Stocks and Investing Stocks and Investing
Tue, April 24, 2012

STATS ChipPAC Reports First Quarter 2012 Results


Published on 2012-04-24 03:02:33 - Market Wire
  Print publication without navigation


April 24, 2012 05:30 ET

STATS ChipPAC Reports First Quarter 2012 Results

SINGAPORE--24/4/2012, UNITED STATES--(Marketwire - Apr 24, 2012) - STATS ChipPAC Ltd. ("STATS ChipPAC" or the "Company") (SGX-ST: STATSChP), a leading semiconductor test and advanced packaging service provider, today announced results for the first quarter 2012.

Tan Lay Koon, President and Chief Executive Officer of STATS ChipPAC, said, "Revenue for the first quarter of 2012 decreased by 4.7% to $390.2 million over the first quarter of 2011 and decreased by 8.6% from the prior quarter. The first quarter revenue reflected seasonally weaker demand and tight inventory control as customers remained cautious."

First quarter of 2012 gross margin was 16.1% compared to 16.9% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 16.8% in the first quarter of 2011. Operating margin before flood related plan charges for the first quarter of 2012 was 6.7% of revenue compared to 6.6% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 5.7% in the first quarter of 2011.

Net income for the first quarter of 2012 was $2.8 million, or $0.00 of net income per diluted ordinary share compared to net income of $6.3 million or $0.00 of net income per diluted ordinary share in the first quarter of 2011 and net loss of $46.0 million or $0.02 of net loss per diluted ordinary share in the fourth quarter of 2011. The net income in the first quarter of 2012 and the net loss in the fourth quarter of 2011 included interest expense of $11.2 million in each quarter from our offering of $600.0 million Senior Notes due 2015 to fund our capital reduction in 2010. The net income for the first quarter of 2012 included flood related plan charges of $4.6 million arising from the announced plan for our Thailand plant operations. The net loss for the fourth quarter of 2011 included flood related charges totalling $55.5 million comprising goodwill impairment ($24.5 million), plant and equipment impairment ($16.3 million), and other related charges ($14.7 million).

The Company has submitted the property damage and business interruption insurance claim in respect of the flooding of its Thailand plant in March 2012. The insurance claim is in progress and, as of the first quarter of 2012, the Company is unable to determine the amount of damages and losses that will be recovered through the insurance claim.

John Lau, Chief Financial Officer of STATS ChipPAC, said, "Gross profit for the first quarter of 2012 was $62.7 million or 16.1% of revenue, compared to $68.8 million or 16.8% in the first quarter of 2011. Our adjusted EBITDA1 in the first quarter of 2012 was 23.0% of revenue, compared to 24.8% in the first quarter of 2011. Capital spending in the first quarter of 2011 was $98.3 million or 25.2% of revenue, respectively, compared to $86.5 million or 21.1% of revenue in the first quarter of 2011 as we further accelerate investments in advanced packaging and turnkey test based on the strength of future demand from our customers. We ended the first quarter of 2012 with cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $208.1 million and debt of $811.0 million compared to $238.1 million and $810.3 million as of the end of fourth quarter of 2011, respectively."

Outlook
Tan Lay Koon commented, "Based on current visibility, we expect net revenues in the second quarter of 2012 to be approximately 6% to 12% increase from the prior quarter, with adjusted EBITDA1 in the range of 22% to 25% of revenue. We expect capital expenditure2 in the second quarter of 2012 to be approximately $90 million to $100 million."

The outlook is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those disclosed in the outlook statements. These statements are based on our management's beliefs and assumptions, which involve judgments about future trends, events and conditions, all of which are subject to change and many of which are beyond our control. Please refer to our Financial Statements for the three months ended 25 March 2012 filed with the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited ("SGX-ST") for the major assumptions made in preparing our outlook for the second quarter of 2012. Investors should consider these assumptions and make their own assessment of the future performance of STATS ChipPAC and note that there may not be a direct correlation between the net income of the Company with adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of revenue.

Investor Conference Call / Live Audio Webcast Details
A conference call has been scheduled for 8:00 a.m. in Singapore on Wednesday, 25 April 2012. During the call, time will be set-aside for analysts and investors to ask questions of executive officers.

The call may be accessed by dialing +65-6723-9381. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available on STATS ChipPAC's website at [ www.statschippac.com ]. A replay of the call will be available 2 hours after the live call through 10 May 2012 at [ www.statschippac.com ] and by telephone at 800-616-3021. The conference ID number to access the conference call and replay is 70785947.

Forward-looking Statements

Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements, including our outlook for the second quarter of 2012, that involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those described in this release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the timing and impact of the expected closure of the Thailand Plant as well as the estimated associated cost for the closure; the amount of the property damage and business interruption insurance claim due to flooding of the Thailand Plant; the ability to shift production to other manufacturing locations, shortages in supply of key components and disruption in supply chain; general business and economic conditions and the state of the semiconductor industry; prevailing market conditions; demand for end-use applications products such as communications equipment, consumer and multi-applications and personal computers; decisions by customers to discontinue outsourcing of test and packaging services; level of competition; our reliance on a small group of principal customers; our continued success in technological innovations; pricing pressures, including declines in average selling prices; intellectual property rights disputes and litigation; our ability to control operating expenses; our substantial level of indebtedness and access to credit markets; potential impairment charges; availability of financing; changes in our product mix; our capacity utilisation; delays in acquiring or installing new equipment; limitations imposed by our financing arrangements which may limit our ability to maintain and grow our business; returns from research and development investments; changes in customer order patterns; customer credit risks; disruption of our operations; loss of key management or other personnel; defects or malfunctions in our testing equipment or packages; rescheduling or cancelling of customer orders; adverse tax and other financial consequences if the taxing authorities do not agree with our interpretation of the applicable tax laws; classification of our Company as a passive foreign investment company; our ability to develop and protect our intellectual property; changes in environmental laws and regulations; exchange rate fluctuations; regulatory approvals for further investments in our subsidiaries; majority ownership by Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited ("Temasek") that may result in conflicting interests with Temasek and our affiliates; unsuccessful acquisitions and investments in other companies and businesses; labour union problems in South Korea; uncertainties of conducting business in China and changes in laws, currency policy and political instability in other countries in Asia; natural calamities and disasters, including outbreaks of epidemics and communicable diseases; the continued trading and listing of our ordinary shares on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited ("SGX-ST"). You should not unduly rely on such statements. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

Basis of Preparation of Results

The financial statements included in this release have been prepared in accordance with the Singapore Financial Reporting Standards ("FRS").

Our 52-53 week fiscal year ends on the Sunday nearest and prior to 31 December. Our fiscal quarters end on a Sunday and are generally thirteen weeks in length. Our first quarter of 2012 ended on 25 March 2012, while our first quarter of 2011 and fiscal year 2011 ended on 27 March 2011 and 25 December 2011, respectively. References to "$" are to the lawful currency of the United States of America.

Overall equipment utilisation for the first quarter 2012 and fourth quarter 2011 is adjusted for the suspension of the Thailand Plant capacity.

About STATS ChipPAC Ltd.

STATS ChipPAC Ltd. is a leading service provider of semiconductor packaging design, assembly, test and distribution solutions in diverse end market applications including communications, digital consumer and computing. With global headquarters in Singapore, STATS ChipPAC has design, research and development, manufacturing or customer support offices in 10 different countries. STATS ChipPAC is listed on the SGX-ST. Further information is available at [ www.statschippac.com ]. Information contained in this website does not constitute a part of this release.

1 Adjusted EBITDA is not required by, or presented in accordance with, Singapore Financial Reporting Standards ("FRS"). We define adjusted EBITDA as net income attributable to STATS ChipPAC Ltd. plus income tax expense, interest expense, net, depreciation and amortisation, restructuring charges, share-based compensation, goodwill and equipment impairment, tender offer expenses and write-off of debt issuance cost. We present adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our performance. Management believes the non-FRS financial measure is useful to investors in enabling them to perform additional analysis.

2 Capital expenditure refers to acquisitions of production equipment and asset upgrades.

STATS ChipPAC Ltd.
Consolidated Income Statement
(Unaudited)
Three Months Ended
25 March27 March
2012
$'000
2011
$'000
Net revenues390,185409,380
Cost of revenues(327,515)(340,622)
Gross profit62,67068,758
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative24,82125,552
Research and development11,74112,304
Write-off of debt issuance costs-7,593
Total operating expenses36,56245,449
Operating income before flood related plan charges26,10823,309
Flood related plan charges *4,596-
Operating income after flood related plan charges21,51223,309
Other income (expenses), net:
Interest income441389
Interest expense(14,710)(15,065)
Foreign currency exchange gain (loss)218(569)
Share of profit (loss) of associate(458)90
Other non-operating income, net4884
Total other expenses, net(14,461)(15,071)
Income before income taxes7,0518,238
Income tax expense(2,452)(379)
Net income4,5997,859
Less: Net income attributable to the non-controlling interest(1,815)(1,587)
Net income attributable to STATS ChipPAC Ltd.2,7846,272
Net income per ordinary share attributable to STATS ChipPAC Ltd.:
Basic$0.00$0.00
Diluted$0.00$0.00
Ordinary shares (in thousands) used in per ordinary share calculation:
Basic2,202,2182,202,218
Diluted2,202,2262,202,234
Key Ratios and Information:
Gross Margin16.1%16.8%
Operating Expenses as a % of Revenue9.4%11.1%
Operating Margin before flood related plan charges6.7%5.7%
Depreciation & Amortisation, including Amortisation of Debt Issuance Costs70,87873,532
Capital Expenditures98,33586,544

* Flood related plan charges of $4.6 million primarily relate to depreciation on suspended production operations and labour and other expenses to support production shift from the Thailand plant to other manufacturing locations of STATS ChipPAC.

STATS ChipPAC Ltd.
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
(Unaudited)
25 March25 December
20122011
$'000$'000
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents162,014194,811
Financial assets, available-for-sale46,08643,249
Accounts receivable, net229,366223,082
Other receivables15,22213,879
Inventories93,40289,434
Prepaid expenses and other current assets32,63719,129
Total current assets578,727583,584
Non-current assets:
Property, plant and equipment, net1,154,2721,123,061
Investment in associate8,0478,407
Intangible assets37,19637,179
Goodwill405,587405,587
Long-term restricted cash481410
Prepaid expenses and other non-current assets4,4235,550
Total non-current assets1,610,0061,580,194
Total assets2,188,7332,163,778
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities:
Accounts and other payables140,543132,852
Payables related to property, plant and equipment purchases48,71419,864
Accrued operating expenses120,352150,342
Income taxes payable15,34313,344
Short-term borrowings20,00020,000
Short-term amounts due to related parties3528
Total current liabilities344,987336,430
Non-current liabilities:
Long-term borrowings790,950790,339
Deferred tax liabilities47,87749,509
Other non-current liabilities1,7171,805
Total non-current liabilities840,544841,653
Total liabilities1,185,5311,178,083
EQUITY
Share capital873,666873,666
Retained earnings85,19282,408
Other reserves(6,361)(17,981)
Equity attributable to equity holders of STATS ChipPAC Ltd.952,497938,093
Non-controlling interest50,70547,602
Total equity1,003,202985,695
Total liabilities and equity2,188,7332,163,778
STATS ChipPAC Ltd.
Other Supplemental Information
(Unaudited)
1Q 20124Q 20111Q 2011
Net Revenues by Product Line
Packaging - laminate56.9%59.7%54.9%
Packaging - leaded11.6%10.7%15.3%
Test21.0%19.4%19.7%
Wafer level processing and other services10.5%10.2%10.1%
100.0%100.0%100.0%
Net Revenues by End User Market
Communications63.5%67.1%52.4%
Personal Computers10.3%9.4%14.1%
Consumer, Multi-applications and Others26.2%23.5%33.5%
100.0%100.0%100.0%
Net Revenues by Region
United States of America69.5%68.6%64.8%
Asia20.7%18.8%26.5%
Europe9.8%12.6%8.7%
100.0%100.0%100.0%
Number of Testers967975914
Number of Wirebonders4,5984,7344,567
Overall Equipment Utilisation Rate71%76%79%

Contributing Sources