SiliconBeat

Asyst Technologies finished its “interim goodwill impairment analysis” and is taking an $89.4 million charge to account for it, according to a press release it issued early Tuesday.

The charge would would have made it non-compliant with the old terms of its loan agreement, but those were modified to eliminate the debt-to-capital covenant, replacing it with a new requirement related to setting a maximum pre-tax loss.

But that’s a fix that the company doesn’t expect to last long, since it is forecasting that the current downturn in the semiconductor equipment industry will “last well into calendar year 2009.” To deal with that, the company said it is in the process of “executing significant cost reductions to lower its break-even level and improve cash flow.”

Asyst thinks those steps will lead to near break-even results on a cash basis in the current quarter and break-even or better results on a cash basis in its fiscal fourth quarter.

“However, it is probable that, as a result of the continuing weak industry environment, the
company will need a further waiver or amendment of certain covenants under its principal
credit facility as of March 31, 2009.”

The news sent Asyst’s shares down 17 cents to 28 cents, but that represented more than a third of the value they had yesterday.