Actions Semiconductor Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2015 Results

ZHUHAI, China, March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACTS) ("Actions Semiconductor" or "the Company"), one of China's leading fabless semiconductor companies that provides comprehensive portable multimedia and mobile internet system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for portable consumer electronics, today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2015.

Commenting on the fourth quarter results, Dr. Zhenyu Zhou, CEO of Actions Semiconductor said, "Revenue in the fourth quarter came in at the high end of expectations, primarily due to strong shipments of our latest solutions for Bluetooth-enabled devices and HD video boomboxes.  In our application processor business, sluggish global demand for consumer electronics adversely impacted shipments of our tablet and OTT set-top box solutions.  Smart product SoCs, including our open source SoCs and reference design platforms, still account for a small portion of our shipments but are contributing favorably to gross margin.

"Reflecting on our performance in 2015, we entered the year with a strategy to increase revenue, improve gross margin and reduce expenses.   Although market conditions and competition in the tablet and OTT set-top box markets prohibited us from achieving revenue growth in 2015, we were successful in establishing a meaningful position in the Bluetooth audio and music market and introducing a number of new products targeting profitable and growing end markets.  We also achieved a solid improvement in gross margin and reduced R&D expenses without sacrificing our ability to compete effectively. 

"This year has gotten off to a turbulent start, with the weakening global economy and slower growth in China contributing to what is expected to be the largest slump in the technology sector since the global recession.  However, we still see opportunities for growth, particularly in the Bluetooth and OTT set-top box markets, and we will strive to increase revenue in the year ahead.  We also expect R&D expenditures in 2016 to be below 2015 levels," Dr. Zhou concluded.

Fourth Quarter 2015 Results

All financial results are reported on a U.S. GAAP basis.

Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $11.9 million, as compared to revenue of $13.0 million for the third quarter of 2015, and $13.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2014. 

Actions Semiconductor reported gross profit in the fourth quarter of $1.3 million, as compared with $3.5 million in the third quarter of 2015 and a gross loss of $2.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.  Gross margin was 11.1% for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to gross margin of 26.6% for the third quarter of 2015, and negative 19.2% for the fourth quarter of 2014.  The quarter-over-quarter decrease in gross margin was primarily the result of a write-down of certain slower moving inventory which reduced gross margin by about 9%.   In the year ago period the Company recorded a significant inventory write-down that reduced gross margin by nearly 30%. 

Operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2015 were $9.1 million, as compared to $16.4 million in the third quarter of 2015 and $10.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Research and development expenses were $6.4 million for the fourth quarter, as compared to $8.3 million in the third quarter of 2015 and $7.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. The quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year decreases were mainly due to higher mask expenses in each of the comparable periods.

General and administrative expenses were $2.3 million in the fourth quarter, as compared to $3.1 million in the third quarter of 2015 and $2.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.  The Company recorded $0.6 million in expenses related to its Dutch auction tender offer in the third quarter of 2015.

Selling and marketing expenses were $0.5 million for the fourth quarter, as compared to $0.5 million in the third quarter of 2015 and $0.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Impairment of intangible assets was nil for the fourth quarter, as compared to $4.5 million in the third quarter of 2015 and $0.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $6.5 million, as compared to the operating loss of $12.0 million in the third quarter of 2015 and the operating loss of $13.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Other expense for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $1.3 million, due to an unrealized, non-cash foreign exchange loss associated with the depreciation of the Chinese RMB against the U.S. dollar, compared to other expense of $1.8 million in the third quarter of 2015 and other expense of $1.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2014. 

Interest income for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $1.1 million, down from $1.3 million in the third quarter of 2015 and down from $1.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.  The year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter decreases were due to lower cash and interest bearing securities following Dutch auction tender offers in September 2015 and 2014.

Income tax credit was $0.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared to income tax expense of $0.1 million in the third quarter of 2015 and an income tax credit of $0.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $7.2 million or $0.162 per basic and diluted American Depositary Share ("ADS").  This compares to net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders of $12.6 million or $0.217 per basic and diluted ADS, for the third quarter of 2015, and net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders of $12.2 million or $0.206 per basic and diluted ADS, for the fourth quarter of 2014. 

Full Year 2015 Results

Revenue for 2015 was $49.1 million, as compared to revenue of $50.3 million for 2014. 

Gross profit for 2015 was $10.8 million, as compared with $4.1 million in 2014.  Gross margin was 21.9% for 2015, compared to gross margin of 8.1% for 2014.  The year-over-year increase in gross margin was primarily the result of significant write-downs of inventory in 2014 that reduced gross margin by approximately 12%. 

Operating expenses in 2015 were $45.1 million, as compared to $44.4 million in 2014.

Research and development expenses were $28.8 million for 2015, as compared to $31.1 million in 2014. The year-over-year decrease was mainly due to higher mask expenses in 2014. The Company expects full year R&D expenses in 2016 to be below 2015 levels. 

General and administrative expenses were $9.6 million in 2015, as compared to $10.3 million in 2014.  The Company recorded expenses related to its Dutch auction tender offer in the third quarters of 2015 and 2014 of $0.6 million and $0.5 million, respectively.

Selling and marketing expenses were $2.2 million for 2015, as compared to $2.2 million in 2014.

Impairment of intangible assets for 2015 was $4.5 million, as compared to $0.8 million for 2014.  In the third quarter of 2015, the Company recorded an impairment of certain intangible assets based on management's best estimates of the market conditions for tablets and OTT set-top boxes over the remaining useful life of these assets. 

Operating loss for 2015 was $30.5 million, as compared to the operating loss of $39.5 million in 2014.

Other expense for 2015 was $3.0 million, as compared to other expense of $2.7 million in 2014. 

Interest income for 2015 was $5.7 million, down from $9.6 million in 2014.  The year-over-year decrease was due to lower cash and interest bearing securities following Dutch auction tender offers in September 2015 and 2014.

Income tax credit was $0.2 million for 2015, compared to income tax credit of $1.8 million in 2014.

Net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders for 2015 was $28.4 million or $0.518 per basic and diluted ADS.  This compares to net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders of $30.4 million, or $0.461 per basic and diluted ADS, for 2014. 

Financial Condition

The Company ended the fourth quarter of 2015 with $142.5 million in cash and cash equivalents, together with time deposits, trading securities, marketable securities and restricted deposits.  Total current assets were approximately $140.8 million, and the Company had working capital of approximately $48.2 million and $81.0 million in short-term bank loans, and total shareholder's equity was $155.7 million as of December 31, 2015. 

Since the share repurchase program commenced in 2007, the Company has invested approximately $113.4 million in repurchasing its ADSs and ordinary shares, including $57.2 million representing the equivalent of 24.0 million ADSs repurchased through Dutch auction tender offers in September 2015 and 2014.  As of December 31, 2015, the equivalent of approximately 49.0 million ADSs were repurchased. As of December 31, 2015, total number of outstanding ordinary shares (including ordinary shares represented by ADSs) was 265,824,928.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based upon management's current expectations. These statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements.

Based on current market trends, the Company expects revenue in the first quarter of 2016 to be in the range of $11.5 to $12.0 million.  Traditionally the first quarter of the year is the seasonally slowest quarter due to the Chinese New Year holiday, which causes a slowdown in production by consumer electronics manufacturers in China for approximately three to four weeks.  However, in the first quarter of 2016 the Company expects revenue to be above year ago levels as a result of strong demand for its latest solutions for Bluetooth-enabled devices and a slight increase in shipments of its application processor SoCs. For the full year, the Company expects challenging conditions in the worldwide semiconductor industry to limit its ability to increase revenue.

Conference Call Details

Actions Semiconductor's management will conduct an earnings conference call offering prepared remarks on the fourth quarter and full year 2015, new products, business outlook and other matters. Although the management will not be conducting a question and answer session during the call, the Company continues to welcome written questions and comments from its shareholders.

The teleconference and webcast is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, on Thursday, March 31, 2016. To participate in the live call, analysts and investors should dial 1-866-598-9332 (within U.S.) or 1-480-293-0664 (outside U.S.) at least ten minutes prior to the call.  The conference ID number is 2066341. Actions Semiconductor will also offer a webcast of the conference call, accessible from the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website at www.actions-semi.com.  An audio replay of the call will be available to investors through April 10, 2016 by dialing 1-888-203-1112 (within U.S.) or 1-719-457-0820 (outside U.S.) and entering access code 2066341.

About Actions Semiconductor

Actions Semiconductor is one of China's leading fabless semiconductor companies that provides comprehensive portable multimedia and mobile internet system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for portable consumer electronics. Actions Semiconductor products include SoCs, firmware, software, solution development kits, as well as detailed specifications of other required components. Actions Semiconductor also provides total product and technology solutions that allow customers to quickly introduce new portable consumer electronics to the mass market in a cost effective way. The Company is headquartered in Zhuhai, China, with offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Taipei. For more information, please visit the Actions Semiconductor website at http://www.actions-semi.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include statements concerning the outlook for the worldwide semiconductor market, the future prospects for the Company's Bluetooth single chip 4.2 solutions, ability to be successful in the OTT set-top box market, customer acceptance of the Actions Semiconductor's new products and corresponding increases in market share, Actions Semiconductor's belief that it is positioned to capture some upside from its new products and Actions Semiconductor's future expectations with respect to revenue.  Actions Semiconductor uses words like "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These forward-looking statements are estimates reflecting current assumptions, expectations and projections about future events and involve significant risks, both known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Actions Semiconductor's actual performance, financial condition or results of operations to be materially different from those suggested by the forward-looking statements including, among others, customers' cancellation or modification of their orders; our failure to accurately forecast demand for our products; the loss of, or a significant reduction in orders from, any of our significant customers; fluctuations in our operating results; our inability to develop and sell new products; defects in or failures of our products; the expense and uncertainty involved in our customer design-win efforts; the financial viability of the distributors of our products; consumer demand; worldwide economic and political conditions; fluctuations in our costs to manufacture our products; our reliance on third parties to manufacture, test, assemble and ship our products; our ability to retain and attract key personnel; our ability to compete with our competitors; and our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and not infringe the intellectual property rights of others. Other factors that may cause our actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release and that may affect our prospects in general are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recently filed Forms F-1, 20-F and 6-Ks. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on Actions Semiconductor's future results, performance or achievements. In light of these risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, Actions Semiconductor undertakes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or changed assumptions or circumstances.

Investor Contacts:
Elaine Ketchmere, CFA                                      Ally Xie, CA, CPA
Compass Investor Relations                                Actions Semiconductor
[email protected]                             [email protected]
+1-310-528-3031                                                +86-756-3392353*1018

SOURCE Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd.

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