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8-K - FORM 8-K - HUTCHINSON TECHNOLOGY INCf8k_080114.htm
Exhibit 99.1
 
 
HUTCHINSON TECHNOLOGY THIRD QUARTER RESULTS IN LINE WITH EXPECTATIONS

Volume Growth and Gross Profit Improvement Expected in the Fourth Quarter

Company Begins Manufacturing Component for Smartphone Cameras

Hutchinson, Minn., Aug. 1, 2014 -- Hutchinson Technology Incorporated (NASDAQ: HTCH) today reported net sales of $59.8 million for its fiscal third quarter ended June 29, 2014, on suspension assembly shipments of 97.5 million, down 4% from 101.7 million in the preceding quarter.  Gross profit in the fiscal 2014 third quarter was $3.6 million, or 6% of net sales, compared with $5.9 million, or 10% of net sales, in the preceding quarter.

Rick Penn, Hutchinson Technology’s president and chief executive officer, said the sequential decline in gross profit was in line with the company’s expectations for the quarter.  “As planned, we decreased production volume in the third quarter, which is typically a seasonally slower period for suspension assembly demand.  The lower production volume resulted in lower fixed cost absorption and a decline in gross profit,” said Penn.

Penn noted that the company has made significant progress on its site consolidation efforts and expects the resulting cost benefits to become more meaningful as the company exits the current fiscal year.  “With the production volumes we are now achieving at our Thailand operation, we were able to exit our Eau Claire assembly operation in June,” said Penn.  “In addition, we expect to vacate our leased Plymouth facility after we finish consolidating the stamping operation into our Hutchinson site by the end of the fiscal year.”  Penn said the Thailand operation accounted for 64% of assembly production in the third quarter, up from 55% in the preceding quarter, and is expected to account for 70% to 80% of fourth quarter assembly production.

For its fiscal 2014 third quarter, the company reported a net loss of $11.2 million, or $0.40 per share.  The net loss included:
 
§
$1.5 million of severance and site consolidation costs;
§
$800,000 of non-cash interest expense; and
§
a $100,000 foreign currency gain.
 
Excluding these items, the company’s third quarter net loss was $8.9 million, or $0.32 per share.

In the preceding quarter, the company’s $8.7 million net loss included $800,000 of non-cash interest expense, $700,000 of severance and site consolidation costs, and a $600,000 foreign currency gain.  Excluding these items, the company’s fiscal 2014 second quarter net loss was $7.8 million, or $0.28 per share.

 
 

 
Average selling price in the fiscal 2014 third quarter was $0.58, compared with $0.57 in the preceding quarter.  The increase resulted from a mix of products shipped that included certain dual-stage actuated (DSA) suspensions that carried higher development-stage pricing.  Shipments of DSA suspensions accounted for 25% of third quarter shipments compared with 24% in the preceding quarter.

Cash and investments at the end of the fiscal 2014 third quarter totaled $40.2 million, unchanged from the preceding quarter.  Cash generated by operations in the quarter totaled $0.5 million and capital spending totaled $2.9 million.  Outstanding borrowings on the company’s revolving line of credit totaled $4.8 million at the end of the third quarter, compared with $2.0 million at the end of the preceding quarter.

The company expects its suspension assembly shipments in the fiscal 2014 fourth quarter to be 110 million to 115 million as customers’ production plans for hard disk drives increase and the company’s participation on customers’ programs improves.  Fourth quarter average selling price is expected to be relatively flat sequentially with DSA suspension assemblies accounting for 25% to 30% of fourth quarter shipments.  The company expects fourth quarter gross profit to increase on a sequential basis as higher shipments and the benefits of cost reductions are partially offset by a reduction in finished goods inventories.

“With the progress we have made on our site consolidation and related restructuring efforts, we are confident that we have the industry’s lowest cost model for producing suspension assemblies,” said Penn.  “We have achieved this while preserving the core technical, manufacturing and quality capabilities required to effectively meet our customers’ advancing requirements.  Our customers are recognizing what we have accomplished and our share positions on new customer programs are beginning to reflect that,” said Penn.  “Our customers are showing their support and commitment to us through higher volume and increased collaboration on development efforts.”

Penn said the company is also making progress in its new business development initiative, which focuses on leveraging its precision manufacturing capabilities and equipment capacity to produce components in new market segments.  As part of this effort, the company was recently selected to provide an optical image stabilization (“OIS”) actuator for a smartphone camera and has begun manufacturing of this new product.  The OIS actuator is based on shape memory alloy (“SMA”) technology that improves picture and video quality, particularly in low-light conditions, and offers performance and size advantages over current OIS solutions.  The company is bringing this product to market with its partner, Cambridge Mechatronics Ltd., a high technology design and engineering company based in Cambridge, England.  The initial SMA OIS product will be used on a smartphone for the Chinese market that will be released in the fall of 2014.

 
 

 
“The SMA OIS actuator is ideally suited to leverage our quality and continuous improvement expertise and our precision component manufacturing capabilities, including our automated photoetching, stamping, additive circuit and assembly processes.  Our first OIS automated production line is being installed and will be ramping to volume later this summer,” said Penn.  “We are also working with other interested smartphone and camera module makers who are evaluating our OIS actuator for potential inclusion in their future products.  While we’re in the early stages with this product and volumes initially will be low, we are encouraged by the interest our OIS actuator is attracting and excited about the significant opportunity that the smartphone camera market provides.”

For more information on the company’s OIS actuator, please visit www.htchmfg.com/optical-image-stabilization.

Hutchinson Technology to Host Conference Call
The company will conduct a conference call and webcast for investors beginning at 7:00 a.m. Central Time today.  Individual investors and news media may participate in the conference call live via the webcast, which will be available through the Investor Relations page on Hutchinson Technology’s web site at www.htch.com/investors.  Webcast participants will need to complete a brief registration form and should allow extra time before the webcast begins to register and, if necessary, download and install audio software.

About Hutchinson Technology
Hutchinson Technology is a global technology leader committed to creating value by developing solutions to critical customer problems.  As a key worldwide supplier of suspension assemblies for disk drives, the company’s products help customers improve overall disk drive performance and meet the demands of an ever-expanding digital universe.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements regarding hard disk drive production, collaboration on development efforts, demand for and shipments of the company's products, market adoption and the company’s manufacturing of OIS actuators, product mix, pricing, production capability and costs, operating performance, operations in Thailand and the United States, site consolidation efforts, cost reductions and financial results.  The company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements.  These statements involve risks and uncertainties.  The company’s actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of changes in market demand and market consumption of disk drives or suspension assemblies, changes in demand for our products, market acceptance of new products, the company’s ability to produce suspension assemblies at levels of precision, quality, volume and cost its customers require, changes in product mix, changes in customers yields, changes in storage capacity requirements, changes in expected data density, changes in the company’s ability to operate its assembly operation in Thailand, changes in the company’s ability to reduce costs and other factors described from time to time in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.


INVESTOR CONTACT:
MEDIA CONTACT:
Chuck Ives
Connie Pautz
Hutchinson Technology Inc.
Hutchinson Technology Inc.
320-587-1605
320-587-1823
 
 
 

 
Hutchinson Technology Incorporated
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - Unaudited
(In thousands, except per share data)
 
   
Thirteen Weeks Ended
   
Thirty-Nine Weeks Ended
 
   
June 29,
   
June 30,
   
June 29,
   
June 30,
 
   
2014
   
2013
   
2014
   
2013
 
                         
                         
Net sales
  $ 59,772     $ 61,308     $ 190,783     $ 185,937  
Cost of sales
    56,215       59,909       175,833       169,140  
Gross profit
    3,557       1,399       14,950       16,797  
                                 
Research and development expenses
    4,157       4,102       12,488       10,926  
Selling, general and administrative expenses
    5,268       5,585       17,343       17,967  
Severance and site consolidation expenses
    1,544       638       2,786       1,988  
Asset impairment
    -       -       4,470       -  
Loss from operations
    (7,412 )     (8,926 )     (22,137 )     (14,084 )
                                 
Other income (expense), net
    179       (3,424 )     (2,238 )     (442 )
Gain on extinguishment of long-term debt
    -       -       -       4,986  
Interest income
    28       22       63       84  
Interest expense
    (3,987 )     (3,581 )     (11,723 )     (11,371 )
Gain on short- and long-term investments
    -       -       -       272  
Loss before income taxes
    (11,192 )     (15,909 )     (36,035 )     (20,555 )
                                 
Provision (benefit) for income taxes
    15       (43 )     (776 )     (34 )
                                 
Net loss
  $ (11,207 )   $ (15,866 )   $ (35,259 )   $ (20,521 )
                                 
Basic loss per share
  $ (0.40 )   $ (0.59 )   $ (1.26 )   $ (0.81 )
                                 
Diluted loss per share
  $ (0.40 )   $ (0.59 )   $ (1.26 )   $ (0.81 )
                                 
Weighted-average common shares outstanding
    28,055       27,084       27,967       25,451  
                                 
Weighted-average diluted shares outstanding
    28,055       27,084       27,967       25,451  
 
 
 

 
Hutchinson Technology Incorporated
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets - Unaudited
(In thousands, except shares data)
 
   
June 29,
   
September 29,
 
   
2014
   
2013
 
ASSETS
           
Current assets:
           
Cash and cash equivalents
  $ 38,995     $ 39,403  
Short-term investments - restricted
    1,195       1,200  
Trade receivables, net
    18,218       21,680  
Other receivables
    2,258       3,214  
Inventories
    51,574       44,285  
Other current assets
    3,276       6,383  
Total current assets
    115,516       116,165  
Property, plant and equipment, net
    156,618       186,914  
Other assets
    2,858       3,596  
Total assets
  $ 274,992     $ 306,675  
                 
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
               
Current liabilities:
               
Current debt, net of discount
  $ 43,499     $ 3,980  
Current portion of capital lease obligation
    2,060       1,122  
Accounts payable
    16,200       23,535  
Accrued expenses
    9,237       6,066  
Accrued compensation
    9,910       9,251  
Total current liabilities
    80,906       43,954  
Long-term debt, net of discount
    86,799       123,023  
Capital lease obligation
    4,976       2,968  
Other long-term liabilities
    2,777       2,497  
Shareholders' equity:
               
Common stock $.01 par value, 100,000,000 shares
               
    authorized, 28,058,000 and 27,581,000
               
    issued and outstanding
    281       276  
Additional paid-in capital
    432,906       431,909  
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
    (590 )     (148 )
Accumulated loss
    (333,063 )     (297,804 )
Total shareholders' equity
    99,534       134,233  
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity
  $ 274,992     $ 306,675  
 
 
 

 
Hutchinson Technology Incorporated
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - Unaudited
(Dollars in thousands)
 
   
Thirty-Nine Weeks Ended
 
   
June 29,
   
June 30,
 
   
2014
   
2013
 
Operating activities:
           
Net loss
  $ (35,259 )   $ (20,521 )
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to
               
   cash provided by operating activities:
               
Depreciation and amortization
    28,944       29,476  
Stock-based compensation
    976       741  
Gain on short- and long-term investments
    -       (272 )
Loss on disposal of assets
    80       125  
Asset impairment charge
    4,470       -  
Non-cash interest expense
    2,475       2,570  
Gain on extinguishment of debt
    -       (4,986 )
Severance and other expenses
    949       -  
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
    (2,293 )     (4,065 )
    Cash provided by operating activities
    342       3,068  
                 
Investing activities:
               
Capital expenditures
    (13,396 )     (15,037 )
Proceeds from sale/leaseback of equipment
    6,395       4,910  
Proceeds from the sale of building and related assets
    4,364       -  
Change in restricted cash
    1,609       1,889  
Purchases of marketable securities
    (1,195 )     (1,200 )
Sales / maturities of marketable securities
    1,200       1,472  
    Cash used for investing activities
    (1,023 )     (7,966 )
                 
Financing activities:
               
Proceeds from issuance of common stock
    26       280  
Repayments of capital lease
    (1,230 )     (511 )
Repayments of revolving credit line
    (153,950 )     (176,271 )
Proceeds from revolving credit line
    154,770       176,271  
Repayments of debt
    -       (23,470 )
Proceeds from private placement of debt
    -       11,590  
Debt refinancing costs
    -       (359 )
    Cash used for financing activities
    (384 )     (12,470 )
                 
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash
    657       -  
                 
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents
    (408 )     (17,368 )
                 
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period
    39,403       53,653  
                 
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period
  $ 38,995     $ 36,285  
 
 
 

 
Hutchinson Technology Incorporated
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP to GAAP Financial Measures - Unaudited
(In thousands, except per share data)
 
   
Thirteen Weeks Ended
 
   
June 29,
   
March 30,
   
June 30,
 
   
2014
   
2014
   
2013
 
                   
Net loss - GAAP
  $ (11,207 )   $ (8,706 )   $ (15,866 )
Subtract foreign currency gain
    (101 )     (576 )     -  
Add foreign currency loss
    -       -       3,368  
Add non-cash interest expenses
    842       834       749  
Add severance
    1,339       366       -  
Add site consolidation expenses
    205       284       638  
Net loss - Adjusted
  $ (8,922 )   $ (7,798 )   $ (11,111 )
                         
                         
Net loss per common share – GAAP:
                       
                         
Basic loss per share
  $ (0.40 )   $ (0.31 )   $ (0.59 )
Diluted loss per share
  $ (0.40 )   $ (0.31 )   $ (0.59 )
                         
Net loss per common share – Adjusted:
                       
                         
Basic loss per share
  $ (0.32 )   $ (0.28 )   $ (0.41 )
Diluted loss per share
  $ (0.32 )   $ (0.28 )   $ (0.41 )
                         
Weighted average common and common equivalent shares outstanding:
                 
                         
Basic
    28,055       28,047       27,084  
Diluted
    28,055       28,047       27,084  
 
Net loss per common share basic and diluted, is calculated by dividing net loss by weighted average common and common equivalent shares outstanding basic and diluted, respectively.