million, compared to actually upturn, there was a quarter, I think, the peak we reached was $480 million. I think this is a very strange cycle. It's because about 2019, you know, was start with trade tension. When we start to expect to go up, there's a pandemic. You know, a lot of things actually inventory high up in China. It's very difficult to explain, I think, this cycle. We do believe our $300 million, I think it's not super difficult for us to achieve. If just a little bit tick up of the unit orientated products, I think should be able to achieve that. Coupling with, you know, like advanced display, new product with momentum, I think it's achievable for us for the 2018 high. Right? That's our feeling.
Got it. Got it. You have stopped disclosing quarterly backlog, but I think you're still obligated to disclose your annual backlog number, since this is your fiscal year-end. Can you provide what the number is?
531.
How much again? Sorry.
$531.
$531.
$531 million.
Got it. Thank you. Next question, you talked about AJA acquisition. How much of the annualized revenue run rate is that business? Can you give us some number there?
Well, Charles, I think obviously for FY 2023, we're integrating the business, right? I think as we move forward in FY 2024 and beyond, we think there's significant growth given the size of the dispense market, right? I think for FY 2023, we're looking at probably a little bit north of $10 million for AJA, but we will not have AJA for the entire fiscal year, as Fusen mentioned. We'll probably just only have it for the second half.
Got it. Maybe for the sake of time, my last question, I really wanna ask you about OpEx. You guided, first off, for your September quarter non-GAAP OpEx was somewhere about $59 million, if my math is right. You're guiding December quarter non-GAAP OpEx $68 million. I think that's still a big amount of uptick from the September quarter level. Given the macro environment, should we think about a little bit of more cost control than that, what your guidance implies? Thank you.
Well, Charles, we do have very stringent cost control, as I already mentioned, right? For non-critical controllable expenses, we watch them very carefully as we did in the previous soft quarter, and we'll continue to do so. As I indicated in my earlier remarks or answer to a question, we will continue to invest in the critical projects, particularly in advanced packaging, advanced display, electronic assembly, as well as our core business, because we believe that those are very exciting opportunities. I think Fusen already mentioned this, you know, the positions that we believe we can take in both advanced display and advanced packaging in 2024 and beyond.
When the recovery comes back, I think with the investments in our core business, we'd be able to increase margins, as I respond to David, as well as gain additional market share. We are very careful on cost control, but we also understand that, you know, you need to invest in order to be able to grow the business in the future, and that's what our philosophy always has been.
Thank you.
Thank you, Charles.
Thank you. Our next question has come from the line of Hans Chung with D.A. Davidson. Please proceed with your questions.
Thank you for taking my question. I have a couple. First, what's the underlying assumption for semi unit growth for fiscal 2023? Given your commentary on 2023, let's say something, like, nearly 900 or above. What's the assumption for semi unit growth for that?
We assume semi-unit growth for FY 2023 to be about flat to ±2%.
Got it. I think, following on that, given that we think we can do $900 million level top line for 2023, and it seems like we also continue to invest in 2024 and beyond. It seems like from a bottom line perspective, I guess the EPS number will be probably lower than the level in 2018, or any color you can provide regarding the bottom line for fiscal 2023?
Well, Hans, you know, we don't guide beyond the quarter, right? I think, you know, as far as the EPS or the GAAP net income at least for FY 2023, we provided we think we can do revenue better than $18. I think the gross margin for the year is probably gonna be around 46%-48%, increase better as we move into second half of the year. I think we've sort of given an indication what the OpEx number should be. I think that based on that, we also provide some color on in terms of tax. Based on those, I think your model should be able to generate what you think the EPS will be.
Okay. Got it. I think last time we kind of talked about the SMT opportunity and just wonder if there is any update. I think it seems that you are talking about, like, the share gain story on the new generation tool. Just wondering, like, what kind of the competitive advantage there allow you to achieve that? Will that be something like a second half 2023 story or more like in 2024?
Yeah. Actually, this is a new SMT system, so it's our electronics assembly. You know, there are a lot of competitor over here. We do believe the head is very, very fast, right? We call multi-profile head. We are going to officially release, probably second half of 2023. In terms of a revenue impact, probably we are looking at probably 2024, right? We actually have quite confident compared to all the existing data. You know, our throughput and the reliability, I think, will be very, very competitive. That's the update. We actually test the market and have very good feedback, but we can only officially release second half of 2023.
Got it. That's helpful. Thank you.
Thank you. There are no further questions at this time. I would now like to turn the call back over to Joseph Elgindy for any closing comments.
Thank you, Daryl, and thank you all for joining today's call. Over the coming months, we will be presenting at several investor conferences hosted by Needham, the Susquehanna Financial Group, in addition to the annual New York City Summit. As always, please feel free to follow up directly with any additional questions. This concludes today's call. Have a great day, everyone.