KLA-Tencor Corporation is the world’s leading supplier of process control and yield management solutions for the semiconductor and related microelectronics industries. Our comprehensive portfolio of products, software, analysis, services and expertise is designed to help integrated circuit manufacturers manage yield throughout the entire wafer fabrication process – from research and development to final mass production yield analysis.
In calendar year 2001, the demand for semiconductors dropped by approximately 32% and remained flat to slightly higher in calendar year 2002. According to industry analysts, semiconductor sales are projected to grow approximately 20% for calendar year 2004, which industry analysts believe will translate into approximately 35% growth for the semiconductor capital equipment business. New system and service orders, which are new orders net of cancellations, grew sequentially by approximately $168 million or 49% in the three months ended December 31, 2003, compared to the previous quarter as a result of utilization of our customers’ fabs for leading edge products began to exceed their capacity and the need of our customers to expand these 200-millimeter fabs to meet short-term capacity requirements.
Over the long-term we expect process control to continue to represent a higher percentage of our customers’ capital spending. We believe this increase in process control spending will be driven by the demand for more precise diagnostics capabilities to address multiple new defects as a result of further shrinking of device feature sizes, the transition to copper and other new materials and the accelerated transition to new 300-millimeter fabs. We anticipate these factors will drive increased demand for our products and services as the semiconductor industry recovers.
KLA-Tencor’s backlog for unshipped system orders as of December 31, 2003, was approximately $678 million, a majority of which we expect to ship over the next six to nine months. In addition, we have $370 million of SAB 101 deferred revenue that is related to products that have been delivered but are awaiting written acceptance from the customer.
Revenues and Gross Margin
Product revenue decreased $3 million, to $265 million for the three months ended December 31, 2003, from $268 million for the three months ended December 31, 2002. Product revenue declined $66 million, or 11%, to $515 million for the six months ended December 31, 2003 from $581 million for the six months ended December 31, 2002. Product revenue declines were primarily the result of reduced capital spending as a result of the semiconductor industry downturn. International revenue increased to 77% of revenue, in the three months ended December 31, 2003 from 73% in the same period of the prior fiscal year, due to higher revenue in Japan, Europe and China partially offset by lower revenue in Taiwan and Korea. International revenue increased to 79% of revenue for the six months ended December 31, 2003 from 74% in the same period of the prior fiscal year, due to relatively higher revenue in Korea, Japan and Europe partially offset by lower revenue in Taiwan. In the three months ended December 31, 2003, one customer, Intel Corporation, accounted for 11% of revenue. For the six months ended December 31, 2003, two customers, Samsung and Intel Corporation, accounted for 12% and 10% of revenue, respectively. For the three months and six months ended December 31, 2002, no single customer accounted for more than 10% of revenue.
Service revenue is generated from maintenance service contracts, as well as time and material billable service calls made to our customers after the expiration of the warranty period. Service revenue was $74 million and $67 million for the three months ended December 31, 2003 and 2002, respectively. Service revenue was $142 million and $130 million for the six months ended December 31, 2003 and 2002, respectively. Service revenue increased as our installed base of equipment at our customers’ sites continued to grow. The amount of service revenue generated is generally proportional to the number of post-warranty systems installed at our customers’ sites and the degree of utilization of those systems.
As the semiconductor industry recovers we expect product shipments to continue to increase, which will result in an increase in product revenue. We expect service revenue as a percentage of total revenue to decline with the increase in product revenue.
Gross margin as a percentage of revenue was 54% and 53% for the three and six months ended December 31, 2003, compared to 49% and 50% for the same periods in the prior fiscal year, respectively. Gross margins increased year over year, despite lower sales volume, due to implementation of certain programs for streamlining of manufacturing, installation and servicing costs. As the conditions in the semiconductor industry continue to strengthen, we expect gross margins to improve with the increase in sales volume, introduction of new models, streamlining manufacturing costs through the use of common platforms, leveraging manufacturing procurement through consolidation of vendors and further expanding on outsourcing initiatives.
Engineering, Research and Development
Net engineering, research and development (“R&D”) expenses were $69 million and $134 million for the three and six months ended December 31, 2003, compared to $72 million and $143 million for the same periods in the prior fiscal year. As a percentage of revenue, R&D expenses were 20% and 21% for the three and six months ended December 31, 2003, compared to 22% and 20% for the same periods in the prior fiscal year. The absolute dollars for R&D investment decreased primarily due to reductions in temporary labor and discretionary spending as well as realization of savings from cost reduction measures implemented over the last several quarters of the prior fiscal year in response to the industry slow down. We expect our net engineering, research and development expenses to increase as we accelerate our investments in critical programs focusing on new technologies and enhancements to existing products.
22
Gross engineering, research and development expenses were partially offset by external funding received under certain strategic development programs conducted with several of our customers and government grants. We received external funding of $3 million and $7 million for the three and six months ended December 31, 2003, respectively compared to $4 million and $10 million for the three and six months ended December 31, 2002, respectively. As previously disclosed, on October 23, 2003, we received notice from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (“NIST”) disallowing approximately $5 million of funding received under an Advanced Technology Cooperative Agreement. This notice has since been rescinded and the findings of the audit are being reviewed by NIST again; regardless of the ultimate resolution of the audit, the impact will not be material to our consolidated financial statements.
Our future operating results will depend significantly on our ability to produce products and provide services that have a competitive advantage in our marketplace. To do this, we believe that we must continue to make substantial investments in our research and development efforts. We remain committed to product development in new and emerging technologies as we address the further shrinking of device feature sizes, the transition to copper and other new materials, and the transition to new 300-millimeter fabs. Our investments in new technology and existing product enhancements are intended to enable our customers to achieve a higher return on their capital investments and higher productivity through cost-effective, leading edge technology solutions.
Selling, General and Administrative
Selling, general and administrative expenses were $62 million and $122 million for the three and six months ended December 31, 2003, compared to $65 million and $136 million for the same periods in the prior fiscal year. As a percentage of revenue, selling, general and administrative expenses were 18% and 19% for the three and six months ended December 31, 2003, respectively, compared to 19% for the same periods in the prior fiscal year. The absolute dollars for selling, general and administrative expenses decreased primarily due to reductions in temporary labor and discretionary spending as well as other realization of savings from cost reduction measures implemented over the last several quarters in the prior fiscal year in response to the industry slowdown. We expect our selling, general and administrative expenses to increase as we build up our organization to meet increased customer demands.
Restructuring and Other Costs
During the three months ended September 30, 2002, we restructured certain of our operations to realign costs with planned business levels in light of the industry downturn. Restructuring costs were classified into two main categories: facilities and other charges of $4.6 million and severance and benefits of $1.1 million. As part of the facilities consolidation, we exited several of our leased buildings and have included the remaining net book value of the related leasehold improvements as well as the future lease payments, net of anticipated sublease revenue, in the charge. Severance and benefit charges were related to the involuntary termination of approximately 70 personnel from manufacturing, engineering, sales, marketing, and administration in the United States, Japan and Europe. The restructuring actions taken in fiscal 2003 are proceeding as planned, with the termination of employees having been completed and the facilities related lease payments scheduled to be completed by the end of fiscal 2004. The following table shows the details of the facilities, severance and other restructuring costs accrual as of the six months ended December 31, 2003:
23
(in thousands) | | Balance at June 30, 2003 | | Non-recurring charges | | Utilized | | Balance at December 31, 2003 | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Facilities and other | | $ | 3,193 | | $ | — | | $ | (1,670 | ) | $ | 1,523 | |
Severance and benefits | | | 47 | | | — | | | (47 | ) | | — | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Total | | $ | 3,240 | | $ | — | | $ | (1,717 | ) | $ | 1,523 | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Interest Income and Other, Net
Interest income and other, net, was $7 million and $16 million for the three and six months ended December 31, 2003, compared to $12 million and $22 million in the same periods in the prior fiscal year. Interest income and other, net is comprised primarily of gains realized on sales of marketable securities, interest income earned on the investment and cash portfolio, as well as income recognized upon settlement of certain foreign currency contracts and unrealized gains and losses from marking to market investments classified as trading securities. The decrease in interest income and other, net for the three months and six months ended December 31, 2003 as compared to the three months and six months ended December 31, 2002 was primarily due to decreased interest income resulting from declining interest rates and a decrease in gains realized on sales of marketable securities.
Provision for Income Taxes
Our effective tax rate for the three months and six months ended December 31, 2003 was approximately 24% and 22%, respectively. The six month effective tax rate of 22% includes a one time non-recurring benefit of $1.5 million or 1.5%, related to the resolution of a prior year federal tax audit matter in the first fiscal quarter of 2004. This benefit was partially offset by an upward revision of our projected on-going effective tax rate for fiscal year 2004 from 22% to 23% during the current quarter. The effective tax rates of 22% for the six months ended December 31, 2003 and the revised on going rate of 23% for fiscal year 2004 are lower than the effective tax rate of 24% realized in the same periods of the prior fiscal year as a result of more foreign tax benefits and the one time non-recurring benefit compared relatively to these same items as a percentage of pre-tax income of the same periods during the prior fiscal year. Congress is considering legislation to repeal the existing export incentive provided by the United States Internal Revenue Code and replace it with a tax incentive tied to U.S. based manufacturing. If the legislation is enacted it may increase our effective tax rate in future periods.
Stock Option and Incentive Plans
KLA-Tencor’s stock option program is a broad-based, long-term retention program that is intended to attract and retain qualified management and technical employees (“knowledge employees”), and align stockholder and employee interests. Under KLA-Tencor’s stock option plans, options generally have a vesting period of five years, are exercisable for a period not to exceed ten years from the date of issuance and are granted at prices not less than the fair market value of KLA-Tencor’s common stock at the grant date. This program consists of three plans: one under which non-employee directors may be granted options to purchase shares of our stock, another in which officers, key employees, consultants and all other employees may be granted options to purchase shares of our stock and a third in which consultants and all employees other than directors and officers may be granted options to purchase shares of our stock. Substantially all of our employees that meet established performance goals and that qualify as knowledge employees participate in one of our stock option plans. Options granted to officers and employees from fiscal year 2001 through December 31, 2003 are summarized as follows (in thousands):
24
| | Six months ended December 31 | | | |
| | | Fiscal year ended June 30, | |
| | |
| |
| | 2003 | | 2003 | | 2002 | | 2001 | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Weighted average number of shares outstanding | | | 194,872 | | | 189,817 | | | 187,677 | | | 185,860 | |
Total options granted during the period | | | 3,633 | | | 4,922 | | | 9,760 | | | 10,274 | |
Less options forfeited | | | (574 | ) | | (2,416 | ) | | (1,786 | ) | | (2,418 | ) |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Net options granted | | | 3,059 | | | 2,506 | | | 7,974 | | | 7,856 | |
Net grants during the period as a percentage of weighted average shares outstanding | | | 1.6 | % | | 1.3 | % | | 4.2 | % | | 4.2 | % |
Grants to top five officers during the period as a percentage of weighted average shares outstanding | | | 0.2 | % | | 0.2 | % | | 0.3 | % | | 0.2 | % |
Grants to top five officers during the period as a percentage of total options granted | | | 8.1 | % | | 6.0 | % | | 6.0 | % | | 4.0 | % |
During the six months ended December 31 2003, the Company granted options to purchase approximately 3.6 million shares of stock to employees. After deducting options forfeited, the net grant of options was 3.1 million shares. The net options granted after forfeiture represented 1.6% of the weighted average outstanding shares of approximately 194.9 million as of December 31, 2003.
Options granted to the top five officers, who represent the chief executive officer and each of the four other most highly compensated executive officers whose salary plus bonus exceeded $100,000 for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003, as a percentage of the total options granted to all employees, vary from quarter to quarter and year to year. In the six months ended December 31, 2003, there were 294,000 options granted to the top five officers.
25
The following table summarizes stock options exercised by the top five officers during the six months ended December 31, 2003:
| | Shares Acquired on Exercise | | Value Realized | | Total Number of Securities Underlying Unexercised Options at December 31, 2003 | | Total Value of Unexercised, In-the-Money Options at December 31, 2003 (1) | |
|
|
Vested | | Unvested | Exercisable | | Unexercisable |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Kenneth L. Schroeder | | | 224,100 | | $ | 9,724,129 | | | 688,441 | | | 490,059 | | $ | 23,456,998 | | $ | 11,540,206 | |
Chief Executive Officer | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Gary E. Dickerson | | | 40,000 | | $ | 1,591,734 | | | 284,973 | | | 223,392 | | $ | 7,051,791 | | $ | 4,380,010 | |
President & Chief Operating Officer | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
John H. Kispert | | | 95,000 | | $ | 2,019,069 | | | 27,259 | | | 125,941 | | $ | 727,623 | | $ | 2,451,957 | |
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Dennis J. Fortino | | | 35,792 | | $ | 854,765 | | | 116,727 | | | 121,398 | | $ | 2,445,052 | | $ | 2,294,446 | |
Executive Vice President | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Richard P. Wallace | | | 60,000 | | $ | 1,369,178 | | | 18,145 | | | 115,483 | | $ | 248,246 | | $ | 2,149,333 | |
Executive Vice President | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
(1) Total Value of vested options based on fair market value of the Company’s Common Stock of $58.54 per share as of December 31, 2003.
The following table summarizes KLA-Tencor’s stock option plans as of December 31, 2003:
| | Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options | | Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options | | Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under stock option plan | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Stock option plan approved by stockholders | | | 19,806,346 | | $ | 31.09 | | | 16,657,975 | |
Stock option plan not approved by stockholders(1) | | | 9,330,003 | | | 37.75 | | | 2,953,986 | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Total | | | 29,136,349 | | $ | 33.17 | | | 19,611,961 | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
(1) Officers and directors are not eligible to receive options granted under this plan.
26
The activity under the option plans, combined, was as follows:
| | Available For Grant | | Options Outstanding | | Weighted- Average Price | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Balances at June 30, 2001 | | | 8,508,074 | | | 26,289,586 | | $ | 26.18 | |
Additional shares reserved | | | 5,610,752 | | | — | | | — | |
Options granted | | | (9,760,303 | ) | | 9,760,303 | | | 31.83 | |
Options canceled/expired | | | 1,786,295 | | | (1,786,295 | ) | | 32.55 | |
Options exercised | | | — | | | (4,173,887 | ) | | 19.36 | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Balances at June 30, 2002 | | | 6,144,818 | | | 30,089,707 | | $ | 28.60 | |
Additional shares reserved | | | 13,280,928 | | | — | | | — | |
Options granted | | | (4,922,001 | ) | | 4,922,001 | | | 35.26 | |
Options canceled/expired | | | 2,415,973 | | | (2,415,973 | ) | | 35.16 | |
Options exercised | | | — | | | (2,861,777 | ) | | 20.94 | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Balances at June 30, 2003 | | | 16,919,718 | | | 29,733,958 | | $ | 29.94 | |
Additional shares reserved | | | 5,750,290 | | | — | | | — | |
Options granted(1) | | | (3,632,527 | ) | | 3,632,527 | | | 52.95 | |
Options canceled/expired | | | 574,480 | | | (574,480 | ) | | 37.25 | |
Options exercised | | | — | | | (3,655,656 | ) | | 25.93 | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Balances at December 31, 2003 | | | 19,611,961 | | | 29,136,349 | | $ | 32.27 | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
(1) In addition, in January 2004, KLA-Tencor granted approximately 1.1 million stock options (1.0 million to non-executives and 0.1 million to executive employees) related primarily to the fiscal year 2003 annual performance cycle review of KLA-Tencor.
LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments balances during the three months ended December 31, 2003 increased to $1.06 billion from $957 million at June 30, 2003. In addition marketable securities classified as long-term at December 31, 2003 increased to $567 million from $531 million at June 30, 2003. KLA-Tencor has historically financed its operations through cash generated from operations. Net cash provided by operating activities for the six months ended December 31, 2003 was $63 million, compared to $98 million of net cash from operating activities for the same period of the prior fiscal year. The decrease in cash provided by operating activities in six months ended December 31, 2003 compared to the same period in the prior fiscal year was primarily due to increases in inventory and accounts receivable balances partially offset by higher accounts payable balances. Inventories balances increased due to a ramping up of manufacturing of products. Accounts receivable balances increased due an increase in shipments during the last month of the quarter. Accounts payable balances increased due to timing of payments and build up of inventory.
Net cash used in investing activities for the six months ended December 31, 2003 was $121 million, compared to $16 million provided by investing activities for the same period of the prior fiscal year, primarily as a result of increased net purchases of short and long-term marketable securities partially offset by lower capital expenditures. Net cash provided by financing activities for the six months ended December 31, 2003 was $103 million as compared to net cash used in financing activities of $15 million for the same period of the prior fiscal year. This change was primarily due to an increase in stock option exercises of $78 million and a decrease in stock repurchases of $40 million.
27
The following is a schedule summarizing our significant operating lease commitments as of December 31, 2003 (in millions):
| | Payments Due by Fiscal Year | |
| |
| |
| | Total | | 2004 | | 2005 | | 2006 | | 2007 | | 2008 | | Thereafter | |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
Operating leases | | $ | 26.6 | | $ | 4.7 | | $ | 8.4 | | $ | 5.1 | | $ | 2.6 | | $ | 1.6 | | $ | 4.2 | |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| |
We have agreements with three banking institutions to sell certain of our trade receivables and promissory notes from Japanese customers without recourse. During the three months and six months ended approximately December 31, 2003, approximately $27 million and $45 million of receivables were sold under these arrangements, respectively. As of December 31, 2003, approximately $34 million was outstanding. The total amount available under the facility is the Japanese yen equivalent of $140 million based upon exchange rates as of December 31, 2003. We do not believe we are at risk for any material losses as a result of this agreement. In addition, from time to time we will discount without recourse Letters of Credit (“LCs”) received from customers in payment of goods. During the three and six months ended December 31, 2003 several LCs were sold with proceeds totaling $14 million and $26 million, respectively. Discounting fees of $0.1 million $0.2 million for the three and six months ended December 31, 2003, respectively, were equivalent to interest expense and were recorded in interest and other income net.
We maintain certain open inventory purchase commitments with our suppliers to ensure a smooth and continuous supply chain for key components. Our liability in these purchase commitments is generally restricted to a forecasted time-horizon as mutually agreed upon between the parties. This forecast time-horizon can vary among different suppliers. As such, it is difficult to accurately report our true open purchase commitments at any particular point in time. However, we estimate our open inventory purchase commitment as of December 31, 2003 to be no more than an aggregate of $105 million.
Working capital increased to $1.29 billion as of December 31, 2003, compared to $1.16 billion at June 30, 2003. Our liquidity is affected by many factors, some of which are based on the normal ongoing operations of the business, and others of which relate to the uncertainties of global economies and the semiconductor and the semiconductor equipment industries. Although cash requirements will fluctuate based on the timing and extent of these factors, our management believes that cash generated from operations, together with the liquidity provided by existing cash balances, will be sufficient to satisfy our liquidity requirements for the next twelve months.
FACTORS AFFECTING RESULTS, INCLUDING RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES
Fluctuations in Operating Results and Stock Price
Our operating results have varied widely in the past, and our future operating results will continue to be subject to quarterly variations based upon numerous factors, including those listed in this section and throughout this quarterly report on Form 10-Q. In addition, future operating results may not follow any past trends. We believe the factors that could make our results fluctuate and difficult to predict include:
| • | the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry; |
| • | global economic uncertainty; |
| • | changing international economic conditions; |
28
| • | competitive pressure; |
| • | our ability to develop and implement new technologies and introduce new products; |
| • | our ability to manage our manufacturing requirements; |
| • | our ability to protect our intellectual property; |
| • | our ability to attract, retain, and replace key employees; |
| • | worldwide political instability; and |
| • | earthquake and other uninsured risks. |
Operating results also could be affected by sudden changes in customer requirements, currency exchange rate fluctuations and other economic conditions affecting customer demand and the cost of operations in one or more of the global markets in which we do business. As a result of these or other factors, we could fail to achieve our expectations as to future revenue, gross profit and income from operations. Our failure to meet the performance expectations set and published by external sources could result in a sudden and significant drop in the price of our stock and could negatively affect the value of any investment in our stock.
Semiconductor Equipment Industry Volatility
The semiconductor equipment industry is highly cyclical. The purchasing decisions of our customers are highly dependent on the economies of both the local markets in which they are located and the semiconductor industry worldwide. The timing, length and severity of the up-and-down cycles in the semiconductor equipment industry are difficult to predict. This cyclical nature of the industry in which we operate affects our ability to accurately predict future revenue and, thus, future expense levels. When cyclical fluctuations result in lower than expected revenue levels, operating results may be adversely affected and cost reduction measures may be necessary in order for us to remain competitive and financially sound. During a down cycle, we must be in a position to adjust our cost and expense structure to prevailing market conditions and to continue to motivate and retain our key employees. In addition, during periods of rapid growth, we must be able to increase manufacturing capacity and personnel to meet customer demand. We can provide no assurance that these objectives can be met in a timely manner in response to industry cycles. If we fail to respond to industry cycles, our business could be seriously harmed.
We are currently emerging from an industry down cycle. We are not able to predict if or for how long the upturn will last. During a down cycle, the semiconductor industry typically experiences excess production capacity that causes semiconductor manufacturers to decrease capital spending. We generally do not have long-term volume production contracts with our customers, and we do not control the timing or volume of orders placed by our customers. Whether and to what extent our customers place orders for any specific products, as well as the mix and quantities of products included in those orders, are factors beyond our control. Insufficient orders, especially in our down cycles, will result in under-utilization of our manufacturing facilities and infrastructure and will negatively affect our operating results and financial condition.
29
Global Economic Uncertainty
Our business is ultimately driven by the global demand for electronic devices by consumers and businesses. While demand for electronic devices has increased over time, it remains subject to global economic uncertainty. A protracted global economic slowdown could adversely affect our business and results of operation.
International Trade and Economic Conditions
We serve an increasingly global market. A majority of our annual revenue is derived from outside the United States, and we expect that international revenue will continue to represent a substantial percentage of our revenue. Our international revenue and operations are affected by economic conditions specific to each country and region. Because of our significant dependence on international revenue, a decline in the economies of any of the countries or regions in which we do business could negatively affect our operating results.
Managing global operations and sites located throughout the world presents challenges associated with, among other things, cultural diversity and organizational alignment. Moreover, each region in the global semiconductor equipment market exhibits unique characteristics that can cause capital equipment investment patterns to vary significantly from period to period. Periodic local or international economic downturns, trade balance issues, political instability in regions where we have operations, such as Israel, and fluctuations in interest and currency exchange rates could negatively affect our business and results of operations. Although we attempt to manage near-term currency risks through the use of hedging instruments, there can be no assurance that such efforts will be adequate. In addition, our ability to address normal business transaction issues in Asia may still be at risk due to the potential reoccurrence of a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome outbreak and outbreaks of other infectious diseases in Asia, which may result in management’s decision to limit travel to Asia in accordance with the World Health Organization’s recommendations.
Competition
Our industry includes large manufacturers with substantial resources to support customers worldwide. Our future performance depends, in part, upon our ability to continue to compete successfully worldwide. Some of our competitors are diversified companies with greater financial resources and more extensive research, engineering, manufacturing, marketing and customer service and support capabilities than we can provide. We face competition from companies whose strategy is to provide a broad array of products and services, some of which compete with the products and service that we offer. These competitors may bundle their products in a manner that may discourage customers from purchasing our products. In addition, we face competition from smaller emerging semiconductor equipment companies whose strategy is to provide a portion of the products and services, which we offer, using innovative technology to sell products into specialized markets. Loss of competitive position could negatively affect our prices, customer orders, revenue, gross margin, and market share, any of which would negatively affect our operating results and financial condition. Our failure to compete successfully with these other companies would seriously harm our business.
Technological Change and Customer Requirements
Success in the semiconductor equipment industry depends, in part, on continual improvement of existing technologies and rapid innovation of new solutions. For example, the semiconductor industry continues to shrink the size of semiconductor devices, transition to copper and other new materials, and transition to new 300-millimeter fabs. While we expect these trends will increase our customers’ reliance on our diagnostic products, we cannot ensure that they will directly improve our business. These and other evolving customer needs require us to respond with continued development programs and to cut back or discontinue older programs, which may no longer have industry-wide support. Technical innovations are inherently complex and require long development cycles and appropriate professional staffing. Our competitive advantage and future business success depend on our ability to accurately predict evolving industry standards, to develop and introduce new products which successfully address changing customer needs, to win market acceptance of these new products and to manufacture these new products in a timely and cost-effective manner. If we do not develop and introduce new products and technologies in a timely manner in response to changing market conditions or customer requirements, our business could be seriously harmed.
30
In this environment, we must continue to make significant investments in research and development in order to enhance the performance and functionality of our products, to keep pace with competitive products and to satisfy customer demands for improved performance, features and functionality. There can be no assurance that revenue from future products or product enhancements will be sufficient to recover the development costs associated with such products or enhancements or that we will be able to secure the financial resources necessary to fund future development. Substantial research and development costs typically are incurred before we confirm the technical feasibility and commercial viability of a product, and not all development activities result in commercially viable products. In addition, we cannot ensure that these products or enhancements will receive market acceptance or that we will be able to sell these products at prices that are favorable to us. Our business will be seriously harmed if we are unable to sell our products at favorable prices or if the market in which we operate does not accept our products.
Key Suppliers
We use a wide range of materials in the production of our products, including custom electronic and mechanical components, and we use numerous suppliers to supply these materials. We generally do not have guaranteed supply arrangements with our suppliers. Because of the variability and uniqueness of customers’ orders, we do not maintain an extensive inventory of materials for manufacturing. We seek to minimize the risk of production and service interruptions and/or shortages of key parts by selecting and qualifying alternative suppliers for key parts, monitoring the financial stability of key suppliers and maintaining appropriate inventories of key parts. Although we make reasonable efforts to ensure that parts are available from multiple suppliers, key parts may be available only from a single supplier or a limited group of suppliers. Our business would be harmed if we do not receive sufficient parts to meet our production requirements in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Manufacturing Disruption
Most of our manufacturing facilities are located in the United States, with a small operation located in Israel. Operations at our manufacturing facilities and our assembly subcontractors are subject to disruption for a variety of reasons, including work stoppages, acts of war, terrorism, fire, earthquake, energy shortages, flooding or other natural disasters. Such disruption could cause delays in shipments of products to our customers. We cannot ensure that alternate production capacity would be available if a major disruption were to occur or that, if it were available, it could be obtained on favorable terms. Such disruption could result in cancellation of orders or loss of customers and could seriously harm our business. We currently are in the initial stages of design and implementation of a new integrated financial and supply chain management system. Disruptions or delays in making changes to our integrated financial and supply chain management system could adversely impact our operations and our ability to forecast sales demand, ship products, manage our product inventory and record and report financial and management information on a timely and accurate basis.
31
Intellectual Property Obsolescence and Infringement
Our success is dependent in part on our technology and other proprietary rights. We own various United States and international patents and have additional pending patent applications relating to some of our products and technologies. The process of seeking patent protection is lengthy and expensive, and we cannot be certain that pending or future applications will actually result in issued patents or that issued patents will be of sufficient scope or strength to provide meaningful protection or commercial advantage to us. Other companies and individuals, including our larger competitors, may develop technologies and obtain patents relating to our technology that are similar or superior to our technology or may design around the patents we own, adversely affecting our business.
We also maintain trademarks on certain of our products and services and claim copyright protection for certain proprietary software and documentation. However, we can give no assurance that our trademarks and copyrights will be upheld or successfully deter infringement by third parties.
While patent, copyright and trademark protection for our intellectual property is important, we believe our future success in highly dynamic markets is most dependent upon the technical competence and creative skills of our personnel. We attempt to protect our trade secrets and other proprietary information through confidentiality and other agreements with our customers, suppliers, employees and consultants and through other security measures. We also maintain exclusive and non-exclusive licenses with third parties for strategic technology used in certain products. However, these employees, consultants and third parties may breach these agreements and we may not have adequate remedies for wrongdoing. In addition, the laws of certain territories in which we develop, manufacture or sell our products may not protect our intellectual property rights to the same extent as do the laws of the United States.
As is typical in the semiconductor equipment industry, from time to time we have received communications from other parties asserting the existence of patent rights, copyrights, trademark rights or other intellectual property rights which they believe cover certain of our products, processes, technologies or information. Our customary practice is to evaluate such assertions and to consider whether to seek licenses where appropriate. However, we cannot ensure that licenses can be obtained or, if obtained, will be on acceptable terms or that costly litigation or other administrative proceedings will not occur. The inability to obtain necessary licenses or other rights on reasonable terms, or instigation of litigation or other administrative proceedings could seriously harm our operating results and financial condition.
Key Employees
Our employees are vital to our success, and our key management, engineering and other employees are difficult to replace. We generally do not have employment contracts with our key employees. Further, we do not maintain key person life insurance on any of our employees. The expansion of high technology companies worldwide has increased demand and competition for qualified personnel. If we are unable to retain key personnel, or if we are not able to attract, assimilate or retain additional highly qualified employees to meet our needs in the future, our business and operations could be harmed. These factors could seriously harm our business.
32
Acquisitions
In addition to our efforts to develop new technologies from internal sources, we also seek to acquire new technologies from external sources. As part of this effort, we may make acquisitions of, or significant investments in, businesses with complementary products, services and/or technologies. Acquisitions involve numerous risks, including management issues and costs in connection with the integration of the operations and personnel, technologies and products of the acquired companies, the possible write-downs of impaired assets, and the potential loss of key employees of the acquired companies. The inability to manage these risks effectively could seriously harm our business.
Litigation
From time to time we are involved in litigation of various types, including litigation alleging infringement of intellectual property rights and other claims. Litigation tends to be expensive and requires significant management time and attention and could have a negative effect on our results of operations or business if we lose or have to settle a case on significantly adverse terms.
Terrorism and Political Instability
The threat of terrorism targeted at the regions of the world in which we do business, including the United States, increases the uncertainty in our markets and may delay any recovery in the general economy. Any delay in the recovery of the economy and the semiconductor industry could adversely affect our business. Increased international political instability, as demonstrated by the September 2001 terrorist attacks, disruption in air transportation and further enhanced security measures as a result of the terrorist attacks, and the continuing instability in the Middle East, may hinder our ability to do business and may increase our costs of operations. Such continuing instability could cause us to incur increased costs in transportation, make such transportation unreliable, increase our insurance costs, and cause international currency markets to fluctuate. This same instability could have the same effects on our suppliers and their ability to timely deliver their products. If this international political instability continues or increases, our business and results of operations could be harmed.
Earthquake and other uninsured risks
We purchase insurance to help mitigate the economic impact of certain insurable risks, however, certain other risks that are uninsurable or are insurable only at significant costs are not mitigated via insurance. An earthquake could significantly disrupt our manufacturing operations, most of which are conducted in California. It could also significantly delay our research and engineering effort on new products, most of which is also conducted in California. We take steps to minimize the damage that would be caused by an earthquake, but there is no certainty that our efforts will prove successful in the event of an earthquake. We self insure earthquake risks because we believe this is the prudent financial decision based on our large cash reserves and the high cost and limited coverage available in the earthquake insurance market. Certain other risks are also self insured either based on a similar cost benefit analysis, or based on the unavailability of insurance. If one or more of the uninsured events occurs, we could suffer major financial loss.
Effects of Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2002, EITF reached a consensus on Issue No. 00-21, “Accounting for Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables.” This issue addresses determination of whether an arrangement involving more than one deliverable contains more than one unit of accounting and how arrangement consideration should be measured and allocated to the separate units of accounting. EITF Issue No. 00-21 is effective for revenue arrangements entered into in fiscal periods beginning after June 15, 2003. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
33
In August 2003, the EITF reached a consensus on Issue No. 03-5, “Applicability of AICPA Statement of Position 97-2, Software Revenue Recognition, to Non-Software Deliverables”. This issue focuses solely on whether non-software deliverables included in arrangements that contain more-than-incidental software should be accounted for in accordance with SOP 97-2. The Task Force confirmed that in an arrangement that contains software that is more-than-incidental to the products or services as a whole, only the software and software-related elements are included within the scope of SOP 97-2. Software-related elements include software-related products and services such as those listed in paragraph 9 of SOP 97-2, as well as other deliverables for which the software is essential to their functionality. EITF Issue No. 03-5 is effective for revenue arrangements entered into in fiscal periods beginning after August 13, 2003. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.
In January 2003, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation No. 46 (“FIN 46”), “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities,” an Interpretation 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 do not have sufficient equity at risk for the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties. FIN 46 is effective immediately for all new variable interest entities created or acquired after January 31, 2003. Since January 31, 2003, we have not invested in any entities we believe are variable interest entities. For those arrangements we entered into prior to February 1, 2003, we are required to adopt the provisions of FIN 46 (as revised December 2003) at the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2004. We expect the adoption of FIN 46 will result in the consolidation of a development stage semiconductor capital equipment company, in which we have a 45% interest. The adoption of FIN 46 is not expected to have a material impact to our consolidated financial statements.
In April 2003, the FASB issued Statement No. 149 (“SFAS No. 149”), “Amendment of Statement 133 on Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities.” SFAS No. 149 amends and clarifies financial accounting and reporting for derivative instruments by requiring that contracts with comparable characteristics be accounted for similarly. In particular, this statement clarifies the circumstances under which a contract with an initial net investment meets the characteristics of a derivative, clarifies when a derivative contains a financing component, amends the definition of an underlying to conform it to the language used in FIN 45, “Guarantor’s Accounting and Disclosure Requirements for Guarantees, Including Indirect Guarantees of Indebtedness of Others,” and amends certain other existing pronouncements. The provisions of SFAS No. 149, which were not already applied under an Implementation Issue, are effective for contracts entered into or modified after June 30, 2003. We believe that the adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on our consolidated balance sheet or statement of operations.
In May 2003, the FASB issued Statement No. 150 (“SFAS No. 150”), “Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity.” SFAS No. 150 establishes standards for classification and measurement of certain financial instruments with characteristics of both liabilities and equity. It requires financial instruments within its scope to be classified as a liability (or an asset in some circumstances). Many of those financial instruments were previously classified as equity.
34
SFAS 150 is applicable to financials instruments entered into or modified after May 31, 2003 and is effective for the Company in the period ending March 31, 2004. We believe that the adoption of this standard will not have a material impact on our consolidated balance sheet or statement of operations.
ITEM 3. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
We are exposed to financial market risks, including changes in interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates and marketable equity security prices. To mitigate these risks, we utilize derivative financial instruments. We do not use derivative financial instruments for speculative or trading purposes. All of the potential changes noted below are based on sensitivity analyses performed on our financial position at December 31, 2003. Actual results may differ materially.
At the end of December 31, 2003, we had an investment portfolio of fixed income securities of $965 million, excluding those classified as cash and cash equivalents. These securities, as with all fixed income instruments, are subject to interest rate risk and will fall in value if market interest rates increase. If market interest rates were to increase immediately and uniformly by 10% from levels as of December 31, 2003, the fair value of the portfolio would have declined by $3 million.
As of December 31, 2003, we had net forward contracts to sell $111 million in foreign currency in order to hedge currency exposures (see Note 6 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements under “Derivative Instruments.”) If we had entered into these contracts on December 31, 2003, the U.S. dollar equivalent would be $117 million. A 10% adverse move in all currency exchange rates affecting the contracts would decrease the fair value of the contracts by $33 million. However, if this occurred, the fair value of the underlying exposures hedged by the contracts would increase by a similar amount. Accordingly, we believe that the hedging of our foreign currency exposure should have no material impact on income or cash flows.
Item 4. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures
Our management evaluated, with the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of the end of the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Based on this evaluation, our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer have concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information we are required to disclose in reports that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in Securities and Exchange Commission rules and forms.
Changes in internal controls over financial reporting
There was no change in our internal controls over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
35
PART II. OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 1. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
KLA-Tencor is named from time to time as a party to lawsuits in the normal course of its business. Litigation, in general, and intellectual property and securities litigation in particular, can be expensive and disruptive to normal business operations. Moreover, the results of complex legal proceedings are difficult to predict. We believe that we have defenses in each of the matters and are vigorously contesting each of these matters.
A discussion regarding certain pending legal proceedings is included in Part I, Item 3, “Legal Proceedings,” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003. Since the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003, certain developments have occurred with respect to the legal proceedings described in our Annual Report as follows:
Legal Matters
ADE Corporation
On October 11, 2000, ADE Corporation (“ADE”), a competitor, filed a patent infringement lawsuit against us in the U.S. District Court in Delaware. ADE claimed damages and sought an injunction under U.S. Patent No. 6,118,525 (“‘525 patent”). We filed a counterclaim in the same court alleging that ADE has infringed four of our patents. We are seeking damages and a permanent injunction against ADE. In addition, we are seeking a declaration from the District Court that the ‘525 patent is invalid. On October 22, 2001, we filed a separate action for declaratory judgment against ADE in the Northern District of California requesting a declaration that U.S. Patent No. 6,292,259 (“‘259 patent”) is invalid and not infringed. That action was consolidated with the prior action in the Delaware proceeding and ADE amended its complaint in that proceeding to allege that we are infringing the ‘259 patent. On August 8, 2002, the magistrate presiding over the action issued a recommendation that the court enter summary judgment in our favor on the issue of non-infringement under ADE’s ‘525 patent. On the same day, the magistrate issued recommendations that the court enter summary judgment in favor of ADE on the issue of non-infringement of two of our patents. The district court judge subsequently substantially adopted the recommendations of the magistrate regarding claims construction. The district court judge has ruled in our favor and granted summary judgment of non-infringement regarding both the ‘525 and ‘259 patents. We have voluntarily withdrawn one of our patents from this suit, and we continued to pursue our claim that ADE infringes our US Patent No. 6,215,551. Our case against ADE for their alleged infringement of our patent is set to go to trial on January 26, 2004 and on February 4, 2004, the court entered judgement in favor of ADE, ruling that the ‘551 patent is invalid. KLA-Tencor is evaluating post-trial options, including possible motions and appeals.
Tokyo Seimitsu Co. Ltd.
On June 27, 2001, we filed lawsuit against Tokyo Seimitsu Co. Ltd. and TSK America Inc. (“TSK”), a competitor, in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California alleging that TSK infringed on one of our patents. The suit seeks damages and an injunction under U.S. Patent No. 4,805,123 (“‘123 patent”). TSK filed a counterclaim in the same court seeking a declaration that the ‘123 patent is invalid, unenforceable and not infringed, and also alleged violations of the antitrust and unfair competition laws. On October 23, 2003 the parties settled the litigation. Pursuant to the
36
settlement, we and Tokyo Seimitsu/Accretech dismissed our claims and terminated our litigation against each other. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
Although we cannot predict the outcome of these claims, we do not believe that any of these legal matters will have a material adverse effect on KLA-Tencor. Were an unfavorable ruling to occur in one or more of the pending claims, there exists the possibility of a material impact on our operating results for the period in which the ruling occurred and in future periods.
ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS
The Annual Meeting of Stockholders of KLA-Tencor Corporation was held on November 5, 2003 at the Company’s offices in Milpitas, California. Of the 193,915,876 shares of Common Stock outstanding as of September 15, 2003 (the record date), 170,812,344 shares (88.09%) were present or represented by proxy at the meeting.
1. The table below presents the results of the election to the Company’s board of directors.
| | Votes for | | Votes Withheld | |
| |
| |
| |
H. Raymond Bingham | | | 164,748,560 | | | 6,063,784 | |
Robert T. Bond | | | 163,664,291 | | | 7,148,053 | |
Richard J. Elkus, Jr. | | | 163,602,298 | | | 7,210,046 | |
Michael E. Marks | | | 167,666,997 | | | 3,145,347 | |
The terms of Kenneth Levy, Jon D. Tompkins, Lida Urbanek, Edward W. Barnholt, Stephen P. Kaufman and Kenneth L. Schroeder as directors of the Company, continued after the meeting.
2. The stockholders ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the Company’s independent accountants for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2004. This proposal received 160,947,503 votes for, 9,070,419 votes against and 794,422 abstentions.
ITEM 6. EXHIBITS AND REPORTS ON FORM 8-K
| (a) | Exhibits |
| | |
| | 31.1 Certification of Chief Executive Officer under Rule 13a-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. |
| | |
| | 31.2 Certification of Chief Financial Officer under Rule 13a-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |
| | |
| | 32.1 Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350. |
| | |
| (b) | Form 8-K |
| | |
| | On October, 22, 2003, KLA-Tencor furnished a report on Form 8-K relating to its financial information for the quarter ended September 30, 2003, as presented in a press release of October 22, 2003. |
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.
| KLA-TENCOR CORPORATION |
| (Registrant) |
| |
February 6, 2004 | /s/ KENNETH L. SCHROEDER |
|
|
(Date) | Kenneth L. Schroeder |
| Chief Executive Officer (Principal Executive Officer) |
| |
February 6, 2004 | /s/ JOHN H. KISPERT |
|
|
(Date) | John H. Kispert |
| Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (Principal Accounting Officer) |
38
EXHIBIT INDEX
Exhibit Number | | Exhibit Name |
| |
|
31.1 | | Certification of Chief Executive Officer under Rule 13a-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. |
31.2 | | Certification of Chief Financial Officer under Rule 13a-14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 |
32.1 | | Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350. |
39