UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC. 20549


FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

ý

(Mark One)
x

Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

for the quarterly
period ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004

or

o

Transition report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

for the transition
period from______to_________from                 to                 

Commission File Number 0-24085

000-24085


AXT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

DELAWARE

94-3031310

DELAWARE94-3031310

(State or other jurisdiction of

(I.R.S. Employer

Incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

4281 Technology Drive, Fremont, California 94538

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

4281 Technology Drive, Fremont, California
(Address of principal executive offices)

94538
(Zip code)
(510) 683-5900

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)


 


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 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 YESxý NOo

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

YESo NOxý

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 July 23, 2004

ClassOutstanding at September 30, 2003


Common Stock, $.001 par value

22,931,338

23,046,320





AXT, INC.

1FORM 10-Q


TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements (unaudited)

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets as of June 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2004 and 2003

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the six month periods ended June 30, 2004 and 2003

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

Notes To Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Item 3. QualitativeQuantitative and QuantitativeQualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

Item 4. Controls and Procedures

PART IIII. OTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

Item 2. Changes in Securities and Use of Proceeds

Item 3. Defaults upon Senior Securities

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

Item 5. Other Information

Item 6. Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K

SIGNATURESSignatures

INDEX TO EXHIBITS
EXHIBIT 10.16
EXHIBIT 31.1
EXHIBIT 31.2
EXHIBIT 32.1
EXHIBIT 32.2


AXT, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION
Item 1.Financial Statements
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at September 30, 2003 and December 31, 20023
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2003 and 20024
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 and 20025
Notes To Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements6-14
Item 2.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations14-34
Item 3.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk34
Item 4.Controls and Procedures34-35
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1.Legal Proceedings35
Item 6.Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K36
Signatures37
Exhibits

2




PART I. FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Item 1. Financial Statements

AXT, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Unaudited)

(InUnaudited, in thousands, except per share data)

            
     September 30 December 31,
     2003 2002
     
 
     (Unaudited)    
Assets:        
 Current assets        
  Cash and cash equivalents $21,486  $13,797 
  Short-term investments  14,010   8,205 
  Accounts receivable  4,953   7,195 
  Inventories  26,095   37,598 
  Prepaid expenses and other current assets  1,804   4,002 
  Income tax receivable  72   8,783 
  Assets held for sale  1,000   5,957 
    
   
 
   Total current assets  69,420   85,537 
 Property, plant and equipment  22,730   39,982 
 Other assets  4,773   5,341 
 Restricted deposits  9,402   11,150 
 Long-term investments  2,406   3,657 
    
   
 
   Total assets $108,731  $145,667 
    
   
 
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity:        
 Current liabilities        
  Accounts payable $1,899  $4,228 
  Accrued liabilities  9,483   11,407 
  Current portion of long-term debt  1,765   965 
  Current portion of capital lease obligation     3,562 
    
   
 
   Total current liabilities  13,147   20,162 
  Long-term debt, net of current portion  10,874   13,289 
  Long-term capital lease, net of current portion     4,847 
  Other long-term liabilities  1,583   1,712 
    
   
 
   Total liabilities  25,604   40,010 
    
   
 
 Stockholders’ equity:        
  Preferred stock, $.001 par value per share; 2,000 shares authorized; 883 shares issued and outstanding  3,532   3,532 
  Common stock, $.001 par value per share; 70,000 shares authorized; 22,931 and 22,495 shares issued and outstanding  154,937   154,485 
  Accumulated deficit  (76,813)  (52,197)
  Other comprehensive income (loss)  1,471   (163)
    
   
 
   Total stockholders’ equity  83,127   105,657 
    
   
 
  Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $108,731  $145,667 
    
   
 

 

 

June 30,
2004

 

December 31,
2003

 

Assets:

 

 

 

 

 

Current assets

 

 

 

 

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

14,783

 

$

24,339

 

Short-term investments

 

19,858

 

14,669

 

Accounts receivable, net of allowance of $4,946 and $4,304 as of June 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003, respectively

 

4,390

 

6,297

 

Inventories

 

21,822

 

24,083

 

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

 

2,572

 

1,301

 

Assets held for sale

 

1,000

 

1,000

 

Total current assets

 

64,425

 

71,689

 

Property, plant and equipment

 

20,968

 

21,795

 

Other assets

 

3,290

 

4,237

 

Restricted deposits

 

8,615

 

9,302

 

Total Assets

 

$

97,298

 

$

107,023

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

Current liabilities

 

 

 

 

 

Current portion of long-term debt

 

$

1,923

 

$

3,694

 

Accounts payable

 

2,791

 

2,638

 

Accrued liabilities

 

7,802

 

8,296

 

Accrued restructuring

 

1,040

 

 

Total current liabilities

 

13,556

 

14,628

 

Long-term debt, net of current portion

 

7,885

 

8,842

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

1,282

 

1,255

 

Total liabilities

 

22,723

 

24,725

 

Stockholders’ Equity:

 

 

 

 

 

Preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share; 2,000 shares authorized; 833 shares issued and outstanding

 

3,532

 

3,532

 

Common stock, $0.001 par value per share; 70,000 shares authorized; 23,047 and 22,957 shares issued and outstanding, respectively

 

155,371

 

155,178

 

Accumulated deficit

 

(85,335

)

(78,928

)

Accumulated other comprehensive income

 

1,007

 

2,516

 

Total stockholders’ equity

 

74,575

 

82,298

 

Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity

 

$

97,298

 

$

107,023

 

See accompanying notes to these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

3




AXT, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (Unaudited)
OPERATIONS

(InUnaudited, in thousands, except per share data)

                   
    Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
    September 30, September 30,
    2003 2002 2003 2002
    
 
 
 
Revenue $8,529  $11,726  $25,583  $36,362 
Cost of revenue  8,029   12,885   24,135   35,505 
   
   
   
   
 
Gross profit  500   (1,159)  1,448   857 
Operating expenses:                
 Selling, general and administrative  2,654   3,495   7,973   11,108 
 Research and development  301   486   1,048   1,742 
 Property, plant and equipment impairment loss     542      14,632 
   
   
   
   
 
  Total operating expenses  2,955   4,523   9,021   27,482 
   
   
   
   
 
Loss from operations  (2,455)  (5,682)  (7,573)  (26,625)
Interest expense  145   105   368   362 
Other (income)/expense, net  (3)  (308)  1,035   8,183 
   
   
   
   
 
Loss before income tax benefit  (2,597)  (5,479)  (8,976)  (35,170)
Income tax provision     10,673      4,433 
   
   
   
   
 
Loss from continuing operations  (2,597)  (16,152)  (8,976)  (39,603)
Discontinued operations:                
 Loss from operations  (1,591)  (19,533)  (6,165)  (32,149)
 Gain /(loss) on disposal  1,625      (9,475)   
 Income tax (benefit)     (7,012)     (8,103)
   
   
   
   
 
Gain /(loss) from discontinued operations  34   (12,521)  (15,640)  (24,046)
   
   
   
   
 
Net loss $(2,563) $(28,673) $(24,616) $(63,649)
   
   
   
   
 
Basic and diluted loss per share:                
 Loss from continuing operations  (0.11)  (0.72)  (0.39)  (1.76)
 Loss from discontinued operations  0.00   (0.56)  (0.69)  (1.07)
 Net loss  (0.11)  (1.28)  (1.08)  (2.84)
Shares used in per share calculations:                
 Basic  22,857   22,478   22,727   22,443 
 Diluted  22,857   22,478   22,727   22,443 

 

 

Three Months Ended
June 30,

 

Six Months Ended
June 30,

 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

2004

 

2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

$

9,524

 

$

8,519

 

$

19,300

 

$

17,054

 

Cost of revenue

 

8,695

 

7,844

 

17,938

 

16,106

 

Gross profit

 

829

 

675

 

1,362

 

948

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selling, general and administrative

 

3,203

 

2,819

 

5,973

 

5,319

 

Research and development

 

350

 

368

 

691

 

747

 

Restructuring charge

 

1,077

 

 

1,077

 

 

Total operating expenses

 

4,630

 

3,187

 

7,741

 

6,066

 

Loss from operations

 

(3,801

)

(2,512

)

(6,379

)

(5,118

)

Interest expense

 

58

 

108

 

167

 

223

 

Other expense (income), net

 

113

 

1,269

 

(54

)

1,038

 

Loss before provision for income taxes

 

(3,972

)

(3,889

)

(6,492

)

(6,379

)

Provision for incomes taxes

 

97

 

 

137

 

 

Loss from continuing operations

 

(4,069

)

(3,889

)

(6,629

)

(6,379

)

Discontinued operations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gain (loss) from discontinued operations

 

222

 

(2,747

)

222

 

(4,574

)

Loss from disposal

 

 

(11,100

)

 

(11,100

)

Net loss

 

$

(3,847

)

$

(17,736

)

$

(6,407

)

$

(22,053

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted loss per share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Loss from continuing operations

 

$

(0.18

)

$

(0.17

)

$

(0.29

)

$

(0.28

)

Gain (loss) from discontinued operations

 

0.01

 

(0.61

)

0.01

 

(0.69

)

Net loss

 

$

(0.17

)

$

(0.78

)

$

(0.28

)

$

(0.97

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted shares used in per share calculations

 

23,045

 

22,702

 

23,020

 

22,665

 

See accompanying notes to these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

4




AXT, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Unaudited)

(InUnaudited, in thousands)

             
      Nine Months Ended
      September 30
      2003 2002
      
 
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:        
 Net loss: $(24,616) $(63,649)
 Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash provided by operations:        
  Depreciation  4,583   7,498 
  Amortization  279   299 
  Deferred income taxes     3,259 
  Loss on disposal  9,475    
  Impairment write-down on investments     9,160 
  Impairment write-down on property, plant and equipment     39,086 
  Non-cash (gain)\loss on marketable equity securities  1,320   (251)
  (Gain) loss on disposal of property, plant and equipment  (11)  323 
  Stock based compensation  28    
  Changes in assets and liabilities:        
   Accounts receivable  1,576   3,816 
   Inventories  9,529   5,017 
   Prepaid expenses  1,988   (2,341)
   Other assets  (139)  (125)
   Accounts payable  (2,329)  1,959 
   Accrued liabilities  (4,306)  (3,336)
   Income taxes  8,711   (5,031)
   Other long-term liabilities  (129)  294 
    
   
 
    Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities  5,959   (4,022)
    
   
 
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:        
 Purchases of property, plant and equipment  (1,911)  (10,412)
 Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment from discontinued opto-electronics business  9,600    
 Proceeds from sale of property located in Fremont, California  5,172     
 Purchases of marketable securities  (3,305)  (16,366)
 Proceeds from sale of marketable securities  5,700   15,570 
 Increase in restricted cash  (4,012)   
    
   
 
    Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities  11,244   (11,208)
    
   
 
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:        
 Proceeds from (payments of):        
  Issuance of common stock  424   850 
  Capital leases payments  (8,409)  (4,620)
  Long-term debt borrowings     637 
  Long-term debt payments  (1,615)  (6,699)
    
   
 
    Net cash used in financing activities  (9,600)  (9,832)
Effect of exchange rate changes  86   171 
    
   
 
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents  7,689   (24,891)
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period  13,797   37,538 
    
   
 
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period $21,486  $12,647 
    
   
 
Non cash activity:        
 Purchase of PP&E through financing $  $577 
    
   
 

 

 

Six Months Ended
June 30,

 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

$

(6,407

)

$

(22,053

)

Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operations:

 

 

 

 

 

Depreciation

 

2,437

 

3,456

 

Amortization of marketable securities premium/discount

 

123

 

225

 

Non-cash restructuring charge

 

1,077

 

 

Loss on disposal

 

 

11,100

 

Impairment write-down on investments

 

 

1,257

 

Gain on disposal of property, plant and equipment

 

 

(11

)

Stock based compensation

 

 

28

 

Changes in assets and liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

1,907

 

11

 

Inventories

 

2,261

 

5,755

 

Prepaid expenses

 

(1,271

)

1,487

 

Other assets

 

39

 

(70

)

Accounts payable

 

153

 

(830

)

Accrued liabilities

 

(531

)

(1272

)

Income taxes

 

 

636

 

Other long-term liabilities

 

27

 

(107

)

Net cash used in operating activities

 

(185

)

(388

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:

 

 

 

 

 

Purchases of property, plant and equipment

 

(702

)

(1,704

)

Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment

 

 

5,172

 

Purchases of marketable securities

 

(20,650

)

(1,808

)

Proceeds from sale of marketable securities

 

10,422

 

4,700

 

Decrease (increase) in restricted cash

 

4,151

 

(3,623

)

Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities

 

(6,779

)

2,737

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:

 

 

 

 

 

Proceeds from (payments of):

 

 

 

 

 

Issuance of common stock

 

193

 

185

 

Capital leases payments

 

 

(2,204

)

Long-term debt payments

 

(2,728

)

(485

)

Net cash used in financing activities

 

(2,535

)

(2,504

)

Effect of exchange rate changes

 

(57

)

(45

)

Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents

 

(9,556

)

(200

)

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the period

 

24,339

 

13,797

 

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the period

 

$

14,783

 

$

13,597

 

See accompanying notes to these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

5




AXT, INC.

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

Note 1. Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying interim condensed consolidated balance sheets as of September 30, 2003 and December 31, 2002, the condensed consolidatedfinancial statements of income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2003 and 2002, and the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 and 2002 have been prepared by AXT, Inc. (“AXT” or the “Company”) and are unaudited. The accompanying unaudited, condensed consolidated financial statementsand have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted accounting principlesin the United States of America for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, certain information and footnote disclosure normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America have been condensed or omitted. In the opinion of management, the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, considered necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of AXT and its subsidiaries for all periods presented.

 

Management of the Company has made a number of estimates and assumptions relating to the reporting of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities to prepare these condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principlesgenerally accepted accounting principles.in the United States of America. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

 

The results of operations are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected in the future or for the full fiscal year. It is recommended that these condensed consolidated financial statements be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in its 20022003 Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 21, 2003.29, 2004 and May 24, 2004, respectively.

 As a result of the significant revenue declines experienced over the past eight quarters,

Revenues from continuing operations increased in fiscal 2003 compared to fiscal 2002. In response to continued net losses, the Company has taken cost reduction measures and continuesincluding the continued shifting of production to pursue additional alternativesChina to reduce costs and increase cash flows. At SeptemberAs of June 30, 2003,2004, the Company had available cash, cash equivalents and liquid short and long-termshort-term investments of $35.2 million.$34.6 million, excluding restricted deposits. The Company believes that its existing cash and liquid investments, cash generated from operations, coupled with additional efforts to reduce expenditures in support of the continuing substrate business will be sufficient to meet working capital expenditure requirements for the next 12 months. However, existing cash and liquid investments could decline during the remainder of 20032004 due to a continued or further weakening of the economy, a loss in revenue, or changes in our planned cash outlay.

 

If the Company’s sales continue to decrease, the ability to generate cash from operations will be adversely affected which could impactadversely affect its future liquidity, requiring it to use cash at a more rapid rate than expected and require it to seek additional capital. There can be no assurance that such additional capital will be available or, if available on, that it will be at terms acceptable to the Company.

 

Certain reclassifications have been made to the prior years consolidated financial statements to conform to current period presentation.

Note 2.2. Discontinued Operations

 

On June 24, 2003, the Company’s BoardCompany announced the discontinuation of Directors approved management’s plan to exitits opto-electronics division, which was established as part of the Company’s unprofitableacquisition of Lyte Optronics, Inc. in May 1999. Accordingly, the results of operations of the opto-electronics business. division have been segregated from continuing operations and are reported separately as discontinued operations in the consolidated statements of operations. The discontinued opto-electronics division manufactured blue, cyan, and green high-brightness light emitting diodes (HBLEDs) for the illumination markets, including full-color displays, wireless handset backlighting and traffic signals, and also manufactured vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and laser diodes for fiber optic communications and storage area networks.

On September 27, 2003 the Company completed a sale of substantially all of the assets of its opto-electronics business to Lumei-Optoelectronics, CorporationLumei Optoelectronics, Corp. and Dalian Luming Science and Technology Group, Co., Ltd. for the RMBChinese Renminbi equivalent of $9.6 million. The company retains a building located in Monterey Park, CA, that it expects to sell in 2004. This asset is classified as Held for Sale on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet at September 30, 2003. OneProceeds of $1.0 million dollars of the sale proceeds will be held in escrow for up to one year and accordingly,will not be recorded until all claims, if any, are settled. We expect this escrow to be released, if no claims are made against it, on or about September 28, 2004. Of this $1.0 million escrow, up to $250,000 will be held in escrow for a second year and will not be recorded until all claims, if any, are settled. The Company retains a building located in Monterey Park, CA, that it intends to sell in 2004. This asset has been excluded fromclassified as held for sale on the determinationcondensed consolidated balance sheets as of gain/(loss) on disposal.June 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003.

6




The Company recorded a loss on disposal of $9.5 million during the nine months ended September 30, 2003.  The Company recorded a gain on disposaldiscontinued operations of $1.6$0.2 million due to excess proceeds received over net carrying value of assets sold.during the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2004.

The Company’s financial statements have been presented to reflect the opto-electronics business as a discontinued operation for all periods presented. Operating results of the discontinued operation are as follows:

                   
    Three months ended Nine months ended
    September 30, September 30,
    
 
    2003 2002 2003 2002
    
 
 
 
Revenue  227   3,222   7,246   14,557 
Cost of revenue  854   5,606   9,973   15,736 
   
   
   
   
 
Gross profit (loss)  (627)  (2,384)  (2,727)  (1,179)
Operating expenses:                
 Selling, general and administrative  761   1,498   2,297   3,745 
 Research and development  107   822   814   2,014 
 Impairment costs     14,565      24,454 
   
   
   
   
 
  Total operating expenses  868   16,885   3,111   30,213 
   
   
   
   
 
Loss from operations  (1,495)  (19,269)  (5,838)  (31,392)
Interest expense  96   264   327   757 
   
   
   
   
 
Loss before benefit for income taxes and loss on disposal  (1,591)  (19,533)  (6,165)  (32,149)
Income tax (benefit)     (7,012)     (8,103)
Gain/(loss) on disposal  1,625      (9,475)   
   
   
   
   
 
Net income/(loss)  34   (12,521)  (15,640)  (24,046)
   
   
   
   
 
follows (in thousands):

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

2004

 

2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Revenue

 

$

 

$

2,897

 

$

 

$

7,019

 

Cost of revenue

 

 

4,443

 

 

9,119

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gross loss

 

 

(1,546

)

 

(2,100

)

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selling, general and administrative

 

(222

)

750

 

(222

)

1,536

 

Research and development

 

 

342

 

 

707

 

Impairment costs

 

 

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

 

(222

)

1,092

 

(222

)

2,243

 

Gain (loss)  from operations

 

222

 

(2,638

)

222

 

(4,343

)

Interest expense

 

 

109

 

 

231

 

Gain (loss) before benefit for income taxes and loss on disposal

 

222

 

(2,747

)

222

 

(4,574

)

Income tax (benefit)

 

 

 

 

 

Loss on disposal

 

 

(11,100

)

 

(11,100

)

Net gain (loss)

 

$

222

 

$

(13,847

)

$

222

 

$

(15,674

)

The carrying value of the assets and liabilities of the discontinued opto-electronics business included in the consolidated balance sheets are as follows:

           
    September 30, December 31,
    2003 2002
    
 
Current assets:        
 Cash $352  $336 
 Accounts receivable, net  322   3,224 
 Inventories     3,439 
 Assets held for sale  1,000    
 Other current assets     2,482 
    
   
 
  Total current assets  1,674   9,481 
Property, plant and equipment     14,854 
Other assets  200   200 
    
   
 
  Total assets $1,874  $24,535 
    
   
 
Current liabilities:        
 Accounts payable $98  $1,975 
 Accrued liabilities  1,778   2,806 
    
   
 
  Total liabilities  1,876   4,781 
Net assets  (2)  19,754 
    
   
 
Total liabilities and net assets $1,874  $24,535 
    
   
 
follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

June 30, 2004

 

December 31, 2003

 

Current assets:

 

 

 

 

 

Cash

 

$

560

 

$

539

 

Accounts receivable, net

 

19

 

250

 

Assets held for sale

 

1,000

 

1,000

 

Total current assets

 

1,579

 

1,789

 

Other assets

 

200

 

200

 

Total assets

 

$

1,779

 

$

1,989

 

Current liabilities:

 

 

 

 

 

Accounts payable

 

$

 

$

43

 

Accrued liabilities

 

462

 

1,232

 

Total liabilities

 

462

 

1,275

 

Net assets

 

1,317

 

714

 

Total liabilities and net assets

 

$

1,779

 

$

1,989

 

Assets held for sale consist of a building and are carried at managementsmanagement’s estimated fair value less costs to sell, totaling $1.0 million at September 30, 2003 consist of a building.sell.

7




Note 3.3. Accounting for Stock Options

 

The Company records compensation expense for employee stock options based upon their intrinsic value on the date of grant pursuant to Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25 (APB 25), “Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees.”Employees” and has adopted the disclosure-only alternative of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (SFAS 123) “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation”. Because the Company establishes the exercise price based on the fair market value of the Company’s stock at the date of grant, the options have no intrinsic value upon grant, and therefore no expense is recorded. Each quarter, the Company reports the potential dilutive impact of stock options in its diluted earnings per share using the treasury-stock method. Out-of-the-money stock options (i.e., options where the average sales price of our common stock priceas reported on the Nasdaq National Market during the period is below the strikeexercise price of the option) are not included in diluted earnings per share.

 

As required under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No.SFAS 123 (SFAS 123), “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation,” and Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 148 (SFAS 148), “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation Transition and Disclosure,” the pro forma effects of stock-based compensation on net income (loss) and net earningsincome (loss) per common share had the Company applied the fair value recognition principles of SFAS 123 to employee stock options have been estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model.

 

The Black-Scholes option-pricing model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of traded options that have no restrictions and are fully transferable and negotiable in a free trading market. Black-Scholes does not consider the employment, transfer or vesting restrictions that are inherent in the Company’s employee options. Use of an option valuation model, as required by SFAS 123, includes highly subjective assumptions based on long-term predictions, including the expected stock price volatility and average life of each option grant. Because the Company’s employee options have characteristics significantly different from those of freely traded options, and because changes in the assumptions underlying the option-pricing model can materially affect the Company’s estimate of the fair value of those options, in the Company’s opinion, the existing valuation models, including Black-Scholes, are not reliable single measures and may misstate the fair value of the Company’s employee options.

The Company calculated the fair value of each option grant on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model as prescribed by SFAS 123 using the following assumptions:

         
  Nine Months Ended
  September 30,
  
  2003 2002
  
 
Risk free interest rate  2.7%  3.0%
Expected life (in years)  5.0   5.0 
Dividend yield  0.0%  0.0%
Volatility  117.0%  101.0%

 

 

 

Six Months Ended
June 30,

 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

Weighted average risk free interest rate

 

1.6

%

2.7

%

Expected life (in years)

 

5.0

 

5.0

 

Dividend yield

 

 

 

Volatility

 

85.3

%

114.0

%

The weighted average fair value of options as of the date of grant of options granted during the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2004 and 2003 were $1.97 and 2002 were $1.15 and $7.85$1.05, respectively.

8




Had compensation cost for the Company’s options been determined based on the fair value at the grant dates, as prescribed in SFAS 123 and SFAS 148, the Company’s pro forma net incomeloss and net incomeloss per share would have been summarized as summarized belowfollows (in thousands, except per share data):

 

 

Three Months Ended
June 30,

 

Six Months Ended
June 30,

 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

2004

 

2003

 

Net loss :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As reported

 

$

(3,847

)

$

(17,736

)

$

(6,407

)

$

(22,053

)

Stock-based compensation determined under fair value method

 

(253

)

(1,743

)

(846

)

(3,566

)

Pro forma net loss

 

$

(4,100

)

$

(19,479

)

$

(7,253

)

$

(25,619

)

Net loss per share:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As reported:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted

 

$

(0.17

)

$

(0.78

)

$

(0.28

)

$

(0.97

)

Pro forma net loss :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted

 

$

(0.18

)

$

(0.86

)

$

(0.32

)

$

(1.13

)

Shares used in per share calculation:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Basic and diluted

 

23,045

 

22,702

 

23,020

 

22,665

 

Because additional option grants are expected to be made each quarter, the above pro forma disclosures are not representative of pro forma effects on reported net income (loss) for future quarters.

Note

                    
     Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
     September 30, September 30,
     
 
     2003 2002 2003 2002
     
 
 
 
Net loss:                
  As reported $(2,563) $(28,673) $(24,616) $(63,649)
  Pro forma option expense  (1,996)  (2,269)  (5,562)  (6,928)
     
   
   
   
 
  Pro forma net loss $(4,559) $(30,942) $(30,178) $(70,577)
 Net loss per share as reported:                
   Basic and diluted $(0.11) $(1.28) $(1.08) $(2.84)
 Pro forma net loss:                
   Basic and diluted $(0.20) $(1.38) $(1.33) $(3.14)
 Shares used in per share calculations:                
   Basic  22,857   22,478   22,727   22,443 
   Diluted  22,857   22,478   22,727   22,443 
4. Investments

Note 4. Asset Held for Sale

     During the fourth quarter of 2002, the Company began to market its property located at 4281 Technology Drive, Fremont, California, and in November of 2002, entered into a contract to sell the property to a third party. On March 11, 2003, the Company completed the sale of its property located at 4281 Technology Drive, Fremont, California, for $6.3 million. Net cash proceeds from the sale were $5.2 million. Under the terms of the sale agreement, the Company has agreed to lease back the property for a five-year period. Accordingly, on March 11, 2003, the company signed an operating lease for 4281 Technology Drive through March 2008. Annual rent under this operating lease is approximately $600,000.

Note 5. Investments

The Company classifies its investment securities as available-for-sale securities as prescribed by Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 115 (SFAS(SFAS 115), “Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities.” All investments are carried at fair market value, which is determined based on quoted market prices, with net unrealized gains and losses included in comprehensive income, net of tax. A decline in the market value of the security below cost that is deemed other than temporary is charged to earnings, resulting in the establishment of a new cost basis for the security. The components of investments at Septemberas of June 30, 20032004 are summarized belowas follows (in thousands):

Available for sale

 

Cost

 

Unrealized
Gain /(loss)

 

Aggregate
Fair value

 

Money market

 

$

8,898

 

$

 

$

8,898

 

Corporate bonds

 

17,103

 

(67

)

17,036

 

Government agency bonds

 

5,275

 

(1

)

5,274

 

Corporate equity securities

 

1,464

 

1,210

 

2,674

 

 

 

$

32,740

 

$

1,142

 

$

33,882

 

Recorded as :

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cash equivalents

 

$

5,409

 

 

 

 

 

Short-term investments

 

19,858

 

 

 

 

 

Restricted deposits

 

8,615

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

33,882

 

 

 

 

 

Note

             
      Aggregate Unrealized
Available for sale Cost Fair value Gain/(loss)

 
 
 
Money market $8,628  $8,628    
Corporate bonds  13,748   13,831   83 
Government agency bonds  4,503   4,507   4 
Corporate equity securities  1,115   2,688   1,573 
   
   
   
 
  $27,994  $29,654  $1,660 
   
   
   
 
Recorded as:            
Cash equivalents $8,628         
Short-term investments  14,010         
Restricted deposits  4,610         
Long-term investments  2,406         
   
         
  $29,654         
   
         
5. Assets Held for Sale

Assets held for sale at June 30, 2004 consist of a building located in Monterey Park, California, which is part of the Company’s discontinued opto-electronics division (see Note 2). This building is carried at management’s estimated fair value less costs to sell, totaling $1.0 million as of both June 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003.

9




Note 6.6. Inventories

The components of inventory are summarized belowas follows (in thousands):

 

 

June 30,
2004

 

December 31,
2003

 

Inventories:

 

 

 

 

 

Raw materials

 

$

5,951

 

$

7,086

 

Work in process

 

14,724

 

16,027

 

Finished goods

 

1,147

 

970

 

 

 

$

21,822

 

$

24,083

 

Note

          
   September 30,December 31,
   2003 2002
   
 
Inventories:        
 Raw materials, net $9,190  $12,396 
 Work in process, net  12,119   16,651 
 Finished goods, net  4,786   8,551 
    
   
 
  $26,095  $37,598 
    
   
 
7. Restructuring Charge

The Company’s restructuring accrual is summarized as follows (in thousands):

For the three month period ended
June 30, 2004

 

Restructuring
Accrual as of
March 31,
2004

 

Additions/
Reversals

 

Payments

 

Restructuring
Accrual as of
June 30, 2004

 

Future lease payments related to abandoned facilities

 

$

 

$

690

 

$

 

$

690

 

Workforce reduction

 

 

387

 

(37

)

350

 

Total

 

$

 

$

1,077

 

$

(37

)

$

1,040

 

For the six month period ended
June 30, 2004

 

Restructuring
Accrual as of
December 31, 2003

 

Additions/
Reversals

 

Payments

 

Restructuring
Accrual as of
June 30, 2004

 

Future lease payments related to abandoned facilities

 

$

 

$

690

 

$

 

$

690

 

Workforce reduction

 

 

387

 

(37

)

350

 

Total

 

$

 

$

1,077

 

$

(37

)

$

1,040

 

During the three and six month period ended June 30, 2004, the Company recorded a restructuring charge of $1.1 million related to the reduction in force effected in June 2004, and to lease costs associated with facilities located in California that are no longer required to support production.

The remaining restructuring accrual for future lease payments related to abandoned facilities of $0.7 million and workforce reduction of $0.4 million is expected to be paid out through calendar 2004, and is included on the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet as accrued restructuring.

10



Note 7.8. Net Loss Per Share

 

Basic earningsnet loss per common share is calculated by dividing net income (loss)loss available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earningsnet loss per common and common equivalent shares include the dilutive effect of common stock equivalents outstanding during the period calculated using the treasury stock method. Common stock equivalents consist of the shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options.

A reconciliation of the numerators and denominators of the basic and diluted earningsnet loss per share calculations is summarized belowas follows (in thousands, except per share data):

                   
    Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
    September 30, September 30,
    
 
    2003 2002 2003 2002
    
 
 
 
Numerator:                
 Net loss $(2,563) $(28,673) $(24,616) $(63,649)
 Less: Preferred stock dividends  (44)  (44)  (133)  (133)
 Net loss available to common stockholders $(2,607) $(28,717) $(24,749) $(63,782)
    
   
   
   
 
Denominator:                
 Denominator for basic earnings per share - weighted average common shares  22,857   22,478   22,727   22,443 
 Effect of dilutive securities:                
  Common stock options            
    
   
   
   
 
Denominator for dilutive earnings per share  22,857   22,478   22,727   22,443 
    
   
   
   
 
Basic and diluted net loss per share $(0.11) $(1.28) $(1.09) $(2.84)
Options excluded from diluted net income per share as the impact is antidilutive  2,361   2,757   2,411   2,845 

10

 

 

Three Months Ended
June 30,

 

Six Months Ended
June 30,

 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

2004

 

2003

 

Numerator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

$

(3,847

)

$

(17,736

)

$

(6,407

)

$

(22,053

)

Less : Preferred stock dividends

 

(44

)

(44

)

(88

)

(88

)

Net loss available to common stockholders

 

$

(3,891

)

$

(17,780

)

$

(6,496

)

$

(22,141

)

Denominator:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Denominator for basic net loss per share - weighted average common shares

 

23,045

 

22,702

 

23,020

 

22,665

 

Effect of dilutive securities:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Common stock options

 

 

 

 

 

Denominator for dilutive net loss per share

 

23,045

 

22,702

 

23,020

 

22,665

 

Basic and diluted net loss per share

 

$

(0.17

)

$

(0.78

)

$

(0.28

)

$

(0.97

)

Options excluded from diluted net loss per share as the impact is antidilutive

 

1,916

 

3,124

 

1,916

 

3,231

 


Note 8.9. Comprehensive Loss

The components of comprehensive loss are summarized belowas follows (in thousands):

                 
  Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
  September 30, September 30,
  
 
  2003 2002 2003 2002
  
 
 
 
Net loss $(2,563) $(28,673) $(24,616) $(63,649)
Foreign currency translation gain (loss)  131   (33)  86   171 
Unrealized gain (loss) on available for sale investments  871   (1,123)  1,548   (1,201)
   
   
   
   
 
Comprehensive loss $(1,561) $(29,829) $(22,982) $(64,679)
   
   
   
   
 

 

 

Three Months Ended
June 30,

 

Six Months Ended
June 30,

 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

2004

 

2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

$

(3,847

)

$

(17,736

)

$

(6,407

)

$

(22,053

)

Foreign currency translation gain (loss)

 

1

 

1

 

(57

)

(45

)

Unrealized gain (loss) on available for sale investments

 

(296

)

921

 

(1,452

)

677

 

Comprehensive loss

 

$

(4,142

)

$

(16,814

)

$

(7,916

)

$

(21,421

)

Note 9.10. Segment Information

 

The Company has two reportable segments: substratesone operating segment comprising the design, development, manufacture and discontinued opto-electronics.distribution of high-performance compound semiconductor substrates. The Company’s operating segment reports to the Interim Chief Executive Officer.

     Selected industry segment information is summarized below (in thousands):

                  
   Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
   September 30, September 30,
   
 
   2003 2002 2003 2002
   
 
 
 
Substrates Division                
 Net revenues from external customers $8,529  $11,726  $25,583  $36,362 
 Gross profit  500   (1,159)  1,448   857 
 Operating loss  (2,455)  (5,682)  (7,573)  (26,625)
 Identifiable assets  106,857   138,776   106,857   138,776 
Discontinued Opto-electronics Division                
 Identifiable assets $1,874  $24,158  $1,874  $24,158 
Total                
 Net revenues from external customers $8,529  $11,726  $25,583  $36,362 
 Gross profit (loss)  500   (1,159)  1,448   857 
 Operating loss  (2,455)  (5,682)  (7,573)  (26,625)
 Identifiable assets  108,731   162,934   108,731   162,934 

The Company sells its substrates to customers locatedproducts in the United States and in other parts of the world. In addition, the Companyworld, and maintains operations in the United States, Japan and China. Revenues from continuing operations by geographic location based on the country in whichwhere the customer is located wereare summarized as follows (in thousands):

                  
   Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
   September 30, September 30,
   
 
   2003 2002 2003 2002
   
 
 
 
Net revenues:                
 United States $3,030  $6,232  $8,947  $21,050 
 Canada  40   71   147   982 
 Europe  1,621   1,549   4,661   3,990 
 Japan  1,080   1,299   2,866   2,270 
 Taiwan  1,405   1,436   4,549   3,267 
 Asia Pacific and other  1,353   1,139   4,413   4,803 
    
   
   
   
 
 Consolidated $8,529  $11,726  $25,583  $36,362 
    
   
   
   
 

 

 

Three Months Ended
June 30,

 

Six Months Ended
June 30,

 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

2004

 

2003

 

Net revenues:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

United States

 

$

2,142

 

$

2,013

 

$

4,199

 

$

5,917

 

Europe

 

2,287

 

1,731

 

3,702

 

3,040

 

Canada

 

35

 

84

 

89

 

107

 

Japan

 

1,023

 

1,298

 

2,259

 

1,786

 

Taiwan

 

2,539

 

1,655

 

5,683

 

3,144

 

Asia Pacific and other

 

1,498

 

1,738

 

3,368

 

3,060

 

Consolidated

 

$

9,524

 

$

8,519

 

$

19,300

 

$

17,054

 

11




Note 10.11. Corporate Affiliates

The Company’s investments in its corporate affiliates are summarized belowas follows (in thousands):

                 
  Investment Investment        
  Balance Balance        
  September 30, December 31, Accounting Ownership
Affiliate 2003 2002 Method Percentage

 
 
 
 
Xilingol Tongli Ge Co. Ltd. $794  $773  Equity  25%
Emeishan Jia Mei High Pure Metals Co., Ltd.  605   614  Equity  25%
Beijing Ji Ya Semiconductor Material Co., Ltd.  959   1,071  Consolidated  51%
Nanjing Jin Mei Gallium Co., Ltd.  510   616  Consolidated  88%
Beijing BoYu Manufacturing Co., Ltd.  409   409  Consolidated  70%

 

Affiliate

 

Investment
Balance
June 30,
2004

 

Investment
Balance
December 31,
2003

 

Accounting
Method

 

Ownership
Percentage

 

Xilingol Tongli Ge Co. Ltd.

 

$

820

 

$

822

 

Equity

 

25

%

Emeis han Jia Mei High Pure Metals Co., Ltd.

 

599

 

603

 

Equity

 

25

%

Beijing Ji Ya Semiconductor Material Co., Ltd.

 

1,071

 

1,071

 

Consolidated

 

51

%

Nanjing Jin Mei Gallium Co., Ltd.

 

616

 

616

 

Consolidated

 

88

%

Beijing BoYu Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

 

409

 

409

 

Consolidated

 

70

%

The investment balances for those affiliates accounted for under the equity method are included within “Other assets” in the condensed consolidated balance sheets. The minority interest for those affiliates that are consolidated is included within “Other long-term liabilities” in the condensed consolidated balance sheets and within “Other income, net” on the condensed consolidated statements of operations.

 

Undistributed retained earnings relating to the Company’s corporate affiliates was $1,380,000 as of June 30, 2004 and $794,000 as of June 30, 2003. Net income recorded from the Company’s corporate affiliates were $739,000 at September$382,000 and $612,000 for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2003 and $986,000 at September 30, 2002.2004, respectively. Net loss recorded from the Company’s corporate affiliates was $54,000were $41,000 and $121,000$67,000 for the three and nine monthssix month periods ended SeptemberJune 30, 2003, respectively. Net income recorded for the Company’s corporate affiliates was $25,000 and $256,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2002 respectively.

 

The Company invested in these companies because each provides materials that are important to the Company’s substrate business, each can supplyprovide products generally at lower cost than other suppliers, and each has a market beyond that representedprovided by sales to the Company. At SeptemberAs of June 30, 2003,2004, the Company had no obligations to make further investments in any of these companies, although it may choose to do so under certain conditions.

Note 11.12. Commitments and Contingencies

 The Company has entered into contracts

From time to supply several large customers with GaAs wafers. The contracts guarantee the delivery of a certain number of wafers between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2003 with a current contract value of $2.2 million. The contract sales prices are subject to review quarterly and can be adjusted in the event that raw material prices change. In the event of non-delivery of the determined wafer quantities in any monthly delivery period,time the Company could be subject to non-performance penalties of between 5% and 10% of the value of the delinquent monthly deliveries. The Company has not received any claims for non-performance penalties due to non-delivery. Partial prepayments received for these supply contracts totaling $1.1 million are includedis involved in accrued liabilities at September 30, 2003. As of September 30, 2003, the Company has met all of its delivery obligations under these contracts and expects to do so for the remainder of the contract terms.

     Injudicial or administrative proceedings concerning matters arising in the ordinary course of business, theour business. The Company is subject to claims and litigation, including claims that it infringes third party patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights. Although the Company believes that it is unlikelydoes not expect that any current claimsof these matters, individually or actionsin the aggregate, will have a material adverse impacteffect on its operatingour business, financial condition, cash flows or results or financial position, given the uncertainty of litigation, we can not be certain of this. Moreover, the defense of claims or actions against the Company, even if not meritorious, could result in the expenditure of significant financial and managerial resources.operation.

 

On April 15, 2003, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., (SEI) filed a complaint in the Tokyo District Court, Civil Division against us and our Japanese distributor alleging patent infringement of two patents held by SEI in Japan. The suit seeks penalties from AXT in the amount of $1.67 million plus interest and court costs and the cessation of AXT’s sales of gallium arsenide substrates in Japan. AXT intends to defend itself vigorously in these lawsuits and continues to sell its products in Japan. Both parties have completed submitting arguments and evidence in litigation in Japan. The Company retains all of its options which include appealing any court decision and launching an effort to have Sumitomo’s patent invalidated in Japan.

 

On June 11, 2003, Cree, Inc. filed a complaint in the United States Court for Northern District of California against usthe Company alleging patent infringement. The complaint seekssought damages and injunction against infringement. On July

12


23, 2003, wethe Company filed a counter complaint in the United States Court for Northern District of California, denying any patent infringement and alleging that Cree’s actions were intentionally designed to interfere with ourthe Company’s prospective business relationships. A court hearingThe Company reached an agreement with Cree resolving the disputes between us and signed a settlement agreement on March 5, 2004. The resolution of the disputes did not have a material adverse impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations. All parties signed a final release regarding all disputes between them on April 15, 2004.

12



The Company has entered into contracts to supply several large customers with GaAs wafers. The contracts guarantee the delivery of a certain number of wafers between January 1, 2001 and December 31, 2004 with a current contract value of $1.0 million. The contract sales prices are subject to review quarterly and can be adjusted in the event that raw material prices change. In the event of non-delivery of the determined wafer quantities in any monthly delivery period, the Company could be subject to non-performance penalties of between 5% and 10% of the value of the delinquent monthly deliveries. The Company has not received any claims for non-performance penalties due to non-delivery. Partial prepayments received for these supply contracts totaling $793,000 and $994,000 are included in accrued liabilities in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets as of June 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003. As of June 30, 2004, the Company has met all of its current delivery obligations under these contracts and expects to continue to meet delivery requirements during the remainder of the contract terms.

The Company indemnifies certain customers for attorney fees and damages and costs awarded against these parties in certain circumstances if its products are found to infringe certain patents and they are sued by the patent holder and awarded damages. There are limits on and exceptions to its potential liability for indemnification relating to intellectual patent infringement claims. The Company cannot estimate the amount of potential future payments, if any, that it might be required to make as a result of these agreements. To date, the Company has not paid any claim or been required to defend any action related to its indemnification obligations, and accordingly, the Company has not accrued any amounts for such indemnification obligations. However, we may record charges in the future as a result of these indemnification obligations.

The Company’s financial statements include accruals for potential product liability and warranty claims based on the Company’s claims experience. Such costs are accrued at the time revenue is recognized. As of June 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003, accrued product warranties totaled $135,000 and $0 respectively, and are included in “accrued liabilities” in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. If there is a material increase in customer claims compared with our historical experience, or if costs of servicing claims are greater than expected, we may record a charge against cost of sales.

The following table reconciles changes in the Company’s accrued product warranties which is included in accrued liabilities for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2004 and 2003, respectively (in thousands):

 

 

Three Months Ended June 30,

 

Six Months Ended June 30,

 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

2004

 

2003

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beginning accrued warranty and related costs

 

$

135

 

$

 

$

 

$

 

Charged to cost of revenue

 

 

 

135

 

 

Actual warranty expenditures

 

 

 

 

 

Ending accrued warranty and related costs

 

$

135

 

$

 

$

135

 

$

 

In April 2004, the Company determined that it had not followed requirements for testing of products and provision of testing data and information relating to customer requirements for certain shipments made over the past several years. Since April 2004, the Company has continued to notify the affected customers concerning its findings. The Company has established a reserve based on its best estimate of future returns related to this matter. Although actual returns may differ, the Company does not believe future claims in the aggregate will be material. One of the customers has cancelled outstanding orders for scheduled future deliveries totaling approximately $352,000. This customer represented approximately 2.8% of the Company’s total consolidated revenue for late Februarythe three month period ended June 30, 2004 and 3.7% of the Company’s total consolidated revenue for the six month period ended June 30, 2004. The Company has recorded a reserve for sale returns of $745,000 and believes this is adequate to cover any product returns related to this matter, however, the Company is unable to assess the impact that this matter might have, if any, on our future revenues or gross margins. Approximately $125,000 of the $745,000 sales returns reserve has been utilized in July 2004.  Refer to “Item 4 Controls and Procedures” for further information.

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Note 13. Foreign Exchange Contracts and Transaction Gains/Losses

The Company uses short-term forward exchange contracts for hedging purposes to reduce the effects of adverse foreign exchange rate movements. The Company has purchased foreign exchange contracts to hedge against certain trade accounts receivable denominated in Japanese yen. The change in the fair value of the forward contracts is recognized as part of the related foreign currency transactions as they occur. As of June 30, 2004, the Company had no outstanding commitments with respect to foreign exchange contracts.

The Company incurred foreign currency transaction exchange losses of $(75,000) and $(11,000) for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2004, respectively, and foreign currency transaction exchange gains of $13,000 and $65,000 for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2003, respectively.

Note 12.14. Recent Accounting Pronouncements

     In November 2002, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation No. 45 ( FIN 45 ),“Guarantor’s Accounting and Disclosure Requirements for Guarantees, Including Indirect Guarantees of Indebtedness of Others.”FIN No. 45 requires that a liability be recorded in the guarantor’s balance sheet upon issuance of a guarantee. In addition, FIN No. 45 requires disclosures about the guarantees that an entity has issued, including a reconciliation of changes in the entity’s product warranty liabilities. The initial recognition and initial measurement provisions of FIN No. 45 are applicable on a prospective basis to guarantees issued or modified after December 31, 2002, irrespective of the guarantor’s fiscal year-end. The disclosure requirements of FIN No. 45 are effective for financial statements of interim or annual periods ending after December 15, 2002. Our adoption of FIN No. 45 did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

In January 2003, the FASBFinancial Accounting Standards Board  (FASB) issued FASB Interpretation No. 46 ( FIN 46 ),(FIN 46), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities an Interpretation, which addresses consolidation by business enterprises of ARB No. 51.” FIN 46 requires certain variable interest entities, to be consolidated by the primary beneficiary of the entity if the equity investors in the entity do not have the characteristics of a controlling financial interest or VIEs, either that do not have sufficient equity investment at risk forto permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support, from other parties.or 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, isor FIN 46(R), resulting in an effective immediately for all new variable interest entities created or acquired after January 31, 2003. For variable interest entities created or acquired prior to February 1, 2003, the provisionsdate of FIN 46 must be applied forno later than the first interim or annual period beginningending after DecemberMarch 15, 2003. Our2004. The Company’s adoption of FIN 46(R) did not have an impact on our results of operations or financial position.

In April 2004, the Emerging Issues Task Force issued Statement No. 4603-06, (EITF 03-06), Participating Securities and the Two-Class Method under FASB Statement No. 128, Earnings Per Share. EITF 03-06 addresses a number of questions regarding the computation of earnings per share by companies that have issued securities other than common stock that contractually entitle the holder to participate in dividends and earnings of the company when, and if, it declares dividends on its common stock. The issue also provides further guidance in applying the two-class method of calculating earnings per share, clarifying what constitutes a participating security and how to apply the two-class method of computing earnings per share once it is determined that a security is participating, including how to allocate undistributed earnings to such a security. EITF 03-06 was effective for fiscal periods beginning after March 31, 2004. The adoption of EITF 03-06 did not have a material effect on our consolidatedthe Company’s results of operations or financial statements.position.

 In March 2003, the Emerging Issues Task Force, or EITF, reached a consensus on EITF Issue No. 00-21, “Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables.” EITF Issue No. 00-21 requires revenue arrangements with multiple deliverables to be divided into separate units of accounting if the deliverables in the arrangement meet certain criteria. The arrangement’s consideration should be allocated among the separate units of accounting based on their relative fair values. Applicable revenue recognition criteria should be considered separately for each unit. The provisions of EITF Issue No. 00-21 are effective for revenue arrangements entered into in fiscal periods beginning after June 15, 2003. Our adoption of EITF Issue No. 00-21 did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

     In April 2003, the FASB issued SFAS No. 149, “Amendment of Statement 133 on Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities.” This Statement amends and clarifies financial accounting and reporting for derivative instruments, including certain derivative instruments embedded in other contracts (collectively referred to as derivatives), and for hedging activities under SFAS No. 133, “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities.” This Statement is effective for contracts entered into or modified after June 30, 2003, and for hedging relationships designated after June 30, 2003. Our adoption of SFAS No. 149 did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.14

     In May 2003, the FASB issued SFAS No. 150, “Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity.” SFAS No. 150 establishes standards for an issuer to classify and measure certain financial instruments with characteristics of both liabilities and equity. This Statement requires an issuer to classify a financial instrument that meets certain characteristics as a liability (or an asset in some circumstances). This Statement is effective for financial instruments entered into or modified after May 31, 2003, and otherwise is effective at the beginning of the first interim period beginning after June 15, 2003. Our adoption of SFAS No. 150 did not have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.


Note 13. Foreign Exchange Contracts and Transaction Gains/Losses

     The Company uses short-term forward exchange contracts for hedging purposes to reduce the effects of adverse foreign exchange rate movements. The Company has purchased foreign exchange contracts to hedge against

13


certain trade accounts receivable denominated in Japanese yen. The change in the fair value of the forward contracts is recognized as part of the related foreign currency transactions as they occur. As of September 30, 2003, the Company had no outstanding commitments with respect to foreign exchange contracts.

Note 14. Related Party Transactions

     Since January 2002, there has not been, nor is there currently proposed, any transaction or series of similar transactions to which we were or are to be a party in which the amount involved exceeds $60,000, and in which any director, executive officer or holder of more than 5% of any class of our voting securities or members of that person’s immediate family had or will have a direct or indirect material interest other than the transactions described below.

     The Company entered into an operating lease for warehouse space in Fremont, CA with 4160 Business Center, LLC, a real estate holding company, in which Davis Zhang, the president of our substrate division, is the sole shareholder. Lease payments to 4160 Business Center, LLC were approximately $121,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2003. In April of 2003, Mr. Zhang sold this warehouse to a party unrelated to the Company. The Company began leasing this warehouse from the new owner on the date of sale. Mr. Zhang will continue to hold a $3.7 million note on the property through April 2005.

ItemITEM 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of OperationsMANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

This Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations includes a number of forward-looking statements made pursuant to the provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based upon management’s current views with respect to future events and financial performance, and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical results or those anticipated. Such risks and uncertainties include those set forth under “Risks Related to our Business” below. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of terms such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” and similar expressions. Statements concerning our financial position, business strategy and plans or objectives for future operations are forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. This discussion should be read in conjunction with Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20022003 and the condensed consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this report.

Overview

 

We were founded in 1986 to commercialize and enhance our proprietary vertical gradient freeze (VGF) technique for producing high-performance compound semiconductor substrates. We currently have two divisions:As a result of the discontinuance of our substrateopto-electronics division, and the sale of substantially all of the assets of this business in 2003, we now have one operating segment: our discontinued opto-electronicssubstrate division. We made our first substrate sales in 1990 and our substrate division currently sells gallium arsenide (GaAs) and indium phosphide (InP) substrates to manufacturers of semiconductor devices for use in applications such as fiber optic and wireless telecommunications, light emitting diodes (LEDs) and lasers. We also sell raw materials including gallium and germanium through our participation in majority- and minority-owned joint ventures. We have the capability to manufacture germanium substrates for use in satellite solar cells.cells but withdrew from this business during 2000 so that we could more profitably use our then constrained capacity. We are now trying to requalify our germanium substrates with the few existing satellite solar cell system manufacturers.

 

Our total revenue from continuing operations was $9.5 million for the second quarter of 2004, $8.5 million for the second quarter of 2003 and $9.8 million for the first quarter of 2004. In the second quarter of 2004 we incurred a loss from continuing operations of $4.1 million compared with a loss of $3.9 million for the second quarter of 2003 and a loss of $2.6 million for the first quarter of 2004.

On June 24, 2003, we announced the discontinuation of our opto-electronics division, which we established as part of our acquisition of Lyte Optronics, Inc. in May 1999. Accordingly, the results of operations of the opto-electronics division have been segregated from continuing operations and are reported separately as discontinued operations in our consolidated statements of incomeoperations for all periods presented (see Note 23 of the notes to our condensed consolidated financial statements for details regarding the accounting for discontinued operations). The discontinued opto-electronics division manufactured blue, cyan, and green high-brightness light emitting diodes (HBLEDs) for the illumination markets, including full-color displays, wireless handset backlighting and traffic signals, and also manufactured vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) and laser diodes for fiber optic communications and storage area networks.

 

On September 27, 2003 the Companywe completed a sale of substantially all of the assets of itsour opto-electronics business to Lumei-Optoelectronics, CorporationLumei Optoelectronics, Corp. and Dalian Luming Science and Technology Group, Co.,

14


Ltd. for the RMBChina Renminbi (RMB) equivalent of $9.6 million. During the first quarter of 2004, $7.8 million was converted to US dollars. The company retainsremaining funds were converted to US dollars in early April 2004. $1.0 million of the sales proceeds is maintained in an escrow account for up to one year after the sale date and will not be recorded until all claims made against the escrow, if any, are settled. We expect this escrow to be released, if no claims are made against it, on or about September 28, 2004. Of this $1.0 million escrow, up to $250,000 will be held in escrow for a second year and will not be recorded until all claims made against the escrow, if any, are settled. We retain a building located in Monterey Park, CA, that it expectswe intend to sell in 2004. This asset is classified as Heldheld for Salesale on our condensed consolidated balance sheet at Septembersheets as of December 31, 2003 and June 30, 2003. One2004.

15



Our continuing business, primarily sales of our substrate products, is dependant on the semiconductor industry, which is highly cyclical and has historically experienced downturns both as a result of economic changes and of overcapacity. We experienced a growth period that lasted from our initiation of sales in 1990 through the first half of 2001. In the second half of 2001, we experienced a $44.9 million, dollarsor 58.5% decrease in revenue compared with the first half as a result of the sale proceedsrapid decline in the mobile and fiber optic telecommunications markets. Together with other industry participants, we experienced lower revenues, slower bookings, push outs and cancellation of orders. As such, we recorded losses in the third and fourth quarters of 2001.

During the first half of 2002 our revenues grew due to improvements in the wireless market. In the second half of 2002 our revenue fell, however, because the substrate industry was still facing excess capacity that caused prices to decline, and because we experienced a loss of market share after two competitors developed technologies similar to ours. In addition, certain customers selected competitors’ products in order to diversify their supply sources and due to the belief that the competitors’ substrates offered better surface qualities. Full year 2002 revenue declined $63.9 million, or 58.8% compared with 2001. We recorded losses in each quarter of 2002 and incurred impairment charges against fixed assets and inventory due to the decline in demand and prices. In reaction to the economic downturn, we initiated an aggressive effort to reduce substrate manufacturing costs. This included moving much of our substrate manufacturing operations to China, reducing capacity in our Fremont, CA facility and developing and investing in key low-cost raw material sources.

In 2003, we believe that the wireless communications and HBLED markets grew, but our revenue did not increase until the fourth quarter of 2003 due to continued reductions in prices and the time required to improve our substrate surface quality and regain some lost customers. Revenue for 2003 fell by $10.2 million, or 22.6% compared with 2002. We recorded net losses in each quarter of 2003. During 2003 we continued to shift more of our manufacturing operations to China and reduced our costs incurred in the United States.

During the first half of 2004, our revenue increased compared with the fourth quarter of 2003, primarily as a result of increased demand for HBLEDs. We recorded net losses in the first two quarters of 2004. During the second quarter of 2004, we announced plans to cease all production activities in the United States and to manufacture our products only in China.

We cannot predict the level of future industry demand or of our ability to regain lost market share, but they have impacted our ability to sell our products and operate profitably. If demand for our products remains depressed for an extended period, our business will be heldharmed as a result. Our business performance will be most influenced by market demand for compound semi-conductor substrates, our ability to offer products that equal or exceed the quality provided by competitors, product pricing, our ability to shift more of our manufacturing production to China, and our ability to create and defend our intellectual property while not infringing on the intellectual property of others.

In April 2004, we determined that we had not followed requirements for testing of products and provision of testing data and information relating to customer requirements for certain shipments made over the past several years. We have notified the affected customers concerning our findings. We have established a reserve based on our best estimate of future returns related to this matter. Although actual returns may differ, we do not believe future claims in escrowthe aggregate will be material. One of our customers has cancelled outstanding orders for upscheduled future deliveries totaling approximately $352,000. This customer represented approximately 2.8% of our total consolidated revenue for the three month period ended June 30, 2004 and 3.7% of our total consolidated revenue for the six month period ended June 30, 2004. We have recorded a reserve for sales returns of $745,000 and believe this is adequate to one year and accordingly,cover any product returns related to this matter, however, we are unable to assess the impact that this matter might have, if any, on our future revenues or gross margins. Approximately $125,000 of the $745,000 sales returns reserve has been excludedutilized in July 2004.  See “Item 4. Controls and Procedures” for further information.

In June 2004, we incurred a restructuring charge of $1.1 million as a result of our decision to close down the remaining manufacturing facilities in the US.  This charge is comprised of costs related to the reduction in force effected in June 2004, and lease costs associated with the facilities located in California that are no longer required to support production. See Note 8 of the notes to our condensed consolidated financial statements for further details.

For the second quarter of 2004, our revenue from continuing operations increased to $9.5 million from $8.5 million in the second quarter of 2003, primarily due to greater sales of GaAs substrates, which benefited from increasing demand from our key end-use markets, red and amber HBLEDs and wireless handsets. Our gross margin also increased from the determinationsecond quarter of gain/(loss) on disposal.

     The Company recorded a gain on disposal of $1.6 million2003 to 8.7 percent due to excess proceeds received over net carrying valuehigher yields and a greater share of assets sold.our production being completed in China.

16



Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

We have prepared our consolidated financial statements in accordance with accounting principalsprinciples generally accepted in the United States of America. As such, we have had to make estimates, assumptions and judgments that affect the amounts reported on our financial statements. These estimates, assumptions and judgments about future events and their effects on our results cannot be determined with certainty, and are made based upon our historical experience and on other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. These estimates may change as new events occur or additional information is obtained, and we may periodically be faced with uncertainties, the outcomes of which are not within our control and may not be known for a prolonged period of time. The discussion and analysis of our results of operations and financial condition are based upon these consolidated financial statements. We have identified the policies below as critical to our business operations and understanding of our financial condition and results of operations. A critical accounting policy is one that is both material to the presentation of our financial statements and requires us to make difficult, subjective or complex judgments that could have a material effect on our financial condition and results of operations. They may require us to make assumptions about matters that are highly uncertain at the time of the estimate, and different estimates that we could have used, or changes in the estimate that are reasonably likely to occur, may have a material impact on our financial condition or results of operations.

 

We believe that the following are our critical accounting policies:

Revenue Recognition

 

We recognize revenue upon shipment of products to our customers provided that we have received a signed purchase order, the price is fixed or determinable, title has transferred, collection of resulting receivables is probable, product returns are reasonably estimable, there are no customer acceptance requirements and there are no remaining obligations. We establish a reserve when there is uncertainty regarding customer acceptance. We assess the probability of collection based on a number of factors including past history with the customer and credit worthiness. We provide for future returns based on historical experience, current economic trends and changes in customer demand at the time revenue is recognized. During the first quarter of 2004, we increased our reserve for sales returns by $745,000 related to our failure to follow certain testing requirements and provision of testing data and information to certain customers. This reserve was based on discussions with some of the affected customers and review of specific shipments made during the quarter. Except for sales in Japan and some sales in Taiwan, which in both cases are denominated in Japanese yen, we denominate and collect our international sales in U.S. dollars. We do not provide for warranty related exposure as such exposure has historically been immaterial.

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

 

We periodically review the likelihood of collecting our accounts receivable balances and provide an allowance for doubtful accounts receivable primarily based upon the age of these accounts. We provide a 100% allowance for U.S. receivables outstanding in excess of 90 days and for foreign receivables outstanding in excess of 120 days. At SeptemberAs of June 30, 2003,2004 our accounts receivable balance was $5.4$4.4 million, which is net of an allowance for doubtful accounts of $5.9$4.9 million.

InventoryWarranty Reserve

 

We maintain a warranty reserve based upon our claims experience during the prior twelve months. Such costs are accrued at the time revenue is recognized. As of June 30, 2004, accrued product warranties totaled $135,000.

Inventory

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value.market. Cost is determined using the weighted averagestandard cost method. Finished goods and work-in-process inventories include material, labor and manufacturing overhead costs. We routinely evaluate the levels of our inventory in light of current market conditions in order to identify excess and obsolete inventory and we provide a valuation allowance for certain inventories based upon the age and quality of the product. The livesCompetitive delivery times are frequently less than the time required for us to manufacture a product, requiring us to build some work-in-process inventories in anticipation of our substrateorders. If orders are not obtained for the products are relatively longbuilt, the products will ultimately be deemed obsolete and accordingly, obsolescence has historically not beenwe will establish a significant factor.reserve for their value. We also review our inventory to ensure costs can be realized upon

15


ultimate sale to our customers. If we determine that the value of any items in ending inventory exceeds the sales value less any related selling costs, a reserve is established for the difference.

17



Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

 

We reviewevaluate the recoverability of property, equipment, and intangible assets in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144, or SFAS No. 144, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.” When events and circumstances indicate that long-lived assets may be impaired, we compare the carrying value of ourthe long-lived assets to the projection of future undiscounted cash flows attributable to such assets and investments in order to identify any impairment. Long-lived assets are written down to their current fair market value whenthe event that the carrying value exceeds the future undiscounted cash flows, we record an impairment charge against income equal to the excess of an asset exceeds their related undiscounted future cash flows. Tothe carrying value over the asset’s fair value.

Investments

We determine the fair market valueappropriate classification of our long-lived assets, we obtain appraisals from outside consultants.

Investments

     We classify our investments in marketable securities as available-for-sale securities as prescribed in Financial Accounting Standard No. 115, “Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities.” Allat the time of purchase. Available-for-sale investments are carried at their fair market value which is determined based on quoted market prices with netas of the balance sheet date. The amortized cost of securities is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity. Such amortization is included in “other (income) and expense, net.” Realized gains or losses are determined on the specific identification method and are reflected in “other (income) and expense, net.” Net unrealized gains andor losses includedare recorded directly in comprehensive income, net of tax. If a decline in fair value is judgedstockholders’ equity. Those unrealized losses that are deemed to be other than temporary are reflected in “interest and other income, net.” We also maintain minority investments in private companies which are accounted for under the cost basis ofbasis. These investments are reviewed for other than temporary declines in value on a quarterly basis. Reasons for other than temporary declines in value include whether the individual security is written downrelated company would have insufficient cash flow to fair value as a new cost basis withoperate for the amount ofnext twelve months, significant changes in the write down includedoperating performance and changes in other income and expense, net. We recorded an impairment charge of $1.3 million in Q2 of 2003 to write down our investment in two US companies.market conditions.

Income Taxes

 

We account for deferred income taxes using the liability method, under which the expected future tax consequences of timing differences between the book and tax basis of assets and liabilities are recognized as deferred tax assets and liabilities. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce net deferred tax assets when management estimates, based on available objective evidence, that it is more likely than not that the future income tax benefit represented by the net deferred tax asset will not be realized. At September 30, 2003, a full valuation allowance has been recorded against our net deferred tax asset.

Voluntary Stock option exchange program

 On May 27, 2003, we announced a voluntary stock option exchange program for our employees. Under the program, our option holders, excluding our executive officers and independent directors, had the opportunity to cancel outstanding options with an exercise price in excess of $2.10 per share in exchange for new options to be granted at a future date that is at least six months and one day after the date of cancellation, which was June 30, 2003. The number of shares of common stock subject to the new options will be equal to 75% of the number subject to the exchanged options. Under the exchange program, options to purchase an aggregate of 738,027 shares of our common stock, representing approximately 48% of the options that were eligible to be tendered in the Offer as of May 27, 2003, were tendered and cancelled. The new options will vest at the same rate as the exchanged options and will have an exercise price equal to the fair market value of our common stock at the new grant date, which is expected to be on or after December 31, 2003. Subject to the terms and conditions of the offer, the Company will grant options to purchase an aggregate of 553,520 shares of our common stock in exchange for such tendered options. We do not expect to incur accounting charges as a result of this stock option exchange program.

16


Results of Operations

The following table sets forth certain information relating to ourthe operations of the Company expressed as a percentage of total revenues for the periods indicated:

                   
    Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
    September 30, September 30,
    
 
    2003 2002 2003 2002
    
 
 
 
Revenues  100.0%  100.0%  100.0%  100.0%
Cost of revenues  94.1   109.9   94.3   97.6 
   
   
   
   
 
Gross profit  5.9   (9.9)  5.7   2.4 
Operating expenses:                
 Selling, general and administrative  31.1   29.8   31.2   30.5 
 Research and development  3.5   4.1   4.1   4.8 
 Property, plan & equipment impairment loss     4.6      40.2 
   
   
   
   
 
  Total operating expenses  34.6   38.5   35.3   75.5 
   
   
   
   
 
Loss from operations  (28.7)  (48.4)  (29.6)  (73.1)
Interest expense  1.7   0.9   1.4   1.0 
Other (income)/expense, net     (2.6)  4.0   22.5 
   
   
   
   
 
Loss before income tax benefit  (30.4)  (46.7)  (35.0)  (96.7)
Income tax provision     91.0      12.2 
   
   
   
   
 
Loss from continuing operations  (30.4)  (137.7)  (35.0)  (108.9)
Discontinued operations:                
 Loss from operations  (18.7)  (166.6)  (24.1)  (88.4)
 Gain/(loss) on disposal  19.0      (37.1)   
 Income tax (benefit)     (59.8)     (22.3)
   
   
   
   
 
Gain/(loss) on discontinued operations  0.3   (106.8)  (61.2)  (66.1)
   
   
   
   
 
Net loss  (30.1)%  (244.5)%  (96.2)%  (175.0)%
   
   
   
   
 

 

 

Three Months Ended
June 30,

 

Six Months Ended
June 30,

 

 

 

2004

 

2003

 

2004

 

2003

 

Revenues

 

100.0

%

100.0

%

100.0

%

100.0

%

Cost of revenues

 

91.3

 

92.1

 

92.9

 

94.4

 

Gross profit

 

8.7

%

7.9

%

7.1

%

5.6

%

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Selling, general and administrative

 

33.6

 

33.1

 

30.9

 

31.2

 

Research and development

 

3.7

 

4.3

 

3.6

 

4.4

 

Restructuring charge

 

11.3

 

 

5.6

 

 

Total operating expenses

 

48.6

 

37.4

 

40.1

 

35.6

 

Loss from operations

 

(39.9

)

(29.5

)

(33.0

)

(30.0

)

Interest expense

 

(0.6

)

1.3

 

(0.9

)

1.3

 

Other (expense) income, net

 

(1.2

)

14.9

 

0.3

 

6.1

 

Loss before provision for income taxes

 

(41.7

)

(45.7

)

(33.6

)

(37.4

)

Provision for incomes taxes

 

(1.0

)

 

(0 .7

)

 

Loss from continuing operations

 

(42.7

)

(45.7

)

(34.3

)

(37.4

)

Discontinued operations:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gain (loss) from discontinued operations, net of tax

 

2.3

 

(162.5

)

1.1

 

(91.9

)

Gain (loss) from disposal

 

 

 

 

 

Net loss

 

(40.4

)%

(208.2

)%

(33.2

)%

(129.3

)%

18



Three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared towith three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20022003

Revenue from continuing operations.Revenue from continuing operations decreased $3.2increased $1.0 million, or 27.3%11.8%, to $9.5 million for the three months ended June 30, 2004 compared with $8.5 million for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2003 compared2003.

Total GaAs substrate revenue increased $0.5 million, or 6.5%, to $11.7$7.5 million for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.

     Total GaAs substrate revenue decreased $2.2 million, or 24.0%, to $6.92004 compared with $7.0 million for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2003 compared to $9.12003. Sales of 5” and 6” diameter GaAs substrates were $1.3 million for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002. Sales of 5” and 6” GaAs subtrates decreased $1.3 million, or 43.0%, to $1.72004 compared with $0.8 million for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2003 compared2003. InP substrate revenue increased $30,000, or 6.0%, to $3.0 million$533,000 for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002. InP substrate revenue decreased $588,000, or 54.2%, to $496,0002004 compared with $503,000 for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2003 compared to $1.1 million for the three months ended September 30, 2002.2003. The decreaseincrease in GaAs and InP substrate revenue during the past year is due to decreased volumemarket growth in the HBLED and lower average sales prices as a result of the slowdown inwireless handset markets and to our target markets including telecommunications, high speed electronic devices, and short wavelength lasers, and the introduction of VGF like substrates from our competitors that causedability to gain share among some customers to purchase substrates from our competitors.Asian customers.

 

International revenue increased to 64.5%77.1% of total revenue from continuing operations for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to 46.9%with 76.4% of total revenue from continuing operations for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. The increase was primarily due to a greater share of our GaAs substrates being used in opto-electronics applications and the majority of our customers for these applications being in Asia.

17


Gross margin.Gross margin increased to 5.9%8.7% of total revenue for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to negative 14.0%with 7.9% of total revenue for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. The increase was primarily due to a larger sales volume that enabled us to cover more fixed costs as well as reduced costs associated withthat we incurred as a result of moving most of our production to China.China, where we incur lower production costs than in our California operations.

Selling, general and administrative expenses.Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $841,000, or 21.4%,increased to $2.7$3.2 million for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to $3.5with $2.8 million for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. The decreaseincrease is due to an additional accrual of $350,000 for legal fees related to an investigation by our Audit Committee into product testing and compliance practices in selling, general and administrative expenses is the resultsecond quarter of  our efforts to adjust costs in line with our current business.2004. As a percentage of total revenue, selling, general and administrative expenses were 31.1%33.6% for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to 29.8%with 33.1% for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003.

Research and development expenses.Research and development expenses decreased $185,000,$18,000, or 38.1%4.9%, to $301,000$350,000 for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to $486,000with $368,000 for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. As a percentage of total revenue, , research and development expenses were 3.5%3.7% for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to 4.1%with 4.3% for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. Although we reduced research and development expenses as part of our effort to adjust costs in line with our current business, we believe that continued investment in product development is critical to attaining our strategic objectives of maintaining and increasing our technology leadership, and as a result, we expect research and development expenses to remain at current levels or increase in future periods. Research and development efforts during the thirdfirst quarter of 20032004 were focused primarily on improving the yield and surface quality of our GaAs substrates.

Interest expense.Interest expense increased $40,000,decreased $50,000, or 38.1%46.3%, to $145,000$58,000 for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to $105,000with $108,000 for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20022003. Interest expense decreased due to prepayment penalties incurred in Q3 2003 for paying off all equipment loans.lower debt levels as we continue to pay down our debt.

     OtherOther income and expense, net.Other incomeexpense decreased $305,000,$1.2 million to $3,000$113,000 for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to incomewith other expense of $308,000$1.3 million for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. The decrease was mainly due to an impairment charge in 2003 related to a non-consolidated subsidiary for $1.3 million.

Provision for income taxes.Due to our continuing operating losses in the United States and uncertainty regarding future profitability, we recorded a full valuation allowance for our US losses against our net deferred tax assets of $31.2$34.6 million in 2002. As2003. We incurred a result,tax liability of $97,000 for our effective tax rate decreased to 0.0%overseas businesses for the three months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004.

NineSix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to ninewith six months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20022003

Revenue from continuing operations.Revenue from continuing operations decreased $10.8increased  $2.2 million, or 29.6%13.2%, to $25.6$19.3 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to $36.4with $17.1 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003.

 

Total GaAs substrate revenue decreased $5.5increased $1.5 million, or 21.1%11.0%, to $20.9$15.5 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to $26.4with $14.0 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. Sales of 5” and 6” diameter GaAs subtrates decreased $3.9 million, or 51.1%, to $3.8substrates were $2.8 million for the nine six

19



months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to $7.7with $2.1 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. InP substrate revenue decreased $4.2 million,$18,000, or 72.9%1.7%, to $1.6$1.1 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to $5.8with $1.1 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. The decreaseincrease in GaAs and InP substrate revenue wasduring the past year is due to decreased volumemarket expansion in the HBLED and lower average sales prices as a result of the slowdown inwireless handset markets and to our target markets including telecommunications, high speed electronic devices, and short wavelength lasers, and the introduction of VGF like substrates from our competitors that caused some customersability to purchase substrates from our competitors.gain share among Asian customers.

 

International revenue increased to 65.0%77.8% of total revenue from continuing operations for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to 42.1%with 64.6% of total revenue from continuing operations for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. The increase was primarily due to a greater share of our GaAs substrates being used in opto-electronics applications and the majority of our customers for these applications being in Asia.

18


Gross margin.Gross margin increased to 5.7%7.1% of total revenue for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to 2.4%with 5.6% of total revenue for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. The increase was primarily due to a larger sales volume that enabled us to cover more fixed costs as well as reduced costs associated withthat we incurred as a result of moving most of our production to China.China, where we incur lower production costs than in our California operations.

Selling, general and administrative expenses.Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $3.1 million, or 28.2%,increased to $8.0$6.0 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to $11.1with $5.3 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. The decreaseincrease is due to an additional accrual of $350,000 for legal fees related to the investigation by our Audit Committee into product testing and compliance practices in selling, generalsecond quarter of 2004, and administrative$300,000 for auditing and Sarbanes-Oxley related expenses is the result of our efforts to adjust costs in line with our current business.for 2004. As a percentage of total revenue, selling, general and administrative expenses were 31.2%30.9% for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 compared to 30.5% for the ninesix months ended June 30, 2002.2004 compared with 31.2% for the six months ended June 30, 2003.

Research and development expenses.Research and development expenses decreased $694,000,$56,000, or 39.8%7.5%, to $1.1 million$691,000 for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to $1.8 millionwith $747,000 for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. As a percentage of total revenue, research and development expenses were 4.1%3.6% for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to 4.8%with 4.4% for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. Although we reduced research and development expenses as part of our effort to adjust costs in line with our current business, , we believe that continued investment in product development is critical to attaining our strategic objectives of maintaining and increasing our technology leadership, and as a result, we expect research and development expenses to remain at current levels or increase in future periods. Research and development efforts during the first nine monthsquarter of 20032004 were focused primarily on improving the yield and surface quality of our GaAs substrates.

Interest expense.Interest expense increased $6,000,decreased $56,000, or 1.7%25.1%, to $368,000$167,000 for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 compared to $362,000with $223,000 for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20022003. Interest expense includes a prepayment penalty incurred by voluntarily repaying off a loan before it was due with an outstanding principal balance of $781,000, which we acquired in 1996.  Interest expense decreased due to prepayment penalties incurred in Q3 2003 for paying off all equipment loans offset by a reduction of rates onlower debt levels as we continue to pay down our variable interest rate debt.

     OtherOther income and expense, net.Other expense decreased $7.2income increased $1.1 million to $54,000 for the six months ended June 30, 2004 compared with other expense of $1.0 million for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2003. The increase was mainly due to an impairment charge in 2003 comparedrelated to $8.2 milliona non-consolidated subsidiary for the nine months ended September 30, 2002. Other expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 includes a $1.3 million charge to write down our investment in two US companies. Other expense for the nine months ended September 30, 2002 includes a $9.2 million charge to write down our investment in marketable equity securities.million.

Provision for income taxes.Due to our continuing operating losses in the United States and uncertainty regarding future profitability, we recorded a full valuation allowance for our US losses against our net deferred tax assets of $31.2$34.6 million in 2002. As2003. We incurred a result,tax liability of $137,000 for our effective tax rate decreased to 0.0%overseas businesses for the ninesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2003.2004.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

We consider cash and cash equivalents, and short-term investments as liquid and available for use. Short-term investments are comprised of government bonds and high-grade commercial debt instruments. Also included in short-term investments is our common stock investment in Finisar Corporation. As of June 30, 2004, our principal sources of liquidity were $34.6 million in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, excluding restricted deposits.

Cash and cash equivalents increased $7.7and short-term investments, excluding $2.3 million and $3.7 million for our investment in Finisar common stock as of June 30, 2004 and December 31, 2003, respectively, decreased $3.0 million to $21.5$32.3 million at Septemberas of June 30, 20032004 compared to $13.8with $35.3 million atas of December 31, 2002.2003.

 

20



Cash and cash equivalents decreased $9.6 million to $14.8 million as of June 30, 2004 compared with $24.3 million as of December 31, 2003. Short-term investments increased by $5.2 million to $19.9 million as of June 30, 2004 compared with $14.7 million as of December 31, 2003. We converted approximately $7.8 million of the total $9.6 million of Chinese Renminbi from the sale of our opto-electronic assets into United States dollars during the first quarter of 2004 and invested most of that into short-term investments. The remaining funds were converted in early April 2004.

Net cash providedused by operating activities of $6.0 million$185,000 for the nine monthssix month period ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 was comprised primarily of our net loss adjusted for non-cash items of $15.7which netted to $2.8 million, consisting primarily of a loss on disposal from our discontinued opto-electronics divisiondepreciation of $9.5 million and depreciation expense of $4.6$2.4 million, and by a $14.9$2.6 million net change in assets and liabilities. The net change in assets and liabilities resulted primarily from decreasesa decrease in accounts receivable and inventory and income tax receivablepartially offset by an increase in prepaid expenses and a decrease in accrued liabilities.

 Accounts

Net accounts receivable decreased $1.8by $1.9 million, or 24.6%30.3%, to $5.4$4.4 million at Septemberas of June 30, 20032004 compared to $7.2with $6.3 million atas of December 31, 2002.2003. The decrease includes $700,000 net write-downreflects better collections from customers and an additional sales returns reserve of opto-electronics accounts receivable through loss on disposal. Inventories$745,000 recorded in the first quarter of 2004.

Net inventories decreased $11.5$2.3 million, or 30.6%9.4% to $37.6$21.8 million at Septemberas of June 30, 20032004 compared to $37.6with $24.1 million atas of December 31, 2002.2003. The decrease in inventory isCompany adopted a resultstrategy of our continued effort to minimize cash outflows utilizing more effective inventory management policies. The decrease also includes a $1.4 million net write-down of opto-electronics inventory through loss on disposal, and $600,000 of inventory sold

19


through the asset sale of our discontinued opto electronics division. We expect ourusing inventory to continueconserve cash during the first half of 2004. During the second half of 2004, we do not expect to maintain the same rate of net inventory decrease throughout the remainderas we experienced in first half of 2003.2004.

 

Net cash providedused by investing activities of $11.2$6.8 million for the nine monthsquarter ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 includes net proceeds from the salepurchases of property and equipment of $14.8$0.7 million primarily used to transfer production capacity to China for the substrate division, and purchases of equipment of $1.9 million. It also includes $3.3 million in purchases of high grade investment securities with maturities of less than two years totaling $20.7 million, partially offset by $5.7 million in sales of thesehigh grade investment securities as well as an increasetotaling $10.4 million and a change in the investments providing our restricted cash of $4.0$4.2 million.

 

We do not have any plans to initiate any major new capital spending projects during 2003.through 2004. We are currently completing certain projects at our China facilities and are continuously constructing minor improvements toclosing our existing productionremaining manufacturing facilities in China and the United States.Fremont, California. We expect to invest an additional $400,000approximately $2.0 million in capital projects throughout the remainder of 2003.in 2004. We believe that our existing and planned facilities and equipment are sufficient to fulfill current and expected future orders.

 In February 2003, our Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to 2 million shares of our common stock over a one-year period. To date we have not repurchased any shares. If repurchased, repurchased shares will be retired. We expect to sell shares of common stock of Finisar Corporation to fund our stock repurchase program.

Net cash used in financing activities of $9.6$2.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2003 includesconsisted of scheduled payments of $2.7 million related to long-term borrowings, partially offset by proceeds of $424,000 from the sale of common stock$0.2 million through our employee stock compensation programs, offset by payments of $1.6 million on long-term debt and to settle all equipment loans and $8.4 million to settle all capital leases.programs.

 

Our main Fremont, California manufacturing facility is financed by long-term borrowings, which were refinanced by taxable variable rate revenue bonds in 1998. These bonds mature in 2023 and bear interest at a variable rate that was 1.35% at September1.4% as of June 30, 2003.2004. The bonds are traded in the public market. Repayment of principal and interest under the bonds is supported by a letter of credit from our bank and is paid on a quarterly basis. We have the option to redeem the bonds in whole or in part during their term. At SeptemberAs of June 30, 2003, $8.62004, $8.5 million was outstanding under these bonds.

 At September

As of June 30, 20022004, the credit facility maintained by us with a bank included a letter of credit supporting repayment of our industrial bonds with an outstanding amount of $8.6 million. The Company has pledged and placed cash and certain investment securities with the trust departmentan affiliate of the bank as additional collateral for this facility. We have also pledged cashcertain investments for a credit facility for our workers compensation insurance as well as $1 million of the proceeds from the sale of the assets of our discontinued opto-electronics division held in escrow.insurance. As a result, $10.4$8.6 million of our cash and our long-termshort-term investments are restricted.

 At September

We currently hold a note payable secured by certain buildings and land in China totaling $1.5 million as of June 30, 2003, we had available cash, cash equivalents and liquid short and long-term investments of $35.2 million. 2004. The balance on this note is due in December 2004.

We believe that our existingwe have adequate cash and liquid investments cash generated from operations, coupled with additional efforts to reduce our expenditures in support of our substrate business, will be sufficient to meet our working capital expenditure requirements forthe Company’s needs over the next 12 months. However, our existing cash and liquid investments could decline during the remainder of 2003 due to a continued or further weakening of the economy or changes in our planned cash outlay.

If our sales continue to decrease, however, our ability to generate cash from operations will be adversely affected which could adversely affect our future liquidity, require us to use more cash at a more rapid rate than expected, and require us to seek additional capital. There can be no assurance that such additional capital will be available or, if available it will be at terms acceptable to the Company. Cash from operations could be affected by various risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to those set forth below under “Risks Related to Our Business.”

20


Outstanding contractual obligations as of June 30, 2004 are summarized as follows (in thousands):

21



 

 

Debt

 

Operating
Leases

 

Total

 

2004 (remaining six months)

 

$

1,818

 

$

717

 

$

2,535

 

2005

 

420

 

1,222

 

1,642

 

2006

 

420

 

901

 

1,321

 

2007

 

420

 

681

 

1,101

 

2008

 

385

 

681

 

1,066

 

Thereafter

 

6,345

 

2,855

 

9,200

 

 

 

$

9,808

 

$

7,057

 

$

16,865

 

We lease certain office space, manufacturing facilities and property under long-term operating leases expiring at various dates through March 2013. Total rent expense under these operating leases was approximately $352,000 and $705,000 for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2004, respectively.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In January 2003, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Interpretation No. 46, or FIN 46, Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, which addresses consolidation by business enterprises of variable interest entities, or 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, or FIN 46(R), resulting in an effective date of no later than the first interim or annual period ending after March 15, 2004. The Company’s adoption of FIN 46(R) did not have an impact on our results of operations or financial position.

In April 2004, the Emerging Issues Task Force issued Statement No. 03-06, (EITF 03-06), Participating Securities and the Two-Class Method under FASB Statement No. 128, Earnings Per Share. EITF 03-06 addresses a number of questions regarding the computation of earnings per share by companies that have issued securities other than common stock that contractually entitle the holder to participate in dividends and earnings of the company when, and if, it declares dividends on its common stock. The issue also provides further guidance in applying the two-class method of calculating earnings per share, clarifying what constitutes a participating security and how to apply the two-class method of computing earnings per share once it is determined that a security is participating, including how to allocate undistributed earnings to such a security. EITF 03-06 was effective for fiscal periods beginning after March 31, 2004. The adoption of EITF 03-06 did not have a material effect on the Company’s results of operations or financial position.

Risks Related to Our Business

The disposal of our opto-electronics business may fail to result in the benefits we anticipate.

 We may not obtain the benefits we expect as a result of discontinuation of our opto-electronics business, such as greater strategic focus on our core businesses. We may be required to return to the buyer some or all of the $1 million held in escrow should the buyer successfully claim that we breached one of the representations or warranties made to it. The buyer may not reimburse us for the limited set of continuing services and leases that we are providing. Our building in Monterey Park may not be sold for the $1 million at which we are carrying it on our balance sheet.

We may incur additional costs associated with the discontinued operations which could materially reduce our short term earnings.

We may be required to raise additional capital in the future, which may not be available.

     We anticipate that our existing cash resources will fund any anticipated operating losses, purchases of capital equipment and provide adequate working capital for the next twelve months. However, our liquidity is affected by many factors including, among others, the extent to which we pursues additional capital expenditures, the level of our production efforts, andclaims or other factorsliabilities or obligations related to the uncertaintiesour failureto follow requirements for testing of the industryproducts and global economies. Accordingly,provision of testing dataand information relating to customer requirements. Additionally, customers maycancel or reduce future shipments in response to these failures.

We have recently determined that we had not followed requirements for testing of products and provision of testing data and information relating to customer requirements. See preceeding “Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation - Overview” and “Item 4. Controls and Procedures” below for further information. Although we are notifying affected customers concerning our findings, there can be no assurance that eventswe will not incur customer claims or other liabilities or obligations in connection with this matter, nor, if we receive any such claims, that we will not have to restate results from prior periods. In addition, revenue in future periods may be adversely impacted if customers cancel or reduce orders or decide not to continue ordering from us as a result of this disclosure. We have been notified of several cancellations of future orders by customers pending further information regarding enhancements to our product testing and quality control systems. We cannot be sure that we will not receive additional cancellations of orders by other customers, or fail to win expected future orders from customers, as a result of our disclosure of our investigation conclusions.

22



Because of power shortages in China, we may have to temporarily close our China operations, which would adversely impact our ability to manufacture our products, meet customer orders, and result in reduced revenues for the period.

The Chinese government has indicated that the country faces a power crunch this summer and that power demand in 24 provinces outstripped supply in peak periods during the first four months of 2004. Instability in electrical supply has caused sporadic outages among residential consumers. As a result, the Chinese government has called for tough measures to ease the energy shortage which is expected to last at least through 2005.  Provinces have imposed power brownouts to reduce electricity demand and some companies in Beijing have been ordered to give their employees a week off to ease the pressure on power supply.  It is anticipated that the plants, most of which are state-owned, will be closed and reopened on a staggered schedule to reduce power consumption during the capital’s hottest months, with the first closings occurring in early July.  The policy is expected to continue until the end of August.  We closed most of our operations for a week in late July 2004 in conformance with this policy.  If we are required to make additional temporary closures of our Beijing operations, we will be unable to manufacture our products, and will be unable to meet customer orders except from inventory on hand.  As a result, we could lose sales, adversely impacting our revenues, and our relationships with our customers could suffer, impacting our ability to generate future sales.  In addition, if power is shut off at our Beijing operations at any time, either voluntarily or as a result of unplanned brownouts, during certain phases of our manufacturing process including our crystal growth phase, the work in process may be ruined and rendered unusable, causing us to incur expense that will not be covered by revenue, and negatively impacting our cost of goods sold and gross margins.

Intellectual property infringement claims may be costly to resolve and could divert management attention.

Other companies may hold or obtain patents on inventions or may otherwise claim proprietary rights to technology necessary to our business. The markets in which we compete are comprised of competitors who in some cases hold substantial patent portfolios covering aspects of products that could be similar to ours. We could become subject to claims that we are infringing patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights of others, and have been sued by a substrate competitor concerning alleged patent infringement. On April 15, 2003, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., (SEI) filed a complaint in the futureTokyo District Court, Civil Division against the Company and its Japanese distributor alleging patent infringement of two patents held by SEI in Japan. The suit seeks penalties from us in the amount of $1.67 million plus interest and court costs and the cessation of our sales of gallium arsenide substrates in Japan. We intend to defend ourself vigorously in these law suits. Both parties have completed submitting arguments and evidence in litigation in Japan and we currently retain all of our options which include appealing any court decision and launching an effort to have Sumitomo’s patent invalidated in Japan. However, there can be no assurance that the court will not requirerule against us to seek additional capital,on the infringement claim, or if so required, that such capital will be availablewe can settle this matter on terms acceptable to us, if at all.

 Much

Litigation to determine the validity of alleged claims, such as that between us and Sumitomo, could be time-consuming and result in significant expense to us and divert the efforts of our cash resources are denominatedtechnical and management personnel, whether or not the litigation is ultimately determined in Chinese reminbiour favor. If a law suit is decided against us, including the lawsuit with Sumitomo, we could be subject to significant liabilities, requiring us to seek costly licenses or preventing us from manufacturing and held in accounts in China and, under some circumstances,selling our products. We may not be easily exchanged for US dollars. The valueable to obtain required licensing agreements on terms acceptable to us or at all. If we lose the litigation with Sumitomo, we may have to pay royalties to Sumitomo on products sold in Japan, or cease sales of our Chinese cash holdings are alsoproducts to customers in Japan.

If we fail to comply with environmental and safety regulations, we may be subject to significant fines or cessation of our operations; in addition, we could be subject to suits for personal injuries caused by hazardous materials.

We are subject to federal, state and local environmental and safety laws and regulations in all of our operating locations. These laws, rules and regulations govern the use, storage, discharge and disposal of hazardous chemicals during manufacturing, research and development, and sales demonstrations. If we fail to comply with applicable regulations, we could be subject to substantial liability for clean-up efforts, personal injury and fines or suspension or cessation of our operations. In March 2001, we settled a claim made by the California Occupational Saftey and Health Administration, or Cal-OSHA, in an investigation primarily regarding impermissible levels of potentially hazardous materials in certain areas of our manufacturing facility in Fremont, California for $200,415, and we have recently been the target of press allegations concerning our environmental compliance programs and exposure of our employees to hazardous materials, and there is a possibility that former employees may file litigation against us. Although we have put in place engineering, administrative and personnel protective equipment programs to address these issues, our ability to expand or continue to operate our present locations could be restricted or we could be required to acquire costly remediation equipment or incur other significant expenses. Existing or future changes in the exchange rate between Chinese reminbi and US dollars. If our US dollar commitments exceeded the cash we have availablelaws or regulations in the United States and China may require us to incur significant expenditures or liabilities, or may restrict our operations. In addition, our employees could be exposed to chemicals or other hazardous materials at our facilities and we may be unablesubject to accesslawsuits seeking damages for wrongful death or personal injuries allegedly caused by exposure to chemicals or

23



hazardous materials at our facilities.

If litigation is brought against us, litigation is inherently uncertain and while we would expect to defend ourself vigorously, it is possible that our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash heldflows, could be affected in China to satisfy these commitments.any particular period by such litigation if brought against us.

The semiconductor industry is cyclical and is currently experiencinghas experienced a severe and prolonged downturn which hasadversely impacted our operating results.

Our continuing business depends in significant part upon manufacturers of electronic and opto-electronic semiconductor devices, as well as the current and anticipated market demand for such devices and products using such devices. As a supplier to the semiconductor industry, we are subject to the business cycles that characterize the industry-theindustry. The timing, length and volatility of these cycles are difficult to predict. The semiconductor industry has historically been cyclical because of sudden changes in demand for semiconductors and capacity requirements, including capacity utilizing the latest technology. The rate of changes in demand, including end demand, is accelerating,high, and the effect of these changes upon us is occurring sooner,occurs quickly, exacerbating the volatility of these cycles. These changes have affected the timing and amounts of customers’ capital equipment purchases and investments in new technology. These industry cycles create pressure on our net sales, gross margin and net income.

 Our continuing business depends in significant part upon manufacturers of electronic and opto-electronic semiconductor devices, as well as the current and anticipated market demand for such devices and products using such devices. The semiconductor industry is highly cyclical.

The industry has in the past, and will likely in the future, experiencepreviously experienced periods of oversupply that result in significantly reduced demand for semiconductor devices and components, including our products, both as a result of general economic changes and overcapacity. When these periods occur, our operating results and financial condition are adversely affected, and create pressure on our revenue, gross margins and net income. Inventory buildups in telecommunications products and slower than expected sales of computer equipment resulted in overcapacity and led to reduced sales by our customers, and therefore reduced purchases of our products. During periods of weak demand such as those experienced over the past year,years, customers typically reduce purchases, delay delivery of products and/or cancel orders of component parts such as our products. Increased price competition has resulted, causing pressure on our net sales, gross margin and net income. We have over the past year experienced cancellations, price reductions, delays and push outs of orders, which have resulted in reduced revenues. If the economic downturn continues,were to continue, or occur again in the future, further order cancellations, reductions in order size or delays in orders will materially adversely affect our business and results of operations. Although we have taken actionsActions to reduce our costs, if our actions aresuch as those we have recently taken, may be insufficient to align our structure with prevailing business conditions, weconditions. We may be required to undertake additional cost-cutting measures, and may be unable to invest in

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marketing, research and development and engineering at the levels we believe are necessary to maintain our competitive position. Our failure to make these investments could seriously harm our business.

The financial condition

During periods of our customers may affect their ability to pay amounts owed to us.

     Many of our customers are facing business downturns thatincreasing demand for semiconductor devices, we must have reduced their cash balancessufficient manufacturing capacity and their prospects. We frequently allow our customers to pay for products we ship to them within 30 to 90 days after delivery. Subsequent to our shipping a product some customers have been unable to make payments as due, reducing our cash balances and causing us to incur charges to allow for a possibility that some accounts might not be paid. At least three customers that owed us a significant amount have filed for bankruptcy protection and we are unlikely to receive a substantial portion or any of the amounts owed to us as part of a bankruptcy settlement. Other customers may also be forced to file for bankruptcy. If our customers do not pay their accounts when due, we will be required to incur charges that would reduce our earnings.

A reoccurrence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) may adversely impact our manufacturing operations and some of our key suppliers and customers

     The majority of our substrate manufacturing activities are conducted in China. In addition, we source key raw materials, including gallium, from our joint ventures in China. The SARS outbreak was most notable in China. One employee at our LED production facility in China contracted SARS in late April prompting us to close the facility for ten days. There was no significant impact to our ability to fill customer orders. If there were to be another outbreak of SARS and if our employees contracted the disease, we may be required to temporarily close our manufacturing operations. Similarly, if one of our key suppliers is required to close for an extended period, we may not have enough raw material inventory to continue manufacturing operations. In addition, while we possess management skills among our China staff that enable us to maintain our manufacturing operations with minimal on-site supervision from our US-based staff, our business could also be harmed if travel to or from Asiameet customer demand, and the United States is restricted or inadvisable, as it was earlier in 2003. None of our substrate competitors is and few of our opto-electronics competitors are as dependent on manufacturing facilities in China as we are. If our manufacturing operations were closed for a significant period, we could lose revenue and market share during that period which would depress our financial performance and could be difficult to recapture. Finally, if one of our key customers is required to close for an extended period, we may notmust be able to ship productattract, hire, train and retain qualified employees to them,meet demand. It appears that the semiconductor industry is in the early stages of an upturn and increasing demand. However, we cannot predict the sustainability of a recovery, if any, and the industry’s rate of growth in this recovery, if it occurs. If we are unable to effectively manage our revenue would declineresources and our financial performance would suffer.

The impact of changes in global economic conditionsproduction capacity during an industry upturn, there could be a material adverse effect on our customers may cause us to fail to meet expectations, which would negatively impact the pricebusiness, financial condition and results of our stock.operations.

 Our operating results can vary significantly based upon the impact of changes in global economic conditions on our customers. More specifically, the macro-economic environment that we faced in the second half of 2001 and continued to face in 2003 is more uncertain than in prior periods, has lasted longer than expected and has materially and adversely affected us and our operating results and may continue to do so. The revenue growth and profitability of our business depends on the overall demand for our substrates, and we are particularly dependant on the market conditions for the wireless, fiber optics and telecommunications industries. Because our sales are primarily to major corporate customers whose businesses fluctuate with general economic and business conditions, a softening of demand for products that use our substrates, caused by a weakening economy may result in further or prolonged decreased revenues. Customers may find themselves facing excess inventory from earlier purchases, and may defer or reconsider purchasing products due to the downturn in their business and in the general economy.

Unpredictable fluctuations in our operating results could disappoint analysts or our investors, which could cause our stock price to decline.

     We have not over the past year been able to sustain growth, and may not be able to return to historic growth levels in the current economic environment. Our net loss in 2002 is the largest in our history and our losses have continued during 2003. We have and may continue to experience significant fluctuations in our revenue and earnings. Our quarterly and annual revenue and operating results have varied significantly in the past and may vary significantly in the future due to a number of factors, including:

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decline in general economic conditions or downturns in the industry in which we compete;
fluctuations in demand for our products;
expansion of our manufacturing capacity;
expansion of our operations in China;
limited availability and increased cost of raw materials;
the volume and timing of orders from our customers, and cancellations, push outs and delays of customer orders;
fluctuation of our manufacturing yields;
decreases in the prices of our competitors’ products;
costs incurred in connection with any future acquisitions of businesses or technologies;
increases in our expenses, including expenses for research and development; and
our ability to develop, manufacture and deliver high quality products in a timely and cost-effective manner.

     Due to these factors, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be a meaningful indicator of our future performance. Our operating results have over the past year at times been below the expectations of securities analysts or investors. If this occurs again in future periods, the price of our common stock would likely decline or fluctuate.

     A substantial percentage of our operating expenses are fixed in the short term and we may be unable to adjust spending to compensate for an unexpected shortfall in revenues. As a result, any delay in generating revenue could cause our operating results to be below the expectations of market analysts or investors, which could also cause our stock price to fall.

     The lead-time for customer orders is generally less than three months. As a result, our visibility regarding future financial performance is uncertain and we have and may continue to provide investors with financial guidance that we cannot meet. As a result, our operating results could be below the expectations of market analysts or investors, which could also cause our stock price to fall.

If the economy recovers and we are again in a period of high demand for ourproducts, we may be unable to expand our manufacturing capacity quickly enoughto meet increased demand, we may make decisions to expand capacity that are notprofitable, and we may be unable to lower our costs or increase revenue.

 Although we are currently

It appears that the industry may be in a period of overcapacity, reduced sales, and decreased margins, if the economy recovers,an upturn, which may cause demand mayto increase rapidly as it has in prior years after other cyclical downturns in the economy and the industries in which we operate. If this happens, in order to meet increased demand and maintain our market share, we may need to increase production, which could require us to build new facilities, expand and modify our existing facilities, purchase additional manufacturing equipment, and add qualified staff. If we are not at that time able to expand our manufacturing capacity, we will be unable to increase production, which may adversely impact our ability to meet increased production demand while reducing unit costs, margins and improving our operating results.

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We are currently constructing and/orand modifying facilities in California and China. Our construction activities subject us to a number of risks, including:

unforeseen environmental or engineering problems;

unavailability or late delivery of production equipment;
delays in completing new facilities;
delays in bringing production equipment on-line;
work stoppages or delays;
inability to recruit and train qualified staff;
unanticipated cost increases and restrictions imposed by requirements of local, state or federal regulatory agencies in the United States and China.

 

    unavailability or late delivery of production equipment;

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    delays in completing new facilities;

    delays in bringing production equipment on-line;

    work stoppages or delays;

    inability to recruit and train qualified staff; and

    unanticipated cost increases and restrictions imposed by requirements of local, state or federal regulatory agencies in the   United States and China.

If any of these risks occurs, construction may be costlier than anticipated and completion could be delayed, which could hurt our ability to expand capacity and increase our sales. In addition, if we experience delays in expanding our manufacturing capacity, we mightmay not be able to timely meet customer requirements, and we could lose future sales. We are also completing selective investments in equipment and facilities as part of our previously planned capacity expansion. To offset the additional fixed operating expenses, we must increase our revenue by increasing production and improving yields. If demand for our products does not grow, if prices decline significantly, or if our yields do not improve as anticipated, we may be unable to offset these costs against increased revenue, which would adversely impact our operating results.

Unpredictable fluctuations in our operating results could disappoint analystsor our investors, which could cause our stock price to decline.

We have not over the past year been able to sustain growth, and may not be able to return to historic growth levels in the current economic environment. Our net loss in 2002 was the largest in our history and our losses continued during 2003. We believe we will endure losses for at least part of 2004.

We have and may continue to experience significant fluctuations in our revenue and earnings. Our quarterly and annual revenue and operating results have varied significantly in the past and may vary significantly in the future due to a number of factors, including:

      decline in general economic conditions or downturns in the industry in which we compete;

      fluctuations in demand for our products;

      expansion of our manufacturing capacity;

      expansion of our operations in China;

      limited availability and increased cost of raw materials;

      the volume and timing of orders from our customers, and cancellations, push outs and delays of customer orders;

      fluctuation of our manufacturing yields;

      decreases in the prices of our competitors’ products;

      costs incurred in connection with any future acquisitions of businesses or technologies;

      increases in our expenses, including expenses for research and development; and

      our ability to develop, manufacture and deliver high quality products in a timely and cost-effective manner.

Due to these factors, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our operating results may not be meaningful indicators of our future performance. Our operating results have over the past year at times been below the expectations of securities analysts or

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investors. If this occurs again in future periods, the price of our common stock could decline or fluctuate.

A substantial percentage of our operating expenses are fixed in the short term and we may be unable to adjust spending to compensate for an unexpected shortfall in revenues. As a result, any delay in generating revenue could cause our operating results to be below the expectations of market analysts or investors, which could also cause our stock price to fall.

Our results of operations may suffer if we do not effectively manage ourinventory.

 

We must manage our inventory of component parts, work-in-process, and finished goods effectively to meet changing customer requirements, while keeping inventory costs down and improving gross margins. Some of our products and supplies have in the past and may in the future become obsolete while in inventory due to changing customer specifications, or become excess inventory due to decreased demand for our products and an inability to sell the inventory within a foreseeable period. Furthermore, if current costs of production increase or sales prices drop below the standard prices at which we value inventory, we may need to take a charge for a reduction in inventory values. We have in the past had to take inventory valuation and impairment charges. If we are not successfully able to manage our inventory, we may need to write off unsaleable, obsolete or excess inventory, which could adversely affect our results of operations. On October 1, we implemented a new inventory control system that

Decreases in average selling prices of our products may reduce gross margins.

The market for compound semiconductor substrates is characterized by pressures on average selling prices resulting from factors such as increased competition or overcapacity. We may experience unexpected difficultiesprice pressures on our products, and if average selling prices decline in the future, our revenues and gross margins could decline. We may be unable to reduce the cost of our products sufficiently to counter the effect of lower selling prices and allow us to keep pace with competitive pricing pressures and our margins could be adversely affected.

The disposal of our opto-electronics business may fail to result in thebenefits we anticipate.

We may not obtain the benefits we expect as a result of discontinuation of our opto-electronics business, such as greater strategic focus on our core businesses. We may be required to return to the buyer some or all of the $1 million of the sale proceeds which will be held in escrow should the buyer successfully claim that we breached one of the representations or warranties made to it. Our building in Monterey Park may not be sold for the $1 million at which we are carrying it on our balance sheet. We may incur additional costs associated with the discontinued operations which could materially reduce our short term earnings.

A reoccurrence of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) or the outbreak of adifferent contagious disease may adversely impact our manufacturing operationsand some of our key suppliers and customers.

The majority of our substrate manufacturing activities are conducted in China. In addition, we source key raw materials, including gallium, from our joint ventures and other suppliers in China. The 2003 SARS outbreak was most notable in China and a small number of cases have been reported to date in 2004. One employee at our LED production facility in China contracted SARS in late April 2003 prompting us to close the facility for ten days. There was no significant impact to our ability to fill customer orders. If there were to be another outbreak of SARS or a different contagious disease and if our employees contracted the disease, we may be required to temporarily close our manufacturing operations. Similarly, if one of our key suppliers is required to close for an extended period, we may not have enough raw material inventory to continue manufacturing operations. In addition, while we possess management skills among our China staff that enable us to maintain our manufacturing operations with minimal on-site supervision from our US-based staff, our business could also be harmed if travel to or from Asia and the United States is restricted or inadvisable, as it was during parts of 2003. None of our substrate competitors is as dependent on manufacturing facilities in China as we use itare. If our manufacturing operations were closed for a significant period, we could lose revenue and market share during that period which would depress our financial performance and could be difficult to develop reporting informationrecapture. Finally, if one of our key customers is required to close for an extended period, we may not be able to ship product to them, our revenue would decline and our financial performance would suffer.

The impact of changes in global economic conditions on our customers may causeus to fail to meet expectations, which would negatively impact the price of ourstock.

Our operating results can vary significantly based upon the impact of changes in global economic conditions on our customers. More specifically, the macro-economic environment that we faced in 2003 was more uncertain than in some prior periods, lasted longer than expected and has materially and adversely affected us and our operating results and may continue to do so. The revenue

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growth and profitability of our business depends on the overall demand for our substrates, and we are particularly dependant on the market conditions for the fourth quarterwireless, solid-state illumination, fiber optics and telecommunications industries. Because our sales are primarily to major corporate customers whose businesses fluctuate with general economic and business conditions, a softening of 2003.demand for products that use our substrates, caused by a weakening economy may result in further or prolonged decreased revenues. Customers may find themselves facing excess inventory from earlier purchases, and may defer or reconsider purchasing products due to the downturn in their business and in the general economy.

If we do not successfully develop new products to respond to rapidly changingcustomer requirements, our ability to generate sales and obtain new customersmay suffer.

 

Our success depends on our ability to offer new products and product features that incorporate leading technology and respond to technological advances. In addition, our new products must meet customer needs and compete effectively on quality, price and performance. The life cycles of our products are difficult to predict because the markets for our products are characterized by rapid technological change, changing customer needs and evolving industry standards. If our competitors introduce products employing new technologies or performance characteristics, our existing products could become obsolete and unmarketable. During the past year, we have seen our competitors selling more substrates manufactured using a crystal growth technology similar to ours, which has eroded our technological differentiation. If we fail to offer new products, we may not generate sufficient revenue to offset our development costs and other expenses or meet our customers’ requirements. Other companies, including IBM,Triquent, are actively developing substrate materials that could be used to manufacture devices that could provide the same high-performance, low-power capabilities as GaAs-basedGaAs- and InP-based devices at competitive prices. If these substrate materials or VGF derived products are

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successfully developed and semiconductor device manufacturers adopt them, demand for our GaAs substrates could decline and our revenue could suffer.

 

The development of new products can be a highly complex process, and we may experience delays in developing and introducing new products. Any significant delays could cause us to fail to timely introduce and gain market acceptance of new products. Further, the costs involved in researching, developing and engineering new products could be greater than anticipated.

Our operating results depend in large part on further customer acceptance ofour existing substrate products and on our ability to develop new products based on our core VGF technology.manufactured in China.

 Some of our competitors have developed a crystal growth technique similar to our VGF technology. Furthermore, some customers have reduced their orders from us until our surface quality is as good and consistent as that offered by competitors. As a result, some customers are now allocating their requirements for VGF grown substrates across more competitors and we believe that we have lost revenue and market share as a result of these customer decisions, which we may be unable to recover. If we are unable to retain our market share, our revenue and performance will decline.

To shift more of our substrate manufacturing operations to China successfully, we will need our customers to qualify products manufactured in China. If we are unable to achieve qualifications for these products, our China facility will be underutilized, our investments in China will not be recouped and we will be unable to lower our costs by moving to China. We may lose sales of our products to competitors who are not manufacturing in China, or whose operations in China have already been qualified by customers. All of these events could reduce our revenue but increase our cost structure. In addition, we announced a plan to stop producing products in China during the third quarter of 2004. If customers do not fully qualify our China production by the time we cease our California production, we may lose additional customers.

Furthermore, some customers have reduced their orders from us until our surface quality is as good and consistent as that offered by competitors. As a result, some customers are now allocating their requirements for VGF grown substrates across more competitors and we believe that we have lost revenue and market share as a result of these customer decisions, which we may be unable to recover. If we are unable to retain our market share, our revenue and performance will decline.

Intense competition in the markets for our products could prevent us fromincreasing revenue and sustaining profitability.

 

The markets for our products are intensely competitive. We face competition for our substrate products from other manufacturers of substrates, such as Freiberger, Hitachi Cable, Japan Energy and Sumitomo Electric and from semiconductor device manufacturers that produce substrates for their own use, and from companies, such as IBM,Triquent, that are actively developing alternative materials to GaAs and some semiconductor devices are being marketed using these materials. We believe that at least two of our competitors are shipping high volumes of GaAs substrates manufactured using a technique similar to our VGF technique. Other competitors may develop and begin using similar technology. If we are unable to compete effectively, our revenue may not increase and we may be unable to be profitable. We face many competitors that have a number of significant advantages over us, particularlyincluding:

      greater experience in our compound semiconductor device products, including:

greater experience in the business;
more manufacturing experience;
extensive intellectual property;
broader name recognition; and
significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources.

 

      more manufacturing experience;

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      extensive intellectual property;

      broader name recognition; and

      significantly greater financial, technical and marketing resources.

Our competitors could develop new or enhanced products that are more effective than theour products that we have developed or may develop.are.

 

The level and intensity of competition has increased over the past year and we expect competition to continue to increase in the future. Competitive pressures caused by the current economic conditions have resulted in reductions in the prices of our products, and continued or increased competition could reduce our market share,

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require us to further reduce the prices of our products, affect our ability to recover costs or result in reduced gross margins.

If we have low product yields, the shipment of our products may be delayed and our operating results may be adversely impacted.

     Our products are manufactured using complex technologies, and the number of usable substrates we can produce can fluctuate as a result of many factors, including:

impurities in the materials used;
contamination of the manufacturing environment;
substrate breakage;
equipment failure, power outages or variations in the manufacturing process; and
performance of personnel involved in the manufacturing process.

     Because many of our manufacturing costs are fixed, our revenue could decline if our yields decrease but our costs would change little, if at all. We have experienced product shipment delays and difficulties in achieving acceptable yields on both new and older products, and delays and poor yields have adversely affected our operating results, as have quality control problems experienced on our substrate products. We may experience similar problems in the future and we cannot predict when they may occur or their severity. In addition, many of our manufacturing processes are new and are still being refined, which can result in lower yields, particularly as we focus on producing larger diameter substrates.

Demand for our products may decrease if our customers experience difficulty manufacturing, marketing or selling their products.

     Our products are used as components in our customers’ products. Accordingly, demand for our products is subject to factors affecting the ability of our customers to successfully introduce and market their products, including:

the competition our customers face in their particular industries;
the technical, manufacturing, sales and marketing and management capabilities of our customers;
the financial and other resources of our customers; and
the inability of our customers to sell their products if they infringe third party intellectual property rights.

If demand for the products offered by our customers decreases, our customers may reduce purchases of our products.

     As a result of current levels of demand and inventory, some of our customers have reduced sales of their products, causing them to reduce purchases of our products for both production and research and development purposes. As a result, our revenues have declined and may fail to recover until the overcapacity has been depleted and demand for our customers’ products once again increases and their expenditures for research and development increase.

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We purchase critical raw materials and parts for our equipment from single or limited sources, and could lose sales if these sources fail to fill our needs.

     We depend on a limited number of suppliers for certain raw materials, components and equipment used in manufacturing our products, including key materials such as gallium, arsenic and quartz. We generally purchase these materials through standard purchase orders and not pursuant to long-term supply contracts and none of our suppliers guarantees supply of raw materials or equipment to us. If we lose any of our key suppliers, our manufacturing efforts could be significantly hampered and we could be prevented from timely producing and delivering products to our customers. We have experienced delays obtaining critical raw materials and spare parts, including gallium, due to shortages of these materials. We may experience delays due to shortages of materials and may be unable to obtain an adequate supply of materials. These shortages and delays could result in higher materials costs and cause us to delay or reduce production of our products. If we have to delay or reduce production, we could fail to meet customer delivery schedules and our revenue and operating results could suffer.

If we fail to comply with environmental and safety regulations, we may be subject to significant fines or cessation of our operations.

     We are subject to federal, state and local environmental and safety laws and regulations in all of our operating locations. These laws, rules and regulations govern the use, storage, discharge and disposal of hazardous chemicals during manufacturing, research and development and sales demonstrations. If we fail to comply with applicable regulations, we could be subject to substantial liability for clean-up efforts, personal injury and fines or suspension or cessation of our operations. In March 2001, we settled a claim made by the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or Cal-OSHA, in an investigation primarily regarding impermissible levels of potentially hazardous materials in certain areas of our manufacturing facility in Fremont, California for $204,415. Although we have put in place engineering, administrative and personnel protective equipment programs to address these issues, our ability to expand or continue to operate our present locations could be restricted or we could be required to acquire costly remediation equipment or incur other significant expenses. In addition, existing or future changes in laws or regulations may require us to incur significant expenditures or liabilities, or may restrict our operations.

The loss of one or more of our key substrate customers would significantly hurt our operating results.

     A small number of substrate customers have historically accounted for a substantial portion of our total revenue. Five customers accounted for 29.7% of our total revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2003 and 35.7% for the three months ended September 30, 2002. One customer accounted for 12.4% of our revenue for the three months ended September 30, 2003. We expect that a significant portion of our future revenue will continue to be derived from a limited number of substrate customers. Our customers are not obligated to purchase a specified quantity of our products or to provide us with binding forecasts of product purchases. In addition, our customers may reduce, delay or cancel orders at any time without any significant penalty, and during the past year, we have experienced slower bookings, significant push outs and cancellation of orders. In addition, due to the difficult economic environment, several of our previously large customers have stopped operations entirely. If we lose a major customer or if a customer cancels, reduces or delays orders, our revenue would decline. In addition, customers that have accounted for significant revenue in the past may not continue to generate revenue for us in any future period. Any delay in scheduled shipments of our products could cause net sales to fall below our expectations and the expectations of market analysts or investors, causing our stock price to decline.

Defects in our products could diminish demand for our products.

 

Our products are complex and may contain defects. We have experienced quality control problems with some of our products over the past two years, which caused customers to return products to us, to reduce orders for our products, or both. If we continue to experience quality control problems, or experience these or other problems in new products, customers may cancel or reduce orders or purchase products from our competitors.competitors and sales of our products could decline. Defects in our products could cause us to incur higher manufacturing costs and suffer product returns and additional service expenses, all of which could adversely impact our operating results.

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     We are also developing new substrate products and product enhancements. If our new products developed by us contain defects when released, our customers may be dissatisfied and we may suffer negative publicity or customer claims against us, lose sales or experience delays in market acceptance of our new products.

Our substrate productsIf we have a long qualification cycle that makes it difficult to plan our expenses and forecast our results.

     Customers typically place orders with us for our substrate products three months to a year or more after our initial contact with them. The salelow product yields, the shipment of our products may be subject to delays due to our customers’ lengthy internal budgeting, approvaldelayed and evaluation processes. During this time, we may incur substantial expenses and expend sales, marketing and management efforts while the customers evaluate our products. These expenditures may not result in sales of our products. If we do not achieve anticipated sales in a period as expected, we may experience an unplanned shortfall in our revenue. As a result, we may not be able to cover expenses, causing our operating results to vary. In addition, ifmay be adversely impacted.

Our products are manufactured using complex technologies, and the number of usable substrates we can produce can fluctuate as a customer decides not to incorporate our products into its initial design, we may not have another opportunity to sell products to this customer forresult of many months or even years. In this difficult economic climate, the average sales cycle for our products has lengthened even further and is expected to continue to make it difficult to accurately forecast our future sales. We anticipate that sales of any future substrate products under development will also have lengthy sales cycles and will, therefore, be subject to risks substantially similar to those inherentfactors, including:

      impurities in the lengthy sales cyclematerials used;

      contamination of our current substrate products.the manufacturing environment;

As      substrate breakage;

      equipment failure, power outages or variations in the manufacturing process; and

      performance of personnel involved in the manufacturing process.

If our business matures, we may need to upgradeyields decrease, our systems.

     In the past, periods of rapid growth and expansion has strained our management and other resources. The expansionrevenue could decline because many of our manufacturing capacitycosts are fixed, or would increase. We have experienced product shipment delays and the shift of manufacturing operations to China placeddifficulties in achieving acceptable yields on both new and continue to place a significant strain on our operationsolder products, and management resources,delays and we are in the process of upgrading our inventory control systems and may implement additional systems relating to consolidation of our financial results. If we fail to manage these changes effectively, our operations may be disrupted.

     To manage our business effectively, we may need to implement additional and improved management information systems, further developpoor yields have adversely affected our operating administrative, financial and accounting systems and controls, add experienced senior level managers, and maintain close coordination among our executive, engineering, accounting, marketing, sales and operations organizations.

     If necessary, we will spend substantial sums to support our future growth and shift to China and to comply with the reporting and attestation requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.results. We may incur additional unexpected costs. Our systems, procedures or controls may not be adequate to support our operations, and we may be unable to expand quickly enough to exploit potential market opportunities.

     We anticipate that our existing cash resources will fund any anticipated operating losses, purchases of capital equipment and provide adequate working capital for the next twelve months. The Company’s liquidity is affected by many factors including, among others, the extent to which the Company pursues additional capital and business acquisition expenditures, the level of the Company’s production efforts, and other factors related to the uncertainties of the industry and global economies.

If we fail to manage periodic contractions, we may utilize our cash balances and our existing cash and cash equivalent balances could decline.

     If we fail to manage our contractions successfully we may continue to draw down our cash reserves, which would adversely affect our operating results and financial condition, reduce our value and may impinge our ability to raise debt and equity fundingexperience similar problems in the future at a timeand we cannot predict when wethey may be required to raise additional cash. As part of our effort to reduce costs, we may lose key staff, production resources, and technology that we will need to grow when end markets recover. These events could reduce our ability to grow profitably as markets recover.

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As a result of the difficult economic conditions, we have implemented restructuring and workforce reductions, which may adversely affect the morale and performance of our personnel and our ability to hire new personnel.

occur or their severity. In connection with our efforts to streamline operations, reduce costs and bring staffing and structure in line with current demand for our products, we implemented a corporate restructuring beginning in 2001 and reduced our workforce, shifted production activities to China, reduced capital expenditures, and discontinued our opto-electronics business. Our restructuring may yield unanticipated consequences, such as attrition beyond our planned reduction in workforce and loss of employee morale and decreased performance. In addition, the recent trading levels of our stock have decreased the value of our stock options granted to employees under our stock option plan. As a result of these factors, our remaining personnel may seek employment with larger, more established companies or companies that they perceive as having less volatile stock prices. Continuity of personnel can be very important factors in the sales and production of our products and completion of our research and development efforts.

Any future acquisitions may disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value or distract management attention.

     As part of our strategy, we may consider acquisitions of, or significant investments in, businesses that offer products, services and technologies complementary to ours. Acquisitions entail numerous risks, including:

we may have difficulty assimilating the operations, products and personnel of the acquired businesses;
our ongoing business may be disrupted;
we may incur unanticipated costs;
our management may be unable to manage the financial and strategic position of acquired or developed products, services and technologies;
we may be unable to maintain uniform standards, controls and procedures and policies; and
our relationships with employees and customers may be impaired as a result of any integration.

     For example, we incurred substantial costs in connection with our acquisition of Lyte Optronics in May 1999, including the assumption of approximately $10.0 million of debt, which was subsequently repaid, resulting in a decline of cash available. We have also incurred consistent operating losses for the business since the acquisition, and have recently discontinued all operations acquired in our acquisition of Lyte Optronics.

     To the extent that we issue shares of our stock or other rights to purchase stock in connection with any future acquisitions, dilution to our existing stockholders will result and our earnings per share may suffer. Any future acquisitions may not generate additional revenue or provide any benefit to our business.

If any of our facilities is damaged by actions such as fire, explosion, or natural disaster, we may not be able to manufacture our products.

     The ongoing operationparticular, many of our manufacturing processes are new and production facilities in California and China is critical to our ability to meet demand for our products. If we are not able to use all or a significant portion of our facilities for prolonged periods for any reason, we will not be able to manufacture products for our customers. For example, a natural disaster, fire or explosion caused by our use of combustible chemicals and high temperatures during our manufacturing processes would render some or all of our facilities inoperable for an indefinite period of time. Actions outside of our control, such as earthquakes, could also damage our facilities, rendering them inoperable. Some of our manufacturing and research and development is currently performed at our Fremont, California facilities,still being refined, which are located near an active seismic fault line. If we are unable to operate our facilities and manufacture our products, we will lose customers and revenue and our business will be harmed.

29


If we lose key personnel or are unable to hire additional qualified personnel as necessary, we may not be able to successfully manage our business or achieve our objectives.

     Our success depends upon the continued service of Morris S. Young, Ph.D., our president, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, as well as other key management and technical personnel. We do not have long-term employment contracts with, or key person life insurance on, any of our key personnel.

     We believe our future success will also depend in large part upon our ability to attract and retain highly skilled managerial, engineering, sales and marketing, finance and manufacturing personnel. The competition for these employees is intense and we cannot assure you that we will be successful in attracting and retaining new personnel. The loss of the services of any of our key personnel, the inability to attract or retain qualified personnel in the future or delays in hiring required personnel, particularly engineers, could make it difficult for us to manage our business and meet key objectives, including the timely introduction of new products.

If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, we may lose valuable assets or incur costly litigation.

     We rely on a combination of patents, copyrights, trademark and trade secret laws, non-disclosure agreements and other intellectual property protection methods to protect our proprietary technology. However, we believe that, due to the rapid pace of technological innovation in the markets for our products, our ability to establish and maintain a position of technology leadership also depends on the skills of our development personnel.

     Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property, a third party could develop products or processes similar to ours. Our means of protecting our proprietary rights may not be adequate and our competitors may independently develop similar technology, duplicate our products or design around our patents. We believe that at least two of our competitors have begun to ship GaAs substrates produced using a process similar to our VGF technique. Our competitors may also develop and patent improvements to the VGF technology upon which we rely, and thus may limit any exclusivity we enjoy by virtue of our patents or trade secrets.

     It is possible that pending or future United States or foreign patent applications made by us will not be approved, that our issued patents will not protect our intellectual property, or that third parties will challenge the ownership rights or the validity of our patents. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries may not protect our proprietary rights to as great an extent as do the laws of the United States and it may be more difficult to monitor the use of our intellectual property. Our competitors may be able to legitimately ascertain non-patented proprietary technology embedded in our systems. If this occurs, we may not be able to prevent the development of technology substantially similar to ours.

     We may have to resort to costly litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets or know-how or to determine their scope, validity or enforceability. Enforcing or defending our proprietary technology is expensive, could cause us to divert resources and may not prove successful. Our protective measures may prove inadequate to protect our proprietary rights, and if we fail to enforce or protect our rights, we could lose valuable assets.

Intellectual property infringement claims may be costly to resolve and could divert management attention.

     Other companies may hold or obtain patents on inventions or may otherwise claim proprietary rights to technology necessary to our business. The markets in which we compete are comprised of competitors who in some cases hold substantial patent portfolios covering aspects of products that could be similar to ours. We could become subject to claims that we are infringing patent, trademark, copyright or other proprietary rights of others, and have recently been sued by two competitors concerning alleged patent infringement. Litigation to determine the validity of alleged claims could be time-consuming andcan result in significant expense to us and divert the efforts of our technical and management personnel, whether or not the litigation is ultimately determined in our favor. If a lawsuit is decided against us, we could be subject to significant liabilities, requiring us to seek costly licenses or preventing us from manufacturing and selling our products. We may not be able to obtain required licensing agreements on terms acceptable to us or at all.lower yields.

30


We derive a significant portion of our revenue from international sales, andour ability to sustain and increase our international sales involvessignificant risks.

 

Our revenue growth depends in part on the expansion of our international sales and operations. International sales represented 64%77.8% of our total revenue for the threesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 20032004 and 54%64.6% for the threesix months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2002.2003. We expect that sales to customers outside the U.S. will continue to represent a significant portion of our revenue, particularly sales to customers in Asia.

 

Currently, an increasing percentage of our sales are to customers headquartered in Asia. Certain manufacturing facilities and

28



suppliers are also located outside the U.S. Managing our global operations presents challenges, including periodic regional economic downturns, trade balance issues, varying business conditions and demands, political instability, variations in enforcement of intellectual property and contract rights in different jurisdictions, differences in the ability to develop relationships with suppliers and other local businesses, changes in U.S. and international laws and regulations including U.S. export restrictions, fluctuations in interest and currency exchange rates, the ability to provide sufficient levels of technical support in different locations, cultural differences, shipping delays and terrorist acts or acts of war, among other risks. Many of these challenges are present in China, which represents a large potential market for semiconductor equipment and where AXT anticipates significant opportunity for growth. Global uncertainties with respect to: (i) economic growth rates in various countries; (ii) sustainability of demand for electronics products; (iii) capital spending by semiconductor manufacturers; (iv) price weakness for certain semiconductor devices; and (v) political instability in regions where we have operations may also affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our dependence on international sales involves a number of risks, including:

changes in tariffs, import or export restrictions and other trade barriers;

unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;
longer periods to collect accounts receivable;
changes in export license requirements;
political and economic instability;
unexpected changes in diplomatic and trade relationships; and
foreign exchange rate fluctuations.

 

      unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;

      longer periods to collect accounts receivable;

      changes in export license requirements;

      political and economic instability;

      unexpected changes in diplomatic and trade relationships; and

      foreign exchange rate fluctuations.

Our sales are denominated in U.S. dollars, except for sales to our Japanese and some Taiwanese customers, which are denominated in Japanese yen. Thus, increases in the value of the U.S. dollar could increase the price of our products in non-U.S. markets and make our products more expensive than competitors’ products in these markets. Also, denominating some sales in Japanese yen subjects us to fluctuations in the exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the Japanese yen. The functional currencies of our Japanese and Chinese subsidiaries are the local currencies. We incur transaction gains or losses resulting from consolidation of expenses incurred in local currencies for these subsidiaries, as well as in translation of the assets and liabilities of these assets at each balance sheet date. If we do not effectively manage the risks associated with international sales, our revenue, cash flows and financial condition could be adversely affected.

IfDemand for our expansionproducts may decrease if our customers experience difficultymanufacturing, marketing or selling their products.

Our products are used as components in Chinaour customers’ products. Accordingly, demand for our products is more costly than we expect, our operating results will suffer.

     As partsubject to factors affecting the ability of our planned reductioncustomers to successfully introduce and market their products, including:

      the competition our customers face in their particular industries;

      the technical, manufacturing, sales and marketing and management capabilities of our cost structure, wecustomers;

      the financial and other resources of our customers; and

      the inability of our customers to sell their products if they infringe third party intellectual property rights.

If demand for the end user applications for which our products are building new facilities and expanding existing facilities in China. If weused decreases, or our customers are unable to builddevelop, market and expandsell their products, demand for our Chinese facilitiesproducts will decrease.

29



The financial condition of our customers may affect their ability to payamounts owed to us.

Many of our customers are facing business downturns that have reduced their cash balances and their prospects. We frequently allow our customers to pay for products we ship to them within 30 to 120 days after delivery. Subsequent to our shipping a product, some customers have been unable to make payments as due, reducing our cash balances and causing us to incur charges to allow for a possibility that some accounts might not be paid. At least three customers that owed us a significant amount have filed for bankruptcy protection and we are unlikely to receive a substantial portion or any of the amounts owed to us as part of a bankruptcy settlement. Other customers may also be forced to file for bankruptcy. If our customers do not pay their accounts when due, we will be required to incur charges that would reduce our earnings.

We purchase critical raw materials and parts for our equipment from single orlimited sources, and could lose sales if these sources fail to fill our needs.

We depend on a limited number of suppliers for certain raw materials, components and equipment used in manufacturing our products, including key materials such as quartz tubing, polishing solutions, and paralytic boron nitride. We generally purchase these materials through standard purchase orders and not pursuant to long-term supply contracts and no supplier guarantees supply of raw materials or equipment to us. If we lose any of our key suppliers, our manufacturing efforts could be significantly hampered and we could be prevented from timely producing and delivering products to our customers. We have experienced delays obtaining critical raw materials and spare parts, including gallium, due to shortages of these materials. We may experience delays due to shortages of materials and may be unable to obtain an adequate supply of materials. These shortages and delays could result in higher materials costs and cause us to delay or reduce production of our products. If we have to delay or reduce production, we could fail to meet customer delivery schedules and our revenue and operating results could suffer.

The loss of one or more of our key substrate customers would significantly hurtour operating results.

A small number of substrate customers have historically accounted for a substantial portion of our total revenue. Five customers accounted for 35.6% and 34.6% of our total revenue for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2004, respectively. One customer accounted for 5.8% and 9.5% of our revenue for the three month and six month periods ended June 30, 2004. We expect that a significant portion of our future revenue will continue to be derived from a limited number of substrate customers. Our customers are not obligated to purchase a specified quantity of our products or to provide us with binding forecasts of product purchases. In addition, our customers may reduce, delay or cancel orders at any time without any significant penalty, and during the past year, we have experienced slower bookings, significant push outs and cancellation of orders from some customers. In addition, due to the difficult economic environment, several of our previously large customers have stopped operations entirely. If we lose a major customer or if a customer cancels, reduces or delays orders, our revenue would decline. In addition, customers that have accounted for significant revenue in the past may not continue to generate revenue for us in any future period. Any delay in scheduled shipments of our products could cause net sales to fall below our expectations and the expectations of market analysts or investors, causing our stock price to decline.

Our substrate products have a long qualification cycle that makes it difficultto plan our expenses and forecast our results.

Customers typically place orders with us for our substrate products three months to a year or more after our initial contact with them. The sale of our products may be subject to delays due to our customers’ lengthy internal budgeting, approval and evaluation processes. During this time, we may incur substantial expenses and expend sales, marketing and management efforts while the customers evaluate our products. These expenditures may not result in sales of our products. If we do not achieve anticipated sales in a timely manner,period as expected, we may experience an unplanned shortfall in our revenue. As a result, we may not be able to reduce the costs of our products as planned. If our expansion in China proves more costly than we anticipate or we incur greater ongoing costs than we expect,cover expenses, causing our operating results wouldto vary. In addition, if a customer decides not to incorporate our products into its initial design, we may not have another opportunity to sell products to this customer for many months or even years. In the current competitive and economic climate, the average sales cycle for our products has lengthened even further and is expected to continue to make it difficult to accurately forecast our future sales. We anticipate that sales of any future substrate products will also have lengthy sales cycles and will, therefore, be adversely affected. subject to risks substantially similar to those inherent in the lengthy sales cycle of our current substrate products.

If we are unable to protect our intellectual property, we may lose valuableassets or incur costly litigation.

We rely on a combination of patents, copyrights, trademark and trade secret laws, non-disclosure agreements and other intellectual property protection methods to protect our proprietary technology. However, we believe that, due to the rapid pace of technological innovation in the markets for our products, our ability to establish and maintain a position of technology leadership also depends on

30



the skills of our development personnel.

Despite our efforts to protect our intellectual property, a third party could develop products or processes similar to ours. Our means of protecting our proprietary rights may not be adequate and our competitors may independently develop similar technology, duplicate our products or design around our patents. We believe that at least two of our competitors have begun to ship GaAs substrates produced using a process similar to our VGF technique. Our competitors may also develop and patent improvements to the VGF technology upon which we rely, and thus may limit any exclusivity we enjoy by virtue of our patents or trade secrets.

It is possible that pending or future United States or foreign patent applications made by us will not be approved, that our issued patents will not protect our intellectual property, or that third parties will challenge the ownership rights or the validity of our patents. In addition, the laws of some foreign countries may not protect our proprietary rights to as great an extent as do not realize

31


expected cost savings once our expansion is complete in China, our marginsthe laws of the United States and it may be negatively impactedmore difficult to monitor the use of our intellectual property. Our competitors may be able to legitimately ascertain non-patented proprietary technology embedded in our systems. If this occurs, we may not be able to prevent the development of technology substantially similar to ours.

We may have to resort to costly litigation to enforce our intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets or know-how or to determine their scope, validity or enforceability. Enforcing or defending our proprietary technology is expensive, could cause us to divert resources and may not prove successful. Our protective measures may prove inadequate to protect our proprietary rights, and if we fail to enforce or protect our rights, we could lose valuable assets.

We need to continue to improve or implement our systems, procedures andcontrols and may not receive favorable attestation of our internal controlsystems by our independent auditors.

The new requirements adopted by the Securities and Exchange Commission in response to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 will require annual review and evaluation of our internal control systems, and attestation of these systems by our independent accountants. We are currently reviewing our internal control procedures and considering further documentation of such procedures that may be necessary. Although the guidelines for the evaluation and attestation of internal control systems have been finalized, the evaluation and attestation processes are new and untested. Therefore, we can give no assurances that our systems will satisfy the new requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission or that we will receive a favorable review and attestation by our independent auditors.

In the past, periods of rapid growth and expansion has strained our management and other resources. The expansion of our manufacturing capacity and the shift of manufacturing operations to China placed and continue to place a significant strain on our operations and management resources. We recently upgraded our inventory control systems and may implement additional systems relating to consolidation of our financial results. If we fail to manage these changes effectively, our operations may be disrupted.

To manage our business effectively, we may need to implement additional and improved management information systems, further develop our operating, administrative, financial and accounting systems and controls, add experienced senior level managers, and maintain close coordination among our executive, engineering, accounting, marketing, sales and operations organizations.

If we fail to manage periodic contractions, we may utilize our cash balancesand our existing cash and cash equivalent balances could decline.

We anticipate that our existing cash resources will fund any anticipated operating losses, purchases of capital equipment and provide adequate working capital for the next twelve months. However, our liquidity is affected by many factors including, among others, the extent to which we pursue additional capital expenditures, the level of our production, and other factors related to the uncertainties of the industry and global economies. If we fail to manage our contractions successfully we may draw down our cash reserves, which would adversely affect our operating results and financial condition, reduce our value and may impinge our ability to raise debt and equity funding in the future, at a time when we may be required to raise additional cash. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that events in the future will not require us to seek additional capital, or, if so required, that such capital will be available on terms acceptable to us, if at all. As part of our effort to reduce costs, we may lose key staff, production resources, and technology that we will need to grow when end markets recover. These events could reduce our ability to grow profitably as markets recover.

We anticipate that our existing cash resources will fund any anticipated operating losses, purchases of capital equipment and provide adequate working capital for the next twelve months. Our liquidity is affected by many factors including, among others, the extent to which we pursue additional capital expenditures, the level of our production efforts, and other factors related to the

31



uncertainties of the industry and global economies. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that events in the future will not require us to seek additional capital sooner, or, if so required, that such capital will be available on terms acceptable to us if at all.

We have made and may continue to make strategic investments in raw materialssuppliers, which may not be successful and may result in the loss of all orpart of our investment.

Through fiscal 2003, we have recorded minority investments in raw material suppliers in China, that provide us with opportunities to gain supply of key raw materials that are important to our substrate business, and other products at lower cost than other suppliers. These affiliates each have a market beyond that provided by us. As of June 30, 2004, we had no obligations to make further investments in any of these companies, although we may choose to do so under certain conditions. We do not have influence over all of these companies, each of which is located in China, and in some we have made only a strategic, minority investment. We may not be successful in achieving the financial, technological or commercial advantage upon which any given investment is premised, and we could end up losing all or part of our investment.

Any future acquisitions may disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value ordistract management attention.

As part of our strategy, we may consider acquisitions of, or significant investments in, businesses that offer products, services and technologies complementary to ours. Acquisitions entail numerous risks, including:

      we may have difficulty assimilating the operations, products and personnel of the acquired businesses;

      our ongoing business may be disrupted;

      we may incur unanticipated costs;

      our management may be unable to manage the financial and strategic position of acquired or developed products, services and technologies;

      we may be unable to maintain uniform standards, controls, procedures, and policies; and

      our relationships with employees and customers may be impaired as a result of any integration.

For example, we incurred substantial costs in connection with our acquisition of Lyte Optronics in May 1999, including the assumption of approximately $10.0 million of debt, which was subsequently repaid, resulting in a decline of cash available. We also incurred consistent operating losses for the business following the acquisition, and have discontinued all operations and sold the related assets acquired in our acquisition of Lyte Optronics during 2003.

To the extent that we issue shares of our stock or other rights to purchase stock in connection with any future acquisitions, dilution to our existing stockholders will result and our earnings per share may suffer. Any future acquisitions may not generate additional revenue or provide any benefit to our business.

If any of our facilities is damaged by actions such as fire, explosion, ornatural disaster, we may not be able to manufacture our products.

The ongoing operation of our manufacturing and production facilities in California and China is critical to our ability to meet demand for our products. If we are not able to use all or a significant portion of our facilities for prolonged periods for any reason, we will not be able to manufacture products for our customers. For example, a natural disaster, fire or explosion caused by our use of combustible chemicals and high temperatures during our manufacturing processes would render some or all of our facilities inoperable for an indefinite period of time. Actions outside of our control, such as earthquakes, could also damage our facilities, rendering them inoperable. Some of our manufacturing and research and development is currently performed at our Fremont, California facilities, which are located near an active seismic fault line. If we are unable to operate our facilities and manufacture our products, we will lose customers and revenue and our business will be harmed.

32



Changes in China’s political, social and economic environment may affect ourfinancial performance.

 

Our financial performance may be affected by changes in China’s political, social and economic environment. The role of the Chinese central and local governments in the Chinese economy is significant. Chinese policies toward economic liberalization, and laws and policies affecting technology companies, foreign investment, currency exchange rates and other matters could change, resulting in greater restrictions on our ability to do business and operate our manufacturing facilities in China. Any imposition of surcharges or any increase in Chinese tax rates could hurt our operating results. The Chinese government could revoke, terminate or suspend our license for national security and similar reasons without compensation to us. If the government of China were to take any of these actions, we would be prevented from conducting all or part of our business. Any failure on our part to comply with governmental regulations could result in the loss of our ability to manufacture our products in China.

 

China has from time to time experienced instances of civil unrest and hostilities. Confrontations have occurred between the military and civilians. Events of this nature could influence the Chinese economy, result in nationalization of foreign-owned operations such as ours, and could negatively affect our ability to operate our facilities in China.

The effect of terrorist threats and actions on the general economy coulddecrease our revenues.

 the

The United States continues to be on alert for terrorist activity. The potential near- and long-term impact terrorist activities may have in regards to our suppliers, customers and markets for our products and the U.S. economy are uncertain. There may be embargos of ports or products, or destruction of shipments or our facilities, or attacks that affect our personnel. There may be other potential adverse effects on our operating results due to a significant event that we cannot foresee. Since we perform substantially all of our manufacturing operations in China, and a significant portion of our customers are located outside of the Untied States, terrorist activity or threats against US-owned enterprise are a particular concern to us.

Our stock price has been and may continue to be volatile.

 

Our stock price has fluctuated significantly since we began trading on the NasdaqNASDAQ National Market. For the threetwelve months ended SeptemberJune 30, 2003,2004, the high and low closing sales prices of our common stock were $3.12$4.58 and $1.20, respectively. A number of factors could cause the price of our common stock to continue to fluctuate substantially, including:

actual or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly or annual operating results;

changes in expectations about our future financial performance or changes in financial estimates of securities analysts;
announcements of technological innovations by us or our competitors;
new product introduction by us or our competitors;
large customer orders or order cancellations; and
the operating and stock price performance of comparable companies.

 

      changes in expectations about our future financial performance or changes in financial estimates of securities analysts;

      announcements of technological innovations by us or our competitors;

      new product introduction by us or our competitors;

      large customer orders or order cancellations; and

      the operating and stock price performance of comparable companies.

In addition, the stock market in general has experienced extreme volatility that often has been unrelated to the operating performance of particular companies. These broad market and industry fluctuations may adversely affect the trading price of our common stock, regardless of our actual operating performance.

32


Provisions in our charter, bylaws or Delaware law may delay or prevent a change in control of our company.

     Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a merger, acquisition or change of control of us, or changes in our management. These provisions include:

the division of our board of directors into three separate classes, each with three year terms;
the right of our board to elect a director to fill a space created by a board vacancy or the expansion of the board;
the ability of our board to alter our bylaws;
the ability of our board to authorize the issuance of up to 2,000,000 shares of blank check preferred stock; and
the requirement that only our board or the holders of at least 10% of our outstanding shares may call a special meeting of our stockholders.

     Furthermore, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. These provisions prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock, from consummating a merger or combination with a corporation unless:

66 2/3% of the shares of voting stock not owned by these large stockholders approve the merger or combination, or
the board of directors approves the merger or combination or the transaction which resulted in the large stockholder owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock.

We have adopted certain anti-takeover measures that may make it more difficultfor a third party to acquire us.

 

Our board of directors has the authority to issue up to 2,000,000 shares of preferred stock and to determine the price, rights, preferences and privileges of those shares without any further vote or action by the stockholders. The rights of the holders of common stock will be subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any preferred stock that may be issued in the future. The issuance of shares of preferred stock, while potentially providing desirable flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and for other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock. We have no present intention to issue shares of preferred stock.

 Further, on

On April 24, 2001, our board of directors adopted a preferred stock purchase rights plan intended to guard against certain takeover

33



tactics. The adoption of this plan was not in response to any proposal to acquire us, and the board is not aware of any such effort. The existence of this plan could also have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock. In addition, certain provisions of our certificate of incorporation may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control, which could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

In addition, provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and bylaws may have the effect of delaying or preventing a merger, acquisition or change of control of us, or changes in our management, including:

      the division of our board of directors into three separate classes, each with three year terms;

      the right of our board to elect a director to fill a space created by a board vacancy or the expansion of the board;

      the ability of our board to alter our bylaws;

      the ability of our board to authorize the issuance of up to 2,000,000 shares of blank check preferred stock; and

      the requirement that only our board or the holders of at least 10% of our outstanding shares may call a special meeting of our stockholders.

Furthermore, because we are incorporated in Delaware, we are subject to the provisions of Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. These provisions prohibit large stockholders, in particular those owning 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock, from consummating a merger or combination with a corporation unless:

      66 2/3% of the shares of voting stock not owned by these large stockholders approve the merger or combination, or

      the board of directors approves the merger or combination or the transaction which resulted in the large stockholder owning 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock.

Legislative actions, higher insurance costs and potential new accountingpronouncements are likely to cause our general and administrative expenses toincrease and impact our future financial position and results of operations.

 

In order to comply with the newly adopted Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as well as proposed changes to listing standards by Nasdaq,NASDAQ, and proposed accounting changes by the Securities and Exchange Commission, we may be required to increase our internal controls, hire additional personnel and additional outside legal, accounting and

33


advisory services, all of which will cause our general and administrative costs to increase. Insurers are likely tomay increase premiums as a result of the high claims rates they incurred over the past year, and so our premiums for our various insurance policies, including our directors’ and officers’ insurance policies, are likely to increase.increased during 2003. Proposed changes in the accounting rules, including legislative and other proposals to account for employee stock options as a compensation expense among others, could materially increase the expense that we report under generally accepted accounting principles and adversely affect our operating results.

Item 3.Qualitative and Quantitative Disclosures About Market Risk

ITEM 3. QUALITATIVE AND QUANTITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK

Foreign Currency Risk

 

We use short-term forward exchange contracts for hedging purposes to reduce the effects of adverse foreign exchange rate movements. We have purchased foreign exchange contracts to hedge against certain trade accounts receivable denominated in Japanese yen. The change in the fair value of the forward contracts is recognized as part of the related foreign currency transactions as they occur. As of SeptemberJune 30, 2003,2004, we had no outstanding commitments with respect to foreign exchange contracts.

34



Interest Rate Risk

Cash and cash equivalents earning interest and certain variable rate debt instruments are subject to interest rate fluctuations. The following table sets forth the probable impact of a 10% change in interest rates (in thousands):

                     
          Current Proforma Proforma
  Balance Current Interest 10% Interest 10% Interest
  September 30, Interest Income/ Rate Decline Rate Increase
Instrument 2003 Rate (Expense) Income/(Expense) Income/(Expense)

 
 
 
 
 
Cash and cash equivalents $21,486   1.80% $387  $348  $425 
Bonds  8,550   1.35%  (115)  (104)  (127)
           
   
   
 
          $271  $244  $298 
           
   
   
 

Instrument

 

Balance
June 30,
2004

 

Current
Interest
Rate

 

Current
Interest
Income/
(Expense)

 

Proforma
10% Interest
Rate Decline
Income/(Expense)

 

Proforma
10% Interest
Rate Increase
Income/(Expense)

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

$

14,783

 

1.00

%

$

148

 

$

133

 

$

163

 

Bonds

 

8,300

 

1.42

%

(118

)

(106

)

(130

)

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

30

 

$

27

 

$

33

 

Equity Risk

We also maintain minority investments in private and publicly traded companies. These investments are reviewed for other than temporary declines in value on a quarterly basis. Reasons for other than temporary declines in value include whether the related company would have insufficient cash flow to operate for the next twelve months, significant changes in the operating performance and changes in market conditions. On June 30,In 2003, we recorded $1.3$2.0 million chargein charges to other expense to write down our investment in two private US companies. As of SeptemberJune 30, 2003,2004, the minority investments we continue to hold totaled $5.3amounted to $2.0 million. In 2000, we recorded a $27.3 million non-cash gain as a result of acquiring Finisar Corporation common stock in connection with Finisar Corporation’s acquisition of Demeter Technologies, a company in which we held warrants to purchase preferred stock. In 2001 and 2002, we determined that this investment had suffered a decline in market value that was other than temporary and accordingly recorded a $15.6 million and $10.8 million non-cash loss respectively, as a result of writing down our investment in Finisar Corporation common stock to market value. These gains and losses were included in other expense.

ItemITEM 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.Controls and Procedures

(a) Under the supervision and with the participation of our management, including our principal executive officerInterim Chief Executive Officer and principal financial officer, we conducted an evaluationChief Financial Officer have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as such term is defined under Rule 13a-14(c)13a-15(e) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), as of the end of the period covered by this report.amended. Based on theirupon that evaluation, our principal executive officer

34


Interim Chief Executive Officer and principal financial officerour Chief Financial Officer concluded that the our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report, except as described below relating to certain product testing procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this quarterly report.

(b)  As required by Rule 13a-15(d),

In March 2004, as part of the Company’s implementation of our management, including our principal executive officerCode of Business Conduct and principal finance officer, alsoEthics, we learned of certain failures to comply with requirements for product testing and the provision of testing data and information relating to requirements of certain customers. The Audit Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors conducted an evaluationinvestigation into our product testing practices and procedures, with the assistance of outside counsel.

The investigation confirmed that certain requirements for product testing and the provision of testing data and information relating to certain customer requirements were not being complied with. We implemented measures to ensure greater operational controls and compliance with customer requirements. As a result of the investigation, the Audit Committee concluded that certain executive management changes should be implemented. Donald L. Tatzin, formerly Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer, Wilson W. Cheung, our Vice President, Corporate Controller, has been promoted to Chief Financial Officer. Morris Young, Ph.D., formerly our Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, will be responsible for improving and expanding the Company’s China operation. He will also remain a director. The Board of Directors has also determined to separate the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and accordingly, Jesse Chen, a current AXT board member, has become Chairman of the Board. In addition, the Audit Committee concluded that additional review of the organization and performance of operations, quality control and product testing would be conducted, resulting in possible additional changes in management and non-management functions. The Audit Committee also instructed management to implement additional training programs for employees involved in production, testing and quality assurance. The Audit Committee believes that these measures will address the issues raised above and provide the necessary operational oversight and assurance that the Company is complying with the requirements for product testing and the provision of testing data and other customer information.

(b) No significant changes in internal controlcontrols over financial reporting to determine whether any changes occurredwere made during the quarter covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect,ended June 30, 2004, although as described above, we implemented executive management changes, including a change in our internal control over financial reporting. Based on that evaluation, there has been no such changeChief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer roles, during the quarter, covered by this report. It should be noted that any systemand are implementing operational changes and measures to improve our operational controls over product testing, provision of controls, however well designedtesting and operated, can provide only reasonableother customer data and not absolute assurance that the objectives of the system will be met.

quality assurance.

35



PART IIOTHER INFORMATION

Item 1. Legal Proceedings

 

From time to time we arethe Company is involved in judicial or administrative proceedings concerning matters arising in the ordinary course of our business. We doThe Company does not expect that any of these matters, individually or in the aggregate, will have a material adverse effect on ourits business, financial condition, cash flows or results of operation.

 

On April 15, 2003, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., (SEI) filed a complaint in the Tokyo District Court, Civil Division against usthe Company and ourits Japanese distributor alleging patent infringement of two patents held by SEI in Japan. The suit seeks penalties from AXT in the amount of $1.67 million plus interest and court costs and the cessation of AXT’s sales of gallium arsenide substrates in Japan. AXT intends to defend itself vigorously in these lawsuits and continues to sell its products in Japan. Both parties have completed submitting arguments and evidence in litigation in Japan. We retain all of our options which include appealing any court decision and launching an effort to have Sumitomo’s patent invalidated in Japan.

 

On June 11, 2003, Cree, Inc. filed a complaint in the United States Court for Northern District of California against usthe Company alleging patent infringement. The complaint seekssought damages and injunction against infringement. On July 23, 2003, wethe Company filed a counter complaint in the United States Court for Northern District of California, denying any patent infringement and alleging that Cree’s actions were intentionally designed to interfere with ourthe Company’s prospective business relationships. A court hearing is scheduled for late FebruaryThe Company reached an agreement with Cree resolving the disputes between us and signed a settlement agreement on March 5, 2004. The resolution of the disputes did not have a material adverse impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations. All parties signed a final release regarding all disputes between them on April 15, 2004.

Item 2. Changes in Securities and Use of Proceeds

     None

None

Item 3. Defaults upon Senior Securities

     None

None

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

     None

AXT held its annual meeting of stockholders at its headquarters in Fremont, California on May 18, 2004.  Of the 23,042,982 shares outstanding as of the record date, 20,907,474 shares were represented by proxy at the meeting.  Proxies were solicited by the Company pursuant to Regulation 14A under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.  At the meeting, AXT’s stockholders voted on the following matters:

(1)   Proposal to elect one class III director to hold office for a three-year term, and until his successor is elected and qualified.

 

 

For

 

Against

 

Leonard J. LeBlanc

 

20,732,335

 

175,139

 

(2)   Proposal to ratify the selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our independent auditors for the year ending December 31, 2004.

 

 

For

 

Against

 

Abstain

 

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

 

20,825,550

 

77,174

 

4,750

 

Item 5. Other Information

     None

35None


36



Item 6. Exhibits and Reports on Form 8-K

a. Exhibits

a.

Exhibit
Number

Exhibits

Description

       
   3.1(1) Restated Certificate of Incorporation
       
   3.2(2) Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights of Series A Preferred Stock, as filed with the Secretary of State of the state of Delaware on May 27, 1999 (which is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the registrant’s Form 8-K dated May 28, 1999)
       
   3.3(3) Second Amended and Restated Bylaws
       
   4.1(4) Registration Rights Agreement dated as of May 27, 1999, by and among American Xtal Technology, Inc., Lyte Optronics, Inc. and Keith Halsey and Robert Shih
       
   4.2(3) Rights Agreement dated as of April 24, 2001, by and between AXT, Inc. and Computershare Trust Company
       
   10.14(5) Second Modification to Credit Agreement between U.S. Bank National Association and AXT, Inc. dated September 30, 2002
       
   10.15(6) Reimbursement Agreement between Wells Fargo Bank National Association and AXT, Inc. dated April 7, 2003
       
   10.16  Asset purchase agreements dated September 4, 2003 by and between Dalian Luming Science and Technology Group Co., Ltd and AXT, Inc., and by and between Lumei Optoelectronics Corp., AXT, Inc., Lyte Optoelectronics, Inc., Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology and Xiamen Advanced Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
       
   31.1  Certification by Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
       
   31.2  Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
       
   32.1  Certification by Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002
       
   32.2  Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

(1)

3.1(1)

Incorporated

Restated Certificate of Incorporation

3.2(2)

Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights of Series A Preferred Stock (which is incorporated herein by reference

3.3(3)

Second Amended and Restated Bylaws

3.4

Certificate of Amendment to the ExhibitRestated Certificate of Incorporation

31.1

Certification by Interim Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the same number filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998.Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

(2)

31.2

Incorporated

Certification by referenceChief Financial Officer Pursuant to Section 302 of the Exhibit number 3.1 filed with our Form 8-K on June 14, 1999.Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

(3)

32.1

Incorporated

Certification by referenceInterim Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Exhibit number 3.4 filed with our Form 8-K on May 30, 2001.Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

(4)

32.2

Incorporated

Certification by referenceChief Financial Officer Pursuant to the Exhibit18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the same number filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.

(5)Incorporated by reference to the ExhibitSarbanes-Oxley Act of the same number filed with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2002.
(6)Incorporated by reference to the Exhibit of the same number filed with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three and six months ended June 30, 2003.
b.Reports on Form 8-K
None.


(1)  Incorporated by reference to the exhibit of the same number filed with the SEC with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998.

36


SIGNATURES

(2)  Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to registrant’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 14, 1999.

(3)  Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 to registrant’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 30, 2001.

b. Reports on Form 8-K

We filed or furnished the following reports on Form 8-K during the quarter ended June 30, 2004:

On May 24, 2004 we furnished a report on Form 8-K announcing our earnings for the quarter ended March 31, 2004.

On May 24, 2004, we filed a report on Form 8-K announcing our executive management changes.

On June 24, 2004, we filed a report on Form 8-K announcing our change in certifying accountants and a workforce reduction at our Fremont manufacturing facility.

37



SIGNATURES

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.

AXT, INC.

AXT, INC.

Dated: August 5, 2004

By:

Dated: November 13, 2003By: /s/  Morris S. Young

Morris S. Young
Chief Executive Officer
Dated: November 13, 2003By: 

/s/ Donald L. Tatzin


Donald L. Tatzin

Interim Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ Wilson W. Cheung

Wilson W. Cheung

Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

38



EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit
Number

Description

Dated: November 13, 2003

3.1(1)

By: /s/  John Drury

John Drury
Corporate Controller

37


INDEX TO EXHIBITS

NumberDescription
3.1(1)Restated Certificate of Incorporation

3.2(2)

Certificate of Designation, Preferences and Rights of Series A Preferred Stock as filed with the Secretary of State of the state of Delaware on May 27, 1999 (which is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the registrant’s Form 8-K dated May 28, 1999)

3.3(3)

Second Amended and Restated Bylaws

4.1(4)

3.4

Registration Rights Agreement dated as

Certificate of May 27, 1999, by and among American Xtal Technology, Inc., Lyte Optronics, Inc. and Keith Halsey and Robert ShihAmendment to the Restated Certificate of Incorporation

4.2(3)

31.1

Rights Agreement dated as of April 24, 2001, by and between AXT, Inc. and Computershare Trust Company
10.14(5)Second Modification to Credit Agreement between U.S. Bank National Association and AXT, Inc. dated September 30, 2002
10.15(6)Reimbursement Agreement between Wells Fargo Bank National Association and AXT, Inc. dated April 7, 2003
10.16Asset purchase agreements dated September 4, 2003 by and between Dalian Luming Science and Technology Group Co., Ltd and AXT, Inc., and by and between Lumei Optoelectronics Corp., AXT, Inc., Lyte Optoelectronics, Inc., Beijing Tongmei Xtal Technology and Xiamen Advanced Semiconductor Co., Ltd.
31.1

Certification by Interim Chief Executive Officer pursuantPursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20022002.

31.2

Certification by Chief Financial Officer pursuantPursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20022002.

32.1

Certification by Interim Chief Executive Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20022002.

32.2

Certification by Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 20022002.


(1)  Incorporated by reference to the exhibit as of the same number as filed with the SEC in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998.

(1)Incorporated by reference to the Exhibit of the same number filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998.
(2)Incorporated by reference to the Exhibit number 3.1 filed with our Form 8-K on June 14, 1999.
(3)Incorporated by reference to the Exhibit number 3.4 filed with our Form 8-K on May 30, 2001.
(4)Incorporated by reference to the Exhibit of the same number filed with our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999.
(5)Incorporated by reference to the Exhibit of the same number filed with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2002.
(6)Incorporated by reference to the Exhibit of the same number filed with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three and six months ended June 30, 2003.

38(2)  Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to registrant’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on June 14, 1999.

(3)  Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 to registrant’s Form 8-K filed with the SEC on May 30, 2001.

39