Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements
Our discussion below constitutes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When used in this Report, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “estimates,” “targets,” “plans,” “intends,” “will,” and similar expressions related to the future are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from projected results. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates they are made.
Executive Summary
We are an innovative manufacturer of semiconductor process equipment. Our proven ion beam, laser annealing, lithography, MOCVD and single wafer etch & clean technologies play an integral role in the fabrication and packaging of advanced semiconductor devices. With equipment designed to optimize performance, yield and cost of ownership, Veeco holds leading technology positions in the markets we serve. To learn more about Veeco’s systems and service offerings, visit www.veeco.com.
COVID-19 Update and Attendant Challenges
As a result of the continued COVID-19 pandemic, governmental authorities and businesses continue to implement numerous and constantly evolving measures to limit the spread of the virus, such as travel bans and restrictions, limits on gatherings, quarantines, shelter-in-place orders, vaccine mandates, and business shutdowns. We have important sales, manufacturing, and support operations in the U.S. and Singapore, and sales and support operations in China, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and the United Kingdom, all of which continue to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Our operations are considered part of the critical and essential infrastructure defined by applicable government authorities, and, although governmental measures to contain the pandemic may be modified or extended, our manufacturing facilities remain open. We believe our diverse product offerings and the critical nature of certain of our products for infrastructure continue to insulate us, to some extent, from the ongoing adverse effects of the pandemic; however, a prolonged economic downturn will adversely affect our customers, which could have a material adverse effect on our revenues, particularly if customers from whom we derive a significant amount of revenue reduce or delay purchases to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic or fail to make payments to us on time or at all.
We serve a global and highly interconnected customer base across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, and North America. Our net sales to customers located outside of the United States represented approximately 68% of our total net sales for the nine months ended September 30, 2022, and 62% and 68% for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and we expect that net sales to customers outside the United States will continue to represent a significant percentage of our total net sales. As a result, our business will be adversely impacted by further deterioration in global economic conditions, particularly in markets in Asia and Europe.
We are also seeing the effects of the macroeconomic inflationary cost environment and supply chain disruptions due to strained transportation capacity, labor shortages, high global demand and other factors. These effects include longer lead times and increased costs. We are taking proactive steps to manage the impact on our business, including buying in advance and re-sourcing components on a more frequent basis. We continue to monitor our global supply chain and may experience additional disruptions in future periods, which could cause continued challenges in our ability to obtain raw materials or components required to manufacture our products.
Like many in our industry, we are managing through the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Although the full extent of the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on our business, results of operations, supply chain, and growth is not yet known, we proactively identified potential challenges to our business and have been executing business continuity activities to manage disruptions in our business and continue to provide critical infrastructure to our customers. In response to the