Darin G. Billerbeck, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our results for the fourth quarter of 2017 were in-line with expectations as we both grew revenue and reduced our spending. At no time in history have we had a more extensive portfolio of products that align with key customer requirements such as low power and cost, small form factor, and overall performance. We are in a fundamentally stronger position today as we continue to execute on our primary goals – driving a return to revenue growth, further reducing operating expenses, increasing free cash flow, along with paying down corporate debt."
Max Downing, Chief Financial Officer, added, "Results in the fourth quarter of 2017 were led by our continued growth in the industrial and automotive end market, which increased to 41% of revenue in the quarter compared to 37% in the prior quarter and 31% in the year ago fourth quarter. Our operating expenses were in-line with guidance on a non-GAAP basis but do not yet fully reflect the benefits of the aggressive actions we have already taken. Our long-term target model is to achieve operating expenses on a non-GAAP basis at 35% of revenue, which we expect to reach in the second half of 2018. We ended the fourth quarter of 2017 with approximately $112 million in cash and short-term investments, giving us the continued balance sheet strength needed to pay down our corporate debt and to capture additional high potential growth opportunities in front of us."
Business Outlook - First Quarter 2018*:
- Revenue for the first quarter of 2018 is expected to be between approximately $95 million and $100 million.
- Gross margin percentage for the first quarter of 2018 is expected to be approximately 56% plus or minus 2% on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis.
- Total operating expenses are expected to be between approximately $52.7 million and $54.9 million on a GAAP basis and between approximately $42.6 million and $44.4 million on a non-GAAP basis.
- Enactment of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is not expected to result in an increase in the U.S. cash tax paid given the offset of the Company's nearly $300 million in Net Operating Loss ("NOL") carryforwards.
* For a reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP business outlook, see accompanying tables "Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures."
Investor Conference Call / Webcast Details:
Lattice Semiconductor will review the Company's financial results for the fiscal fourth quarter and full 2017 and business outlook for the first quarter of 2018 on Tuesday, February 13 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The conference call-in number is 1-888-684-5603 or 1-918-398-4852 with conference identification number 9681558. An accompanying presentation and live webcast of the conference call will also be available on Lattice's website at www.latticesemi.com. The Company's financial guidance will be limited to the comments on its public quarterly earnings call and the public business outlook statements contained in this press release.
A replay of the call will be available approximately 2 hours after the conclusion of the live call through 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on February 20, 2018, by telephone at 1-404-537-3406. To access the replay, use conference identification number 9681558. A webcast replay will also be available on the investor relations section of www.latticesemi.com.
Forward-Looking Statements Notice:
The foregoing paragraphs contain forward-looking statements that involve estimates, assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Any statements about our expectations, beliefs, plans, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not historical facts and may be forward-looking. Such forward-looking statements include statements relating to: our expectation that we will continue to execute on our primary goals - driving a return to revenue growth, further reducing operating expenses, increasing free cash flow, along with paying down corporate debt; our expectation that we will achieve operating expenses on a non-GAAP basis at 35% of revenue, and that we will reach this in the second half of 2018; our belief that we possess the continued balance sheet strength needed to pay down our corporate debt and to capture additional high potential growth opportunities in front of us; and the statements under the heading “Business Outlook-First Quarter 2018.” Other forward-looking statements may be indicated by words such as “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “may,” “expect,” “plan,” “project,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “forecast,” “future,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “propose,” “potential,” “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology; and our expectation that we will remain focused on maximizing the leverage of our operating model and reduce our outstanding debt balance. Lattice believes the factors identified below could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.
Estimates of future revenue are inherently uncertain due to such factors
as global economic conditions, which may affect customer demand, pricing
pressures, competitive actions, the demand for our Mature, Mainstream
and New products, and in particular our iCE40™ and MachXO3L™ devices,
the ability to supply products to customers in a timely manner, changes
in our distribution relationships, or the volatility of our consumer
business. Actual gross margin percentage and operating expenses could
vary from the estimates on the basis of, among other things, changes in
revenue levels, changes in product pricing and mix, changes in wafer,
assembly, test and other costs, including commodity costs, variations in
manufacturing yields, the failure to sustain operational improvements,
the actual amount of compensation charges due to stock price changes.
Any unanticipated declines in revenue or gross margin, any unanticipated
increases in our operating expenses or unanticipated charges could
adversely affect our profitability.