Contact:William SnyderVice President and Chief Financial OfficerTel: 510-887-3473
            Fax: 510-732-1469

Patricia MenchacaManager, Investor RelationsTel: 510-887-3578Fax:
            510-732-1469pmenchac@etec.com



Delay in System Acceptance to Cause Etec Systems, Inc.
Revenue Shortfall



HAYWARD, Calif., January 31, 2000 - Etec Systems, Inc.
(Nasdaq: ETEC), a leader in patterning solutions for the worldwide semiconductor
and electronics industries, today announced that it will report lower than
expected revenues for the company's second quarter of fiscal 2000.  Due to the
delay in the customer acceptance of one system, the company will report a loss
for the quarter of approximately $0.06 to $0.13 per share.



Revenue was not recognized on one ALTA 3500 system prior to
the second quarter end at midnight on January 28, 2000, due to a delay in
customer acceptance. The system was subsequently accepted by the customer on
January 30, 2000 and revenue will be recognized for the system in Etec's third
quarter of fiscal 2000.



Steve Cooper, Etec's chairman, president and CEO stated,
"We simply ran out of time to provide sufficient data to meet our
customer's acceptance criteria.  The slip is a matter of shipment timing at the
end of the quarter and is not the result of ALTA system issues.  This is the
first laser-based system purchased by this customer and we both wanted to make
certain that it fully met both Etec's and the customer's expectations.  Had the
system shipped in the quarter, Etec would have been on plan."



Etec will report second quarter, fiscal 2000 earnings on
February 16, 2000.
Safe Harbor Under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995: Except for historical information, the matters
discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements that are subject
to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected.  These risks and uncertainties include risks
associated with the timely development and market acceptance of new products in
an environment of rapid technological change, reduced, postponed or canceled
orders as a result of changes in customers' planned capital spending, timely
availability of key components, delays inmorefactory testing and acceptance, increased costs and
manufacturing capacity associated with the addition of new facilities, ability
of certain customers to finance new system purchases, the possibility of new
products or technologies introduced by competitors, and material variations in
financial results due to a delay in delivery of even one system.  Statements in
this release are based upon internal estimates, preliminary information and
management assumptions, which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties
inherent in estimating future results.  Other risks are detailed from time to
time in the Company's SEC reports, including the annual report filed on Form 10-
K and subsequent filings on Form 10-Q. The Company assumes no obligation to
update the information in this release.About Etec:  Etec Systems, Inc. is a leader in patterning solutions for
the worldwide semiconductor and electronics industries.  Its products include
electron- and laser-beam systems that produce high-precision masks, which are
used to print circuit patterns onto semiconductor wafers and high-speed, large-
area laser direct imaging systems for electronic interconnect production
applications.  Founded in 1970, the company is headquartered in Hayward, Calif.,
with manufacturing facilities in Hayward, Calif., Hillsboro, Ore., and Tucson,
Ariz., and sales and service offices worldwide.  Etec's stock is traded on the
Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ETEC.  The Company's World Wide Web site
can be accessed at www.etec.com.