| • ANAD 2011 10K • SUBSIDIARIES OF ANAD • CONSENT OF ACCOUNTING FIRM • MICHELS CERTIFICATION • GALLAGHER CERTIFICATION • MICHELS EXHIBIT 32 • GALLAHER EXHIBIT 32 • EX 101 INSTANCE DOCUMENT • EX 101 SCHEMA DOCUMENT • EX 101 CALCULATION LINKBASE DOCUMENT • EX 101 LABELS LINKBASE • EX 101 PRESENTATION LINKBASE • EX 101 DEFINITION LINKBASE | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
Common Stock, $0.01 par value
The above securities are registered on the NASDAQ Global Market
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes / / No /X/
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes / / No /X/
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes /X/ No / /
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Website, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files). Yes /X / No / /
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. /X /
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (check one): Large accelerated filer / / Accelerated filer / X / Non-accelerated filer (Do not check if a smaller reporting company) / / Smaller reporting company / /
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes / / No /X/
The aggregate market value of the voting common equity held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of July 2, 2011 was approximately $215 million, based upon the closing sales price of the registrant’s common equity as quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market on such date.
The number of shares outstanding of the registrant's common stock as of March 2, 2012 was 69,877,065 (excluding 114,574 shares held in treasury).
Documents incorporated by reference: Definitive proxy statement for the registrant’s 2012 annual meeting of shareholders (Part III).
TABLE OF CONTENTS
FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
CERTAIN STATEMENTS IN THIS REPORT OR DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE ARE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, AS AMENDED) THAT INVOLVE RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES. THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS CAN GENERALLY BE IDENTIFIED AS SUCH BECAUSE THE CONTEXT OF THE STATEMENT WILL INCLUDE WORDS SUCH AS WE "BELIEVE", "ANTICIPATE", "EXPECT" OR WORDS OF SIMILAR IMPORT. SIMILARLY, STATEMENTS THAT DESCRIBE OUR FUTURE PLANS, OBJECTIVES, ESTIMATES OR GOALS ARE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. THE CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS MADE IN THIS REPORT SHOULD BE READ AS BEING APPLICABLE TO ALL RELATED FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WHEREVER THEY APPEAR IN THIS REPORT. YOU ARE CAUTIONED THAT ANY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE NOT GUARANTEES OF FUTURE PERFORMANCE AND INVOLVE RISK AND UNCERTAINTIES, AS WELL AS ASSUMPTIONS THAT IF THEY MATERIALIZE OR PROVE INCORRECT, COULD CAUSE RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY SUCH FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. FURTHER, ALL STATEMENTS, OTHER THAN STATEMENTS OF HISTORICAL FACT, ARE STATEMENTS THAT COULD BE DEEMED FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. WE ASSUME NO OBLIGATION AND DO NOT INTEND TO UPDATE THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, EXCEPT AS MAY BE REQUIRED BY LAW. IMPORTANT FACTORS THAT COULD CAUSE ACTUAL RESULTS AND DEVELOPMENTS TO BE MATERIALLY DIFFERENT FROM THOSE EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED BY THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS PRESENTED HEREIN INCLUDE THE RISK FACTORS DISCUSSED IN THIS ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K, AS WELL AS THOSE DISCUSSED ELSEWHERE HEREIN.
PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
Overview
ANADIGICS, Inc. (“we” or the “Company”) is a leading provider of semiconductor solutions in the growing broadband wireless and wireline communications markets. Our products include radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers (PAs), tuner integrated circuits, active splitters, line amplifiers and other components, which can be sold individually or packaged as integrated front end modules (FEMs). We believe that we are well-positioned to capitalize on the high growth and convergence occurring in the voice, data and video segments of the broadband wireless and wireline communications markets. Our RF power amplifier products enable mobile handsets, datacards and other devices to access third and fourth generation (3G and 4G) wireless networks utilizing international standards including LTE (Long Term Evolution), WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access), HSPA (High Speed Packet Access), CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), EVDO (Evolution Data Optimized) and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access). Our WiFi products enable connectivity for wireless mobile devices and other computing devices. Our CATV (Cable Television) products enable fixed-point, wireline broadband communications over CATV infrastructure as well as cable modem and set-top box products. Our Wireless infrastructure products support operator commitments worldwide to optimize the increasing demands for subscriber data through deployment of new small-cell base stations as part of a heterogeneous network.
Our business strategy focuses on enabling anytime, anywhere connectivity which enhances the consumer’s broadband and wireless experience. We develop RF front end solutions for communications equipment manufacturers and we partner with industry-leading wireless and wireline chipset providers who incorporate our solutions into their reference designs. Our solutions cost-effectively enhance communications devices by improving RF performance, efficiency, reliability, time-to-market and integration while reducing the size, weight and cost of these products.
We were incorporated in Delaware in 1984. Our corporate headquarters are located at 141 Mt. Bethel Road, Warren, New Jersey 07059, and our telephone number at that address is 908-668-5000.
We expect our business will benefit in the long-term from three key factors: (1) accelerated use and growth in the established markets for 3G, 4G and CATV and Wireless infrastructure products, (2) increasing penetration of newer-generation wireless and wireline broadband communications technology into developing markets worldwide, and (3) an increased demand for our solutions within the latest-generation products in these end markets. We believe that in the long run the combination of these factors will enable us to outpace the overall end product unit growth in these broadband wireless and wireline communications markets. For example, multiple higher-performance PAs are required in new 3G and 4G wireless handsets and smartphones in order to access higher-speed wireless broadband data services being deployed in markets around the world. In addition, changes in network architectures necessary to accommodate a more data-centric usage model demand new types of small-cell wireless base station products that require RF amplifiers better optimized for power efficiency. The greater complexity and more demanding performance required of the infrastructure and subscriber equipment needed for evolving networks, coupled with our product compatibility on several leading reference designs allows us to capitalize on the growth in the 3G and 4G markets. We believe our new MMIC and hybrid line amplifier products will expand our addressable share of the CATV infrastructure market and we further believe that our infrastructure business will continue to benefit from the adoption of 1 GHz CATV systems worldwide as well as green initiatives focused on reducing power consumption.
We leverage our technological knowledge and advantages to be a leading technology-enabler via innovative semiconductor solutions for broadband wireless and wireline communications. We believe our patented InGaP-plus technology, which combines bipolar amplifying structures and pHEMT RF switches on the same die, coupled with our three level metal interconnect process provides us with a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Additionally, we believe proprietary designs of our HELP™ (High Efficiency at Low Power) power amplifiers when combined with higher efficiency at high output power provide our customers a competitive advantage by delivering performance required for 3G and 4G devices with lower battery power consumption and longer use time than comparable products in these markets.
Industry Background
Wireless 3G and 4G Market
The number of wireless handsets designed for 3G and 4G standards like CDMA/EVDO, WCDMA/HSPA and LTE is expected to grow significantly faster than the overall market as these standards become dominant over the next several years. According to the February 2012 report from Strategy Analytics, annual shipments of all types of 3G and 4G cellular terminals are forecast to grow from 1,057 million units in 2011 to 2,137 million units by 2016, a compound annual growth rate of 15.1%. As a qualified PA supplier to top-tier handset manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd (Samsung), Huawei, ZTE Corporation, Research in Motion (RIM), and LG Electronics, we believe we are well positioned to benefit from the continuing transition to 3G and 4G wireless technologies.
Traditionally, the chipset in a wireless handset required one or two power amplifiers. As wireless operators acquire additional frequency licenses to deploy 3G and 4G networks, requirements for mobile devices that can operate in multiple bands has increased demand for power amplifiers in handsets, datacards and wireless modems. These wireless devices also require PAs with higher power and better linearity to meet more demanding performance specifications.
The key drivers of growth in the wireless handset market are:
Wireless handsets and mobile data devices utilize a semiconductor chipset to enable communication with the network. Key components of a wireless semiconductor chipset include a baseband, transceiver and one or more power amplifiers. Each PA boosts the transmitter RF output to deliver enough signal power to enable connection with the radio access network for voice and data throughput. As additional features and functionality are incorporated into wireless handsets to leverage the higher network data rates that enable applications such as high speed data and streaming video services, increasing demands are placed on the handset battery, thereby reducing battery life. The high-performance PA is a critical component in the handset because it directly affects battery life in both talk and data modes. We believe our manufacturing processes and design technologies such as HELP™ combined with high efficiency at high output power provide a competitive advantage by enabling us to provide PAs that consume less battery power and extend use time.
In addition to wireless handsets and datacards, 3G and 4G capabilities are increasingly being embedded in tablets and in equipment designed for machine-to-machine (M2M) communication including automotive applications. We are a leading enabler in this market through the use of our power amplifiers in industry standard reference designs and in embedded wireless modules manufactured by leading original equipment manufacturers (OEM) providers to this growing market.
The 4G LTE wireless standard continues to gain momentum worldwide, as commercial mobile broadband wireless networks that use OFDM modulation technology continue deployment. We supply LTE PAs to many equipment makers, and believe that our relationships with leading LTE equipment and chipset vendors, in conjunction with our strong product portfolio position us to enable high-speed data and internet connectivity in these 4G networks.
LTE is the 4G standard most widely adopted by the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) operators’ community. A survey by the GSA (GSM Suppliers Association) in January 2012 identified 285 operators in 93 countries who are investing in the technology, with 49 LTE networks already launched and another 59 operators engaged in test, study or trial. According to the GSA, LTE has become the fastest developing mobile system technology ever. The rapid increase in wireless broadband data traffic is driving the interest in deploying LTE as quickly as possible. ANADIGICS long-standing business relationships with key players in the LTE ecosystem position us well to benefit from the developing demand for LTE-capable power amplifiers as more networks are deployed.
A defining benefit of 3G and 4G networks is their ability to provide higher data rate connectivity, in support of data-intensive applications such as large file transfer, streaming video, and other multimedia services. It is anticipated that with today's network architectures, a growing consumer demand for these types of applications will quickly limit user capacity. More prolific use of small-cell base stations in wireless networks will increase coverage and user capacity, and maintain a satisfying user experience. Our manufacturing processes and design technologies enable us to provide PAs optimized for new small-cell wireless infrastructure equipment that will support this transition in wireless networks. Further, WiFi data and video access is taken for granted in today’s wireless world and we offer products that enable connectivity to a great range of wireless mobile devices. The desire for increased functionality and use of multi-band applications continues and our products meet these more sophisticated demands. Our expertise and relationships with key industry participants position us to provide enabling WiFi PAs addressing these advanced demands including the emerging 802.11ac standard.
Cable Set-Top Box and Cable Modem Markets
The markets for CATV set-top boxes and cable modems are being shaped by several key trends. Set-top boxes are incorporating advanced functionality, to leverage the convergence of voice, data and video services over the broadband network, such as DVR, HDTV, wireless internet access, interactive services, home networking and gaming. These new features are driving demand for both new and replacement set-top boxes, including a transition to home gateways with support of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). Unlike a traditional set-top box, IPTV does not require a tuner in order to access video content. Cisco Systems Inc. (Cisco) and Motorola, Inc., both long-time customers of ANADIGICS for set-top box components, are prominent suppliers of home gateway products that will eliminate the need over time for our tuner and splitter products.
As the cable modem market transitions to the DOCSIS 3.0 standard, we believe it will provide additional opportunity for our upstream amplifier products. The DOCSIS 3.0 standard uses multiple channels simultaneously and higher RF power levels to provide wider bandwidth and higher data throughput than previous technologies, and we believe that we are well positioned to support this market opportunity.
CATV Infrastructure
We are a leading supplier of 12V and 24V line amplifier radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC) amplifiers to the CATV infrastructure market. This market shows continuing demand for equipment upgrades as a result of increasing CATV infrastructure bandwidth requirements, the need of cable service providers to offer converged voice, data and video services over their broadband networks, and the continued deployment of CATV fiber nodes. We are participating in these upgrades in established markets and benefitting from the rollout of digital cable in China and parts of Europe. We anticipate that new line amplifier products in industry-standard packages will expand our addressable market for CATV infrastructure. These include our traditional GaAs-based and new GaN (Gallium Nitride)-based products. Historically, we have enjoyed long product life cycles in these markets.
Our Strategy
Our objective is creating value through innovative RF solutions that enable instantaneous connectivity anytime, anywhere. The key elements of our strategy include:
Products
We classify our revenues based upon the end application of the product in which our integrated circuits are used. For the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009, wireless accounted for approximately 78%, 74% and 66%, respectively, of our total net sales, while broadband accounted for approximately 22%, 26% and 34%, respectively, of our total net sales.
Wireless
Our Wireless product line includes power amplifier modules for CDMA/EVDO, GSM/EDGE, WCDMA/HSPA, LTE and other wireless technologies for mobile handsets and data devices. The following table describes our principal products for these applications:
Broadband
Our Broadband product line encompasses video, voice and data telecommunications systems, consisting of CATV, Wireless Infrastructure and WiMAX/WiFi applications.
The following table outlines our principal Broadband products and their applications:
CATV Set-Top Box and Cable Modem Products
Marketing, Sales, Distribution and Customer Support
We sell our products primarily to our direct customers worldwide and have developed close working relationships with leading companies in the broadband wireless and wireline communications markets. Additionally, we selectively use independent manufacturers’ representatives and distributors to complement our direct sales and customer support efforts. Our relationships with our distributors enable them to maintain local practices regarding inventories and payment terms while supporting our growth in Asian wireless and global broadband markets. Working with distributors like World Peace Group and Richardson Electronics, who have extensive sales networks, provides us access to tier-one customers in these markets. We believe this is critical to our objective of expanding our customer base, especially as we expand our product portfolio.
We believe that the technical nature of our products and markets demands an unwavering commitment to building and maintaining close relationships with our customers. Our sales and marketing staff, which are assisted by our technical staff and senior management, visit prospective and existing customers worldwide on a regular basis. Our design and applications engineering staff actively communicate with customers during all phases of design and production. We have highly specialized field application engineering teams in North America, Korea, Taiwan and China, located near key handset OEM’s and chipset providers. We believe that these contacts are vital to the development of close, long-term working relationships with our customers, and in obtaining regular forecasts, market updates and information regarding technical and market trends.
We believe that reference-design manufacturers in the broadband wireless and wireline communications markets will continue to play an important role in the future of these markets. Therefore, we believe it is essential that we maintain strong relationships in partnering with these companies to define products that are compatible with and provide value to their OEM manufacturers.
Process Technology, Manufacturing, Assembly and Testing
We design, develop and manufacture RFICs primarily using GaAs compound semiconductor substrates with various process technologies, Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MESFET), Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors (pHEMT), and Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (HBT). Our patented technology, which utilizes InGaP-plus, combines InGaP HBT and pHEMT processes on a single substrate, enabling us to integrate the PA function and the RF active switch function on the same die.
Manufacturing
We fabricate substantially all of our ICs in our six-inch diameter GaAs wafer fab in Warren, New Jersey. Our 150mm (six-inch diameter) GaAs (Gallium Arsenide) wafer fabrication facility (fab) has been operational since 1999. Our Warren fab was first certified as ISO 9001 compliant in December 1993. Since that time, we have updated our compliance to the ISO 9001:2000 upgrade of this standard. In 2004, we also received ISO 14001 certification and remain certified.
We have a strategic foundry agreement with WIN Semiconductors (Taiwan) to supplement our existing wafer fabrication capability and allow for additional and flexible capacity without the requisite capital investment. We have begun shipping certain new products that use this additional production and process capability.
Assembly
Fabricated GaAs wafers are shipped to contractors in Asia for packaging. Certain processes cannot be easily or economically integrated onto a single die, and consequently multi-chip modules that combine multiple die within a single package are now required, enabling the selection of the optimal process technology for each IC within the package. This provides enhanced integration at the sub-system level and these solutions generate significant size reductions in wireless handset component circuitry.
Modules allow our customers to get their product to market more rapidly at a lower overall end product cost due largely to reductions in parts count and required engineering effort. We believe we are well positioned to address the shift toward more complex multi-chip modules because we possess both extensive process breadth (a key advantage, as modules typically incorporate numerous process technologies) and a large portfolio of RF expertise (e.g., PAs, switches, transceivers, and discretes).
Final Test
After assembly, packaged ICs are tested prior to shipment to our customers. We outsource the majority of our production RF testing operations, which are performed near our module assembly contractors in Asia. This adds considerable efficiencies to the device manufacturing process in reducing product cycle times and supports our initiative to reduce manufacturing costs.
Raw Materials
GaAs wafers, HBT/pHEMT epitaxial wafers, passive components, other raw materials, and equipment used in the production of our ICs are available from a limited number of sources. See “Risk Factors—Sources for certain components, materials and equipment are limited, which could result in delays or reductions in product shipments.”
Research and Development
We have made significant investments in our proprietary processes, including product design, packaging and wafer fabrication, which we believe gives us a competitive advantage. Research and development expenses were $45.0 million, $50.1 million and $46.0 million in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively. We continue to focus our research and development primarily on advanced PAs and front end modules for 3G and 4G wireless markets, Wireless infrastructure PAs, and CATV infrastructure line amplifiers in the broadband market.
Further, we develop other components, for example silicon CMOS and GaN (Gallium Nitride) components, to support our PA module and other products. We do not intend to manufacture this technology in-house, as we believe there will be adequate external foundry capacity available. See “Risk Factors—Sources for certain components, materials and equipment are limited, which could result in delays or reductions in product shipments.”
Customers
Sales to RIM, Samsung and ZTE Corporation accounted for 22%, 19% and 13%, respectively, of total net sales during 2011. No other customer accounted for 10% or more of total net sales during 2011. See “Risk Factors—We depend on a small number of customers; a loss of a customer or a decrease in purchases and/or changes in purchasing or payment patterns by one of these customers could materially and adversely affect our revenues and our ability to forecast revenues.”
Employees
As of December 31, 2011, we had 540 employees.
Competition
We compete with U.S. and international semiconductor and integrated circuit manufacturers of all sizes. Our key competitors are Avago Technologies Limited, RF Micro Devices, Inc., Skyworks Solutions, Inc. and TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc.
Our competitors have significantly greater financial, technical, manufacturing and marketing resources than we do. Increased competition could adversely affect our revenue and profitability through price reductions or reduced demand for our products. See “Risk Factors—We face intense competition, which could result in a decrease in our products’ prices and sales.”
Patents, Licenses and Proprietary Rights
It is our practice to seek U.S. patent and copyright protection on our products and developments where appropriate and to protect our valuable technology under U.S. laws affording protection for trade secrets and for semiconductor chip designs. We own 74 U.S. patents and have 8 pending U.S. patent applications. The U.S. patents were issued between 1995 and 2011 and will expire between 2013 and 2029.
We rely primarily upon trade secrets, technical know-how and other unpatented proprietary information relating to our product development and manufacturing activities. To protect our trade secrets, technical know-how and other proprietary information, our employees are required to enter into agreements providing for maintenance of confidentiality and the assignment of rights to inventions made by them while in our employ. We have also entered into non-disclosure agreements to protect our confidential information delivered to third parties in conjunction with possible corporate collaborations and for other purposes. See “Risk Factors—We may not be successful in protecting our intellectual property rights or in avoiding claims that we infringe on the intellectual property rights of others.”
Environmental Matters
Our operations are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws, regulations and ordinances that govern activities or operations that may have adverse effects on human health or the environment. These laws, regulations or ordinances may impose liability for the cost of remediating, and for certain damages resulting from, sites of past releases of hazardous materials. We believe that we currently conduct, and have conducted, our activities and operations in substantial compliance with applicable environmental laws and regulations, and that costs arising from existing environmental laws and regulations will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations. We cannot assure you, however, that such environmental laws and regulations will not become more stringent in the future or that we will not incur significant costs in the future in order to comply with these laws and regulations. See “Risk Factors—We are subject to stringent environmental laws and regulations both domestically and abroad.”
Available Information
Copies of our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are available free of charge through our website (www.anadigics.com) as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. All SEC filings are also available at the SEC’s Web site at www.sec.gov
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Risks Related to ANADIGICS
We have experienced losses in the past, and may experience losses in the future.
We have incurred substantial operating and net losses in the past, including 2011, and we expect to continue to incur losses in 2012. If economic conditions worsen or there is an abrupt change in our customers’ businesses or markets, our business, financial condition and results of operations will likely be materially and adversely affected.
Our results of operations can vary significantly due to the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry and our end markets.
The semiconductor industry and our end markets have been cyclical, seasonal and subject to significant downturns. Further, the industry can have limited visibility into customers’ forecasts and inventory levels. In past years, the industry has experienced periods marked by market weaknesses that created lower order demand, production overcapacity, high inventory levels, and accelerated declines in average selling prices for our products. These factors negatively affected our financial condition and results of operations during these periods and may negatively affect our financial condition and results of operations in the future.
Our results of operations also may be subject to significant quarterly and annual fluctuations. These fluctuations are due to a number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, including, among others: (i) changes in end-user demand for the products manufactured with our products and sold by our customers; (ii) the effects of competitive pricing pressures, including decreases in average selling prices of our products; (iii) industry production capacity levels and fluctuations in industry manufacturing yields; (iv) levels of inventory in our end markets; (v) availability and cost of products from our suppliers; (vi) the gain or loss of significant customers; (vii) our ability to develop, introduce and market new products and technologies on a timely basis; (viii) new product and technology introductions by competitors; (ix) changes in the mix of products produced and sold; (x) market acceptance of our products and our customers; and (xi) intellectual property disputes.
As a result, we may experience substantial period-to-period fluctuations in future operating results. Investors should not rely on our results of operations for any previous period as an indicator of what results may be for any future period. Failure of our operating results to meet the expectations of analysts or investors could materially and adversely affect the price of our common stock.
We depend on a small number of customers; a loss of a customer or a decrease in purchases and/or changes in purchasing or payment patterns by one of these customers could materially and adversely affect our revenues and our ability to forecast revenues.
We receive a significant portion of our revenues from a few significant customers and their subcontractors. Our financial condition and results of operations have been materially and adversely affected in the past by the failure of anticipated orders to be realized and by deferrals or cancellations of orders as a result of changes in customer requirements. If we were to lose any of our major customers, or if sales to these customers were to decrease materially, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. Further, if a customer encounters financial difficulties of its own as a result of a change in demand or for any other reason, the customer’s ability to make timely payments to us for non-returnable products could be impaired.
If we fail to sell a high volume of products, our operating results may be harmed.
We have both increased capacity in and underutilized our manufacturing facility in recent years. In years in which we had excess capacity, this excess capacity meant we incurred higher fixed costs for our products relative to the revenues we generate. Because large portions of our manufacturing costs are relatively fixed, our manufacturing volumes are critical to our operating results. If we fail to achieve and maintain acceptable manufacturing volumes or experience product shipment delays, our results of operations could be harmed. During periods of decreased demand, our high fixed manufacturing costs negatively affect our results of operations. We base our expense levels in part on our expectations of future orders and these expense levels are predominantly fixed. If we receive fewer customer orders than expected or if our customers delay or cancel orders, we may not be able to reduce our manufacturing costs, which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations. If we are unable to improve utilization levels and correctly manage capacity, the increased expense levels relative to revenue will have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We face intense competition, which could result in a decrease in our products’ prices and sales.
The markets for our products are intensely competitive and are characterized by rapid technological change. We compete with U.S. and international semiconductor and integrated circuit (IC) manufacturers of all sizes, some of whom have significantly greater financial, technical, manufacturing and marketing resources than we do. We currently face significant competition in our markets and expect that intense price and product competition will continue. This competition has resulted in, and is expected to continue to result in, declining average selling prices for our products and increased challenges in maintaining or increasing market share. We believe that the principal competitive factors for suppliers in our markets include, among others: (i) time-to-market; (ii) timely new product innovation; (iii) product quality, reliability and performance; (iv) product price; (v) features available in products; (vi) compliance with industry standards; (vii) strategic relationships with leading reference design providers and customers; and (viii) access to and protection of intellectual property.
Certain of our competitors may be able to adapt more quickly than we can to new or emerging technologies and changes in customer requirements or may be able to devote greater resources to the development, promotion and sale of their products than we can.
Current and potential competitors have established, or may in the future establish, financial or strategic relationships among themselves or with customers, distributors, reference design providers or other third parties with whom we have or may in the future have relationships. If our competitors are able to strengthen existing, or establish new, relationships with these third parties they may rapidly acquire market share at our expense, which has occurred to some extent in the past when we were unable to fully meet customer demand due to capacity constraints. We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against current and potential competitors. Increased competition could result in pricing pressures, decreased gross margins and loss of market share and may materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We need to keep pace with rapid product and process development and technological changes as well as product cost reductions to be competitive.
The markets for our products are characterized by rapid changes in both product and process technologies based on the continuous demand for product enhancements, higher levels of integration, decreased size and reduced power consumption. Because the continuous evolution of these technologies and frequent introduction of new products and enhancements have generally resulted in short product life cycles for our wireless products, we believe that our future success will depend, in part, upon our ability to continue to improve the efficiency of our products and process technologies and rapidly develop new products and process technologies. The successful development of our products is highly complex and depends on numerous factors, including our ability to anticipate customer and market requirements and changes in technology and industry standards, our ability to differentiate our products from offerings of our competitors, and our ability to protect, develop or otherwise obtain adequate intellectual property for our new products. If a competing technology emerges that is, or is perceived to be, superior to our existing technology and we are unable to develop and/or implement the new technology successfully or to develop and implement a competitive and economically acceptable alternative technology, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. This implementation may require us to modify the manufacturing process for our products, design new products to more stringent standards, and redesign some existing products, which may prove difficult for us and result in sub-optimal manufacturing yields, delays in product deliveries and increased expenses. We will need to make substantial investments to develop these enhancements and technologies, and we cannot assure investors that we will have funds available for these investments or that these enhancements and technologies will be successful.
If Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Original Design Manufacturers (ODMs) of communications electronics products do not design our products into their equipment, we will have difficulty selling those products. Moreover, a “design win” from a customer does not guarantee future sales to that customer.
Our products are not sold directly to the end-user, but are components or subsystems of other products. As a result, we rely on OEMs and ODMs of wireless communications electronics products to select our products from among alternative offerings to be designed into their equipment. Without these “design wins,” we would have difficulty selling our products. If a manufacturer designs another supplier’s product into one of its product platforms, it is more difficult for us to achieve future design wins with that platform because changing suppliers involves significant cost, time, effort and risk on the part of that manufacturer. Also, achieving a design win with a customer does not ensure that we will receive significant revenues from that customer. Even after a design win, the customer is not obligated to purchase our products and can choose at any time to reduce or cease use of our products, including for example, if its own products are not commercially successful. We may not continue to achieve design wins or to convert design wins into actual sales, and failure to do so could materially and adversely affect our operating results.
Lengthy product development and sales cycles associated with many of our products may result in significant expenditures before generating any revenues related to those products.
After our product has been developed, tested and manufactured, our customers may need three to six months or longer to integrate, test and evaluate our product and an additional three to six months or more to begin volume production of equipment that incorporates the product. This lengthy cycle time increases the possibility that a customer may decide to cancel or change product plans, which could reduce or eliminate our sales to that customer. As a result of this lengthy sales cycle, we may incur significant research and development expenses, and selling and administrative expenses, before we generate the related revenues for these products. Furthermore, we may never generate the anticipated revenues from a product after incurring such expenses if our customer cancels or changes its product plans.
Uncertainties involving the ordering and shipment of our products could adversely affect our business.
Our sales are typically made pursuant to individual purchase orders and not under long-term supply arrangements with our customers. Our customers may cancel orders before shipment. Additionally, we sell a portion of our products through distributors, some of whom have certain rights to return unsold products. We may purchase and manufacture inventory based on estimates of customer demand for our products, which is difficult to predict. This difficulty may be compounded when we sell to OEMs or ODMs indirectly through distributors or contract manufacturers, or both, as our forecasts of demand will then be based on estimates provided by multiple parties. In addition, our customers may change their inventory practices on short notice for any reason. The cancellation or deferral of product orders, the return of previously sold products, or overproduction due to a change in anticipated order volumes could result in us holding excess or obsolete inventory, which could result in inventory write-downs and, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition. In addition, shortened customer order lead times and opportunistic orders may not be filled timely due to a lack of, or inadequate level of uncommitted inventory resulting in lower revenues than possible. In addition, shortened customer order lead times may make it difficult to forecast revenues.
We face risks from failures in our manufacturing processes and the processes of our vendors.
The fabrication of integrated circuits, particularly those made of GaAs, is a highly complex and precise process. Our integrated circuits are primarily manufactured on wafers made of GaAs requiring multiple process steps. It requires production in a highly controlled, clean environment. Minor impurities, contamination of the clean room environment, errors in any step of the fabrication process, defects in the masks used to print circuits on a wafer, defects in equipment or materials, downtime on equipment, human error, interruptions in electrical supply or a number of other factors can cause a substantial interruption in our manufacturing processes. Moreover, our manufacturing process is subject to fluctuations in our demand and fab utilization. In an environment of increasing manufacturing output and personnel to satisfy increasing demand, we may incur manufacturing disruptions limiting supply to customers.
Additionally, our operations may be affected by lengthy or recurring disruptions of operations at our production facility or those of our subcontractors. These disruptions may include electrical power outages, fire, earthquakes, flooding, international conflicts, war, acts of terrorism, or other natural or man-made disasters. Specifically, in the fourth quarter of 2011, one of our subcontractors was impacted by the floods in Thailand, resulting in a temporary interruption of supply. Disruptions of our manufacturing operations could cause significant delays in our shipments unless and until we are able to shift the manufacturing of such products from an affected facility to another facility or the disruption is remedied. Furthermore, many of our customers require that they qualify a new manufacturing source before they will accept products from such source. This qualification process may be expensive and time consuming. In the event of such delays, we cannot assure you that the required alternative capacity would be available on a timely basis or at all. Even if alternative manufacturing capacity or assembly and test capacity is available, we may not be able to obtain it on favorable terms, which could result in higher costs and/or a loss of customers. We may be unable to obtain sufficient manufacturing capacity to meet demand, either at our own facilities or through external manufacturing. In the event we are unable to supply our customers with products previously assembled by our subcontractors on a timely basis, such customers may seek alternative suppliers.
Due to the highly specialized nature of the gallium arsenide integrated circuit manufacturing process, in the event of a disruption at the Warren, New Jersey semiconductor wafer fab, alternative gallium arsenide production capacity for certain processes would not be readily available from third-party sources. Any disruptions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We also depend on certain vendors for components, equipment and services. We maintain stringent policies regarding qualification of these vendors. However, if these vendors’ processes vary in reliability or quality, they could negatively affect our products, and thereby, our results of operations.
Our dependence on foreign semiconductor component suppliers, assembly and test operations contractors could lead to delays in or reductions of product shipments.
We do not assemble or test all of our integrated circuits or multi-chip modules. Instead, we provide the integrated circuit die and, in some cases, packaging and other components to assembly and test vendors located primarily in Asia. Our products contain numerous component parts, substrates and silicon-based products, obtained from external suppliers. The use of external suppliers involves a number of risks, including the possibility of material disruptions in the supply of key components and the lack of control over delivery schedules, capacity constraints, manufacturing yields, quality, fabrication costs, warranty issues and protection of intellectual property. Further, we are dependent upon a few foreign semiconductor assembly and test subcontractors. If these vendors’ processes vary in reliability or quality, they could negatively affect our products and, therefore, our results of operations. If we are unable to obtain sufficient high quality and timely component parts, assembly or test service, if we experience delays in transferring or requalifying our production between suppliers, assembly or test locations or if means of transportation to or from these locations are interrupted, we would experience increased costs, delays or reductions in product shipment, and/or reduced product yields, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
The short life cycles and nature of semiconductor production, including the potential for order cancellation and need to build product to forecast for some of our products may leave us with obsolete or excess inventories.
The life cycles of some of our products depend heavily upon the life cycles of the end products into which our products are designed. For example, we estimate that current life cycles for wireless handsets, and in turn our wireless products, are approximately 9 to 12 months. Products with short life cycles require us to manage production and inventory levels closely. We cannot be certain that obsolete or excess inventories, which may result from unanticipated changes in the estimated total demand for our products and/or the estimated life cycles of the end products into which our products are designed, will not result in significant charges that will negatively affect our operating profit and net income.
Our products may experience significant declines in unit prices.
In each of the markets where we compete, prices of established products tend to decline significantly over time and in some cases rapidly. Accordingly, in order to remain competitive, we believe that we must continue to develop product enhancements and new technologies that will either slow the price declines of our products or reduce the cost of producing and delivering our products. If we fail to do so, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Sources for certain components, materials and equipment are limited, which could result in delays or reductions in product shipments.
We do not manufacture any of the starting wafers, packaging or passive components used in the production of our gallium arsenide integrated circuits. Epitaxial wafers, packaging and passive components are available from a limited number of sources. To the extent that we are unable to obtain these materials, packaging or passive components in the required quantities, as has occurred from time to time in the past, we could experience delays or reductions in product shipments, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations.
We depend on a limited number of vendors to supply the equipment used in our manufacturing processes. When demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment is high, lead times for delivery of such equipment can be substantial. We cannot assure you that we would not lose potential sales if required manufacturing equipment is unavailable and, as a result, we are unable to maintain or increase our production levels. A delay for any reason in increasing capacity would limit our ability to increase sales volumes, which could harm our relationships with customers.
We may pursue selective investments, acquisitions and alliances; the management and integration of additional operations could be expensive and divert management time and acquisitions may dilute the ownership of our stockholders.
Although we have invested in the past, and intend to continue to invest, significant resources in internal research and development activities, the complexity and rapidity of technological changes and the significant expense of internal research and development make it impractical for us to pursue development of all technological solutions on our own. On an ongoing basis, we review investment, alliance and acquisition prospects that would complement our product offerings, augment our market coverage or enhance our technological capabilities. Our ability to complete acquisitions or alliances is dependent upon, and may be limited to, the availability of suitable candidates and capital. In addition, acquisitions and alliances involve risks that could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations, including the management time that may be diverted from operations in order to pursue and complete such transactions and difficulties in integrating and managing the additional operations and personnel of acquired companies. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain the capital necessary to consummate acquisitions or alliances on satisfactory terms, if at all. Further, any businesses that we acquire will likely have their own capital needs, which may be significant, and which we could be called upon to satisfy independent of the acquisition price. Future acquisitions or alliances could result in the incurrence of debt, costs and contingent liabilities, all of which could materially adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations. Any debt could subject us to substantial and burdensome covenants. The growth that may result from future acquisitions or alliances may place significant strains on our resources, systems and management. If we are unable to effectively manage such growth by implementing systems, expanding our infrastructure and hiring, training and managing employees, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In addition, if we issue additional shares of our common stock in order to acquire another business, our stockholders’ interest in us, or the combined company, could be materially diluted. Further, in periods following an acquisition, we will be required to evaluate goodwill and acquisition-related intangible assets for impairment. When such assets are found to be impaired, they will be written down to estimated fair value, with a charge against earnings.
If our products fail to perform or meet customer requirements, we could incur significant additional costs.
The fabrication of integrated circuits from substrate materials and the modules containing these components is a highly complex and precise process. Our customers specify quality, performance and reliability standards that we must meet. If our products do not meet these standards, we may be required to rework or replace the products. Our products may contain undetected defects or failures that only become evident after we commence volume shipments, which we may experience from time to time. Other defects or failures may also occur in the future. If such failures or defects occur, we could: (i) lose revenues; (ii) incur increased costs such as warranty expense and costs associated with customer support; (iii) experience delays, cancellations or rescheduling of orders for our products; and (iv) experience increased product returns or discounts.
We have implemented restructuring programs in the past and may need to again in the future.
We implemented cost restructuring programs in the past, including in 2011. Such restructuring programs are costly to implement and may inadequately address the operating environment. No assurance can be given that the implementation of cost reduction programs will generate the anticipated cost savings and other benefits or that future or additional measures may be required. We could incorrectly anticipate the extent and term of the market decline and weakness for our products and services and we may be forced to restructure further or may incur future operating charges due to poor business conditions.
The variability of our manufacturing yields may affect our gross margins.
Our manufacturing yields vary significantly among products, depending on the complexity of a particular integrated circuit’s design and our experience in manufacturing that type of integrated circuit. We have experienced difficulties in achieving planned yields in the past, particularly in pre-production and upon initial commencement of full production volumes, which have adversely affected our gross margins.
Regardless of the process technology used, the fabrication of integrated circuits is a highly complex and precise process. Problems in the fabrication process can cause a substantial percentage of wafers to be rejected or numerous integrated circuits on each wafer to be nonfunctional, thereby reducing yields. These difficulties can include: (i) defects in masks, which are used to transfer circuit patterns onto our wafers; (ii) impurities in the materials used; (iii) operator errors; (iv) contamination of the manufacturing environment; (v) equipment failure; and (vi) interruptions in electrical supply.
Many of our manufacturing costs are fixed and average selling prices for our products tend to decline over time. Therefore, it is critical for us to increase the number of shippable integrated circuits per wafer and increase the production volume of wafers in order to maintain or improve our results of operations. Yield decreases can result in substantially higher unit costs, which could materially and adversely affect our financial condition and results of operations and have done so in the past. We cannot assure you that we will not suffer periodic yield problems, particularly during the early production of new products or introduction of new process technologies. If any new yield problems were to arise or any existing yield problems were to continue, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected.
Unfavorable general economic conditions in individual or world markets could negatively impact our financial performance.
Unfavorable general economic conditions, such as a recession or economic slowdown in the United States or in one or more of our other major markets, could negatively affect the demand for some of our products. Our customer base includes OEMs and ODMs that are reliant on consumer demand. Consumers may seek to reduce discretionary spending, which can soften demand for our customers’ products and can negatively affect our financial performance.
Our gallium arsenide semiconductors may cease to be competitive with silicon alternatives.
Among our product portfolio, we manufacture and sell gallium arsenide semiconductor devices and components, principally PAs and switches, which tend to be more expensive than their silicon counterparts. The cost differential is due to higher costs of raw materials for gallium arsenide and higher unit costs associated with smaller sized wafers and lower production volumes. We expect the cost of producing gallium arsenide devices will continue for the foreseeable future to exceed the costs of producing their silicon counterparts. In addition, silicon semiconductor technologies are widely-used process technologies for certain integrated circuits and these technologies continue to improve in performance. Therefore, to remain competitive, we must offer gallium arsenide products that provide superior performance over their silicon-based counterparts. If we do not continue to offer products that provide sufficiently superior performance to justify their higher cost, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. We cannot assure you that there will continue to be products and markets that require the performance attributes of gallium arsenide solutions.
We face a risk that capital needed for our business will not be available when we need it.
In the future, we may need to access sources of financing to fund our growth. Taking into consideration our combined cash and marketable securities balance of $93.6 million as of December 31, 2011, we believe that our existing sources of liquidity will be sufficient to fund our research and development, capital expenditures, working capital requirements, interest and other financing requirements for at least the next twelve months.
However, there is no assurance that the capital required to fund these expenditures will be available in the future. Conditions existing in the U.S. capital markets, as well as the then current condition of our company, will affect our ability to raise capital, as well as the terms of any financing. We may not be able to raise enough capital to meet our capital needs on a timely basis or at all. Failure to obtain capital when required could have a material adverse effect on us.
In addition, any strategic investments and acquisitions that we may make to help us grow our business may require additional capital. We cannot assure you that the capital required to fund these investments and acquisitions will be available in the future.
The liquidity and valuation of our investments in marketable securities could be affected by disruption in financial markets.
We maintain investments in financial instruments including corporate debt obligations, auction rate securities, and government-related obligations, which included $6.0 million carrying value of auction rate securities at December 31, 2011. These investments must be supported by actively trading financial markets in order to be liquid investments. Financial markets can temporarily or permanently have an imbalance of buyers and sellers that can impact valuations and liquidity. Auction rate markets have experienced imbalances since late 2007 and may continue to be imbalanced. Such imbalances could negatively impact the fair value of our investments, requiring a charge against income as has occurred in the past, our access to cash and the liquidity of our marketable securities. We cannot assure you that our marketable securities could be sold for their carrying value or in our required time frame to support our intermediate term cashflow and liquidity needs.
Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel.
A small number of key executive officers manage our business. Their departure could have a material adverse effect on our operations. We believe that our future success will also depend in large part on our continued ability to attract and retain highly qualified manufacturing personnel, technical sales and marketing personnel, design and application engineers, as well as senior management. We believe that there is, and will continue to be, intense competition for qualified personnel in the semiconductor industry as the emerging broadband wireless and wireline communications markets develop, and we cannot assure you that we will be successful in retaining our key personnel or in attracting and retaining highly qualified manufacturing personnel, technical sales and marketing personnel, design and application engineers, as well as senior management. The loss of the services of one or more of our key employees or our inability to attract, retain and motivate qualified personnel could have a material effect on our ability to operate our business. We do not presently maintain key-man life insurance for any of our key executive officers.
We are subject to risks due to our international customer base and our subcontracting operations.
Sales to customers located outside the United States (based on shipping addresses and not on the locations of ultimate end users) accounted for approximately 95% of our net sales for each of the last three years. We expect that international sales will continue to represent a significant portion of our net sales. In addition, independent third parties located in Asia supply a substantial portion of the package substrates and components that we use in the production of gallium arsenide integrated circuits, and assemble and test nearly all of our products.
Due to our reliance on international sales and on foreign suppliers, assemblers and test houses, we are subject to risks of conducting business outside of the United States, including primarily those arising from local economic and political conditions, fluctuations in exchange rates, international health epidemics, natural disasters, restrictive governmental actions (e.g., exchange controls, duties, etc.), limitation of protecting intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions and potential acts of terrorism.
We are subject to stringent environmental laws and regulations both domestically and abroad.
We are subject to a variety of federal, state, local and foreign laws and regulations governing the protection of the environment. These environmental laws and regulations include those related to the use, storage, handling, discharge and disposal of toxic or otherwise hazardous materials used in or resulting from our manufacturing processes. Failure to comply with environmental laws and regulations could subject us to substantial liability or force us to significantly change our manufacturing operations. In addition, under some of these laws and regulations, we could be held financially responsible for remedial measures if our properties are contaminated, even if we did not cause the contamination. Although we are aware of contamination resulting from historical third-party operations at one of our facilities, a prior owner of such facility has been performing, and paying for the costs associated with, remediation of this property pursuant to an agreement with the state environmental regulatory authority. However, we cannot assure you that such prior owner will continue to do so or that we will not incur any material costs or liabilities associated with compliance with environmental laws in the future.
We may not be successful in protecting our intellectual property rights or in avoiding claims that we infringe on the intellectual property rights of others.
Our success depends in part on our ability to obtain patents and copyrights. Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property, unauthorized third parties may violate our patents or copyrights. In addition to intellectual property that we have patented and copyrighted, we also rely on trade secrets, technical know-how and other non-patented proprietary information relating to our product development and manufacturing activities, which we seek to protect, in part, by entering into confidentiality agreements with our collaborators and employees. We cannot assure you that these agreements will not be breached, that we would have adequate remedies for any breach or that our trade secrets and proprietary know-how will not otherwise become known or independently discovered by others.
We seek to operate without infringing on the intellectual property rights of third parties. As is typical in the semiconductor industry, we have been notified, and may be notified in the future, that we may be infringing on certain patents and/or other intellectual property rights of other parties. We cannot assure you that we will not be subject to litigation to defend our products or processes against claims of patent infringement or other intellectual property claims. Any such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of our resources. If we infringe on the intellectual property rights of others, we cannot assure investors that we would be able to obtain any required licenses on commercially reasonable terms and we may be required to pay substantial damages, including treble damages, and cease production of our work product or use of one or more manufacturing processes. Even if we are ultimately successful, patent litigation can be time consuming, disruptive to management and expensive. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.
We have had significant volatility in our stock price and it may fluctuate in the future. Therefore, you may be unable to sell shares of our common stock at or above the price you paid for such shares.
The trading price of our common stock has and may continue to fluctuate significantly. Such fluctuations may be influenced by many factors, including: (i) our operating results and prospects; (ii) the operating results and prospects of our major customers; (iii) announcements by our competitors; (iv) the depth and liquidity of the market for our common stock; (v) investor perception of us and the industry in which we operate; (vi) changes in our earnings estimates or buy/sell recommendations by analysts covering our stock; (vii) general financial and other market conditions; and (viii) domestic and international economic conditions.
Public stock markets have experienced extreme price and trading volume volatility, particularly in the technology sectors of the market. This volatility significantly affected and may in the future affect the market prices of securities of many technology companies for reasons frequently unrelated to or disproportionately impacted by the operating performance of these companies. These broad market fluctuations may materially and adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
In addition, fluctuations in our stock price and our price-to-earnings multiple may have made our stock attractive to momentum, hedge or day-trading investors who often shift funds into and out of stocks rapidly, exacerbating price fluctuations in either direction, particularly when viewed on a quarterly basis.
Certain provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and our stockholders’ rights agreement and of Delaware law could deter, delay or prevent a third party from acquiring us and that could deprive you of an opportunity to obtain a takeover premium for our common stock.
Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws and Delaware law contain provisions that could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire us, or of discouraging a third party from attempting to acquire control of us. In addition, we have a stockholders’ rights agreement that under certain circumstances would significantly impair the ability of third parties to acquire control of us without prior approval of our board of directors.
Together, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated by-laws, certain provisions of Delaware law and our stockholders’ rights agreement may discourage transactions that otherwise could provide for the payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our common stock and could also limit the price that investors may be willing to pay in the future for our common stock.
We and certain of our directors are defendants in litigation and the outcome of these lawsuits may, to the extent not covered by insurance, negatively affect our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Since late 2008, the Company, a former officer and a former officer-director have been parties to a now consolidated putative securities class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. This lawsuit alleges federal securities fraud claims and seeks unspecified damages arising out of the alleged non-disclosure of information concerning, among other things, manufacturing inefficiencies and customer demand. Following plaintiffs’ submission of the Second Amended Complaint, filed on October 4, 2010, the alleged class period runs from February 12, 2008 through August 7, 2008. By an Opinion and an Order dated September 30, 2011, the District Court dismissed with prejudice plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint. Plaintiff filed a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. The appeal is pending. In early 2009, two shareholders’ derivative lawsuits were filed in New Jersey Superior Court against the Company, as a nominal defendant, and certain of its current and former directors, alleging state law claims and seeking unspecified damages arising out of the same events at issue in the putative class action lawsuits. Neither the putative class action lawsuits nor the shareholders’ derivative lawsuits have yet advanced beyond the preliminary procedural stages. (See “Item 3. Legal Proceedings” for additional details on these cases and related matters.)
At this time, we cannot predict the probable outcome of these lawsuits. The pendency of these lawsuits, and any others that might subsequently be filed against us, could divert the attention of management from our business, harm our reputation and otherwise have a negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. Any adverse outcome in any one of these lawsuits may, to the extent not reimbursed by insurance, have a negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
Not applicable.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES.
Our executive offices and primary fabrication facility are located at 141 Mt. Bethel Road, Warren, New Jersey 07059. We currently lease space in several buildings in Warren, New Jersey, located within the industrial complex. Approximately 150,000 square feet of manufacturing and office space is occupied in a building located at 141 Mt. Bethel Road in Warren, New Jersey under a twenty-year lease expiring on December 31, 2016. We occupy another 25,000 square feet of office space in a nearby building under a two-year lease expiring on October 31, 2012.
We also lease approximately 41,500 square feet in aggregate of office space in the following locations: Atlanta, Georgia; Tyngsboro, Massachusetts; Richardson, Texas; San Diego, California; Taipei, Taiwan; Aalborg, Denmark; China; South Korea; and Japan under lease agreements with remaining terms ranging from one month to seven years that can be extended, at our option.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.
On or about November 11, 2008, plaintiff Charlie Attias filed a putative securities class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, captioned Charlie Attias v. Anadigics, Inc., et al., No. 3:08-cv-05572, and, on or about November 21, 2008, plaintiff Paul Kuznetz filed a related class action lawsuit in the same court, captioned Paul J. Kuznetz v. Anadigics, Inc., et al., No. 3:08-cv-05750 (jointly, the "Class Actions"). The Complaints in the Class Actions, which were consolidated under the caption In re Anadigics, Inc. Securities Litigation, No. 3:08-cv-05572, by an Order of the District Court dated November 24, 2008, seek unspecified damages for alleged violations of Sections 10(b) and 20(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as well as Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder, in connection with alleged misrepresentations and omissions in connection with, among other things, Anadigics's manufacturing capabilities and the demand for its products. On October 23, 2009, plaintiffs filed a Consolidated Amended Class Action Complaint, (the “First Amended Complaint”), which names the Company, a former officer and a former officer-director, and alleges a proposed class period that runs from July 24, 2007 through August 7, 2008. On December 23, 2009, defendants filed a motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint; that motion was fully briefed as of March 30, 2010. After holding extensive oral argument on defendants' motion on August 3, 2010, the District Court found plaintiffs' First Amended Complaint to be deficient, but afforded them another opportunity to amend their pleading. The District Court therefore denied defendants' motion to dismiss without prejudice to defendants' renewing the motion in response to plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint, which plaintiffs filed on October 4, 2010. The Second Amended Complaint, which contains the same substantive claims that were alleged in the First Amended Complaint, alleges a proposed class period that runs from February 12, 2008 through August 7, 2008. Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint on December 3, 2010. By an Opinion and an Order dated September 30, 2011, the District Court dismissed with prejudice plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint. On October 27, 2011, plaintiffs filed with the District Court a notice of appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from the District Court's September 30, 2011 Opinion and Order. The appeal is pending.
On or about January 14, 2009, a shareholder's derivative lawsuit, captioned Sicari v. Anadigics, Inc., et al., No. SOM-L-88-09, was filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, and, on or about February 2, 2009, a related shareholder's derivative lawsuit, captioned Moradzadeh v. Anadigics, Inc., et al., No. SOM-L-198-09, was filed in the same court (jointly, the "Derivative Lawsuits"). The Derivative Lawsuits seek unspecified damages for alleged state law claims against certain of the Company's current and former directors arising out of the matters at issue in the Class Actions. By Order dated March 6, 2009, the New Jersey Superior Court consolidated the Derivative Lawsuits under the caption In re Anadigics, Inc. Derivative Litigation, No. SOM-L-88-09. By Order dated March 27, 2009, the Superior Court stayed the Derivative Lawsuits pending disposition of the defendants' motion to dismiss the First Amended Complaint in the Class Actions. By Order dated September 13, 2010, the Superior Court extended the stay of the Derivative Lawsuits until the disposition of defendants' motion to dismiss the Second Amended Complaint in the Class Actions.
Because the Class Actions and the Derivative Lawsuits, which are in a preliminary stage, do not specify alleged monetary damages, we are unable to reasonably estimate a possible range of loss, if any, to the Company in connection therewith.
We are also a party to ordinary course litigation arising out of the operation of our business. We believe that the ultimate resolution of such ordinary course litigation should not have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial condition or results of operations.
ITEM 4. REMOVED AND RESERVED.
PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES.
Our $0.01 par value Common Stock, (“Common Stock”) has been quoted on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "ANAD" since the commencement of trading on April 21, 1995 following our initial public offering of our Common Stock. The following table sets forth for the periods indicated the high and low sale prices for our Common Stock.
As of December 31, 2011, there were 69,279,551 shares of Common Stock outstanding (excluding shares held in Treasury) and 244 holders of record of the Common Stock.
We have never paid cash dividends on our capital stock. We currently anticipate that we will retain available funds for use in the operation and expansion of our business, and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.
See also “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters” under Part III, Item 12 of this report.
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.
The selected financial data set forth below should be read in conjunction with Item 7, "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations", and our financial statements, related notes and other financial information included herein. The selected consolidated financial data set forth below as of December 31, 2011 and 2010 and for the years ended December 31, 2011, 2010 and 2009 have been derived from our audited financial statements included herein. The selected consolidated financial data set forth below as of December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 and for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007 have been derived from our audited financial statements, as adjusted for discontinued operations, that are not included herein or incorporated by reference herein. The Company sold the majority of the operating assets of Telcom Devices Inc, (Telcom, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company) on April 2, 2007 and effectively ceased Telcom’s operations. Accordingly, the financial results and position of Telcom have been classified as discontinued operations in the 2007 financial statements. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future period.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS.
OVERVIEW
We are a leading provider of semiconductor solutions in the growing broadband wireless and wireline communications markets. Our products include RF power amplifiers, tuner integrated circuits, active splitters, line amplifiers and other components, which can be sold individually or packaged as FEM’s. We believe that we are well-positioned to capitalize on the high growth and convergence occurring in the voice, data and video segments of the broadband wireless and wireline communications markets. Our RF power amplifier products enable mobile handsets, datacards and other devices to access 3G and 4G wireless networks utilizing international standards including LTE, WCDMA, HSPA, CDMA, EVDO and WiMAX. Our WiFi products enable connectivity for wireless mobile devices and other computing devices. Our CATV products enable fixed-point, wireline broadband communications over CATV infrastructure as well as cable modem and set-top box products. Our Wireless infrastructure products support operator commitments worldwide to optimize the increasing demands for subscriber data through deployment of new small-cell base stations as part of a heterogeneous network.
Our business strategy focuses on enabling anytime, anywhere connectivity which enhances the consumer’s broadband and wireless experience. We develop RF front end solutions for communications equipment manufacturers and we partner with industry-leading wireless and wireline chipset providers who incorporate our solutions into their reference designs. Our solutions cost-effectively enhance communications devices by improving RF performance, efficiency, reliability, time-to-market and integration while reducing the size, weight and cost of these products.
We leverage our technological knowledge and advantages to be a leading technology-enabler via innovative semiconductor solutions for broadband wireless and wireline communications. We believe our patented InGaP-plus technology, which combines bipolar amplifying structures pHEMT RF switches on the same die, coupled with our three level metal interconnect process provides us with a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Additionally, we believe proprietary designs of our HELP™ power amplifiers when combined with higher efficiency at high output power provide our customers a competitive advantage by delivering performance required for 3G and 4G devices with lower battery power consumption and longer use time than comparable products in these markets.
Our six-inch diameter GaAs fab located at our corporate headquarters in Warren, New Jersey, has been operational since 1999. In addition, we have a strategic foundry agreement with WIN Semiconductors of Taiwan to supplement our existing wafer fabrication capability and allow for additional and flexible capacity without the requisite capital investment.
Our annual revenues decreased in 2011 after increasing in 2010 from 2009, as the Company experienced a decline in Wireless revenues resulting from a decline in revenue from one of our largest customers resulting from certain of their programs reaching end of life and their change in chipset suppliers that did not utilize our power amplifiers. We anticipate a decline in total revenues in the first quarter of 2012.
We believe our markets are, and will continue to remain, competitive which could result in continued quarterly volatility in our net sales. This competition has resulted in, and is expected over the long-term to continue to result in competitive or declining average selling prices for our products and increased challenges in maintaining or increasing market share.
We have only one reportable segment. For financial information related to such segment and certain geographic areas, see Note 3 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES & SIGNIFICANT ESTIMATES
We believe the following accounting policies are critical to our business operations and the understanding of our results of operations. Such accounting policies may require management to exercise a higher degree of judgment and make estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements.
RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following table sets forth statements of operations data as a percentage of net sales for the periods indicated:
2011 COMPARED TO 2010
NET SALES. Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2011 decreased 29.5% to $152.8 million, compared to net sales for the year ended December 31, 2010 of $216.7 million. The net sales decrease primarily resulted from a decrease in market demand for WCDMA cellular device markets and in Broadband from lower cable set-top box and WiMax applications’ demand.
Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2011 of the Company’s wireless products decreased 25.3% to $119.5 million compared to net sales for the year ended December 31, 2010 of $159.9 million. The decrease in sales was primarily the result of decreased demand in our WCDMA cellular device markets due to 1) declines at one of our largest customers due to certain products reaching end of life and their change in chipset providers that do not utilize our power amplifiers and 2) a decline in the market penetration of datacard products for embedded wireless connectivity.
Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2011 of the Company’s broadband products decreased 41.3% to $33.3 million compared to net sales for the year ended December 31, 2010 of $56.8 million. The decrease in sales was primarily due to decreased demand from cable set-top box and WiMax applications.
GROSS MARGIN. Gross margin for 2011 decreased to 20.4% of net sales, compared with 35.0% of net sales in the prior year. The decrease in gross margin was primarily due to lower production and sales volume and a concentration of fixed costs as a percent of smaller revenues. Fixed production costs include, but are not limited to depreciation, maintenance and operations’ support functions.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT. Company-sponsored Research and development (R&D) expenses decreased 10.1% during 2011 to $45.0 million from $50.1 million during 2010. The decrease resulted from improved controls over our key projects, lower labor costs and recruitment expense.
SELLING AND ADMINISTRATIVE. Selling and administrative expenses increased 25.6% during 2011 to $35.1 million from $28.0 million in 2010. The increase was primarily due to management separation charges recorded in the first and fourth quarters of 2011 totaling $6.4 million.
RESTRUCTURING AND IMPAIRMENT (RECOVERY) CHARGES. During the second quarter of 2011, we implemented workforce reductions, which eliminated approximately 40 positions, resulting in a restructuring charge of $1.0 million for severance and related benefits. During the second quarter of 2010, we sold the wafer fabrication building in Kunshan, China which had been fully written-off in 2008. The sale resulted in a net recovery of $1.7 million.
BENEFIT FROM INCOME TAXES. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 included the partial refund of certain carried-forward Research and Experimental (R&E) tax credits. During the third quarter of 2010, the Company finalized and filed its R&E claim as part of its 2009 Federal tax return and subsequently received cash of $0.3 million. Such refund was recorded as a benefit from income taxes.
2010 COMPARED TO 2009
NET SALES. Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2010 increased 54.3% to $216.7 million, compared to net sales for the year ended December 31, 2009 of $140.5 million. The net sales increase resulted from an increase in market demand, particularly for wireless products.
Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2010 of the Company’s wireless products increased 71.7% to $159.9 million compared to net sales for the year ended December 31, 2009 of $93.2 million. The increase in sales was primarily due to increased demand in WCDMA and to a lesser degree CDMA cellular device markets.
Net sales for the year ended December 31, 2010 of the Company’s broadband products increased 19.9% to $56.8 million compared to net sales for the year ended December 31, 2009 of $47.3 million. The increase in sales was primarily due to increased demand for WiMax and CATV subscriber and infrastructure products, partly offset by declines in WiFi PAs shipped into the PC Notebook market.
GROSS MARGIN. Gross margin for 2010 increased to 35.0% of net sales, compared with 14.3% of net sales in the prior year. Gross margin for 2009 included charges of $5.3 million, representing 3.8% of revenue, arising from a settlement of a commercial dispute with a customer and certain inventory reserve charges. After considering the charge outlined above, the remaining increase in gross margin was primarily due to increased product shipments and wafer production, and fixed production costs decreasing as a percent of higher revenues and was further supported by variable cost improvements gained over the prior year. Fixed production costs include, but are not limited to depreciation, maintenance and operations’ support functions.
RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT. Company-sponsored Research and development (R&D) expenses increased 9.0% during 2010 to $50.1 million from $46.0 million during 2009. The increase was primarily due to greater material spending, personnel and support costs for our accelerated R&D product and process development efforts.
SELLING AND ADMINISTRATIVE. Selling and administrative expenses increased 3.9% during 2010 to $28.0 million from $26.9 million in 2009. The increase was driven by increased investment in our sales effort, which was partly offset by reductions in general and administrative costs.
RESTRUCTURING AND IMPAIRMENT (RECOVERY) CHARGES. During the second quarter of 2010, we sold the wafer fabrication building in Kunshan, China which had been fully written-off in 2008. The sale resulted in a net recovery of $1.7 million. During the first quarter of 2009 we implemented workforce reductions, which eliminated approximately 110 positions, resulting in a restructuring charge of $2.6 million principally for severance and related benefits.
INTEREST INCOME. Interest income decreased 30.9% to $0.8 million during 2010 from $1.1 million in 2009. The decrease was primarily due to lower average funds invested.
INTEREST EXPENSE. Interest expense decreased 91.9% to $0.2 million in 2010 compared to $1.9 million in 2009. The decrease principally related to the repayment of our 5% Convertible Senior Notes due in October 2009.
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE), NET. Other income (expense) primarily results from valuation activity in marketable securities we hold. Other income of $0.9 million in 2010 compares to $1.3 million of other expense in 2009. In 2010, other income principally relates to recoveries on redemptions of certain action rate securities. In 2009, other expense was comprised of a $1.5 million other-than-temporary decline in value on certain auction rate securities and a corporate debt security held by the Company, offset by $0.2 million of income recorded on par value redemption recoveries.
BENEFIT FROM INCOME TAXES. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 included the partial refund of certain carried-forward Research and Experimental (R&E) tax credits. During the third quarter of 2010 and 2009, the Company finalized and filed its R&E claim as part of its 2009 and 2008 Federal tax return and subsequently received cash of $0.3 million in each of these periods. Such refund was recorded as a benefit from income taxes.
LIQUIDITY AND SOURCES OF CAPITAL
At December 31, 2011 we had $32.7 million of cash and cash equivalents and $60.9 million in marketable securities.
Operations used $8.2 million in cash during 2011, primarily as a result of our operating results adjusted for non-cash expenses, as reduced by $11.2 million of cash generated by reducing working capital. Investing activities used $57.9 million of cash during 2011, consisting of net purchases of marketable securities of $52.4 million and net purchases of equipment of $5.8 million, as reduced by $0.3 million of proceeds on sale. Financing activities provided $1.7 million of cash during 2011, consisting of proceeds received from the employee stock purchase plan and stock option exercises.
At December 31, 2011, the Company had unconditional purchase obligations of approximately $3.0 million.
We believe that our existing sources of capital, including our existing cash and marketable securities, will be adequate to satisfy operational needs and anticipated capital needs for at least the next twelve months. Our anticipated capital needs may include acquisitions of complementary businesses or technologies, investments in other companies or repurchases of our equity. Subject to liquidity considerations of our auction rate securities as discussed more fully in Item 7A, we may elect to finance all or part of our future capital requirements through additional equity or debt financing. There can be no assurance that such additional financing would be available on satisfactory terms.
The table below summarizes required cash payments as of December 31, 2011:
IMPACT OF RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Changes to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America are established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in the form of Accounting Standards Updates to the FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification.
In May 2011, the FASB issued guidance on fair value measurements and disclosure requirements. The guidance provides a consistent definition of fair value to ensure fair value measurement and disclosure requirements are similar between U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and International Financial Reporting Standards. This guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2011. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In June and December 2011, the FASB issued guidance on the presentation of other comprehensive income (OCI). This guidance eliminates the option to present the components of OCI as part of the statement of changes in stockholders’ equity and also requires presentation of reclassification adjustments from OCI to net income on the face of the financial statements. This guidance is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2011, with the exception of the requirement to present reclassification adjustments from OCI to net income on the face of the financial statements, which has been deferred pending further deliberation by the FASB. We do not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
None.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Our cash and available-for-sale securities are exposed to changes in short-term interest rates. Our available-for-sale securities consist of fixed income securities, U.S. government agency debt securities, a corporate bond security and certain auction rate securities, the latter of which are discussed more specifically below. We continually monitor our exposure to changes in interest rates and the credit ratings of issuers with respect to our available-for-sale securities. Accordingly, we believe that the effects of changes in interest rates and the credit ratings of these issuers are limited and would not have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations. However, it is possible that we would be at risk if interest rates or the credit ratings of these issuers were to change in an unfavorable direction. The magnitude of any gain or loss would be a function of the difference between the fixed rate of the financial instrument and the market rate and our financial condition and results of operations could be materially affected.
At December 31, 2011, we held marketable securities with an estimated fair value of $60.9 million. Our primary interest rate exposure results from changes in short-term interest rates. We do not purchase financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. All of our marketable securities are classified as available-for-sale securities. The following table provides information about our marketable securities at December 31, 2011:
The stated rates of interest expressed in the above table may not approximate the actual yield of the securities which we currently hold since we have valued some of our marketable securities at other than face value. Additionally, some of the securities represented in the above table may be called or redeemed, at the option of the issuer, prior to their expected due dates. If such early redemptions occur, we may reinvest the proceeds realized on such calls or redemptions in marketable securities with stated rates of interest or yields that are lower than those of our current holdings, which would affect both future cash interest streams and future earnings.
We invest the majority of our cash in money market funds, fixed income securities and U.S. government agency debt securities in order to protect principal, maintain liquidity as well as fund operations. Fluctuations in interest rates will affect the yield on monies invested by the Company. Such fluctuations can have an impact on our future cash interest streams and future earnings, but the impact of such fluctuations are not expected to be material.
All of our marketable securities are classified as available-for-sale and therefore reported on our balance sheet at market value. Within our $60.9 million in marketable securities at December 31, 2011, we held a total of $32.5 million of fixed income securities, $19.6 million of U.S. government agency debt securities, $6.0 million of auction rate securities (ARS), and $2.8 million as a former-auction corporate debt security originally purchased as an ARS prior to its exchange for the underlying 30 year notes due 2037. ARS were a short-term cash management instrument used by the market and the Company prior to 2008. The instrument used a monthly Dutch auction process to provide liquidity on long-term financial instruments by resetting the applicable interest rate and through the reset, allowed existing investors to rollover or liquidate their holdings at par value. During the second half of 2007 and the first quarter of 2008, ARS failed to auction due to sell orders exceeding buy orders and trading continues to be constrained. The funds associated with the failed auctions will not be accessible until a successful auction occurs, a suitable buyer is found outside of the auction process or an issuer redeems its security. To date, we have not realized any losses on ARS held by the Company or the notes received in exchange for an ARS, but have recognized other-than-temporary impairments of $8.2 million. The fair market values of certain of our ARS, when combined with the fair market values of our corporate debt security have subsequently increased by $2.5 million which was recorded to other comprehensive income.
We anticipate selling the existing and former-auction corporate debt securities prior to a recovery in valuation. We will continue to monitor and evaluate these investments for impairment and for short term classification purposes. We may not be able to access cash by selling the aforementioned debt or preferred securities without the loss of principal until a buyer is located, a future auction for these investments is successful, they are redeemed by their issuers or they mature. If we are unable to sell these securities in the market or they are not redeemed, then we may be required to hold them to maturity or in perpetuity for the preferred ARS. Based on our ability to access our cash, our expected operating cash flows, and our other sources of cash, we do not anticipate that the potential illiquidity of these investments will affect our ability to execute our current business plan.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Directors and Stockholders
ANADIGICS, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of ANADIGICS, Inc. as of December 31, 2011 and 2010, and the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive (loss) income, stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011. Our audit also included the financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a). These financial statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedule based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of ANADIGICS, Inc. at December 31, 2011 and 2010, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2011, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also, in our opinion, the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, presents fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), ANADIGICS, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2011, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated March 15, 2012 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
MetroPark, New Jersey
March 15, 2012
ANADIGICS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE AMOUNTS)
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) INCOME
(AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS)
See accompanying notes.
ANADIGICS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE AMOUNTS)
See accompanying notes.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
(AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS)
See accompanying notes.
ANADIGICS, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS)
See accompanying notes.
ANADIGICS, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE AMOUNTS)
1. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION
ANADIGICS, Inc (the Company) is a leading provider of semiconductor solutions in the growing broadband wireless and wireline communications markets. The Company’s products include radio frequency (RF) power amplifiers (PAs), tuner integrated circuits, active splitters, line amplifiers and other components, which can be sold individually or packaged as integrated front end modules (FEMs). The Company’s RF power amplifier products enable mobile handsets, datacards and other devices to access third and fourth generation (3G and 4G) wireless networks utilizing international standards including Long Term Evolution (LTE), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Evolution Data Optimized (EVDO) and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX). The Company’s WiFi products enable connectivity for wireless mobile devices and other computing devices. The Company’s Cable Television (CATV) products enable fixed-point, wireline broadband communications over CATV infrastructure as well as cable modem and set-top box products. The Company’s Wireless infrastructure products support operator commitments worldwide to optimize the increasing demands for subscriber data through deployment of new small-cell base stations as part of a heterogeneous network.
The Company designs, develops and manufactures RF integrated circuits (RFICs) primarily using Gallium Arsenide (GaAs) compound semiconductor substrates with various process technologies, Metal Semiconductor Field Effect Transistors (MESFET), Pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors (pHEMT), and Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors (HBT). The Company’s proprietary technology, which utilizes InGaP-plusTM, combines InGaP HBT and pHEMT processes on a single substrate, enabling it to integrate the PA function and the RF active switch function on the same die. The Company fabricates substantially all of its ICs in its six-inch diameter GaAs wafer fabrication facility.
The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of ANADIGICS, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
The Company has evaluated subsequent events and determined that there were no subsequent events to recognize or disclose in these consolidated financial statements other than the redemption at a gain of an auction rate security discussed in Note 4.
USE OF ESTIMATES
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements and the accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant estimates that affect the financial statements include, but are not limited to: allowance for doubtful accounts, recoverability and valuation of inventories, warranty reserve, valuation of stock-based compensation, reserves for distributor arrangements and returns, valuation of certain marketable securities, useful lives and amortization periods and recoverability of long-lived assets.
CONCENTRATION OF CREDIT RISK
The Company grants trade credit to its customers, who are primarily foreign manufacturers of wireless communication devices, cable and broadcast television receivers and fiber optic communication devices. The Company performs periodic credit evaluations of its customers and generally does not require collateral. Sales and accounts receivable from customers are denominated in U.S. dollars. The Company has not experienced significant losses related to receivables from these individual customers.
Net sales to individual customers and their affiliates who accounted for 10% or more of the Company’s total net sales and corresponding end application information are as follows:
Accounts receivable at December 31, 2011 and 2010 from the greater than 10% customers accounted for 62% and 54% of total accounts receivable, respectively.
REVENUE RECOGNITION
Revenue from product sales is recognized when title to the products is transferred to the customer, which occurs upon shipment or delivery, depending upon the terms of the sales order. The Company sells to certain distributors who are granted limited contractual rights of return and exchange and certain pre-negotiated individual product-customer price protection. Revenue from sales of products to distributors is recognized, net of allowances, upon shipment of the products to the distributors. At the time of shipment, title transfers to the distributors and payment from the distributors is due on our standard commercial terms; payment terms are not contingent upon resale of the products. Revenue is appropriately reduced for the portion of shipments subject to return, exchange or price protection. Allowances for the distributors are recorded upon shipment and calculated based on the distributors’ indicated intent, historical data, current economic conditions and contractual terms. The Company believes it can reasonably and reliably estimate allowances for credits to distributors in a timely manner. The Company charges customers for the costs of certain contractually-committed inventories that remain at the end of a product's life. Such amounts are recognized as cancellation revenue when cash is received. The value of the inventory related to cancellation revenue may, in some instances, have been reserved during prior periods in accordance with the Company’s inventory obsolescence policy. The Company maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from customers' failure to make payments.
ALLOWANCE FOR DOUBTFUL ACCOUNTS
The Company establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from customers' failure to make payments, based upon historical experience.
WARRANTY COSTS
The Company provides, by a current charge to income, an amount it estimates, by examining historical returns and other information it deems critical, will be needed to cover future warranty obligations for products sold during the year. The liability for warranty costs is included in Accrued liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.
PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Plant and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation of plant, furniture and equipment has been provided on the straight-line method over 3-7 years. Leasehold improvements are amortized and included in depreciation over the useful life of the leasehold or the life of the lease, whichever is shorter.
IMPAIRMENT OF LONG-LIVED ASSETS
Long-lived assets used in operations are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets might not be recoverable. For long-lived assets to be held and used, the Company recognizes an impairment loss if its carrying amount is not recoverable through its undiscounted cash flows and measures the impairment loss based on the difference between the carrying amount and fair value. Long-lived assets held for sale are reported at the lower of cost or fair value less costs to sell.
INCOME TAXES
Deferred income taxes reflect the net effects of temporary differences between the carrying amount of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the income tax basis of such assets and liabilities. The Company maintains a full valuation allowance on its deferred tax assets. Accordingly, the Company has not recorded a benefit or provision for income taxes other than for the refund of certain research and experimental tax credits during 2010 and 2009. The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to the underpayment of income taxes in income tax expense. No unrecognized tax benefits, interest or penalties were accrued at December 31, 2011 and 2010. The Company’s U.S. federal net operating losses have occurred since 1998 and as such, tax years subject to potential tax examination could apply from that date because carrying-back net operating loss opens the relevant year to audit.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT COSTS
The Company charges all research and development costs associated with the development of new products to expense when incurred.
CASH EQUIVALENTS
The Company considers all highly liquid marketable securities with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.
MARKETABLE SECURITIES
Available for sale securities are stated at fair value, as determined by quoted market prices or as needed, independent valuation models, with unrealized gains and losses reported in other accumulated comprehensive income or loss. Unrealized losses are reviewed and those considered other than temporary are recorded as a charge to other income (expense). Subsequent gains or losses upon redemption or sale of these securities in excess of, or below, their adjusted cost basis are also recorded as other income (expense). The Company considers it more likely than not that it will sell certain auction rate securities prior to a full recovery in valuation. The cost of securities sold is based upon the specific identification method. The amortized cost of securities is adjusted for amortization of premium and accretion of market discounts over the securities’ effective life or maturity and recorded in interest income. See Note 4 for a summary of marketable securities.
INVENTORY
Inventories are valued at the lower of cost or market ("LCM"), using the first-in, first-out method. The Company capitalizes production overhead costs to inventory on the basis of normal capacity of its production facility and in periods of abnormally low utilization charges the related expenses as a period cost in the statement of operations. In addition to LCM limitations, the Company reserves against inventory items for estimated obsolescence or unmarketable inventory. The reserve for excess and obsolete inventory is primarily based upon forecasted short-term demand for the product. Once established, these write-downs are considered permanent adjustments to the cost basis of the excess inventory. If actual demand and market conditions are less favorable than those projected by management, additional inventory write-downs may be required. In the event the Company sells inventory that had been covered by a specific inventory reserve, the sale is recorded at the actual selling price and the related cost of goods sold at the full inventory cost, net of the reserve.
DEFERRED RENT
Aggregate rental expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease terms of operating leases that contain predetermined increases in rentals payable during the lease term.
FOREIGN CURRENCY TRANSLATION
The financial statements of subsidiaries outside of the United States are measured using the local currency as the functional currency. Assets and liabilities of these subsidiaries are translated at the rates of exchange at the balance sheet dates. The resultant translation adjustments are included in other accumulated comprehensive income or loss. Income and expense items are translated at the average monthly rates of exchange. Gains and losses from foreign currency transactions of these subsidiaries are included in the determination of net income or loss.
EARNINGS PER SHARE
Basic earnings per share is computed by dividing net (loss) income by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if stock options and other commitments to issue common stock were exercised resulting in the issuance of common stock of the Company. Any dilution arising from the Company's outstanding stock awards will not be included where their effect is anti-dilutive.
FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
The fair value of a financial instrument is the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. The fair value of each of the following instruments approximates their carrying value because of the short maturity of these instruments: cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued liabilities. See Note 4 for additional fair value disclosures.
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
The Company has various stock-based compensation plans for employees and directors, which are described more fully in Note 11. The Company records stock compensation expense for all stock-based payment awards made to its employees and directors. Stock-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period which in most cases is the vesting period.
RECLASSIFICATIONS
Certain prior period amounts have been reclassified to conform to the current presentation.
IMPACT OF RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
Changes to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America are established by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in the form of Accounting Standards Updates to the FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification.
In May 2011, the FASB issued guidance on fair value measurements and disclosure requirements. The guidance provides a consistent definition of fair value to ensure fair value measurement and disclosure requirements are similar between U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and International Financial Reporting Standards. This guidance, effective for interim and annual periods beginning on or after December 15, 2011. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact its consolidated financial statements.
In June and December 2011, the FASB issued guidance on the presentation of other comprehensive income (OCI). This guidance eliminates the option to present the components of OCI as part of the statement of changes in stockholders’ equity and also requires presentation of reclassification adjustments from OCI to net income on the face of the financial statements. This guidance is effective for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2011, with the exception of the requirement to present reclassification adjustments from OCI to net income on the face of the financial statements, which has been deferred pending further deliberation by the FASB. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.
2. RESTRUCTURING, MANAGEMENT SEPARATION CHARGES, IMPAIRMENT (RECOVERY) AND OTHER CHARGES
RESTRUCTURING
During the second quarter of 2011, the Company implemented a workforce reduction that eliminated approximately 40 positions, resulting in a Restructuring charge of $1,047 for severance and related benefits.
During the fourth quarter of 2008 and first quarter of 2009, the Company implemented certain workforce reduction programs, which eliminated approximately 210 positions throughout the Company, resulting in charges aggregating $4,738 for severance and related benefits.
Activity and liability balances related to the restructuring were as follows:
MANAGEMENT SEPARATION CHARGES
During the fourth quarter of 2011, the Company recorded a $4,234 management separation charge, inclusive of accelerated stock-based compensation of $1,775, within Selling and administrative expenses. The management separation charge arose from the resignation of our former Chief Financial Officer, and included contractual separation pay, accelerated vesting of certain equity awards, and certain other costs.
During the first quarter of 2011, the Company recorded certain management separation charges of $838 and $2,111, inclusive of accelerated stock-based compensation of $568 and $116, within Research and development and Selling and administrative expenses, respectively. The management separation charges arose from the resignations of our former Chief Executive Officer and another Executive Officer, and included contractual separation pay, accelerated vesting of certain equity awards, and certain other costs.
In the fourth quarter of 2009, the Company recorded management separation charges of $2,125. Of this amount, $1,755 was included in Research and development and $370 was included in Selling and administrative expenses.
IMPAIRMENT (RECOVERY)
During the second quarter of 2010, the Company sold its wafer fabrication building in Kunshan, China for net proceeds of $1,717, resulting in the partial recovery of a related impairment charge. During 2008, the Company had written-off the value of this unfinished wafer fabrication building following an evaluation of alternatives in light of the then current circumstances, including: surplus industry production capacity, reduced demand experienced by the Company as well as the broader macroeconomic environment. As a result of its analysis of projected discounted cashflows, the Company recorded a $12,957 impairment charge in 2008 related to the China wafer fabrication facility.
OTHER CHARGES
In the third quarter of 2009, the Company recorded a charge within Cost of sales in the amount of $3,879 in settlement of a commercial dispute with a customer. The settlement required an initial payment of $1,110 which was paid in the fourth quarter of 2009, and six quarterly payments of $500 which commenced in March 2010.
3. SEGMENTS The Company has one reportable segment. Its integrated circuits are primarily manufactured using common manufacturing facilities located in the same domestic geographic area. The method for determining what information to report is based on management’s use of financial information for the purposes of assessing performance and making operating decisions. All operating expenses and assets of the Company are combined and reviewed by the chief operating decision maker on an enterprise-wide basis, resulting in no additional discrete financial information or operating segment information. The Company’s business units share similar long term business models, research and development expenses and selling and administrative expenses. The Company has concluded at December 31, 2011 that it has only one reportable segment. The Company will re-assess its conclusions at least annually.
The Company classifies its revenues based upon the end application of the product in which its integrated circuits are used. Net sales by end application are regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker and are as follows:
The Company sells to five geographic regions: Asia, Europe, Latin America, USA and Other. The geographic region is determined by the destination of the shipped product. Net sales to each of the five geographic regions are as follows:
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