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Table of Contents

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

 


 

FORM 10-Q

 


 

(Mark One)

x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the quarterly period ended April 30, 2004

 

OR

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from              to             

 

Commission File Number 000-10761

 


 

LTX CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 


 

Massachusetts   04-2594045

(State or Other Jurisdiction of

Incorporation or Organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

LTX Park at University Avenue,

Westwood, Massachusetts

  02090
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code (781) 461-1000

 

 

Former Name, Former Address and Former Fiscal Year,

if Changed Since Last Report.

 


 

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 is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).    Yes  x    No  ¨

 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date.

 

Class


 

Outstanding at May 31, 2004


Common Stock, par value $0.05 per share   61,003,272

 



Table of Contents

LTX CORPORATION

 

Index

 

        Page Number

Part I.

  FINANCIAL INFORMATION    

Item 1.

  Consolidated Balance Sheets April 30, 2004 and July 31, 2003   1
    Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income Three Months and Nine Months Ended April 30, 2004 and April 30, 2003   2
    Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows Nine Months Ended April 30, 2004 and April 30, 2003   3
    Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements   4-9

Item 2.

  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations   10-19

Item 3.

  Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk   20

Item 4.

  Controls and Procedures   20

Part II.

  OTHER INFORMATION    

Item 6.

  Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K   20
    SIGNATURE   21


Table of Contents

LTX CORPORATION

 

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands)

 

     April 30, 2004

    July 31, 2003

 
     (Unaudited)        

ASSETS

                

Current assets:

                

Cash and cash equivalents

   $ 78,514     $ 73,167  

Marketable Securities

     150,518       63,416  

Accounts receivable, net of allowances

     35,365       12,033  

Accounts receivable – other

     9,391       5,192  

Inventories

     74,078       66,852  

Prepaid expense

     9,892       10,989  
    


 


Total current assets

     357,758       231,649  

Property and equipment, net

     72,031       73,443  

Goodwill and other intangible assets

     14,838       14,764  

Other assets

     4,525       5,040  
    


 


Total assets

   $ 449,152     $ 324,896  
    


 


LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

                

Current liabilities:

                

Notes payable

   $ —       $ 19,459  

Current portion of long-term debt

     522       1,262  

Accounts payable

     34,061       13,380  

Deferred revenues and customer advances

     2,743       4,738  

Deferred gain on leased equipment

     7,625       10,350  

Other accrued expenses

     30,289       26,555  
    


 


Total current liabilities

     75,240       75,744  

Long-term debt, less current portion

     150,000       150,064  

Stockholders’ equity:

                

Common stock

     3,169       2,721  

Additional paid-in capital

     565,047       433,489  

Unrealized gain on marketable securities

     509       751  

Accumulated deficit

     (333,033 )     (326,093 )

Less treasury stock, at cost

     (11,780 )     (11,780 )
    


 


Total stockholders’ equity

     223,912       99,088  
    


 


Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity

   $ 449,152     $ 324,896  
    


 


 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

1


Table of Contents

LTX CORPORATION

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(Unaudited)

(In thousands, except per share data)

 

    

Three Months Ended

April 30,


   

Nine Months Ended

April 30,


 
     2004

    2003

    2004

    2003

 

Net product sales

   $ 60,465     $ 21,743     $ 146,864     $ 61,710  

Net service sales

     9,868       7,034       28,503       24,085  
    


 


 


 


Net sales

     70,333       28,777       175,367       85,795  

Cost of sales

     41,105       23,481       108,955       70,547  
    


 


 


 


Gross profit

     29,228       5,296       66,412       15,248  

Engineering and product development expenses

     17,143       15,393       50,209       50,413  

Selling, general and administrative expenses

     6,999       7,186       20,222       21,081  

Reorganization costs

     —         —         —         5,593  
    


 


 


 


Income (Loss) from operations

     5,086       (17,283 )     (4,019 )     (61,839 )

Other income (expense):

                                

Interest expense

     (1,581 )     (1,654 )     (5,009 )     (4,968 )

Investment income

     801       961       2,093       3,270  
    


 


 


 


Net income (loss)

   $ 4,306     $ (17,976 )   $ (6,935 )   $ (63,537 )
    


 


 


 


Net income (loss) per share:

                                

Basic

   $ 0.07     $ (0.36 )   $ (0.13 )   $ (1.29 )

Diluted

   $ 0.07     $ (0.36 )   $ (0.13 )   $ (1.29 )

Weighted-average common shares used in computing net income (loss) per share:

                                

Basic

     58,826       49,429       54,199       49,294  

Diluted

     61,622       49,429       54,199       49,294  

Comprehensive income (loss):

                                

Net income (loss)

   $ 4,306     $ (17,976 )   $ (6,935 )   $ (63,537 )

Unrealized gain (loss) on marketable securities

     (70 )     39       (242 )     311  
    


 


 


 


Comprehensive income (loss)

   $ 4,236     $ (17,937 )   $ (7,177 )   $ (63,226 )
    


 


 


 


 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

2


Table of Contents

LTX CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

(In thousands)

 

    

Nine Months Ended

April 30,


 
     2004

    2003

 

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

                

Net income (loss)

   $ (6,935 )   $ (63,537 )

Add (deduct) non-cash items:

                

Depreciation and amortization

     14,338       12,511  

Translation (gain) loss

     (207 )     233  

(Increase) decrease in:

                

Accounts receivable

     (31,063 )     3,670  

Inventories

     (816 )     (26,636 )

Prepaid expenses

     1,172       20,416  

Other assets

     1,089       1,100  

Increase (decrease) in:

                

Accounts payable

     16,706       (8,875 )

Accrued expenses

     3,941       (3,533 )

Deferred revenues and customer advances

     (4,146 )     (3,210 )
    


 


Net cash used in operating activities

     (5,921 )     (67,861 )

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:

                

Purchases of marketable securities

     (173,749 )     (62,079 )

Proceeds from sale of marketable securities

     86,647       59,263  

Purchases of property and equipment

     (12,562 )     (15,659 )
    


 


Net cash used in investing activities

     (99,664 )     (18,475 )

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

                

Exercise of stock options

     3,201       231  

Employees’ stock purchase plan

     1,060       675  

Proceeds from equity offering, net

     126,598       —    

(Payments) advances of short-term notes payable, net

     (19,459 )     4,998  

Proceeds from lease financing

     —         9,185  

Purchase of treasury stock

     —         (19 )

Payments of long-term debt

     (823 )     (1,520 )
    


 


Net cash provided by financing activities

     110,577       13,550  

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash

     355       (204 )
    


 


Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents

     5,347       (72,990 )

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period

     73,167       144,467  
    


 


Cash and cash equivalents at end of period

   $ 78,514     $ 71,477  
    


 


SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURES OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:

                

Cash paid during the period for interest

   $ 3,663     $ 6,562  

 

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

 

3


Table of Contents

LTX CORPORATION

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

 

1. THE COMPANY

 

LTX Corporation (“LTX” or the “Company”) designs, manufactures, and markets automatic semiconductor test equipment. Semiconductor designers and manufacturers worldwide use semiconductor test equipment to test devices at different stages during the manufacturing process. These devices are incorporated in a wide range of products, including mobile internet equipment such as wireless access points and interfaces, broadband access products such as cable modems and DSL modems, personal communication products such as cell phones and personal digital assistants, consumer products such as televisions, videogame systems, digital cameras and automobile electronics, and for power management in portable and automotive electronics. The Company also sells hardware and software support and maintenance services for its test systems. The Company is headquartered, and has development and manufacturing facilities, in Westwood, Massachusetts, a development facility in San Jose, California, and worldwide sales and service facilities to support its customer base.

 

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

 

Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the instructions to Form 10-Q and, accordingly, these footnotes condense or omit information and disclosures which substantially duplicate information provided in our latest audited financial statements. These financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2003. In the opinion of our management, these financial statements reflect all adjustments, including normal recurring accruals, necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods presented. The operating results for the three and nine months ended April 30, 2004 are not necessarily indicative of future trends or our results of operations for the entire year.

 

Revenue Recognition

 

The Company derives revenues from three sources – equipment sales, spare parts and service contracts. The Company recognizes revenue based on guidance provided in SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101 (SAB 101), “Revenue Recognition in Financial Statements” and SAB 104 “Revenue Recognition”. In December 2003, the SEC issued SAB 104, “Revenue Recognition”, which codifies, revises and rescinds certain sections of SAB 101. The Company recognizes revenue when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, the seller’s price is fixed or determinable and collectibility is reasonably assured.

 

Revenue related to equipment sales is recognized when: (a) we have a written sales agreement; (b) delivery has occurred or services rendered; (c) the price is fixed or determinable; (d) collectibility is reasonably assured; (e) the product delivered is standard product with historically demonstrated acceptance; and (f) there is no unique customer acceptance provision or payment tied to acceptance or an undelivered element significant to the functionality of the system. Generally, payment terms are net 30 days from shipment. Certain sales include payment terms tied to customer acceptance. If a portion of the payment is linked to product acceptance, which is 20% or less, the revenue is deferred on only the percentage holdback until payment is received or written evidence of acceptance is delivered to the Company. If the portion of the holdback is greater than 20%, the full value of the equipment is deferred until payment is received or written evidence of acceptance is delivered to the Company. When sales to a customer involve multiple elements, revenue is recognized on the delivered element provided that (1) the undelivered element is a standard product, (2) there is a history of acceptance on the product with the customer, and (3) the undelivered element is not essential to the customer’s application.

 

Revenue related to spare parts is recognized on shipment. Revenue related to maintenance and service contracts is recognized ratably over the duration of the contracts.

 

Engineering and Product Development Costs

 

The Company expenses all engineering, research and development costs as incurred. Expenses subject to capitalization in accordance with the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 86, “Accounting for the Costs of Computer Software To Be Sold, Leased or Otherwise Marketed”, relating to certain software development costs, were insignificant.

 

Income Taxes

 

In accordance with SFAS No. 109, “Accounting for Income Taxes”, the Company recognizes deferred income taxes based on the expected future tax consequences of differences between the financial statement bases and the tax bases of assets and liabilities, calculated using enacted tax rates for the year in which the differences are expected to be reflected in the tax return. Research and development tax credits are recognized for financial reporting purposes to the extent that they can be used to reduce the tax provision.

 

The Company recorded no tax provisions for the three and nine months ended April 30, 2004 due to the expected utilization of net operating loss carryforwards to offset taxable income.

 

4


Table of Contents

Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation

 

LTX has several stock-based compensation plans. The Company, as permitted by SFAS No. 123, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation”, has elected to continue to apply the provisions of Accounting Principles Board (APB) Opinion No. 25, “Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees”, and related interpretations in accounting for its employee stock option and stock purchase plans. No stock-based employee compensation is reflected in net income, as all options granted under those plans had an exercise price equal to the market value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant. In December 2002, FASB issued SFAS No. 148, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation Transition and Disclosure”. This Statement amends SFAS No. 123, to provide alternative methods of transition for an entity that voluntarily changes to the fair value based method of accounting for stock-based employee compensation. It also amends the disclosure provisions of that Statement to require prominent disclosure about the effects on reported net income of an entity’s accounting policy decisions with respect to stock-based employee compensation. Finally, this Statement amends APB Opinion No. 28, “Interim Financial Reporting”, to require disclosure about those effects in interim financial information. Since LTX continues to account for stock-based compensation according to APB 25, the adoption of SFAS No. 148 required the Company to provide prominent disclosures about the effects of SFAS No. 123 on reported income and required the Company to disclose these affects in the financial statements as well.

 

The following table illustrates the effect on net income and earnings per share as if the Company had applied the fair value recognition provisions of SFAS No. 123, “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation”, to stock-based employee compensation:

 

     Three months ended
April 30,


   

Nine months ended

April 30,


 
     2004

    2003

    2004

    2003

 
     (in thousands, except per share data)  

Net income (loss):

                                

As reported

   $ 4,306     $ (17,976 )   $ (6,935 )   $ (63,537 )

Deduct: Total stock-based employee compensation expense determined under fair value based method for all awards, net of related tax effects

     7,441       4,958       16,714       14,873  
    


 


 


 


Pro forma

     (3,135 )     (22,934 )     (23,649 )     (78,410 )

Net income (loss) per share:

                                

Basic

                                

As reported

     0.07       (0.36 )     (0.13 )     (1.29 )

Pro forma

     (0.05 )     (0.46 )     (0.44 )     (1.59 )

Diluted

                                

As reported

     0.07       (0.36 )     (0.13 )     (1.29 )

Pro forma

     (0.05 )     (0.46 )     (0.44 )     (1.59 )

 

The fair value of each option grant is estimated on the grant date using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions:

 

Three and Nine months ended April 30,


   2004

    2003

 

Volatility

   87 %   88 %

Dividend yield

   0 %   0 %

Risk-free interest rate

   4.73 %   4.43 %

Expected life of options

   8.86 years     8.31 years  

 

Accounting for Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

 

On an on-going basis, management reviews the value and period of amortization or depreciation of long-lived assets. In accordance with SFAS No.144, “Accounting for Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets”, the Company will review whether impairment losses exist on long-lived assets when indicators of impairment are present. During this review, the Company reevaluates the significant assumptions used in determining the original cost of long-lived assets. Although the assumptions may vary, they generally include revenue growth, operating results, cash flows and other indicators of value. Management then determines whether there has been a permanent impairment of the value of long-lived assets based upon events or circumstances that have occurred since acquisition. The extent of the impairment amount recognized is based upon a determination of the impaired asset’s fair value.

 

Product Warranty Costs

 

Our products are sold with warranty provisions that require us to remedy deficiencies in quality or performance of our products over a specified period of time at no cost to our customers. Our policy is to establish warranty reserves at levels that represent our estimate of the costs that will be incurred to fulfill those warranty requirements at the time that revenue is recognized.

 

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Table of Contents

Comprehensive Income

 

Comprehensive income is comprised of two components, net income and other comprehensive income. Other comprehensive income consists of unrealized gains and losses on the Company’s marketable securities.

 

Net Income (Loss) per Share

 

Basic net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted net income (loss) per share reflects the maximum dilution that would have resulted from the assumed exercise and share repurchase related to dilutive stock options and is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares and all dilutive securities outstanding.

 

Reconciliation between basic and diluted earnings per share is as follows:

 

     Three Months Ended
April 30,


    Nine Months Ended
April 30,


 
     2004

   2003

    2004

    2003

 
     (in thousands, except per share data)  

Net income (loss)

   $ 4,306    $ (17,976 )   $ (6,935 )   $ (63,537 )

Basic EPS

                               

Basic common shares

     58,826      49,429       54,199       49,294  

Basic EPS

   $ 0.07    $ (0.36 )   $ (0.13 )   $ (1.29 )

Diluted EPS

                               

Basic common shares

     58,826      49,429       54,199       49,294  

Plus: Impact of stock options

     2,796      —         —         —    
    

  


 


 


Diluted common shares

     61,622      49,429       54,199       49,294  

Diluted EPS

   $ 0.07    $ (0.36 )   $ (0.13 )   $ (1.29 )

 

At April 30, 2004 and 2003, options to purchase 1,390,528 shares and 6,225,691 shares of common stock, respectively, were not included in the calculation of diluted net income (loss) per share because their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive. These options could be dilutive in the future.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Marketable Securities

 

The Company considers all highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to cash and that have original maturity dates of three months or less to be cash and cash equivalents. Investments with remaining maturities greater than three months and that mature within one year from the balance sheet date are considered to be marketable securities. Cash and cash equivalents consist primarily of repurchase agreements, commercial paper and money market funds. Marketable securities consist primarily of debt securities that are classified as available-for-sale and are reported at fair value in accordance with SFAS No. 115, “Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities”. Securities available for sale include corporate and governmental obligations with various contractual maturity dates. Governmental obligations include U.S. Government, State, Municipal and Federal Agency securities.

 

Gross unrealized gains and losses for the three and nine months ended April 30, 2004 and April 30, 2003 were not significant. The realized profits, losses and interest are included in investment income in the Statements of Operations. Unrealized gains and losses are reflected as a separate component of comprehensive income and are included in Stockholders’ Equity.

 

At April 30, 2004, cash balances of approximately $1.7 million were restricted from withdrawal. These funds primarily served as collateral supporting certain operating equipment leases.

 

Inventories

 

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or market, determined on the first-in, first-out method, and include materials, labor and manufacturing overhead. Inventories consisted of the following at:

 

    

April 30,

2004


  

July 31,

2003


     (In thousands)

Raw materials

   $ 27,085    $ 25,175

Work-in-progress

     15,262      21,787

Finished goods

     31,731      19,890
    

  

     $ 74,078    $ 66,852
    

  

 

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Table of Contents

Our policy is to establish inventory reserves when conditions exist that suggest our inventory may be in excess of anticipated demand or is obsolete based upon our assumptions about future demand of our products or market conditions. We regularly evaluate the ability to realize the value of our inventory based on a combination of factors including the following: forecasted sales or usage, estimated product end of life dates, estimated current and future market value and new product introductions. Purchasing and alternative usage options are also explored to mitigate inventory exposure. When recorded, our reserves are intended to reduce the carrying value of our inventory to its net realizable value. As of April 30, 2004, our inventory of $74.0 million is stated net of inventory reserves. If actual demand for our products deteriorates or market conditions are less favorable than those that we project, additional inventory reserves may be required. Such reserves are not reversed until the related inventory is sold or otherwise disposed of. During the period, the Company had no reversal of reserves related to the sale of previously written down items.

 

Property and Equipment

 

Property and equipment are summarized as follows:

 

(in thousands)

 

  

April 30,

2004


   

July 31,

2003


   

Depreciable Life

In Years


Machinery, equipment and internal manufactured systems

   $ 158,993     $ 155,301     3-7

Office furniture and equipment

     7,623       7,797     3-7

Leasehold improvements

     11,870       13,212     10 or term of lease
    


 


   
       178,486       176,310      

Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization

     (106,455 )     (102,867 )    
    


 


   
     $ 72,031     $ 73,443      
    


 


   

 

At April 30, 2004 and July 31, 2003, included in machinery and equipment is equipment acquired under capital leases of $5.5 million and $5.1 million, respectively. Accumulated depreciation related to those assets was $1.2 million and $0.6 million at April 30, 2004 and July 31, 2003, respectively.

 

Goodwill and Other Intangibles

 

SFAS No. 142 requires that goodwill and intangible assets that have indefinite lives be tested at least annually for impairment. If the carrying value of the asset is excess of the present value of the expected future cash flows, the carrying value is written down to fair value in the period identified. Management uses a discounted cash flow analysis which requires that certain assumptions and estimates be made regarding industry economic factors and future profitability of the acquired business to assess the need for an impairment charge. The Company has elected the fourth quarter to complete its annual goodwill impairment test. In addition, annual impairment tests for indefinite lived intangible assets are also performed in the fourth quarter.

 

Goodwill totaling $12.6 million and $12.0 million at April 30, 2004 and July 31, 2003, respectively, represents the excess of acquisition costs over the estimated fair value of the net assets acquired from StepTech, Inc. on June 10, 2003.

 

Other intangible assets consisted of core technology and amounted to the following at April 30, 2004 and July 31, 2003:

 

Core Technology

(In thousands)


  

Gross

Intangible


  

Accumulated

Amortization


  

Net

Intangible Asset


  

Estimated

Useful Life


April 30, 2004

   $ 2,800    $ 525    $ 2,275    4 years

July 31, 2003

   $ 2,800    $  —      $ 2,800    4 years

 

Amortization expense for the nine months ended April 30, 2004 and 2003 was $525,000 and $0, respectively. The estimated aggregate amortization expense for each of the four succeeding years is as follows:

 

     (In thousands)

Remainder of 2004

   $ 175

2005

     700

2006

     700

2007

     700

 

 

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Table of Contents

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In December 2003, the SEC issued SAB 104, “Revenue Recognition”, which codifies, revises and rescinds certain sections of SAB 101, “Revenue Recognition”, in order to make this interpretive guidance consistent with current authoritative accounting and auditing guidance and SEC rules and regulations. The changes noted in SAB 104 did not have a material effect on the Company’s condensed consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

 

In January 2003, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation No. 46 (FIN 46), “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities”, an Interpretation of ARB No. 51, which addresses consolidation by business enterprises of variable interest entities (VIEs) either: (1) that do not have sufficient equity investment at risk to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support, or (2) in which the equity investors lack an essential characteristic of a controlling financial interest. In December 2003, the FASB completed deliberations of proposed modifications to FIN 46 (Revised Interpretations) resulting in multiple effective dates based on the nature as well as the creation date of the VIE. VIEs created after January 31, 2003, but prior to January 1, 2004, may be accounted for either based on the original Interpretation or the Revised Interpretations. However, the Revised Interpretations must be applied no later than the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2004. There has been no impact on the Company’s financial statements from the adoption of FIN 46.

 

3. SEGMENT REPORTING

 

The Company operates predominantly in one industry segment: the design, manufacture and marketing of automatic test equipment for the semiconductor industry that is used to test system-on-a-chip, digital, analog and mixed signal integrated circuits.

 

The Company’s net sales for the three and nine months ended April 30, 2004 and 2003, along with the long-lived assets at April 30, 2004 and July 31, 2003, are summarized as follows:

 

     Three Months Ended
April 30,


   Nine Months Ended
April 30,


     2004

   2003

   2004

   2003

     (In thousands)

Net Sales:

                           

United States

   $ 20,400    $ 13,772    $ 60,539    $ 43,420

South East Asia

     27,976      6,635      75,589      20,227

Taiwan

     10,895      3,816      15,051      8,141

Japan

     161      361      6,131      3,369

All other countries

     10,901      4,193      18,057      10,638
    

  

  

  

Total Net Sales

   $ 70,333    $ 28,777    $ 175,367    $ 85,795
    

  

  

  

 

    

April 30,

2004


  

July 31

2003


     (In thousands)

Long-lived Assets:

             

United States

   $ 61,276    $ 52,800

South East Asia

     6,224      10,645

Taiwan

     1,565      3,247

All other countries

     2,966      6,751
    

  

Total Long-lived Assets

   $ 72,031    $ 73,443
    

  

 

Transfer prices on products sold to foreign subsidiaries are intended to produce profit margins that correspond to the subsidiary’s sales and support efforts.

 

4. GUARANTEES AND INDEMNIFICATION OBLIGATIONS

 

The following table shows the details of the product warranty accrual, as required by FASB FIN 45, “Guarantor’s Accounting and Disclosure Requirements for Guarantees, Including Indirect Guarantees of Indebtedness of Others”, for the nine months ended April 30, 2004 and April 30, 2003:

 

Product Warranty Activity


            
     (in thousands)        
     2004

    2003

 

Balance at beginning of period

   $ 1,935     $ 1,560  

Warranty expenditures for current period

     (4,919 )     (1,105 )

Changes in liability related to pre-existing warranties

     0       130  

Provision for warranty costs in the period

     6,224       1,461  
    


 


Balance at end of period

   $ 3,240     $ 2,046  
    


 


 

In the ordinary course of business, we agree from time to time to indemnify certain customers against certain third party claims for property damage, bodily injury, personal injury or intellectual property infringement arising from the operation or use of our products. Also, from time to time in agreements with our suppliers, licensors and other business partners, we agree to indemnify these partners

 

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against certain liabilities arising out of the sale or use of our products. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make under these indemnification obligations is unlimited; however, we have general and umbrella insurance policies that enable us to recover a portion of any amounts paid. Based on our experience with such indemnification claims, we believe the estimated fair value of these obligations is minimal. Accordingly, we have no liabilities recorded for these agreements as of April 30, 2004 or July 31, 2003.

 

Subject to certain limitations, LTX indemnifies its current and former officers and directors for certain events or occurrences. Although the maximum potential amount of future payments LTX could be required to make under these agreements is theoretically unlimited, as there were no known or pending claims, we have not accrued a liability for these agreements as of April 30, 2004 or July 31, 2003.

 

5. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

 

The Company has operating lease commitments for certain facilities and equipment and capital lease commitments for certain equipment. Minimum lease payments under noncancelable leases at April 30, 2004, are as follows:

 

     (in thousands)

Year ended July 31,


   Amount

2004

   $ 3,917

2005

     9,962

2006

     9,016

2007

     6,005

2008

     3,123

Thereafter

     2,486
    

Total minimum lease payments

   $ 34,509
    

 

The Company had various commercial relationships with Ando Electric Co., Ltd., (Ando), a Japanese test equipment manufacturer, since 1993 when Ando was a subsidiary of NEC. In 1994, Ando loaned the Company $20 million, of which $6 million remained outstanding as of January 31, 2002. This indebtedness was scheduled to mature in July 2003. In 1998, the Company entered into a nine year development, manufacturing and marketing agreement with Ando (the “Fusion Agreement”) pursuant to which the Company granted Ando exclusive rights to manufacture and sell Fusion in Japan, but retained exclusive rights to manufacture and sell Fusion to certain customers in Japan and to manufacture and sell Fusion outside of Japan. The Company also granted Ando a license to develop Fusion improvements for certain specific purposes, and, subject to certain conditions, a license to use, manufacture and sell these improvements in Japan. The Company was granted rights to use, improve and modify these Ando improvements outside Japan. Ando was required to pay quarterly royalties on sales of Fusion in Japan.

 

In fiscal 2002, Yokogawa Electric Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of semiconductor test equipment, announced the acquisition of most of NEC’s interest in Ando. On May 18, 2001, the Company served Ando with a Demand for Arbitration pursuant to the Fusion Agreement. The Company asserted claims for breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, unfair competition and other claims arising out of Ando’s conduct. Ando filed an answer and counterclaims to the Company’s demand for arbitration.

 

In fiscal 2002, the Company and Ando entered into an agreement providing for the dismissal, with prejudice, of all claims filed under the arbitration proceedings pending with the American Arbitration Association in San Jose, California. Under the terms of this agreement, Ando has forgiven certain loan and other debt obligations totaling approximately $7 million and has agreed to certain continuing supply and support obligations for customers in Japan for a transition period. Except for these continuing obligations, the obligations of the parties under the Fusion Agreement and other related agreements have been terminated. In connection with the termination of obligations of the parties under the Fusion Agreement, Ando has also forgiven contractual obligations totaling $1.7 million. At the end of the transition period, the Company will continue to supply and support former Ando customers in Japan. An accrual of $7.9 million was recorded for anticipated expenses associated with this transition period. The Company has incurred $1.2 million of expenditures as of April 30, 2004. The accrual balance was $6.7 million and $6.8 million as of April 30, 2004 and July 31, 2003. The Ando liability is included in Other Accrued Liabilities.

 

6. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

In January 2004, we filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 to register up to $250 million of common stock, debt securities and warrants. On February 19, 2004, we closed an offering made pursuant to the registration statement relating to the sale of 8,050,000 shares of our common stock at $16.50 per share. The offering included 1,050,000 shares sold as a result of the exercise, in full, by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares of common stock. Gross proceeds from the stock offering totaled approximately $132.8 million. Proceeds to LTX, net of $6.2 million in underwriters’ commissions and discounts and other expenses, totaled approximately $126.6 million.

 

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Item 2. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Industry Conditions and Outlook

 

We sell capital equipment and services to companies that design, manufacture, assemble or test semiconductor devices. The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical, causing in turn a cyclical impact on our financial results. As a capital equipment provider, our revenue is driven by the capital expenditure budgets and spending patterns of our customers, who often delay or accelerate purchases in reaction to variations in their business. The level of capital expenditures by these semiconductor companies depends on the current and anticipated market demand for semiconductor devices and the products that incorporate them. Therefore, demand for our semiconductor test equipment is dependent on growth in the semiconductor industry. In particular, three primary characteristics of the semiconductor industry drive the demand for semiconductor test equipment:

 

  increases in volume of unit production of semiconductor devices;

 

  increases in the complexity of semiconductor devices used in electronic products; and

 

  the emergence of next generation device technologies, such as SOC.

 

Our operating results have been negatively impacted by a severe industry-wide slowdown in the semiconductor industry, which began to affect the semiconductor test industry in fiscal 2001 and has continued through our fiscal year ended July 31, 2003. However, the Company has seen sequential revenue and orders improvement in each of the past five quarters. Management believes that our industry has been in a growth cycle for several quarters based upon the recent improvements in business activity, industry forecasts and other industry indicators, which began to improve at the end of fiscal 2003. We believe our investments and actions taken during the downturn provide us with opportunities to increase revenues, generate profits and produce strong positive cash flow as business conditions improve. However, the Company’s results of operations would be adversely affected if we were to experience lower than anticipated order levels, cancellations of orders in backlog, extended customer delivery requirements or pricing pressure, or if the emerging recovery is not sustained. At lower levels of revenue, there is a higher likelihood that these types of changes in our customers’ requirements would adversely affect our results of operations because in any particular quarter a limited number of transactions accounts for an even greater portion of sales for the quarter.

 

We are also exposed to the risks associated with the current emerging recovery in the U.S. and global economies. The lack of visibility regarding whether or when there will be a sustained recovery in the sale of electronic goods and information technology equipment, and uncertainty regarding the magnitude of the recovery, underscores the need for caution in predicting growth in the semiconductor test equipment industry in general and in our revenues and profits specifically. Slow or negative growth in the domestic economy may continue to materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations for the foreseeable future.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and the Use of Estimates

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. We base these estimates and assumptions on historical experience, and evaluate them on an on-going basis to ensure they remain reasonable under current conditions. Actual results could differ from those estimates. We discuss the development and selection of the critical accounting estimates with the audit committee of our board of directors on a quarterly basis, and the audit committee has reviewed the Company’s critical accounting estimates as described in Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2003. For the nine months ended April 30, 2004, there have been no changes to these critical accounting policies.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In December 2003, the SEC issued SAB 104, “Revenue Recognition”, which codifies, revises and rescinds certain sections of SAB 101, “Revenue Recognition”, in order to make this interpretive guidance consistent with current authoritative accounting and auditing guidance and SEC rules and regulations. The changes noted in SAB 104 did not have a material effect on the Company’s condensed consolidated results of operations, financial position or cash flows.

 

In January 2003, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation No. 46 (FIN 46), “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities,” an Interpretation of ARB No. 51, which addresses consolidation by business enterprises of variable interest entities (VIEs) either: (1) that do not have sufficient equity investment at risk to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support, or (2) in which the equity investors lack an essential characteristic of a controlling financial interest. In December 2003, the FASB completed deliberations of proposed modifications to FIN 46 (Revised Interpretations) resulting in multiple effective dates based on the nature as well as the creation date of the VIE. VIEs created after January 31, 2003, but prior to January 1, 2004, may be accounted for either based on the original Interpretation or the Revised Interpretations. However, the Revised Interpretations must be applied no later than the end of the third quarter of fiscal year 2004. There has been no impact on the Company’s financial statements from the adoption of FIN 46.

 

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Results of Operations

 

The following table sets forth for the periods indicated the principal items included in the Consolidated Statement of Operations as percentages of net sales.

 

     Percentage of Net Sales

 
    

Three Months
Ended

April 30,


   

Nine Months
Ended

April 30,


 
     2004

    2003

    2004

    2003

 

Net Sales

   100.0 %   100.0 %   100.0 %   100.0 %

Cost of Sales

   58.4     81.6     62.1     82.3  
    

 

 

 

Gross profit

   41.6     18.4     37.9     17.7  

Engineering and product development expenses

   24.4     53.5     28.6     58.7  

Selling, general and administrative expenses

   10.0     25.0     11.5     24.5  

Reorganization costs

   —       —       —       6.5  
    

 

 

 

Income (loss) from operations

   7.2     (60.1 )   (2.2 )   (72.0 )

Other income (expense):

                        

Interest expense

   (2.2 )   (5.9 )   (2.9 )   (5.8 )

Investment income

   1.1     3.5     1.1     3.8  
    

 

 

 

Net income (loss)

   6.1 %   (62.5 )%   (4.0 )%   (74.0 )%
    

 

 

 

 

The discussion below contains certain forward-looking statements relating to, among other things, estimates of economic and industry conditions, sales trends, expense levels and capital expenditures. Actual results may vary from those contained in such forward-looking statements. See “Business Risks” below.

 

Three Months and Nine Months Ended April 30, 2004 Compared to the Three Months and Nine Months Ended April 30, 2003.

 

Net sales. Net sales consist of both semiconductor test equipment and related hardware and software support and maintenance services, net of returns and allowances. Net sales for the three months ended April 30, 2004 increased 144.4% to $70.3 million as compared to $28.8 million in the same quarter of the prior year. For the nine months ended April 30, 2004, net sales were $175.4 million as compared to $85.8 million for the same period of the prior year, an increase of 104.4%. The increase in net sales is primarily a result of increasing demand for semiconductor test equipment as economic conditions in general and semiconductor industries in particular improved. The increase in net sales is also attributed to expanding business with new and existing customers, across a diverse range of end products and SOC applications. Service revenue accounted for $9.9 million, or 14.0% of net sales, and $7.0 million, or 24.4% of net sales, for the three months ended April 30, 2004 and 2003, respectively, and $28.5 million, or 16.3% of net sales, and $24.1 million, or 28.1% of net sales, for the nine months ended April 30, 2004 and 2003, respectively. Geographically, sales to customers outside of the United States were 71.0% and 52.1% of net sales for the three months ended April 30, 2004 and April 30, 2003, respectively, and 65.5% and 49.4% for the nine months ended April 30, 2004 and 2003, respectively.

 

Gross Profit Margin. The gross profit margin was 41.6% of net sales in the three months ended April 30, 2004, as compared to 18.4% of net sales in the same quarter of the prior year and 39.5% for the quarter ended January 31, 2004. For the nine months ended April 30, 2004, the gross margin was $66.4 million, or 37.9% of net sales, as compared to $15.2 million, or 17.7% for the same period in the prior year. The increase in gross profit margin percentages for fiscal year 2004 is primarily a result of increased sales volume, as the fixed cost components of our cost of sales did not increase commensurate with our increase in net sales, and increased sales of Fusion HFi and Fusion CX, which have higher profit margins.

 

Engineering and Product Development Expenses. Engineering and product development expenses were $17.1 million, or 24.4% of net sales, in the three months ended April 30, 2004, as compared to $15.4 million, or 53.5% of net sales, in the same quarter of the prior year. The $1.7 million increase in engineering and product development expenses for the three months ended April 30, 2004 as compared to April 30, 2003 is principally a result of an increase in engineering staffing levels and non-recurring engineering charges to support new applications due to increased product sales. For the nine months ended April 30, 2004, engineering and product development expenses were $50.2 million, or 28.6% of net sales, as compared to $50.4 million, or 58.7% of net sales for the same period in the prior year. Engineering and product development expenses were relatively consistent for the nine months ended April 30, 2004 and the nine months ended April 30, 2003. This is primarily the result of the completion of next generation Fusion development projects and the cost reduction initiatives that we implemented in the second quarter of fiscal year 2003. We continue to maintain a significant investment in product development expenses to support new product features and emerging applications. This is consistent with the Company’s strategy of extending our technological lead in single platform testing during an industry downturn.

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $7.0 million, or 10.0% of net sales, in the three months ended April 30, 2004, as compared to $7.2 million, or 25.0% of net sales, in the same quarter of the prior year, a decrease of 15.0% of net sales. For the nine months ended April 30, 2004, selling, general and administrative expenses were

 

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$20.2 million, or 11.5% of net sales, as compared to $21.0 million, or 24.5% of net sales, for the same period in the prior year, a decrease of 13.0% of net sales. The decrease in selling, general and administrative expenses as percentage of net sales for both the three months and nine months ended April 30, 2004 was a result of increased sales volume.

 

Interest Expense. Interest expense was $1.6 million and $1.7 million for the three months ended April 30, 2004 and April 30, 2003, respectively. For the nine months ended April 30, 2004 and April 30, 2003, interest expense was $5.0 million for each period. Approximately $1.6 million of expense for each of the three months ended April 30, 2004 and April 30, 2003 and approximately $4.8 million of expense for each of the nine months ended April 30, 2004 and April 30, 2003 is the result of accruing interest expense for the 4.25% convertible subordinated notes.

 

Investment Income. Investment income was $0.8 million for the three months ended April 30, 2004, as compared to $1.0 million for the three months ended April 30, 2003. For the nine months ended April 30, 2004, investment income was $2.1 million as compared to $3.3 million for the same period of the prior year. Investment income was lower in the three and nine months ended April 30, 2004 than the same periods of the prior year as a result of lower average cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities balances and declining interest rates.

 

Income Tax. For the three months and nine months ended April 30, 2004, the Company recorded no income tax provision due to the expected utilization of net operating loss carryforwards to offset taxable income. As a result of a review undertaken at April 30, 2004 and our cumulative loss position at that date, management concluded that it was appropriate to maintain a full valuation allowance for its net deferred tax assets. The Company recorded a $4.3 million pretax profit for the quarter ended April 30, 2004. The income tax expense associated with this profit was offset by use of a portion of the Company’s deferred tax asset.

 

Net Income (Loss). Net income was $4.3 million, or $0.07 per diluted share, in the three months ended April 30, 2004, as compared to a net loss of $18.0 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, in the same quarter of the prior year. The Company had a net loss of $6.9 million, or $0.13 per diluted share, in the nine months ended April 30, 2004, as compared to a net loss of $63.5 million, or $1.29 per diluted share, for the same period of the prior year.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

At April 30, 2004, the Company had $229.0 million in cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities and working capital of $282.5 million, as compared to $136.6 million of cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities and $155.9 million of working capital at July 31, 2003. The increase in the cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities was due primarily to net cash provided from financing activities of $110.6 million, which was partially offset by cash used in operations of $5.9 million and cash used in capital purchases of $12.6 million. The $110.6 million increase in cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities consisted of net proceeds of $126.6 million from our February 2004 equity offering, reduced by a $19.5 million payment on our short term working capital line of credit.

 

Accounts receivable from trade customers was $35.4 million at April 30, 2004, as compared to $12.0 million at July 31, 2003. The principal reason for the $23.4 million increase in accounts receivable is a result of increased sales and product shipments toward the end of the quarter ended April 30, 2004, which we expect to be paid in the fourth quarter. The Company has seen significant improvement in general business conditions and payment patterns from the Asian subcontract market. Additionally, the Company has been able to secure letter of credit arrangements with several accounts previously on open account. The allowance for sales returns and doubtful accounts was $2.0 million, or 5.4% of gross trade accounts receivable, at April 30, 2004 and $3.5 million, or 22.6% of gross trade accounts receivable at July 31, 2003. The principal reason for the decrease in the allowance account was due to the factors described above. Accounts receivable from other sources increased $4.2 million to $9.4 million at April 30, 2004, as compared to $5.2 million at July 31, 2003. The increase was attributed to the increase in the sale of component inventory at cost to our outsource suppliers.

 

Net inventories increased by $7.2 million to $74.1 million at April 30, 2004 as compared to $66.9 million at July 31, 2003. The change in inventory is as a result of increasing demand for our new Fusion products from new or existing customers on a consignment or evaluation basis.

 

Prepaid expense decreased by $1.1 million to $9.9 million at April 30, 2004 as compared to $11.0 million at July 31, 2003. The decrease was attributed to the receipt of inventory against prepayments and amortization of prepaid insurance premiums and rent prepayments, which amounted to $0.8 million. Inventory related deposits were $2.7 million at April 30, 2004 and $3.0 million at July 31, 2003.

 

Capital expenditures totaled $12.6 million for the nine months ended April 30, 2004, as compared to $15.7 million for the nine months ended April 30, 2003. The principal reason for the $3.1 million decrease in expenditures is attributed to a slowed capital spending rate resulting from the reduced need for equipment in support of new product introduction for the nine months ended April 30, 2004 as compared with the nine months ended April 30, 2003.

 

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During the quarter ended October 31, 2003, we renegotiated our domestic credit facility with our existing lender. The facility is comprised of a working capital line of $30.0 million, which is secured by all assets and bears interest at the bank’s prime rate. The working capital line is used to support working capital obligations, issuance of standby letters of credit, and foreign exchange transactions and to support the purchase of fixed assets. The facility imposes certain financial and other covenants. The Company has a second credit facility with another lender for a revolving credit line of $20.0 million. This facility is secured by cash and bears interest (at our option) at either: (i) the greater of the federal funds rate plus 0.5% or the bank’s prime rate, in each case, minus 1.0% or (ii) LIBOR plus 0.4%. No amounts were outstanding under these credit facilities at April 30, 2004. The Company repaid $19.5 million of its outstanding short term working capital loan with a portion of the proceeds received from the February 2004 equity offering.

 

In January 2004, we filed a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 to register up to $250 million of common stock, debt securities and warrants. On February 19, 2004, we closed an offering made pursuant to the registration statement relating to the sale of 8,050,000 shares of our common stock at $16.50 per share. The offering included 1,050,010 shares sold as a result of the exercise, in full, by the underwriters of their option to purchase additional shares of common stock. Gross proceeds from the stock offering totaled approximately $132.8 million. Proceeds to LTX, net of $6.2 million in underwriters’ commissions and discounts and other expenses, totaled approximately $126.6 million.

 

We anticipate available cash balances, credit facilities, and improving cash flow from operations will be adequate to fund our currently proposed operating activities for the next twelve months.

 

Commitments and Contingencies

 

Our major outstanding contractual obligations are related to our convertible subordinated notes, facilities leases and other capital and operating leases. The Company has 4.25% convertible subordinated notes due in 2006. Interest on the notes is payable on February 15 and August 15 of each year, commencing February 15, 2002. The outstanding principal of the notes was $150.0 million as of April 30, 2004.

 

The aggregate outstanding amount of the contractual obligations is $200.4 million as of April 30, 2004. These obligations and commitments represent maximum payments based on current operating forecasts. Certain of the commitments could be reduced if changes to our operating forecasts occur in the future.

 

The following summarizes LTX’s contractual obligations, net of sub-lease revenue, at April 30, 2004 and the effect such obligations are expected to have on its liquidity and cash flow in the future periods:

 

     Payments Due by Period (in thousands)

Financial Obligations


   Total

   Remainder of 2004

   2005 –2006

   2007 –2008

   Thereafter

Convertible Subordinated Notes

   $ 165,937    $ 3,187    $ 162,750    $ —      $ —  

Operating Leases

     33,982      3,499      18,869      9,128      2,486

Capital Leases

     527      418      109      —        —  
    

  

  

  

  

Total Contractual Obligations

   $ 200,446    $ 7,104    $ 181,728    $ 9,128    $ 2,486

 

BUSINESS RISKS

 

This report includes or incorporates forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties and fall within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. You can identify these forward-looking statements by our use of the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “intends,” “estimates,” and similar expressions, whether in the negative or affirmative. We cannot guarantee that we actually will achieve these plans, intentions or expectations. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. We have included important factors in the cautionary statements, particularly under the heading “Business Risks,” that we believe could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that we make. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward- looking statement we make.

 

Our sole market is the highly cyclical semiconductor industry, which causes a cyclical impact on our financial results.

 

We sell capital equipment to companies that design, manufacture, assemble and test semiconductor devices. The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical, causing in turn a cyclical impact on our financial results. Our operating results have been negatively impacted by an industry-wide slowdown in the semiconductor industry which began to impact us in the latter half of the second quarter of fiscal 2001. Any failure to expand in cycle upturns to meet customer demand and delivery requirements or contract in cycle downturns at a pace consistent with cycles in the industry could have an adverse effect on our business.

 

Any significant downturn in the markets for our customers’ semiconductor devices or in general economic conditions would likely result in a reduction in demand for our products and would hurt our business. From the third quarter of fiscal 2001 through the end of the second quarter of fiscal 2004, our revenue and operating results were negatively impacted by a severe downturn in the

 

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semiconductor industry. Downturns in the semiconductor test equipment industry have been characterized by diminished product demand, excess production capacity, accelerated erosion of selling prices and excessive inventory levels. We believe the markets for newer generations of devices, including system-on-a-chip, or SOC, will also experience similar characteristics. Our market is also characterized by rapid technological change and changes in customer demand. In the past, we have experienced delays in commitments, delays in collecting accounts receivable and significant declines in demand for our products during these downturns, and we cannot be certain that we will be able to maintain or exceed our current level of sales.

 

Additionally, as a capital equipment provider, our revenue is driven by the capital expenditure budgets and spending patterns of our customers who often delay or accelerate purchases in reaction to variations in their businesses. Because a high proportion of our costs are fixed, we are limited in our ability to reduce expenses and inventory purchases quickly in response to decreases in orders and revenues. In a contraction, we may not be able to reduce our significant fixed costs, such as continued investment in research and development and capital equipment requirements and materials purchases from our suppliers.

 

The market for semiconductor test equipment is highly concentrated, and we have limited opportunities to sell our products.

 

The semiconductor industry is highly concentrated, and a small number of semiconductor device manufacturers and contract assemblers account for a substantial portion of the purchases of semiconductor test equipment generally, including our test equipment. Sales to Texas Instruments accounted for 58% of our net sales in fiscal 2003 and 45% in fiscal 2002. Sales to our ten largest customers accounted for 87.3% of our net sales for the nine months ended April 30, 2004 and 83.9% in the same nine months for the prior period. Our customers may cancel orders with few or no penalties. If a major customer reduces orders for any reason, our revenues, operating results and financial condition will suffer. Our ability to increase our sales will depend in part upon our ability to obtain orders from new customers. Semiconductor manufacturers select a particular vendor’s test system for testing the manufacturer’s new generations of devices and make substantial investments to develop related test program software and interfaces. Once a manufacturer has selected one test system vendor for a generation of devices, that manufacturer is more likely to purchase test systems from that vendor for that generation of devices, and, possibly, subsequent generations of devices as well. Therefore, the opportunities to obtain orders from new customers may be limited.

 

Our sales and operating results have fluctuated significantly from period to period, including from one quarter to another, and they may continue to do so.

 

Our quarterly and annual operating results are affected by a wide variety of factors that could adversely affect sales or profitability or lead to significant variability in our operating results or our stock price. This may be caused by a combination of factors, including the following:

 

  sales of a limited number of test systems account for a substantial portion of our net sales in any particular fiscal quarter, and a small number of transactions could therefore have a significant impact;

 

  order cancellations by customers;

 

  lower gross margins in any particular period due to changes in:

 

  our product mix,

 

  the configurations of test systems sold, or

 

  the customers to whom we sell these systems;

 

  a long sales cycle, due to the high selling price of our test systems and the time required to incorporate our systems into our customers’ design or manufacturing process;

 

  changes in the timing of product orders due to:

 

  unexpected delays in the introduction of products by our customers,

 

  shorter than expected lifecycles of our customers’ semiconductor devices, or

 

  uncertain market acceptance of products developed by our customers.

 

We cannot predict the impact of these and other factors on our sales and operating results in any future period. Results of our operations in any period, therefore, should not be considered indicative of the results to be expected for any future period. Because of this difficulty in predicting future performance, our operating results may fall below expectations of securities analysts or investors in some future quarter or quarters. Our failure to meet these expectations would likely adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

 

A substantial amount of the shipments of our test systems for a particular quarter occur late in the quarter. Our shipment pattern exposes us to significant risks in the event of problems during the complex process of final integration, test and acceptance prior to shipment. If we were to experience problems of this type late in our quarter, shipments could be delayed and our operating results could fall below expectations.

 

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We depend on Jabil Circuit to produce and test our family of Fusion products, and any failures or other problems at or with Jabil could cause us to lose customers and revenues.

 

We have selected Jabil Circuit, Inc. to manufacture our Fusion test systems. If for any reason Jabil cannot provide us with these products and services in a timely fashion, or at all, whether due to labor shortage, slow down or stoppage, lack of sufficient qualified production engineers, insufficient capacity to meet a quick ramp in the semiconductor cycle, deteriorating financial or business conditions or any other reason, we would not be able to sell or ship our Fusion family of products to our customers. All of the products Jabil tests and assembles for us are assembled in one facility in Massachusetts. If this facility were to become unable to meet our production requirements, transitioning assembly to an alternative Jabil facility could result in production delays of several weeks or more. We have no written supply agreement with Jabil. This relationship with Jabil may not result in a reduction of our fixed expenses.

 

We also may be unable to engage alternative production and testing services on a timely basis or upon terms favorable to us, if at all. If we are required for any reason to seek a new manufacturer of our test systems, an alternate manufacturer may not be available and, in any event, switching to a new manufacturer would require six months or more and would involve significant expense and disruption of our business. Our test systems are highly sophisticated and complex capital equipment, with many custom components, and require specific technical know-how and expertise. These factors could make it more difficult for us to find a new manufacturer of our test systems if our relationship with Jabil is terminated for any reason, which would cause us to lose revenues and customers.

 

We may not be able to deliver custom hardware options and software applications to satisfy specific customer needs in a timely manner.

 

We must develop and deliver hardware and software to meet our customers’ specific test requirements. Our test equipment may fail to meet our customers’ technical or cost requirements and may be replaced by competitive equipment or an alternative technology solution. Our inability to provide a test system that meets requested performance criteria when required by a device manufacturer would severely damage our reputation with that customer. This loss of reputation may make it substantially more difficult for us to sell test systems to that manufacturer for a number of years. We have, in the past, experienced delays in introducing some of our products and enhancements.

 

Our dependence on subcontractors and sole source suppliers may prevent us from delivering an acceptable product on a timely basis.

 

We rely on subcontractors to manufacture Fusion and many of the components and subassemblies for our products, and we rely on sole source suppliers for certain components. We may be required to qualify new or additional subcontractors and suppliers due to capacity constraints, competitive or quality concerns or other risks that may arise, including as a result of a change in control of, or a deterioration in the financial condition of, a supplier or subcontractor. The process of qualifying subcontractors and suppliers is a lengthy process. Our reliance on subcontractors gives us less control over the manufacturing process and exposes us to significant risks, especially inadequate capacity, late delivery, substandard quality and high costs. In addition, the manufacture of certain of these components and subassemblies is an extremely complex process. If a supplier became unable to provide parts in the volumes needed or at an acceptable price, we would have to identify and qualify acceptable replacements from alternative sources of supply, or manufacture such components internally. The failure to qualify acceptable replacements quickly would delay the manufacture and delivery of our products, which could cause us to lose revenues and customers.

 

We are dependent on two semiconductor device manufacturers, Vitesse Semiconductor and Maxtech Components. Each is a sole source supplier of components manufactured in accordance with our proprietary design and specifications. We have no written supply agreements with these sole source suppliers and purchase our custom components through individual purchase orders. Vitesse Semiconductor is also a Fusion customer.

 

Development of our products requires significant lead-time, and we may fail to correctly anticipate the technical needs of our customers.

 

Our customers make decisions regarding purchases of our test equipment while their devices are still in development. Our test systems are used by our customers to develop, test and manufacture their new devices. We therefore must anticipate industry trends and develop products in advance of the commercialization of our customers’ devices, requiring us to make significant capital investments to develop new test equipment for our customers well before their devices are introduced. If our customers fail to introduce their devices in a timely manner or the market does not accept their devices, we may not recover our capital investment through sales in significant volume. In addition, even if we are able to successfully develop enhancements or new generations of our products, these enhancements or new generations of products may not generate revenue in excess of the costs of development, and they may be quickly rendered obsolete by changing customer preferences or the introduction of products embodying new technologies or features by our competitors. Furthermore, if we were to make announcements of product delays, or if our competitors were to make announcements of new test systems, these announcements could cause our customers to defer or forego purchases of our existing test systems, which would also hurt our business.

 

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Future acquisitions may be difficult to integrate, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value or divert management attention.

 

We have in the past, and may in the future, seek to acquire or invest in complementary businesses, products, technologies or engineers. For example, in June 2003, we completed our acquisition of StepTech, Inc. We may have to issue debt or equity securities to pay for future acquisitions, which could be dilutive to our then current stockholders. We have also incurred and may continue to incur certain liabilities or other expenses in connection with acquisitions, which could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

Mergers and acquisitions of high-technology companies are inherently risky, and our future acquisitions may not be successful. Our past and future acquisitions may involve many risks, including:

 

  difficulties in managing our growth following acquisitions;

 

  difficulties in the integration of the acquired personnel, operations, technologies, products and systems of the acquired companies;

 

  uncertainties concerning the intellectual property rights we acquire;

 

  unanticipated costs or liabilities associated with the acquisitions;

 

  diversion of management’s attention from other business concerns;

 

  adverse effects on our existing business relationships with our or our acquired companies’ customers;

 

  potential difficulties in completing projects associated with purchased in process research and development; and

 

  inability to retain employees of acquired companies.

 

Any of the events described in the foregoing paragraphs could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and could cause the price of our common stock to decline.

 

We have substantial indebtedness.

 

We have outstanding $150 million principal amount of 4.25% convertible subordinated notes due August 2006. As of April 30, 2004, we also had a $30.0 million line of credit with a commercial bank and an additional revolving credit facility for $20.0 million, on which no amounts were outstanding as of April 30, 2004. Our line of credit and credit facility mature on an annual basis and will expire in November 2004 and July 2004, respectively, if not renewed by us and the issuing bank. We may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future. The level of indebtedness, among other things, could:

 

  make it difficult for us to make payments on our debt and other obligations;

 

  make it difficult for us to obtain any necessary future financing for working capital, capital expenditures, debt service requirements or other purposes;

 

  require the dedication of a substantial portion of any cash flow from operations to service our indebtedness, thereby reducing the amount of cash flow available for other purposes, including capital expenditures;

 

  limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to changes in, our business and the industries in which we compete;

 

  place us at a possible competitive disadvantage with respect to less leveraged competitors and competitors that have better access to capital resource; and

 

  make us more vulnerable in the event of a downturn in our business.

 

We may not be able to meet our debt service obligations, including our obligations under our 4.25% convertible notes.

 

We may not be able to satisfy a change in control offer.

 

The indenture governing our 4.25% convertible notes contains provisions that apply to a change in control of LTX. If someone triggers a fundamental change as defined in the indenture, we may be required to offer to purchase our 4.25% convertible notes with cash. If we have to make that offer, we cannot be sure that we will have enough funds to pay for all our 4.25% convertible notes that the holders could tender.

 

We may not be able to pay our debt and other obligations.

 

If our cash flow is inadequate to meet our obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems. In particular, our 4.25% convertible notes mature in August 2006. Our line of credit and credit facility mature on an annual basis and will expire in November 2004 and July 2004, respectively, if not renewed by us and the issuing bank. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow or

 

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otherwise obtain funds necessary to make required payments on our 4.25% convertible notes, or certain of our other obligations, we would be in default under the terms thereof, which could permit the holders of those obligations to accelerate their maturity and also could cause defaults under future indebtedness we may incur. Any such default could have a material adverse effect on our business, prospects, financial position and operating results. In addition, we may not be able to repay amounts due in respect of our 4.25% convertible notes if payment of those obligations were to be accelerated following the occurrence of any other event of default as defined in the instruments creating those obligations. Moreover, we may not have sufficient funds or be able to arrange for financing to pay the principal amount of our 4.25% convertible notes at their maturity.

 

We may need additional financing, which could be difficult to obtain.

 

We expect that our existing cash and marketable securities, together with the proceeds from existing lines of credit, the offering completed in February 2004 and internally generated funds, will be sufficient to meet our cash requirements to fund operations and expected capital expenditures for at least the next 12 months. In the event we need to raise additional funds, we cannot be certain that we will be able to obtain such additional financing on favorable terms, if at all. Further, if we issue additional equity securities, stockholders may experience additional dilution or the new equity securities may have rights, preferences or privileges senior to those of existing holders of our common stock. Future financings may place restrictions on how we operate our business. If we cannot raise funds on acceptable terms, if and when needed, we may not be able to develop or enhance our products and services, take advantage of future opportunities, grow our business or respond to competitive pressures, which could seriously harm our business.

 

Our market is highly competitive, and we have limited resources to compete.

 

The test equipment industry is highly competitive in all areas of the world. Many other domestic and foreign companies participate in the markets for each of our products, and the industry is highly competitive. Our principal competitors in the market for semiconductor test equipment are Agilent Technologies, Credence Systems, NPTest, Inc. and Teradyne. Most of these major competitors have substantially greater financial resources and more extensive engineering, manufacturing, marketing and customer support capabilities.

 

We expect our competitors to enhance their current products and to introduce new products with comparable or better price and performance. The introduction of competing products could hurt sales of our current and future products. In addition, new competitors, including semiconductor manufacturers themselves, may offer new testing technologies, which may in turn reduce the value of our product lines. Increased competition could lead to intensified price-based competition, which would hurt our business and results of operations. Unless we are able to invest significant financial resources in developing products and maintaining customer support centers worldwide, we may not be able to compete effectively.

 

Our success depends on attracting and retaining key personnel.

 

Our success will depend substantially upon the continued service of our executive officers and key personnel, none of whom are bound by an employment or non-competition agreement. Our success will also depend on our ability to attract and retain highly qualified managers and technical, engineering, marketing, sales and support personnel. Competition for such specialized personnel is intense, and it may become more difficult for us to hire or retain them. Our volatile business cycles only aggravate this problem. Our layoffs in industry downturns could make it more difficult for us to hire or retain qualified personnel. Our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected by the loss of any of our key employees, by the failure of any key employee to perform in his or her current positions, or by our inability to attract and retain skilled employees.

 

We may not be able to protect our intellectual property rights.

 

Our success depends in part on our ability to obtain intellectual property rights and licenses and to preserve other intellectual property rights covering our products and development and testing tools. To that end, we have obtained domestic patents and may continue to seek patents on our inventions when appropriate. We have also obtained trademark registrations. To date, we have not sought patent protection in any countries other than the United States, which may impair our ability to protect our intellectual property in foreign jurisdictions. The process of seeking intellectual property protection can be time consuming and expensive. We cannot ensure that:

 

  patents will issue from currently pending or future applications;

 

  our existing patents or any new patents will be sufficient in scope or strength to provide meaningful protection or any commercial advantage to us;

 

  foreign intellectual property laws will protect our intellectual property rights; or

 

  others will not independently develop similar products, duplicate our products or design around our technology.

 

If we do not successfully enforce our intellectual property rights, our competitive position could suffer, which could harm our operating results. We also rely on trade secrets, proprietary know-how and confidentiality provisions in agreements with employees, consultants, customers and suppliers to protect our intellectual property. Other parties may not comply with the terms of their agreements with us, and we may not be able to adequately enforce our rights against these parties.

 

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Third parties may claim we are infringing their intellectual property, and we could suffer significant litigation costs, licensing expenses or be prevented from selling our products.

 

Intellectual property rights are uncertain and involve complex legal and factual questions. We may be unknowingly infringing on the intellectual property rights of others and may be liable for that infringement, which could result in significant liability for us. If we do infringe the intellectual property rights of others, we could be forced to either seek a license to intellectual property rights of others or alter our products so that they no longer infringe the intellectual property rights of others. A license could be very expensive to obtain or may not be available at all. Similarly, changing our products or processes to avoid infringing the rights of others may be costly or impractical.

 

We are responsible for any patent litigation costs. If we were to become involved in a dispute regarding intellectual property, whether ours or that of another company, we may have to participate in legal proceedings. These types of proceedings may be costly and time consuming for us, even if we eventually prevail. If we do not prevail, we might be forced to pay significant damages, obtain licenses, modify our products or processes, stop making products or stop using processes.

 

Our dependence on international sales and non-U.S. suppliers involves significant risk.

 

International sales have constituted a significant portion of our revenues in recent years, and we expect that this composition will continue. International sales accounted for 65.5% of our net sales for the nine months ended April 30, 2004 and 49.4% of our net sales for the nine months ended April 30, 2003. In addition, we rely on non-U.S. suppliers for several components of the equipment we sell. As a result, a major part of our revenues and the ability to manufacture our products are subject to the risks associated with international commerce. A reduction in revenues or a disruption or increase in the cost of our manufacturing materials could hurt our operating results. These international relationships make us particularly sensitive to changes in the countries from which we derive sales and obtain supplies. International sales and our relationships with suppliers may be hurt by many factors, including:

 

  changes in law or policy resulting in burdensome government controls, tariffs, restrictions, embargoes or export license requirements;

 

  political and economic instability in our target international markets;

 

  longer payment cycles common in foreign markets;

 

  difficulties of staffing and managing our international operations;

 

  less favorable foreign intellectual property laws making it harder to protect our technology from appropriation by competitors; and

 

  difficulties collecting our accounts receivable because of the distance and different legal rules.

 

In the past, we have incurred expenses to meet new regulatory requirements in Europe, experienced periodic difficulties in obtaining timely payment from non-U.S. customers, and been affected by the recession in several Asian countries. Our foreign sales are typically invoiced and collected in U.S. dollars. A strengthening in the dollar relative to the currencies of those countries where we do business would increase the prices of our products as stated in those currencies and could hurt our sales in those countries. Significant fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies could cause us to lower our prices and thus reduce our profitability. These fluctuations could also cause prospective customers to push out or delay orders because of the increased relative cost of our products. In the past, there have been significant fluctuations in the exchange rates between the dollar and the currencies of countries in which we do business. While we have not entered into significant foreign currency hedging arrangements, we may do so in the future. If we do enter into foreign currency hedging arrangements, they may not be effective.

 

Our stock price is volatile.

 

Between May 1, 2003 and April 30, 2004, our stock price has ranged from a low of $6.69 to a high of $19.83. The price of our common stock has been and likely will continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to a number of events and factors, such as:

 

  quarterly variations in our operating results;

 

  variances of our quarterly results of operations from securities analyst estimates;

 

  changes in financial estimates and recommendations by securities analysts;

 

  announcements of technological innovations, new products or strategic alliances; and

 

  news reports relating to trends in our markets.

 

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In addition, the stock market in general, and the market prices for semiconductor-related companies in particular, have experienced significant price and volume fluctuations that often have been unrelated to the operating performance of the companies affected by these fluctuations. These broad market fluctuations may adversely affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance.

 

Provisions contained in our charter documents and Massachusetts law may inhibit a takeover attempt, which could reduce or eliminate the likelihood of a change of control transaction and, therefore, the ability of our stockholders to sell their shares for a premium.

 

Provisions in our corporate charter and bylaws and applicable provisions of the Massachusetts General Laws may make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of us without the approval of our board of directors. These provisions include:

 

  a classified board of directors;

 

  limitations on the removal of directors;

 

  limitations on stockholder proposals at meetings of stockholders; and

 

  limitations on the ability of stockholders to act by written consent; and

 

  limitations on the ability of stockholders to call special meetings.

 

These provisions may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve the payment of a premium over prevailing market prices of our common stock.

 

Our former independent public accountant, Arthur Andersen LLP, has been found guilty of a federal obstruction of justice charge, and you may be unable to exercise effective remedies against it in any legal action.

 

Our former independent public accountant, Arthur Andersen LLP, provided us with auditing services for prior fiscal periods through July 31, 2001, including issuing an audit report with respect to our audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended July 31, 2001 included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2003. On June 15, 2002, a jury in Houston, Texas found Arthur Andersen LLP guilty of a federal obstruction of justice charge arising from the federal government’s investigation of Enron Corp. On August 31, 2002, Arthur Andersen LLP ceased practicing before the SEC. We were unable after reasonable efforts to obtain Arthur Andersen LLP’s consent to include its report with respect to our audited consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended July 31, 2001 in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended July 31, 2003. Rule 437a under the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act, permits us to dispense with the requirement to file their consent after reasonable efforts to obtain it. As a result, you may not have an effective remedy against Arthur Andersen LLP in connection with a material misstatement or omission with respect to our audited consolidated financial statements that are incorporated by reference in any filing we may make with the SEC, any claim under Section 11 of the Securities Act. In addition, even if you were able to assert such a claim, as a result of its conviction and other lawsuits, Arthur Andersen LLP may fail or otherwise have insufficient assets to satisfy claims made by investors or by us that might arise under federal securities laws or otherwise relating to any alleged material misstatement or omission with respect to our audited consolidated financial statements.

 

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Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

 

A discussion of the Company’s exposure to and management of market risk appears under the heading “Business Risks”.

 

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. Based on the evaluation by management, with the participation of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report on Form 10-Q, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (1) were designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company, including its consolidated subsidiaries, was made known to them by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report was being prepared and (2) effective, in that they provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act, including information regarding its consolidated subsidiaries, is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the SEC.

 

Changes in Internal Controls. No change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) occurred during the fiscal quarter ended April 30, 2004 that has materially affected or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Limitations on the Effectiveness of Controls

 

The Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, does not expect that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures or the Company’s internal controls can prevent all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the control system are met. Further, the design of a control system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. The inherent limitations in all control systems include the realities that judgments in decision-making can be faulty and that breakdowns can occur because of simple error or mistake. Additionally, controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons or by collusion of two or more people. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

 

PART II - OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 6. Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K

 

(a)

 

  (i) Exhibit 31.1 and 31.2 Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certifications

 

  (ii) Exhibit 32 Section 1350 Certifications

 

(b)

 

  (i) On February 9, 2004, the Company furnished a current report on Form 8-K under Item 12 (Results of Operations and Financial Condition) describing and furnishing the press release announcing its earnings for the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2004, which press release included its consolidated financial statements for the period.

 

  (ii) On February 9, 2004, the Company filed a current report on Form 8-K under Item 7 (Financial Statement and Exhibits) describing and filing the press release announcing its plans to publicly offer 7,000,000 shares of its common stock.

 

  (iii) On February 13, 2004, the Company filed a current report on Form 8-K under Item 7 (Financial Statements and Exhibits) describing and filing the press release announcing that it had priced its previously announced public offering and filing certain related documents.

 

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SIGNATURE

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

 

   

LTX Corporation

Date: June 8, 2004

 

By:

 

/s/ Mark J. Gallenberger


       

Mark J. Gallenberger

       

Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer

       

(Principal Financial Officer)

 

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