Business News

RF Micro Devices Announces March 2009 Quarterly Results

Wednesday 29. April 2009 - RFMD(R) Achieved $172.3 Million In Quarterly Revenue And Increased Cash, Cash Equivalents And Short-Term Investments Sequentially By $28 Million

Business Highlights:

– Cash Flow From Operations Totaled Approximately $29 Million

– RFMD Repurchased Approximately $22 Million Principal Amount Of Its 2014 Convertible Notes

– RFMD Has Reduced Its Net Debt Position By Approximately $125 Million In The Past Three Quarters

– Quarterly GAAP Diluted Loss Per Share Totaled ($0.19) And Quarterly Non-GAAP Diluted Loss Per Share Totaled ($0.10)

– RFMD Grew Sequentially In Multiple 3G Markets In The March Quarter

– RFMD Is Currently Booked For Sequential Revenue Growth And Expects Gross Margin Expansion And Approximately Breakeven Operating Profitability On A Non-GAAP Basis In The June Quarter

RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:RFMD), a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance semiconductor components, today reported financial results for its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter ended March 28, 2009. RFMD’s March quarterly revenue decreased approximately 14.7% sequentially to $172.3 million. GAAP gross margin decreased sequentially from 19.0% to 17.3%, and non-GAAP gross margin decreased from 22.6% to 19.8% during the same period, primarily as a result of lower factory utilization rates. Operating loss was approximately ($56.5) million on a GAAP basis and approximately ($21.4) million on a non-GAAP basis, reflecting reduced revenue and gross profit. Net loss was approximately ($49.4) million on a GAAP basis and approximately ($25.4) million on a non-GAAP basis.

RFMD(R) Product Group Highlights

Cellular Products Group (CPG)

— CPG grew 3G revenue sequentially and continued to diversify its 3G
customer base with multiple 3G multimode design wins
— CPG secured major GSM/GPRS design wins at top-five handset OEMs and
leading platform providers
— CPG shipped production volumes of cellular components to all five of
the world’s top-five handset OEMs
— CPG expanded its smartphone customer base and increased its smartphone
content opportunity across cellular front ends, cellular switches and
low noise amplifiers (LNAs)
— CPG supported the launch of multiple 2G and 3G multimode handsets at a
leading Korean handset OEM
— CPG expects near-term market share gains in China, Korea and Taiwan,
based upon existing design activity

— CPG currently forecasts sequential growth in excess of the handset
industry growth rate in the June quarter

Multi-Market Products Group (MPG)

— MPG released 24 new RF components and 59 derivative products in the
March quarter
— MPG received its first order to supply highly integrated multi-chip
modules into new multi-standard wireless base stations, which can
support 2G, 3G, 4G/LTE and WiMAX air interface standards
— MPG announced the formation of its GaN Foundry Services business unit
featuring RFMD’s state-of-the-art GaN semiconductor technology
— MPG anticipates increasing GaN-based revenue in fiscal 2010 related to
CATV line amplifiers and defense and commercial power applications
— MPG enjoyed robust design activity supporting 3G cellular
infrastructure in China, automatic meter reading (AMR), WiFi, defense
and commercial power, electronic toll collection (ETC) and other
applications

— MPG currently forecasts sequential growth in the June quarter



GAAP RESULTS
(in millions,
except
percentages
and per % Change Q4 % Change
share data) Q4 Fiscal Q3 Fiscal vs. Q3 Fiscal vs. Q4
2009 2009 2009 2008 2008

Revenue $172.3 $202.0 (14.7)% $220.6 (21.9)%
Gross Margin 17.3% 19.0% (1.7)ppt 25.2% (7.9)ppt
Operating Loss $(56.5) $(754.0) (92.5) % $(32.8) 72.2%
Net Loss $(49.4) $(813.3) (93.9)% $(17.2) 186.4%
Diluted LPS $(0.19) $ (3.09) (93.9)% $(0.06) 200.2%



NON-GAAP RESULTS (excluding share-based compensation, amortization of
intangibles, impairment of goodwill and intangibles, amortization of
acquisition-related inventory step-up, manufacturing start-up costs, gain
on retirement of convertible subordinated notes, restructuring and
integration charges, and tax adjustment)

(in millions,
except
percentages
and per % Change Q4 % Change
share data) Q4 Fiscal Q3 Fiscal vs. Q3 Fiscal vs. Q4
2009 2009 2009 2008 2008

Gross Margin 19.8% 22.6% (2.8)ppt 30.6% (10.8)ppt
Operating Loss $(21.4) $(8.3) 156.2% $(13.4) 59.7%
Net (Loss)Income $(25.4) $(12.9) 97.3% $2.2 (1,254.2)%
Diluted (LPS )EPS $(0.10) $(0.05) 97.1% $0.01 (1,318.3)%


Business Outlook



RFMD believes excess customer inventories were reduced in the March quarter, and demand activity has stabilized. RFMD is currently booked for sequential growth in the June quarter and expects to outpace the rate of growth of its primary markets during the same period.

— RFMD currently expects significant gross margin expansion in the June
quarter, with factory utilization rates approaching normalized levels
— RFMD currently expects approximately breakeven operating profitability
on a non-GAAP basis in the June quarter
— RFMD currently expects its cash, cash equivalents and short-term
investments will increase during the June quarter

— RFMD continues to anticipate $80-$120 million in free cash flow (net
cash provided by operating activities minus property and equipment
expenditures) during fiscal 2010



RFMD’s actual quarterly and annual results may differ from these expectations and projections, and such differences may be material.

Comments From Management

Bob Bruggeworth, president and CEO of RFMD, said, “Despite the challenging macroeconomic environment, the RFMD team executed extremely well on a number of important Company goals. We took decisive steps to reduce manufacturing costs and operating expenses, and we lowered our requirements for future capital expenditures significantly.

“In the June quarter, we currently expect sequential revenue growth and significant gross margin expansion, resulting in approximately breakeven operating performance on a non-GAAP basis. Beyond the June quarter, we anticipate continued gross margin improvement, and we reiterate our gross margin target of 40%.”

Dean Priddy, CFO and corporate vice president of administration of RFMD, said, “During the March quarter, RFMD continued to structure manufacturing costs and operating expenses in a manner that we believe will allow us to achieve our target operating model at reduced revenue levels while still investing in our growth. We idled our four-inch GaAs facility, which was less efficient and more costly than our six-inch facilities, and we reduced costs at our six-inch GaAs facility in the UK. We also announced plans to consolidate our Shanghai operations with our Beijing facility, and we expect this will reduce costs further beginning in the December quarter. We currently expect these steps and the benefit of the sharp increase in factory utilization will enable us to expand our gross margin significantly in the June 2009 quarter and in fiscal 2010.

“In addition, RFMD has reduced non-GAAP operating expenses by more than 30% year-over-year, and we are making progress converging on our expense model of 25% of sales. In total, RFMD has reduced annualized manufacturing costs and operating expenses by more than $130 million in the past four quarters. We are structured today to deliver superior financial leverage and significantly improved return on invested capital.”

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to disclosing financial results calculated in accordance with United States (U.S.) generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), RFMD’s earnings release contains the following non-GAAP financial measures: (i) non-GAAP gross margin, (ii) non-GAAP operating (loss) income, (iii) non-GAAP net (loss) income, (iv) non-GAAP net (loss) income per diluted share, (v) free cash flow, and (vi) net debt. Each of these non-GAAP financial measures is either adjusted from GAAP results to exclude certain expenses or derived from multiple GAAP measures, which are outlined in the “Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures” table on page 9 and the “Additional Selected Non-GAAP Financial Measures And Reconciliations” table on page 10.

In managing RFMD’s business on a consolidated basis, management develops an annual operating plan, which is approved by our Board of Directors, using non-GAAP financial measures. In developing and monitoring performance against this plan, management considers the actual or potential impacts on these non-GAAP financial measures from actions taken to reduce unit costs with the goal of increasing gross margin. In addition, management relies upon these non-GAAP financial measures to assess whether research and development efforts are at an appropriate level, and when making decisions about product spending, administrative budgets, and marketing programs. In addition, we believe that non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information to investors and enable investors to analyze the results of operations in the same way as management. We have chosen to provide this supplemental information to enable investors to perform additional comparisons of operating results, to assess our liquidity and capital position and to analyze financial performance excluding the effect of certain non-cash expenses, unusual items and share-based compensation expense, which may obscure trends in RFMD’s underlying performance.

We believe that these non-GAAP financial measures offer an additional view of RFMD’s operations that, when coupled with the GAAP results and the reconciliations to corresponding GAAP financial measures, provide a more complete understanding of RFMD’s results of operations and the factors and trends affecting RFMD’s business. However, these non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as a supplement to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to, the corresponding measures calculated in accordance with GAAP.

Our rationale for using these non-GAAP financial measures, as well as their impact on the presentation of RFMD’s operations, are outlined below:

Non-GAAP gross margin. Non-GAAP gross margin excludes share-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets, an adjustment for adverse macroeconomic conditions, adjustments for restructuring and integration charges and an adjustment for amortization of acquisition-related inventory step-up. We believe that exclusion of these costs in presenting non-GAAP gross margin gives management and investors a more effective means of evaluating RFMD’s historical performance and projected costs and the potential for realizing cost efficiencies. We believe that the majority of RFMD’s purchased intangibles are not relevant to analyzing current operations because they generally represent costs incurred by the acquired company to build value prior to acquisition, and thus are effectively part of transaction costs rather than ongoing costs of operating RFMD’s business. In this regard, we note that (i) once the intangibles are fully amortized, the intangibles will not be replaced with cash costs and therefore, the exclusion of these costs provides management and investors with better visibility into the actual costs required to generate revenues over time, and (ii) although we set the amortization expense based on useful life of the various assets at the time of the transaction, we cannot influence the timing and amount of the future amortization expense recognition once the lives are established. Similarly, we believe that presentation of non-GAAP gross margin and other non-GAAP financial measures that exclude the impact of share-based compensation expense assists management and investors in evaluating the period-over-period performance of RFMD’s ongoing operations because (i) the expenses are non-cash in nature, and (ii) although the size of the grants is within our control, the amount of expense varies depending on factors such as short-term fluctuations in stock price volatility and prevailing interest rates, which can be unrelated to the operational performance of RFMD during the period in which the expense is incurred and generally is outside the control of management. Moreover, we believe that the exclusion of share-based compensation expense in presenting non-GAAP gross margin and other non-GAAP financial measures is useful to investors to understand the impact of the expensing of share-based compensation to RFMD’s gross margins and other financial measures in comparison to both prior periods as well as to its competitors. We also believe that the adjustments to margin related to business acquisitions (amortization of acquisition-related inventory step-up), restructuring and integration charges and adverse macroeconomic conditions do not constitute part of RFMD’s ongoing operations and therefore the exclusion of these costs provides management and investors with better visibility into the actual costs required to generate revenues over time and gives management and investors a more effective means of evaluating our historical and projected performance.

We believe disclosure of non-GAAP gross margin has economic substance because the excluded expenses do not represent continuing cash expenditures and, as described above, we have little control over the timing and amount of the expenses in question.

Non-GAAP operating (loss) income. Non-GAAP operating (loss) income excludes share-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets, restructuring and integration charges, impairment of goodwill and intangibles, amortization of acquisition-related inventory step-up and manufacturing start-up costs. We believe that presentation of a measure of operating income that excludes amortization of intangible assets and share-based compensation expense is useful to both management and investors for the same reasons as described above with respect to our use of non-GAAP gross margin. We believe that restructuring charges, impairment of goodwill and intangibles, manufacturing start-up costs and amortization of acquisition-related inventory step-up do not constitute part of RFMD’s ongoing operations and therefore, the exclusion of these costs provides management and investors with better visibility into the actual costs required to generate revenues over time and gives management and investors a more effective means of evaluating our historical and projected performance. We believe disclosure of non-GAAP operating income has economic substance because the excluded expenses are either non-recurring in nature or do not represent current cash expenditures.

Non-GAAP net (loss) income and non-GAAP net (loss) income per diluted share. Non-GAAP net (loss) income and non-GAAP net (loss) income per diluted share exclude the effects of share-based compensation expense, amortization of intangible assets, restructuring and integration charges, impairment of goodwill and intangibles, manufacturing start-up costs, amortization of acquisition-related inventory step-up and gain on retirement of convertible subordinated notes and also reflect an adjustment of income taxes. We believe that presentation of measures of net (loss) income and net (loss) income per diluted share that exclude these items is useful to both management and investors for the reasons described above with respect to non-GAAP gross margin and non-GAAP operating (loss) income. We believe disclosure of non-GAAP net (loss) income and non-GAAP net (loss) income per diluted share has economic substance because the excluded expenses are either non-recurring in nature, do not represent current cash expenditures, or are variable in nature and thus unlikely to become recurring expenses.

Free cash flow. RFMD defines free cash flow as net cash provided by operating activities during the period minus property and equipment expenditures made during the period. We use free cash flow as a supplemental financial measure in our evaluation of liquidity and financial strength. Management believes that this measure is useful as an indicator of our ability to service our debt, meet other payment obligations and make strategic investments. Free cash flow should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, net income as a measure of our performance and net cash provided by operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. Additionally, our definition of free cash flow is limited, in that it does not represent residual cash flows available for discretionary expenditures due to the fact that the measure does not deduct the payments required for debt service and other contractual obligations. Therefore, we believe it is important to view free cash flow as a measure that provides supplemental information to our entire statement of cash flows.

Net debt. RFMD defines net debt as total convertible debt at par less cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Management believes that this measure provides useful information regarding the level of RFMD’s indebtedness by reflecting cash and investments that could be used to repay debt at or prior to maturity.

Limitations of non-GAAP financial measures. The primary material limitations associated with the use of non-GAAP gross margin, non-GAAP operating (loss) income, non-GAAP net (loss) income, non-GAAP net (loss) income per diluted share, free cash flow and net debt as compared to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures of gross margin, operating (loss) income, net (loss) income, net (loss) income per diluted share, net cash provided by operating activities and total long-term debt are (i) they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies in RFMD’s industry, and (ii) they exclude financial information that some may consider important in evaluating our performance. We compensate for these limitations by providing full disclosure of the differences between these non-GAAP financial measures and the corresponding GAAP financial measures, including a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures to the corresponding GAAP financial measures, to enable investors to perform their own analysis of our gross margin, operating (loss) income, net (loss) income, net (loss) income per diluted share, net cash provided by operating activities and total long-term debt.