United
States
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
10-K
x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF
THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the
fiscal year ended December
31, 2004.
or
oTRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF
THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the
transition period from _______ to ________.
Commission
file number: 1-5740
DIODES
INCORPORATED
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Delaware |
|
|
|
95-2039518 |
(State
or other jurisdiction of |
|
|
|
(I.R.S.
Employer |
incorporation
or organization) |
|
|
|
Identification
Number) |
3050
East Hillcrest Drive |
|
|
Westlake
Village, California |
|
91362 |
(Address
of principal executive offices) |
|
(Zip
Code) |
Registrant’s
telephone number, including area code: (805) 446-4800
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None
Securities
registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Common Stock, Par Value $0.66
2/3
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 Exchange 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 x Noo
Indicate
by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of
Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best
of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements
incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this
Form 10-K. o
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule
12b-2 of the Act).
Yes x No o
The
aggregate market value of the 8,829,510 shares of Common Stock held by
non-affiliates of the registrant, based on the closing price of $23.69 per share
of the Common Stock on the Nasdaq National Market on June 30, 2004, the last
business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second quarter, was
approximately $209,171,092.
The
number of shares of the registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of March 9,
2005 was 15,866,341, including 1,613,508 shares of treasury stock.
DOCUMENTS
INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions
of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement to be filed with the Securities
and Exchange Commission pursuant to Regulation 14A in connection with the 2005
annual meeting of stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of
this Report. The proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission not later than 120 days after the registrant’s fiscal year ended
December 31, 2004.
PART
I
Item
1. Business
General
Diodes
Incorporated (the "Company"), a Delaware corporation, manufactures,
sells and distributes discrete semiconductors worldwide, primarily to
manufacturers in the communications, computing, industrial, consumer electronics
and automotive markets, and to distributors of electronic components to
end-customers in these markets. The Company’s broad product line includes
high-density diode and transistor arrays in ultra-miniature surface-mount
packages, as well as silicon wafers used in manufacturing these products.
Technologies include high-density diode and transistor arrays in multi-pin
surface-mount packages; Power DI™5, Powermite®3, high-performance surface-mount
packages; performance Schottkys, switching and rectifier diodes; single and dual
pre-biased transistors; performance tight tolerance and low current zener
diodes; subminiature surface-mount packages; transient voltage suppressors (TVS
and TSPD); small signal transistors and MOSFETs; and standard, fast, ultra-fast,
and super-fast rectifiers.
To
rapidly respond to the demands of the global marketplace, the Company continues
to increase its investment in research and development, expand its product
portfolio and closely control product quality and time-to-market. The Company is
shifting development priorities toward specialized configurations, such as
high-density array devices, and introducing a range of new products that improve
the trade-off between size, performance and power consumption for surface-mount
packages, such as the Company’s BAT750 Schottky rectifier and SOT-523 product
lines. These product lines are designed for battery-powered and handheld
applications, such as those used in the computer and communications industries;
specifically, wireless devices, notebooks, flat panel displays, digital cameras,
mobile handsets, set top boxes, as well as DC to DC conversion and automotive
electronic applications.
The
Company's corporate headquarters located in Westlake Village, California,
provides sales, marketing, engineering, logistics and warehousing functions. The
Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Diodes Taiwan Corporation, Ltd.
(“Diodes-Taiwan”), maintains a sales, engineering and purchasing facility in
Taipei, Taiwan. The Company also has a 95% interest in Shanghai
KaiHong Electronics Co., Ltd. (“Diodes-China” or “KaiHong”), a
manufacturing facility in Shanghai, China, with offices in Shanghai and
Shenzhen, China. In March 2002, the Company opened a sales, warehousing and
logistics subsidiary in Hong Kong (“Diodes-Hong Kong”). In addition, in December
2000, the Company acquired FabTech Incorporated (“Diodes-FabTech” or “FabTech”),
a silicon wafer manufacturing facility located near Kansas City, Missouri.
Offices in Toulouse, France
and Hattenheim, Germany support the Company’s European sales
efforts.
In 2004,
as part of the Company’s strategic business and tax planning initiatives, as
well as to further expand manufacturing capabilities, the Company formed a
second Chinese manufacturing subsidiary, Shanghai Kaihong Technology Electronic
Co., Ltd. (“Diodes-Shanghai”). Located in the Songjiang Export Zone established
by the local Shanghai government, Diodes-Shanghai is approximately 10 miles from
our original manufacturing facility, Diodes-China. Diodes-Shanghai leases the
building facilities from the Company’s minority interest joint venture partner
and will continue to invest in the latest technology manufacturing equipment as
we continue to expand our state-of-the-art facility.
Lite-On
Semiconductor Corporation (“LSC”), formerly Lite-On Power Semiconductor
Corporation (“LPSC”), is the Company’s largest stockholder, holding
approximately 32.3% of the outstanding shares. LSC is a member of The Lite-On
Group of companies of the Republic of China. The Lite-On Group, with worldwide
sales of approximately $7.0 billion, is a leading manufacturer of power
semiconductors, computer peripherals, and communication products. In December
2000, LPSC merged with Dyna Image Corporation of Taipei, Taiwan, the world’s
largest manufacturer of contact image sensor (“CIS”). CISs are primarily used in
fax machines, scanners and copy machines. C.H. Chen, the Company’s President and
Chief Executive Officer, is Vice Chairman of the combined company, which is
called LSC. The Company sells product to, and purchases product from, LSC (see
“Related Parties”).
The
discrete semiconductor industry has historically been subject to severe pricing
pressures. At times, although manufacturing costs have decreased, excess
manufacturing capacity and over-inventory have caused selling prices to decrease
to a greater extent than manufacturing costs. To
compete in this highly competitive industry, the
Company has committed substantial new resources to the development of
proprietary products, the further development and implementation of sales and
marketing functions, and the expansion of manufacturing capabilities.
Emphasizing its focus on customer service, the Company has added additional
sales personnel and programs, primarily in Asia, and most recently in Europe. In
order to meet customers’ needs at the design stage of end-product development,
the Company also continues to employ additional applications engineers who work
directly with customers to assist them in “designing in” the correct products to
produce optimum results. Regional sales managers, working closely with
manufacturers’ representative firms and distributors, have also been added to
help satisfy customers’ requirements. In addition, the Company continues to
develop relationships with major distributors who inventory and sell the
Company’s products.
End
Markets
The
majority of the Company’s products are sold, either directly or through
electronic component distributors, to customers in the consumer electronics,
computing and peripherals, industrial, communications, and automotive markets.
As of December 31, 2004, the percentages of total revenues from these markets
were 37%, 31%, 19%, 8%, and 5%, respectively.
The
following table lists the end-markets served and some of the applications in
which the Company’s products are used:
Markets
Served |
End-product
Applications |
Consumer
Electronics |
Set-top
Boxes (cable/DSS), Game Consoles, Smart Appliances, Digital Audio Players,
MP3, Digital Cameras, Mobile handset and smart phones, Caller ID Boxes,
Answering Machines, Personal Medical Devices
|
Computing
and Peripherals |
Notebooks,
LCD/TFT Displays, Motherboards, PDAs/Pocket PCs, Scanners, Servers, NICs,
Hard Drives |
Industrial |
Ballast
Lighting, Power Supplies, DC-DC Conversion, Security/Access Systems, Motor
Controls, HVAC |
Communications |
Gateways,
Routers, Switches, Hubs, Fiber Optics,
Wireless,
Ethernet, Power/Phone Line Networks |
Automotive |
Comfort
Controls, Audio/Video Players, GPS Navigation, Safety, Security, Satellite
Radios, Engine Control |
Because
of its diversified end-markets and applications, the Company believes it is
better protected from market fluctuations.
Strategy
The
Company’s business strategy is to become a leading vertically-integrated
manufacturer and supplier of discrete semiconductors, to expand the geographic
reach of its sales organization into high growth and/or under serviced markets,
to enhance its research and development capability, and to pursue manufacturing
efficiency across its product lines.
Vertical
Integration
The
Company intends to control the manufacturing and manage the distribution
processes, from product development to manufacturing, packaging, and
distribution. The anticipated benefits to this strategy include:
· |
Better
control of product quality; |
· |
Faster
time-to-market for new products; |
· |
Ability
to customize devices to customer
requirements; |
· |
Ability
to develop and market devices that are differentiated in the marketplace
with proprietary processes and designs; and |
· |
Improved
access to wafers and devices in limited supply
conditions. |
The
Company believes that this strategy has enabled it to develop stronger
relationships with existing customers and distributors, to gain new customers
and enter new markets, to shift its sales mix to include higher margin devices,
and to create greater differentiation for the Diodes, Inc. brand.
In order
to become a vertically integrated manufacturer and supplier, the Company
integrates six areas of operations: sales, marketing, product development, wafer
foundry, package development, and assembly/testing.
Historically,
discrete semiconductors have been characterized by a slower rate of innovation
and lower value-added than integrated circuits (“ICs”). However, the Company
believes that changes in the consumer electronics, communications and computing
industries, in particular, have created a need for renewed innovation in
discrete semiconductor technology. The proliferation of mobile, battery-powered
devices has placed a premium on smaller size and lower energy consumption. The
Company’s product development efforts are focused on devices that reduce size
and power consumption, increase performance and simplify board
design.
In
December 2000, the
Company acquired
FabTech Incorporated in order
to develop higher-technology products that command higher profit margins, as
well as to fulfill its silicon wafer requirements. Diodes-FabTech
has the manufacturing equipment, facilities and technology to produce finished
wafers ready for assembly, as well
as the experienced engineering team required to develop higher technology
products. These new
high-technology products are widening the Company’s product line while
increasing its value to customers.
The
Company continues to increase its new product introductions and has developed a
number of products that it believes to be differentiated in the marketplace.
While many competitors can devote vastly greater resources to research and
development activities, the Company believes that its product focus,
customer-driven development approach and rapid development cycle will enable it
to develop products that provide higher value to its customers. The Company’s
research and development activities are oriented towards improving on industry
standard devices at the process, wafer and packaging level. In addition, the
Company’s applications engineers work with customers to develop applications
specific packaging and device configurations to meet their specific
needs.
Expanded
Geographical Reach
In
addition to becoming a vertically integrated manufacturer and supplier, the
Company intends to continue to expand its existing sales force in Asia and
Europe. The Company has significantly expanded its Asian sales force to capture
market share in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and other Southeast Asia
markets, as well as Korea. The Company also is developing sales channels in
Europe to capture market share in countries such as England, France, Germany,
Italy and Israel, among others. The Company targets original equipment
manufacturers (“OEMs”) directly, as well as leveraging its expanded distribution
network.
Manufacturing
Efficiencies
In 2004,
the Company invested approximately $22.7 million in plant and equipment at its
Chinese manufacturing facilities, bringing the total amount invested there to
approximately $77.3 million. The Company will continue to invest in Diodes-China
and Diodes-Shanghai as new packaging opportunities arise. Diodes-China and
Diodes-Shanghai are the Company’s packaging and testing facilities in Mainland
China. The facilities use chips or die from silicon wafers and manufactures them
into various packaged finished devices.
Products
While
technology in the semiconductor industry is ever changing, the Company has
traditionally sold mature products. But the additions of state-of-the-art
surface-mount manufacturing capability at Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai and
our wafer fabrication facility, Diodes-FabTech, have enabled the Company to
advance technologically with the industry leaders, and to move ahead in
technical advances in both silicon technology and product implementation. These
new technologies offer higher profit and growth potential.
Product
Technology
Semiconductors,
the building blocks of the electronics industry, provide support and make
electrical connections to integrated circuits (“ICs”) and come in two basic
configurations: discrete semiconductors and ICs. The Company is engaged in the
design, manufacture, sale, and distribution of discrete semiconductors, which
are fixed-function components such as:
Performance
Schottky Rectifiers |
Standard
Recovery Rectifiers |
Transient
Voltage Suppressors (TVS) |
Performance
Schottky Diodes |
Bridge
Rectifiers |
Small
Signal Bipolar Transistors |
Super-Fast
& Ultra-Fast Recovery Rectifiers |
Switching
Diodes |
Prebiased
Transistors (PBT) |
Fast
Recovery Rectifiers |
Zener
Diodes |
High
Density Transistor Arrays |
Small
Signal MOSFETs |
High
Density Diodes |
Application
and Customer Specific Arrays |
In terms
of function, ICs are far more complex than discrete semiconductors. They are
multi-function devices of the sort found in computer memory boards and central
processing units. ICs, characterized by rapid changes in both production and
application, and the desire to put ever-more intelligence into ever-smaller
packages, have required the development of manufacturing techniques that are
highly sophisticated and expensive.
Discrete
semiconductors, which effectively tie integrated circuits to their surrounding
environments and enable them to work, come in hundreds of permutations and vary
according to voltage, current, power handling capability and switching speed. In
a standard industry classification, those discrete semiconductors operating at
less than one watt are referred to as low-power semiconductors, while those
operating at greater than one watt are termed power semiconductors. Both types
of semiconductors are found in a wide assortment of commercial instrumentation
and communication equipment, in consumer products like televisions and
telephones, and in automotive, computer and industrial electronic
products.
Arrays
bridge the gap between discrete semiconductors and ICs. Arrays consist of more
than one discrete semiconductor housed in a single package. The Company added
about 100 new 6-pin surface mount array part numbers to its semiconductor
offerings. With the flexibility of domestic engineering and fast-reaction
manufacturing facilities in the Far East, the Company continues to find interest
in its offering of Application Specific Multi-Chip Circuit arrays
(“ASMCC”).
Silicon
wafers are the basic raw material used in producing all types of semiconductors.
Many highly sophisticated and tightly controlled processes are used to develop
finished semiconductor wafers from the raw starting material. They include high
precision lapping and polishing, photo lithography, chemical vapor deposition of
epitaxy, doping and oxidation processes, plasma deposition, ion implantation,
metal plating, sintering and sputtering, chemical etching, annealing and
reaction. Finished wafers are then cut into very small die in order to be
assembled into the appropriate surface mount or leaded package at the
semiconductor assembly factory.
Product
Packaging
Almost as
important as the technology of the discrete component, is the component
packaging. The industry trend is to fit discrete components into ever-smaller
and more efficient surface-mount packages. Smaller packaging provides a
reduction in board space, height, and weight and is well suited for
battery-powered, hand-held and wireless applications such as cellular phones,
notebook and palmtop computers and accessories where space is at a premium. The
objective is to fit the same functionality and power handling features into
smaller packages. The Company’s packaging capabilities include:
Surface-mount:
SOT-23 |
SOT-523 |
SMA |
SOT-25 |
SOD-523 |
SMB |
SOT-26 |
SC-59 |
SMC |
SOT-143 |
SOT-563 |
DPAK |
SOD-323 |
SOD-123 |
D2PAK |
SOT-363 |
SOT-323 |
Powermiteâ3 |
|
|
Power
DI™5 |
|
|
Power
DI™123 |
Leaded:
DO-15 |
DO-201AD |
A-405 |
DO-35 |
TO-220AC |
TO-3P |
DO-41 |
TO-220AB |
Numerous
Bridge Rectifier Packages |
Sales,
Marketing and Distribution
The
Company sells its products through its own internal and regional sales
departments, as well as through representatives and distributors. The Company’s
sales team, aided by the sales force of approximately 25 independent sales
representative firms located throughout North America, Asia, and most recently
Europe, supplies approximately 98 OEM accounts. In 2004, OEM customers accounted
for approximately 66% of the Company’s sales, compared to approximately 69% in
2003 and 69% in 2002. OEM customers range from small, privately held electronics
companies to Fortune
500
companies.
The
Company’s major OEM customers include industry leaders such as Intel
Corporation, Cisco Systems Incorporated, Sony Corporation, EMC Corporation,
Apple Computer, Inc., Inventec Corporation, Dell, Inc., Motorola, Inc., Delphi
Automotive, Bose Corporation, Scientific Atlanta Incorporated, Samsung
Electronics, Asustek Computer, Inc., Quanta and LG Electronics, Inc., as well as
contract electronic manufacturers (“CEM”) such as Flextronics International,
Ltd., Solectron Corp., and Jabil Circuit, Inc.
The
Company further supplies approximately 40 distributors (34% of 2004 sales), who
collectively sell to approximately 10,000 customers on the Company’s behalf. The
Company’s worldwide distribution network includes Arrow Electronics, Inc.,
Avnet, Inc., Digi-Key Corporation, Future Electronics, Ltd., Yosun Industrial
Co., Ltd., and Zenotron Corporation, among others. The Company is not dependent
on any one customer to support its level of sales. For the fiscal year ended
December 31, 2004, only one OEM customer, LSC (see “Related Parties”), accounted
for more than 10% of the Company's sales, while the largest distributor
accounted for 6% of sales. The twenty largest customers accounted, in total, for
approximately 68% of the Company's sales in 2004, compared to 63% in
2003.
The
Company sells its products primarily in North America, the Far East, and Europe,
both directly to end users and through electronic component distributors. In
2004, approximately 38%, 59%, and 3% of the Company’s products were sold in
North America, the Far East, and Europe, respectively, compared to 41%, 56%, and
3% in 2003, respectively. See Note 11 of "Notes to Consolidated Financial
Statements" for a description of the Company’s geographic and segment
information. The Company expects an increase in the percentage of sales in the
Far East as the Company has significantly increased its sales presence there and
believes there is greater potential to increase market share in that region due
to the expanding base of electronic product manufacturers.
Through
Diodes-Taiwan, the Company employs a general manager who acts as the Far East
purchasing liaison with respect to product procurement from other vendors
located in the Far East. Diodes-Taiwan also sells product to customers in
Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore, among other Asia-Pacific countries.
In June
2001, the Company expanded its sales force into Europe with a regional manager
and distribution network to serve the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Israel,
among others.
In March
2002, the Company opened a sales, warehousing, and logistics office in Hong Kong
to strengthen its competitive market position in Asia, as well as to benefit
from favorable tax rates. Because more communication and personal computer
companies are moving to China, having sales and warehousing directly out of Hong
Kong enables the Company to reduce lead times on orders and provide better
service to this growing customer base.
Through
ongoing sales and customer service efforts, the Company continues to develop
business relationships with companies who are considered leaders in their
respective market segments. The
Company’s marketing efforts also have benefited from an ongoing program to
develop strategic alliances with manufacturers, such as LSC, among others, to
better control product technology, quality and especially the availability of
the products it sells.
Over the
years, there has been a tendency among some larger manufacturers to limit or
de-emphasize the production and marketing of discrete components in favor of
integrated and hybrid circuits. With fewer service-oriented sources of discrete
components available to OEMs, the Company has captured additional market share.
The Company’s products primarily include catalog items, but also include units
designed to specific customer requirements.
Manufacturing
and Significant Vendors
Diodes-China
and Diodes-Shanghai manufacturing focus is on sub-miniature surface-mount
devices, as well as high performance power devices. These surface-mount devices
(“SMD”) are much smaller in size and are used in the computer and communications
industries, for cellular phones, notebook computers, and flat-panel displays,
among others. The state-of-the-art facilities have been designed to develop even
smaller, higher-density products as electronic industry trends to more portable
and hand-held devices continue. Although Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai
purchase silicon wafers from FabTech, the majority are currently purchased from
other wafer vendors. The Company plans to continue to increase the number of
Diodes-FabTech wafers used for internal manufacturing.
Acquired
in December 2000 from LSC, FabTech’s wafer foundry is located in Lee’s Summit,
Missouri. FabTech manufactures primarily 5-inch
silicon wafers, which are the building blocks for semiconductors. FabTech has
full foundry capabilities, including processes such as silicon epitaxy, silicon
oxidation, photolithography and etching, ion implantation and diffusion, low
pressure and plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, sputtered and evaporated
metal deposition, wafer backgrinding, and wafer probe and ink.
FabTech
purchases polished silicon wafers and then, by using various technologies and
patents, in conjunction with many chemicals and gases, fabricates several layers
on the wafers, including epitaxial silicon, ion implants, dielectrics and
metals, with various patterns. Depending upon these layers and the die size
(which is determined during the photolithography process and completed at the
customer’s packaging site where the wafer is sawn into square or rectangular
die), different types of wafers with various currents, voltages and switching
speeds are produced.
At
Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai, silicon wafers are received and inspected in a
highly controlled environment awaiting the assembly operation. At the first step
of assembly, the wafers are mounted in a supporting ring, and using automatic
machinery, the wafers are sawn with very thin, high speed diamond blades into
tiny semiconductor “dice”, numbering as many as 200,000 per 5-inch diameter
wafer. Dice are then loaded onto a handler, which automatically places the dice,
one by one, onto lead frames, which are package specific, where they are
bonded using various technologies to the lead frame pad. Next, automatic wire
bonders make the necessary electrical connections from the die to the leads of
the lead frame, using micro-thin gold wire. The fully automatic assembly
machinery then molds the epoxy case around the die and lead frame to produce the
desired semiconductor product. Next are the trim, form, test, mark and re-test
operations. Finally, the parts are placed into special carrier housings and a
cover tape seals the parts in place. The taped parts are then spooled onto reels
and boxed for shipment.
Each step
of the process is precisely controlled and monitored to assure world-class
quality. Samples of each device family are periodically subjected to rigorous
1,000 hour high-reliability testing to assure that the devices will meet all
customers’ expectations in the most demanding applications.
As
evidence of our total commitment to product quality and customer satisfaction,
the Company has developed and continually maintains processes, procedures and
standards of performance that earn our Company widely recognized quality
certifications. Our corporate headquarters received official ISO 9001:2000
Certification of Registration in 1997 from Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the
leading third-party certification organization in the United States and the
largest in North America. Diodes-China and Diodes-Taiwan received official ISO
9001:2000 Certification of Registration from DNV in 1997. Diodes-China also
earned QS-9000 and ISO 14001 certifications in 2000, validating high-level
quality management in the automotive supply industry, and our compliance with
official environmental standards, respectively. Diodes-FabTech received ISO 9001
certification in 1997, and QS-9000 certification with AEC-A100 Supplement in
1998 from BSI, an international standards testing, registration and
certification organization.
ISO 9000
certifications consist of a series of paradigms for the establishment of systems
and protocols to facilitate the creation and maintenance of superior
quality-control techniques. The Company's commitment to ongoing external
validation demonstrates dedication to continual reviews and renewal of our
mission, strategies, operations and service levels. With its underlying premise
that true product quality requires a total quality system, ISO certification is
often required of vendors seeking to establish relationships with OEMs doing
business in intensely competitive global markets.
In
October 2003, the Company successfully completed the ISO compliance audit with
respect to meeting the stringent criteria for the new ISO 9001:2000 standards.
As part of the upgrade, Diodes expanded the scope of the ISO certification to
include product design and development. The new classification reflects Diodes’
increasing focus on research and development as a means to deliver
differentiated product lines that offer customers greater choice, more
flexibility and measurably higher levels of performance. Diodes’ success in
achieving the new standard adds an important secondary Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) Code to the Company’s existing certification for
semiconductor devices by assigning an SIC Code covering design.
Meeting
this standard reflects the Company’s commitment to providing the highest-quality
products and services to its customers, and is an endorsement of the Company’s
commitment not only to understanding and meeting customer needs, but also to
enhancing customer satisfaction. Since this ISO 9001:2000 certification
represents an industry-recognized level of quality, it provides customers with
added confidence in their decision to partner with us.
All of
the products sold by the Company, as well as the materials used by the Company
in its manufacturing operations, are available both domestically and abroad. In
2004, the largest external supplier of products to the Company was LSC, a
related party. Approximately 17% of the Company’s sales were from product
manufactured by LSC in both 2004 and 2003. Also, in 2004 and 2003, approximately
3.5% and 4.6%, respectively, of the Company’s sales were from product
manufactured by companies owned by Keylink International (formerly Xing
International), the 5% minority partner in Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai and
a related party. In addition, sales of products manufactured by Diodes-China and
Diodes-FabTech, the Company’s manufacturing subsidiaries, were approximately 49%
and 20% in 2004, respectively, versus 39% and 23% in 2003, respectively. The
Company anticipates that Diodes-China will become an increasingly valuable
supplier. No other manufacturer of discrete semiconductors accounted for more
than 4% and 9% of the Company’s sales in 2004 and 2003,
respectively.
The
Company’s manufacturing facilities in China receive wafers from FabTech, among
others. Output from the FabTech facility includes wafers used in the production
of Schottky barrier diodes, fast recovery epitaxial diodes (FREDs), and other
widely used value-added products. Schottky barrier diodes are employed in the
manufacture of the power supplies found in personal computers,
telecommunications devices and other applications where high frequency, low
forward voltage and fast recovery are required.
Although
the Company believes alternative sources exist for the products of any of its
suppliers, the loss of any one of its principal suppliers or the loss of several
suppliers in a short period of time could have a materially adverse effect on
the Company until an alternate source is located and has commenced providing
such products or raw materials.
Raw
Materials
The
Company uses a variety of raw materials in its manufacturing processes,
including molding compounds, lead frames, gold wire, and various other metals,
chemicals and gasses, as well as finished and raw silicon wafers. Although the
raw materials are available from a number of sources, the Company’s results of
operations may be materially and adversely affected if it has difficulty
obtaining these raw materials, the quality of available raw materials
deteriorates or there are significant price increases for these raw
materials.
Competition
Numerous
semiconductor manufacturers and distributors serve the discrete semiconductor
components market, making competition intense. Some of the larger companies
include Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation, International Rectifier
Corporation, Rohm Electronics, Phillips Electronics, On Semiconductor
Corporation, and Vishay Intertechnology, Inc., many of which have greater
financial, marketing, distribution, brand name recognition and other resources
than the Company. Accordingly, in response to market conditions, the Company
from time to time may reposition product lines or decrease prices, which may
affect the Company’s profit margins on such product lines. Competitiveness in
sales of the Company's products is determined by the price and quality of the
product, and the ability of the Company to provide delivery and customer service
in keeping with the customers' needs. The Company believes that its flexibility
and ability to quickly adapt to customer needs affords it some competitive
advantages. Nevertheless, the Company expects that competition with larger and
better-funded rivals will continue to be a challenge.
Engineering
and Research and Development
The
Company’s engineering and research and development (“R&D”) consist of
customer/applications engineers and product development engineers who assist in
determining the direction of the Company’s future product lines. Their primary
function is to work closely with market-leading customers to further refine,
expand and improve the Company’s product range within the Company’s product
types and packages. In addition, customer requirements and acceptance of new
package types are assessed and new, higher density and more energy-efficient
packages are developed to satisfy customers’ needs. Working with customers to
integrate multiple types of technologies within the same package, the Company’s
applications engineers reduce the required number of components and, thus,
circuit board size requirements, while increasing the component technology to a
higher level.
Product
engineers work directly with the semiconductor wafer design and process
engineers at Diodes-FabTech who craft die designs needed for products that
precisely match our customer’s requirements. Further, Diodes-FabTech’s R&D
engineers are developing higher technology products, which are expected to grow
the Company to leadership positions in our focused areas. Direct contact with
the Company’s manufacturing facilities allows the manufacturing of products that
are in line with current technical requirements. With the addition of FabTech,
the Company has the capability to capture the customer’s electrical and
packaging requirements through its customer/applications engineers and product
development engineers, and then transfer those requirements to Diodes-FabTech’s
R&D and engineering department, so that the customer’s requirements can be
translated, designed, and manufactured with full control, even to the elemental
silicon level.
For the
years ended December 31, 2004, 2003, and 2002, R&D expense was $3.4 million,
$2.0 million and $1.5 million, respectively. As a percentage of sales, R&D
expense was 1.8%, 1.5% and 1.3% for 2004, 2003, and 2002, respectively. The
Company anticipates R&D in absolute dollars and as a percentage of sales to
increase as the Company further develops proprietary technology.
Patents
and Trademarks
Patents
and trademarks have become increasingly more significant to our business.
Developing and maintaining a competitive advantage requires that the Company
pursue patent protection for innovative devices and processes, particularly
those developed or in development at Diodes-FabTech. The Company currently holds
five patents and has ten patents pending in technologies ranging from ruggedized
Schottky devices to thirty-five hundred volt Ultra-Fast devices. The PowerDI™5,
the Company’s most recent patented technology released in 2004, is ideal for
applications
requiring high current density in sub-miniature footprints and/or a very low
profile device. The PowerDITM5 has
a printed
circuit board (PCB) footprint of only 1.1mm in height and only 26mm2
in area,
with over
45% PCB space savings as compared with 47mm2 for
SMC and
61.5mm2 for
DPAK, as well as lower
forward voltage drop and higher surge current capabilities for optimum power
efficiencies. These
advantages are critical to manufacturers that require increased functionality in
smaller packages, such as
the catch diode for buck regulators, reverse polarity protection, battery
charging, switching power supplies, freewheeling diodes, and other portable
applications.
To
protect our intellectual property from being copied illegally by competitors,
the Company will continue to aggressively pursue patent protection.
Inventory
In
general, the Company maintains sufficient inventories of standard products at
its U.S. facility and Diodes-Taiwan and Diodes-Hong Kong facilities to permit
rapid delivery of customers’ orders. In addition, the Company continuously
coordinates with strategic alliances and subcontractors to support product
demand. The Company implemented a program in coordination with its distributors,
enabling the Company to transfer inventory from distributors to OEM customers to
better manage the Company’s on-hand inventory.
The
Company’s inventory is composed of discrete semiconductors and silicon wafers,
which are, for the most part, standardized in electronic related industries. The
Company has no special inventory or working capital requirements that are not in
the ordinary course of business.
Backlog
The
amount of backlog to be shipped during any period is dependent upon various
factors, and all orders are subject to cancellation or modification, usually
with minimal or no penalty to the customer. Orders are generally booked from one
to twelve months in advance of delivery. The rate of booking new orders can vary
significantly from month to month. The Company and the industry as a whole are
experiencing a trend towards shorter lead-times (the amount of time between the
date a customer places an order and the date the customer requires shipment).
The amount of backlog at any date depends upon various factors, including the
timing of the receipt of orders, fluctuations in orders of existing product
lines, and the introduction of any new lines. Accordingly, the Company believes
that the amount of backlog at any date is not a useful measure of future sales.
The Company strives to maintain proper inventory levels to support customers’
just-in-time order expectations.
Employees
As of
December 31, 2004, the Company employed a total of 1,370 employees. On that
date, Diodes-North America had 79 full-time employees, Diodes-Taiwan and
Diodes-Hong Kong had an additional 81 employees, Diodes-China and
Diodes-Shanghai had a total of 974 employees, and Diodes-FabTech had a total of
236 employees. None of the Company’s employees is subject to a collective
bargaining agreement. The Company considers its relations with its employees to
be good.
Imports
and Import Restrictions
During
2004, the Company’s U.S. operations, which accounted for approximately 28% of
the Company’s total discrete sales, imported substantially all of its products,
of which approximately 86% were imported from Mainland China and approximately
6% from Taiwan. The balance of the imports is primarily from Germany, Japan,
India, the Philippines, and Korea. As a result, the Company’s operations are
subject to the customary risks of doing business abroad, including, but not
limited to, the difficulty and expense of maintaining foreign sourcing channels,
cultural and institutional barriers to trade, fluctuations in currency exchange
rates, restrictions on the transfer of funds and the imposition of tariffs,
political instability, transportation delays, expropriation, import and export
controls and other non-tariff barriers (including export licenses and changes in
the allocation of quotas), as well as the uncertainty regarding the future
relationship between China and Taiwan, and other U.S. and foreign regulations
that may apply to the export and import of the Company’s products, and which
could have a material adverse effect on the Company. Any significant disruption
in the Company’s Taiwanese or Chinese sources of supply or in the Company’s
relationship with its suppliers located in Taiwan or China could have a material
adverse effect on the Company.
The
Company transacts business with foreign suppliers primarily in U.S. dollars. To
a limited extent, and from time to time, the Company contracts in foreign
currencies (e.g., a portion of the equipment purchases for the Diodes-China and
Diodes-Shanghai expansion), and, accordingly, its results of operations could be
materially affected by fluctuations in currency exchange rates. Due to the
limited number of contracts denominated in foreign currencies and the
complexities of currency hedges, the Company has not engaged in hedging to date.
If the volume of contracts written in foreign currencies increases, and the
Company does not engage in currency hedging, any substantial change in the value
of such currencies could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results
of operations. Management believes that the current contracts written in foreign
currencies are not significant enough to justify the costs inherent in currency
hedging.
Imported
products are also subject to U.S. customs duties and, in the ordinary course of
business, the Company, from time to time, is subject to claims by the U.S.
Customs Service for duties and other charges. The Company attempts to reduce the
risk of doing business in foreign countries by, among other things, contracting
in U.S. dollars, and, when possible, maintaining multiple sourcing of product
groups from several countries.
Related
Parties
The
Company conducts business with two related party companies, LSC (and its
subsidiaries) and Keylink International (formerly Xing International) (and its
subsidiaries). LSC, a 32.3% shareholder, is the Company’s largest shareholder.
Keylink International is owned by the Company’s 5% joint venture partner in
Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai. C.H. Chen, the Company’s President and Chief
Executive Officer, and a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, is also
Vice-Chairman of LSC. M.K. Lu, a member of the Company’s Board of Directors, is
President of LSC, while Raymond Soong, the Company’s Chairman of the Board, is
the Chairman of The Lite-On Group, a significant shareholder of
LSC.
In 2004,
the Company sold silicon wafers to LSC totaling 11.1% (10.7% in 2003) of the
Company’s sales, making LSC the Company’s largest customer. Also for 2004, 17.2%
(17.3% in 2003) of the Company’s sales were from discrete semiconductor products
purchased from LSC, making LSC the Company’s largest outside vendor. Under a
long-standing sales agreement, the Company is the exclusive North American
distributor for certain LSC product lines. In addition, the Company leases
warehouse space from LSC for its operations in Hong Kong. Such transactions are
on terms no less favorable to the Company than could be obtained from
unaffiliated third parties. The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has
approved the contracts associated with the related party
transactions.
In
December 2000, the Company acquired a wafer foundry, FabTech, Inc., from LSC. As
part of the purchase price, at December 31, 2004, LSC holds a subordinated,
interest-bearing note for approximately $3.8 million. In May
2002, the Company renegotiated the terms of the note to extend the payment
period from two years to four years, and, as a result, payments of approximately
$208,000 plus interest began in July 2002. In
connection with the acquisition, LSC entered into a volume purchase agreement to
purchase wafers from FabTech. In addition, in accordance with the terms of the
acquisition, the Company has entered into several management incentive
agreements with members of FabTech’s management. The agreements provide members
of FabTech’s management guaranteed annual payments as well as contingent bonuses
based on the annual profitability of FabTech, subject to a maximum annual
amount. Any
portion of the guaranteed and contingent liability paid by FabTech is
reimbursed by LSC. 2004 is
the final year of the management incentive agreements, with final payment due by
March 31, 2005.
In 2004,
the Company sold silicon wafers to companies owned by Keylink International
totaling 0.9% (1.1% in 2003) of the Company’s sales. Also for 2004, 3.5% (4.6%
in 2003) of the Company’s sales were from discrete semiconductor products
purchased from companies owned by Keylink International. In addition,
Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai lease their manufacturing facilities from, and
subcontracts a portion of their manufacturing process (metal plating and
environmental services) to, Keylink International. The Company also pays a
consulting fee to Keylink International. Such
transactions are on terms no less favorable to the Company than could be
obtained from unaffiliated third parties. The
Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has approved the contracts associated
with the related party transactions.
Reporting
Segment
For
financial reporting purposes, the Company is deemed to engage in one industry
segment, discrete semiconductors. See Note 11 of "Notes to Consolidated
Financial Statements" for a description of the Company’s geographic
information.
Financial
Information about Geographic Areas
The
Company sells product primarily through its operations in North America, Asia,
and Europe. See Note 11 of "Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements" for a
description of the Company’s geographic information.
Environmental
Matters
We are
subject to a variety of U.S. federal, state, local, and foreign governmental
laws, rules and regulations related to the use, storage, handling, discharge or
disposal of certain toxic, volatile or otherwise hazardous chemicals used in our
manufacturing process. Any of these regulations could require us to acquire
equipment or to incur substantial other expenses to comply with environmental
regulations. If we were to incur substantial additional expenses, our product
costs could significantly increase, thus materially affecting our business,
financial condition and results of operations. Any failure to comply with
present or future environmental laws, rules and regulations could result in
fines, suspension of production or cessation of operations, any of which could
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results
of operations. As of December 31, 2004, there were no known environmental claims
or recorded liabilities.
At
December 31, 2003, the Company had a $120,000 accrual on its balance sheet in
Accrued Liabilities in anticipation of a payment to settle an environmental
claim received in June 2000 relating to the period 1967 through 1973. During
March 2004, a $100,000 payment was accepted as settlement in full.
Available
Information
Our
website address is http://www.diodes.com. We make
available, free of charge through our website, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements,
and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or
15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after such material
is electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange
Commission (the “SEC”).
Our
filings may also be read and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 450
Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549. Information on the operation of the
Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The
SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information
statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically
with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov.
To
support our global customer-base, particularly in Asia and Europe, our website
is language-selectable into English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and German,
giving us an effective marketing tool for world-wide markets. With its extensive
online Product (Parametric) Catalog with advanced search capabilities, our
website facilitates quick and easy product selection. Our website provides easy
access to world-wide sales contacts and customer support, and incorporates a
distributor-inventory check to provide component inventory availability and a
small order desk for overnight sample fulfillment. Our website also provides
access to current and complete investor financial information and corporate
governance information including our Code of Business Conduct, as well as SEC
filings and press releases, as well as stock quotes.
Cautionary
Statement for Purposes of the “Safe Harbor” Provision of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Except
for the historical information contained herein, the matters addressed in this
Annual Report on Form 10-K constitute “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. Forward-looking
statements may be identified by the use of the words such as “anticipate,”
“believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “project,” “will”
and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties, including those discussed under “Risk
Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the Company’s
management. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”)
provides certain “safe harbor” provisions for forward-looking statements. All
forward-looking statements made on this Annual Report on Form 10-K are made
pursuant to the Act.
Risk
Factors
All
forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are
subject to, in addition to the other matters described in this Annual Report on
Form 10-K, a variety of significant risks and uncertainties. The following
discussion highlights some of these risks and uncertainties. Further, from time
to time, information provided by the Company or statements made by its employees
may contain forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that actual
results or business conditions will not differ materially from those set forth
or suggested in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors,
including those discussed below.
Vertical
Integration
We are in
the process of vertically integrating our business. Key elements of this
strategy include (i) expanding the reach of our sales organization, (ii)
expanding our manufacturing capacity, (iii) establishing wafer foundry and
research and development capability through the acquisition of FabTech and (iv)
establishing sales, marketing, product development, package development and
assembly/testing operations in company-owned facilities or through the
acquisition of established contractors. We have a limited history upon which an
evaluation of the prospects of our vertical integration strategy can be based.
There are certain risks associated with our vertical integration strategy,
including:
· |
difficulties
associated with owning a manufacturing business, including, but not
limited to, the maintenance and management of manufacturing facilities,
equipment, employees and inventories and limitations on the flexibility of
controlling overhead; |
· |
difficulties
implementing our Enterprise Resource Planning
system; |
· |
difficulties
expanding our operations in the Far East and developing new operations in
Europe because of the distance and differing regulatory and cultural
environments; |
· |
the
need for skills and techniques that are outside our traditional core
expertise; |
· |
less
flexibility in shifting manufacturing or supply sources from one region to
another; |
· |
even
when independent suppliers offer lower prices, we must continue to acquire
product from our captive manufacturing facilities, which may result in
having higher costs than our competitors; |
· |
difficulties
developing and implementing a successful research and development
team; |
· |
difficulties
developing proprietary technology; and |
· |
market
acceptance of our proprietary technology. |
The risks
of becoming a fully integrated manufacturer are amplified in an industry-wide
slowdown because of the fixed costs associated with manufacturing
facilities.
Economic
Conditions
The
discrete segment of the semiconductor industry is highly cyclical, and the value
of our business may decline during the "down" portion of these cycles. During
recent years, we, as well as many others in our industry, experienced
significant declines in the pricing of, as well as demand for, our products and
lower facilities utilization. The market for discrete semiconductors may
experience renewed, possibly more severe and prolonged, downturns in the future.
The markets for our products depend on continued demand in the communications,
computer, industrial, consumer electronic and automotive markets, and these
end-markets may experience changes in demand that could adversely affect our
operating results and financial condition.
Competition
The
discrete semiconductor industry is highly competitive. We expect intensified
competition from existing competitors and new entrants. Competition is based on
price, product performance, product availability, quality, reliability and
customer service. We compete in various markets with companies of various sizes,
many of which are larger and have greater resources or capabilities as it
relates to financial, marketing, distribution, brand name recognition and other
resources than we have and, thus, they may be better able to pursue acquisition
candidates and to withstand adverse economic or market conditions. In addition,
companies not currently in direct competition with us may introduce competing
products in the future. Some of our current major competitors are Fairchild
Semiconductor Corporation, International Rectifier Corporation, Rohm
Electronics, Phillips Electronics, On Semiconductor Corporation, and Vishay
Intertechnology, Inc. We may not be able to compete successfully in the future,
or competitive pressures may harm our financial condition or our operating
results.
Foreign
Operations
We expect
revenues from foreign markets to continue to represent a significant portion of
our total revenues. In addition, we maintain facilities or contracts with
entities in the Philippines, Taiwan, Germany, Japan, England, India, Korea, and
China, among others. There are risks inherent in doing business internationally,
including:
· |
changes
in, or impositions of, legislative or regulatory requirements, including
tax laws in the United States and in the countries in which we manufacture
or sell our products; |
· |
trade
restrictions, transportation delays, work stoppages, and economic and
political instability; |
· |
changes
in import/export regulations, tariffs and freight
rates; |
· |
difficulties
in collecting receivables and enforcing
contracts; |
· |
currency
exchange rate fluctuations, including, but not limited to fluctuations in
the Chinese Yuan should the Chinese government decide to permit the Yuan
to U.S. dollar exchange rate to fluctuate; |
· |
restrictions
on the transfer of funds from foreign subsidiaries to Diodes-North
America; and, |
· |
longer
customer payment terms. |
Variability
of Quarterly Results
We have
experienced, and expect to continue to experience, a substantial variation in
net sales and operating results from quarter to quarter. We believe that the
factors that influence this variability of quarterly results include:
· |
general
economic conditions in the countries where we sell our
products; |
· |
seasonality
and variability in the computer and communications market and our other
end markets; |
· |
the
timing of our and our competitors' new product
introductions; |
· |
the
scheduling, rescheduling and cancellation of large orders by our
customers; |
· |
the
cyclical nature of demand for our customers'
products; |
· |
our
ability to develop new process technologies and achieve volume production
at our fabrication facilities; |
· |
changes
in manufacturing yields; |
· |
adverse
movements in exchange rates, interest rates or tax rates;
and |
· |
the
availability of adequate supply commitments from our outside suppliers or
subcontractors. |
Accordingly,
a comparison of the Company's results of operations from period to period is not
necessarily meaningful to investors and the Company's results of operations for
any period do not necessarily indicate future performance. Variations in our
quarterly results may trigger volatile changes in our stock price.
New
Technologies
We cannot
assure investors that we will successfully identify new product opportunities or
develop and bring products to market in a timely and cost-effective manner, or
that products or technologies developed by others will not render our products
or technologies obsolete or noncompetitive. In addition, to remain competitive,
we must continue to reduce package sizes, improve manufacturing yields and
expand our sales. We may not be able to accomplish these goals.
Production
Our
manufacturing efficiency will be an important factor in our future
profitability, and we cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain or
increase our manufacturing efficiency. Our manufacturing processes require
advanced and costly equipment and are continually being modified in an effort to
improve yields and product performance. We may experience manufacturing problems
in achieving acceptable yields or experience product delivery delays in the
future as a result of, among other things, capacity constraints, construction
delays, upgrading or expanding existing facilities or changing our process
technologies, any of which could result in a loss of future revenues. Our
operating results also could be adversely affected by the increase in fixed
costs and operating expenses related to increases in production capacity if
revenues do not increase proportionately.
Future
Acquisitions
As part
of our business strategy, we expect to review acquisition prospects that would
implement our vertical integration strategy or offer other growth opportunities.
While we have no current agreements and no active negotiations underway with
respect to any acquisitions, we may acquire businesses, products or technologies
in the future. In the event of future acquisitions, we could:
· |
use
a significant portion of our available
cash; |
· |
issue
equity securities, which would dilute current stockholders’ percentage
ownership; |
· |
incur
substantial debt; |
· |
incur
or assume contingent liabilities, known or
unknown; |
· |
incur
amortization expenses related to intangibles;
and |
· |
incur
large, immediate accounting write-offs. |
Such
actions by us could harm our operating results and/or adversely influence the
price of our Common Stock.
Integration
of Acquisitions
During
fiscal year 2000, we acquired FabTech, Inc. We may continue to expand and
diversify our operations with additional acquisitions. If we are unsuccessful in
integrating these companies or product lines with our operations, or if
integration is more difficult than anticipated, we may experience disruptions
that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition
and results of operations. Some of the risks that may affect our ability to
integrate or realize any anticipated benefits from companies we acquire include
those associated with:
· |
unexpected
losses of key employees or customers of the acquired
company; |
· |
bringing
the acquired company's standards, processes, procedures and controls into
conformance with our operations; |
· |
coordinating
our new product and process development; |
· |
hiring
additional management and other critical
personnel; |
· |
increasing
the scope, geographic diversity and complexity of our
operations; |
· |
difficulties
in consolidating facilities and transferring processes and
know-how; |
· |
diversion
of management's attention from other business concerns;
and |
· |
adverse
effects on existing business relationships with
customers. |
Backlog
The
amount of backlog to be shipped during any period is dependent upon various
factors, and all orders are subject to cancellation or modification, usually
with minimal or no penalty to the customer. Orders are generally booked from one
to twelve months in advance of delivery. The rate of booking new orders can vary
significantly from month to month. The Company and the industry as a whole are
experiencing a trend towards shorter lead-times (the amount of time between the
date a customer places an order and the date the customer requires shipment).
The amount of backlog at any date depends upon various factors, including the
timing of the receipt of orders, fluctuations in orders of existing product
lines, and the introduction of any new lines. Accordingly, the Company believes
that the amount of backlog at any date is not a useful measure of future sales.
The Company strives to maintain proper inventory levels to support customers’
just-in-time order expectations.
Product
Resources
We sell
products primarily pursuant to purchase orders for current delivery, rather than
pursuant to long-term supply contracts. Many of these purchase orders may be
revised or canceled without penalty. As a result, we must commit resources to
the production of products without any advance purchase commitments from
customers. Our inability to sell, or delays in selling, products after we devote
significant resources to them could have a material adverse effect on our
business, financial condition and results of operations.
Qualified
Personnel
Our
future success depends, in part, upon our ability to attract and retain highly
qualified technical, sales, marketing and managerial personnel. Personnel with
the necessary expertise are scarce and competition for personnel with these
skills is intense. We may not be able to retain existing key technical, sales,
marketing and managerial employees or be successful in attracting, assimilating
or retaining other highly qualified technical, sales, marketing and managerial
personnel in the future. If we are unable to retain existing key employees or
are unsuccessful in attracting new highly qualified employees, our business,
financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely
affected.
Expansion
Our
ability to successfully offer our products in the discrete semiconductor market
requires effective planning and management processes. Our past growth, and our
targeted future growth, may place a significant strain on our management systems
and resources, including our financial and managerial controls, reporting
systems and procedures. In addition, we will need to continue to train and
manage our workforce worldwide.
Suppliers
Our
manufacturing operations depend upon obtaining adequate supplies of materials,
parts and equipment on a timely basis from third parties. Our results of
operations could be adversely affected if we are unable to obtain adequate
supplies of materials, parts and equipment in a timely manner or if the costs of
materials, parts or equipment increase significantly. In addition, a significant
portion of our total sales is from parts manufactured by outside vendors. From
time to time, suppliers may extend lead times, limit supplies or increase prices
due to capacity constraints or other factors. Although we generally use
products, materials, parts and equipment available from multiple suppliers, we
have a limited number of suppliers for some products, materials, parts and
equipment. While we believe that alternate suppliers for these products,
materials, parts and equipment are available, any interruption could materially
impair our operations.
Environmental
Regulations
We are
subject to a variety of U.S. federal, state, local, and foreign governmental
laws, rules and regulations related to the use, storage, handling, discharge or
disposal of certain toxic, volatile or otherwise hazardous chemicals used in our
manufacturing process. Any of these regulations could require us to acquire
equipment or to incur substantial other expenses to comply with environmental
regulations. If we were to incur substantial additional expenses, our product
costs could significantly increase, thus materially affecting our business,
financial condition and results of operations. Any failure to comply with
present or future environmental laws, rules and regulations could result in
fines, suspension of production or cessation of operations, any of which could
have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results
of operations. As of December 31, 2004, there were no known environmental claims
or recorded liabilities.
At
December 31, 2003, the Company had a $120,000 accrual on its balance sheet in
Accrued Liabilities in anticipation of a payment to settle an environmental
claim received in June 2000 relating to the period 1967 through 1973. During
March 2004, a $100,000 payment was accepted as settlement in full.
Product
Liability
One or
more of our products may be found to be defective after we have already shipped
such products in volume, requiring a product replacement or recall. We may also
be subject to product returns, which could impose substantial costs and have a
material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of
operations. Product liability claims may be asserted with respect to our
technology or products. Although we currently have product liability insurance,
there can be no assurance that we have obtained sufficient insurance coverage,
or that we will have sufficient resources, to satisfy all possible product
liability claims.
System
Outages
Risks are
presented by electrical or telecommunications outages, computer hacking or other
general system failure. To try to manage our operations efficiently and
effectively, we rely heavily on our internal information and communications
systems and on systems or support services from third parties. Any of these
systems are subject to failure. System-wide or local failures that affect our
information processing could have material adverse effects on our business,
financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition,
insurance coverage for the risks described above may be
unavailable.
Downward
Price Trends
Our
industry is intensely competitive and prices for existing products tend to
decrease steadily over their life cycle. There is substantial and continuing
pressure from customers to reduce the total cost of using our parts. To remain
competitive, we must achieve continuous cost reductions through process and
product improvements. We must also be in a position to minimize our customers'
shipping and inventory financing costs and to meet their other goals for
rationalization of supply and production. Our growth and the profit margins of
our products will suffer if our competitors are more successful than we are in
reducing the total cost to customers of their products.
Obsolete
Inventories
The life
cycles of some of our products depend heavily upon the life cycles of the end
products into which our products are designed. Products with short life cycles
require us to manage closely our production and inventory levels. Inventory may
also become obsolete because of adverse changes in end-market demand. We may in
the future be adversely affected by obsolete or excess inventories which may
result from unanticipated changes in the estimated total demand for our products
or the estimated life cycles of the end products into which our products are
designed.
Deferred
Taxes
As of
December 31, 2004, accumulated and undistributed earnings of Diodes-China and
Diodes-Shanghai are approximately $44.2 million, including $25.0 million of
restricted earnings (which are not available for dividends). Through March 31,
2002, the Company had not recorded deferred U.S. Federal or state tax
liabilities (estimated to be $8.9 million as of March 31, 2002) on
these cumulative earnings since the Company, at that time, considered this
investment to be permanent, and had no plans or obligation to distribute all or
part of that amount from China to the United States. Beginning in April 2002,
the Company began to record deferred taxes on a portion of the earnings of
Diodes-China in preparation of a dividend distribution. In the
year ended December 31, 2004, the Company received a dividend of approximately
$5.7 million from its Diodes-China subsidiary, for which the tax effect is
included in U.S. Federal and state taxable income. As of
December 31, 2004, the Company has recorded approximately $2.0 million in
deferred taxes on the cumulative earnings of Diodes-China and
Diodes-Shanghai.
The Company
is evaluating the need to provide additional deferred taxes for the future
earnings of Diodes-China, Diodes-Shanghai, and Diodes-Hong Kong to the extent
such earnings may be appropriated for distribution to the Company’s corporate
office in North America, and as further investment strategies with respect to
foreign earnings are determined. Should the Company’s North American cash
requirements exceed the cash that is provided through the domestic credit
facilities, cash can be obtained from the Company’s foreign subsidiaries.
However, the distribution of any unappropriated funds to the U.S. will require
the recording of income tax provisions on the U.S. entity, thus reducing net
income.
On
October 22, 2004, the President of the United States signed the American Jobs
Creation Act (“AJCA”) into law. Originally intended to repeal the
extraterritorial income (“ETI”) exclusion, which had triggered tariffs by the
European Union, the AJCA expanded to cover a wide range of business tax issues.
Among other items, the AJCA establishes a
phased repeal of the ETI, a new incentive tax deduction for U.S. corporations to
repatriate cash from foreign subsidiaries at a reduced tax rate (a deduction
equal to 85% of cash dividends received in the year elected that exceeds a
base-period amount) and significantly revises the taxation of U.S. companies
doing business abroad.
At
December 31, 2004, the Company made a minimum estimate for repatriating cash
from its subsidiaries in China and Hong Kong of $8.0 million under the AJCA, and
recorded an income tax expense of approximately $1.3 million. Under the
guidelines of the AJCA, the Company will develop a required domestic
reinvestment plan, covering items such as U.S. bank debt repayment, U.S. capital
expenditures and U.S. research and development activities, among others, to
cover the $8.0 million minimum dividend repatriation. In addition, the Company
will complete a quantitative analysis of the benefits of the AJCA, the foreign
tax credit implications, and state and local tax consequences of a dividend to
maximize the tax benefits of a 2005 dividend.
Foreign
Currency Risk
The
Company faces exposure to adverse movements in foreign currency exchange rates,
primarily in Asia and, to a lesser extent, in Europe. The Company’s foreign
currency risk may change over time as the level of activity in foreign markets
grows and could have an adverse impact upon the Company’s financial results.
Certain of the Company’s assets, including certain bank accounts and accounts
receivable, and liabilities exist in non-U.S. dollar denominated currencies,
which are sensitive to foreign currency exchange fluctuations. These currencies
are principally the Chinese Yuan, the Taiwanese dollar, the Japanese Yen, and
the Hong Kong dollar. Because of the relatively small size and nature of each
individual currency exposure, the Company does not employ hedging techniques
designed to mitigate foreign currency exposures. Therefore, the Company could
experience currency gains and losses.
During
the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Chinese government resisted devaluing the
Renminbi (“RMB”) Chinese currency. China is again faced with international
pressure demanding the appreciation of the RMB. Should the Chinese government
allow a significant RMB appreciation, and the Company not take appropriate means
to offset this exposure, the effect could have an adverse impact upon the
Company’s financial results.
Interest
Rate Risk
The
Company has credit agreements with U.S. and Far East financial institutions at
interest rates equal to LIBOR or similar indices plus a negotiated margin. A
significant rise in interest rates could have an adverse impact upon the
Company’s cost of working capital and its interest expense. In July 2001, the
Company entered into an interest rate swap agreement to hedge its exposure to
variability in expected future cash flows resulting from interest rate risk
related to a portion of its long-term debt. At December 31, 2003, the interest
rate swap agreement applied to $3.3 million of the Company’s long-term debt and
expired November 30, 2004. The swap contract was inversely correlated to the
related hedged long-term debt and was therefore considered an effective cash
flow hedge of the underlying long-term debt. The level of effectiveness of the
hedge is measured by the changes in the market value of the hedged long-term
debt resulting from fluctuation in interest rates. As a matter of policy, the
Company does not enter into derivative transactions for trading or speculative
purposes.
Political
Risk
The
Company has a significant portion of its assets in Mainland China, Taiwan and
Hong Kong. The possibility of political conflict between these countries or with
the United States could have an adverse impact upon the Company’s ability to
transact business through these important business segments and to generate
profits.
Sarbanes-Oxley
404 Compliance Risk
While we
believe that
we currently have adequate internal control procedures in place, we are still
exposed to potential risks from legislation requiring companies to evaluate
controls under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX 404”). We are
evaluating our
internal controls systems in order to allow management to report on, and our
Registered Independent Public Accounting Firm to attest to, our internal
controls, as required by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Our
independent auditors will be required to confirm in writing whether our
assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting
is fairly stated in all material respects, and separately report on whether they
believe we maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over
financial reporting as of December 31, 2004.
We are
performing the system and process evaluation and testing required in an effort
to comply with the management certification and auditor attestation requirements
of Section 404. As a result, we are incurring additional expenses and a
diversion of management’s time. On November 30, 2004, the SEC issued an order
under Section 36 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 granting an exemption
from specified provisions of Exchange Act Rule 13a-1 and 15d-1 which permits
companies which meet certain criteria to file an amended Form 10-K not later
than May 2, 2005 disclosing management’s annual report on internal control over
financial reporting and the attestation report of the registered public
accounting firm. We
anticipate filing an amendment to this Form 10-K within 45 days of the due date
of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to provide management's report on the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting and the
attestation report from our independent registered public accounting firm on
management's assessment, as permitted by the SEC Order. See "Item 9A. Controls
and Procedures."
While we
anticipate being able to fully implement the requirements relating to internal
controls and all other aspects of Section 404 in a timely fashion, we cannot be
certain as to the timing of completion of our evaluation, testing and
remediation actions or the impact of the same on our operations since there is
no precedent available by which to measure compliance adequacy. If we are not
able to implement the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner or with
adequate compliance, we might be subject to sanctions or investigation by
regulatory authorities, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission or
the Nasdaq Stock Market. The
disclosure of a material weakness, even if quickly remedied, could adversely
affect our financial results and/or
reduce the market’s confidence in our financial statements and harm our stock
price, especially if a restatement of financial statements for past periods were
to be necessary.
Financial
Information About Foreign and Domestic Operations and Export
Sales
With respect to foreign
operations, see Notes 1, and 11 of “Notes to Consolidated Financial
Statements.”
Item
2. Properties
The Company’s
primary physical properties during the year ended December 31, 2004 were as
follows:
|
A. |
The
Company’s headquarters and product distribution center is located in an
industrial building at 3050 East Hillcrest Drive, Westlake Village, CA
91362 USA, and consists of approximately 30,900 square feet. The Company
is the primary lessee under a lease that has been extended five years and
expires in 2006, at an amount of approximately $30,000 per month, with a
5-year option. |
|
|
|
|
|
B. |
Regional
sales offices located in the U.S., leased at less than $1,000 per month,
at the following locations: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. |
One
Overlook Drive, Suite 8, Amherst, NH 03031 |
|
|
2. |
160-D
East Wend, Lemont, IL 60439 |
|
|
3. |
18430
Brookhurst Street, Suite 201A, Fountain Valley, CA
92708 |
|
|
4. |
199
Route 13, Brookline, NH 03033 |
|
|
|
|
|
C.
|
Industrial premises consisting of approximately
9,000 square feet and located at 5Fl. 501-16 Chung-Cheng Road, Hsin-Tien
City, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. These premises, owned by
Diodes-Taiwan, are used as a warehousing facility. |
|
|
|
|
|
D.
|
Industrial premises consisting of approximately
7,000 square feet and located at 2Fl. 501-15 Chung-Cheng Road, Hsin-Tien
City, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. These premises, owned by
Diodes-Taiwan, are used as sales and administrative
offices. |
|
|
|
|
|
E. |
Industrial
building located at No. 999 Chen Chun Road, Xingqiao Town, Songjiang
County, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. This building, consisting of
approximately 13,500 square meters, is the product distribution and
manufacturing facility for Diodes-China. The building is under a lease
that expires in 2017 from a company owned by the 5% joint venture partner
at a monthly rate of approximately $39,000 per month. |
|
|
|
|
|
F. |
Regional
offices located in Mainland China, leased at less than $2,000 per month,
at the following locations: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. |
Room
508, 1158 ChangNing Road, Shanghai, China |
|
|
2. |
Room
706, 7th Floor Cyber Tower B, TianAn Cyber Park, Futian District,
Shenzhen, China |
|
|
|
|
|
G. |
Industrial
building located at 777 N. Blue Parkway Suite 350, Lee's Summit, MO 64086
USA. Acquired in December 2000, Diodes-FabTech’s 5-inch wafer foundry
includes a 16,000 sq. ft. clean room within a 70,000 sq. ft. manufacturing
facility formerly owned by AT&T, under a lease that expires in 2009,
at an amount of approximately $120,000 per month. |
|
|
|
|
|
H. |
Industrial
building located at Number 102, 1st Floor, International Plaza, 20 Sheung
Yuet Road, Kowloon Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong. These premises are leased from
Lite-On Semiconductor, Ltd. at a rate of approximately $3,000 per month,
and are used as sales, warehousing and logistics
offices. |
|
|
|
|
|
I. |
Sales
and administrative offices located at 22, Avenue Paul Séjourné F-31000
Toulouse, France, leased at less than $1,000 per month. |
|
|
|
|
|
J. |
Industrial
building located at Plant No. 1, Lane 18, San Zhuang Road, Songjiang
Export Zone, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. This building,
consisting of approximately 6,900 square meters, is the product
distribution and manufacturing facility for Diodes-Shanghai. The building
is under a lease that expires in 2009 from a company owned by the 5% joint
venture partner at a monthly rate of approximately $24,000 per
month. |
The
Company believes its current facilities are adequate for the foreseeable future.
See Notes 3 and 12 of “Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.”
Item
3. Legal
Proceedings
The
Company is, from time to time, involved in litigation incidental to the conduct
of its business. The Company does not believe it is currently a party to any
pending litigation.
At
December 31, 2003, the Company had a $120,000 accrual on its balance sheet in
Accrued Liabilities in anticipation of a payment to settle an environmental
claim received in June 2000 relating to the period 1967 through 1973. During
March 2004, a $100,000 payment was accepted as settlement in full.
Item
4. Submission
of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
No matter
was submitted to a vote of security holders by the Company during the last three
months of the year ending December 31, 2004.
PART
II
Item
5. |
|
Market
for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer
Purchases of Equity
Securities. |
The
Company's Common Stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market ("Nasdaq") under
the symbol "DIOD." Until June 19, 2000, the Company’s Common Stock was traded on
the American Stock Exchange (“AMEX”) under the symbol "DIO." In July 2000 and
November 2003, the Company effected 50% stock dividends in the form of
three-for-two stock splits. The ex-dividend dates were July 14, 2000 and
November 26, 2003. The following table shows the range of high and low closing
sales prices per share, adjusted for the three-for-two stock splits, for the
Company's Common Stock for each fiscal quarter from January 1, 2003 as reported
by Nasdaq.
Calendar
Quarter
Ended |
|
Closing
Sales Price of
Common
Stock |
|
|
|
High |
|
Low |
|
First
quarter (through March 11) 2005 |
|
$ |
26.830 |
|
$ |
19.580 |
|
Fourth
quarter 2004 |
|
|
29.233 |
|
|
21.597 |
|
Third
quarter 2004 |
|
|
25.860 |
|
|
16.830 |
|
Second
quarter 2004 |
|
|
24.800 |
|
|
20.450 |
|
First
quarter 2004 |
|
|
25.166 |
|
|
19.013 |
|
Fourth
quarter 2003 |
|
|
20.600 |
|
|
13.867 |
|
Third
quarter 2003 |
|
|
16.053 |
|
|
12.100 |
|
Second
quarter 2003 |
|
|
14.360 |
|
|
7.180 |
|
First
quarter 2003 |
|
|
8.200 |
|
|
6.367 |
|
On March
9, 2005, the closing sales price of the Company’s Common Stock as reported by
Nasdaq was $26.11,
and there
were approximately 3,000 stockholders of record. Stockholders are urged to
obtain current market quotations for the Common Stock.
No cash
dividends have been declared or paid to stockholders during the past three
years, and the Company does not expect to declare cash dividends in the
foreseeable future. The payment of dividends is within the discretion of the
Company’s Board of Directors, and will depend upon, among other things, the
Company’s earnings, financial condition, capital requirements, and general
business conditions. In addition, the Company’s U.S. bank credit agreement
currently includes covenants restricting dividend payments. There have been no
stock repurchases in the Company’s history.
Item
6. Selected
Financial Data
The
following selected financial data for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2000
through 2004 is qualified in its entirety by, and should be read in conjunction
with, the other information and financial statements, including the notes
thereto, appearing elsewhere herein. Certain
amounts as presented in the accompanying financial statements have been
reclassified to conform to 2004 financial statement presentation. These
reclassifications had no impact on previously reported net income or
stockholders' equity.
(In
thousands, except per share data) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
Income
Statement Data |
|
2000 |
|
2001 |
|
2002 |
|
2003 |
|
2004 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
sales |
|
$ |
118,462 |
|
$ |
93,210 |
|
$ |
115,821 |
|
$ |
136,905 |
|
$ |
185,703 |
|
Gross
profit |
|
|
37,427 |
|
|
14,179 |
|
|
26,710 |
|
|
36,528 |
|
|
60,735 |
|
Selling,
general and administrative expenses |
|
|
18,814 |
|
|
13,711 |
|
|
16,228 |
|
|
19,586 |
|
|
23,503 |
|
Research
and development expenses |
|
|
141 |
|
|
592 |
|
|
1,472 |
|
|
2,049 |
|
|
3,422 |
|
Loss
on sale and impairment of fixed assets |
|
|
— |
|
|
8 |
|
|
43 |
|
|
1,037 |
|
|
14 |
|
Income
(loss) from operations |
|
|
18,472 |
|
|
(132 |
) |
|
8,967 |
|
|
13,856 |
|
|
33,796 |
|
Interest
expense, net |
|
|
940 |
|
|
2,074 |
|
|
1,183 |
|
|
860 |
|
|
637 |
|
Other
income (expense) |
|
|
501 |
|
|
785 |
|
|
67 |
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
(418 |
) |
Income
(loss) before taxes and minority interest |
|
|
18,033 |
|
|
(1,421 |
) |
|
7,851 |
|
|
12,991 |
|
|
32,741 |
|
Income
tax benefit (provision) |
|
|
(2,496 |
) |
|
1,769 |
|
|
(1,729 |
) |
|
(2,460 |
) |
|
(6,514 |
) |
Minority
interest in joint venture earnings |
|
|
(642 |
) |
|
(224 |
) |
|
(320 |
) |
|
(436 |
) |
|
(676 |
) |
Net
income |
|
|
14,895 |
|
|
124 |
|
|
5,802 |
|
|
10,095 |
|
|
25,551 |
|
Earnings
per share (1): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic |
|
$ |
1.23 |
|
$ |
0.01 |
|
$ |
0.47 |
|
$ |
0.79 |
|
$ |
1.91 |
|
Diluted |
|
$ |
1.08 |
|
$ |
0.01 |
|
$ |
0.44 |
|
$ |
0.70 |
|
$ |
1.65 |
|
Number
of shares used in computation (1): |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic |
|
|
12,107 |
|
|
12,216 |
|
|
12,277 |
|
|
12,731 |
|
|
13,404 |
|
Diluted |
|
|
13,833 |
|
|
13,321 |
|
|
13,297 |
|
|
14,406 |
|
|
15,471 |
|
|
|
As
of December 31, |
|
|
|
2000 |
|
2001 |
|
2002 |
|
2003 |
|
2004 |
|
Balance
Sheet Data |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
assets |
|
$ |
112,950 |
|
$ |
103,258 |
|
$ |
105,010 |
|
$ |
123,795 |
|
$ |
167,801 |
|
Working
capital |
|
|
17,291 |
|
|
19,798 |
|
|
20,830 |
|
|
27,154 |
|
|
49,571 |
|
Long-term
debt, net of current portion |
|
|
15,997 |
|
|
21,164 |
|
|
12,583 |
|
|
6,750 |
|
|
11,347 |
|
Stockholders’
equity |
|
|
51,253 |
|
|
51,124 |
|
|
57,679 |
|
|
71,450 |
|
|
112,148 |
|
(1)
Adjusted
for the effect of a 3-for-2 stock split in July 2000 and November
2003.
Item
7. Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations
The
following discussion of the Company’s financial condition and results of
operations should be read together with the consolidated financial statements
and the notes to consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this
Form 10-K. Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters
addressed in this Item 7 constitute “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. Forward-looking
statements may be identified by the use of the words such as “anticipate,”
“believe,” “continue,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “project,” “will”
and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties, including those discussed above under the
heading “Cautionary
Statement for Purposes of the “Safe Harbor” Provision of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995” and
elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, that could cause actual results to
differ materially from those anticipated by the Company’s management. The
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”) provides certain
“safe harbor” provisions for forward-looking statements. All forward-looking
statements made in this Annual Report on Form 10-K are made pursuant to the Act.
The Company does not undertake to update its forward-looking statements to
reflect actual events and outcomes or later events.
Overview
We sell a
wide variety of discrete semiconductor products, as well as silicon wafers used
in the manufacture of these products, primarily
to manufacturers in the communications, computing, industrial, consumer
electronics and automotive markets, and to distributors of electronic components
to end-customers in these markets. Our technologies include high density diode
and transistor arrays in multi-pin surface-mount packages; Powermite®3,
PowerDI5,
high-performance
surface-mount packages; performance Schottkys, switching and rectifier diodes;
single and dual pre-biased transistors; performance tight tolerance and low
current zener diodes; subminiature surface-mount packages; transient voltage
suppressors (TVS and TSPD); small signal transistors and MOSFETs; and standard,
fast, ultra-fast, and super-fast rectifiers.
Our
products are designed into a broad range of end-products such as notebook
computers, flat-panel displays, set-top boxes, game consoles, digital cameras,
cellular phones, PDAs, power supplies, security systems, network routers and
switches, as well as into automotive safety controls, GPS navigation, satellite
radios and audio/video players.
The
Company rapidly responds to the demands of the global marketplace by continuing
to increase its investment in research and development, and by focusing on
expanding its product portfolio and closely controlling product quality and
time-to-market. As a result of the Company shifting development priorities
toward specialized configurations, such as the Company’s high-density array
devices, the Company is introducing a range of new products that improve the
trade-off between size, performance and power consumption for surface-mount
packages.
The
majority (66% in 2004) of our sales are to major OEMs such as Intel Corporation,
Cisco Systems Incorporated, Sony Corporation, Nortel Networks Corporation,
Delphi Automotive, Bose Corporation, Scientific Atlanta Incorporated, Samsung
Electronics, Asustek Computer, Inc., Quanta and LG Electronics, Inc. Our
distribution network (34% of 2004 sales) includes major distributors such as
Arrow Electronics, Inc., Avnet, Inc., Digi-Key Corporation, Future Electronics
Ltd., Jaco Electronics, Inc., Reptron Electronics, Inc., and All American
Semiconductor, Inc.
Because
of the electronics industry trend towards moving manufacturing to lower
operating cost countries in Asia, the Company has focused primarily on customers
in China, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong. We sell to Asian customers (59% of 2004
sales) primarily through our wholly owned subsidiaries, Diodes-Taiwan and
Diodes-Hong Kong. The Asian discrete semiconductor market is the largest and
fastest growing market in which the Company participates. An increase in the
percentage of sales in Asia is expected as we have significantly increased our
sales presence there and believe there is greater potential to increase market
share in that region due to the expanding base of electronics product
manufacturers.
Our
corporate headquarters located just outside Los Angeles in Westlake Village,
California, which provides sales, marketing, engineering, logistics and
warehousing functions, sells
primarily to North American manufacturers and distributors (38% of 2004 sales).
Due to the manufacturing shift, the North American discrete semiconductor market
is now the smallest market and its growth rate is far less than all other
markets. The majority of our applications engineers are located in the U.S. in
order to work with the customers’ design engineers. Whether the end-application
is ultimately manufactured in the U.S. or in Asia, our world-wide sales
organization is well positioned to provide sales and support to the customer.
In order
to take advantage of the relatively robust European market, offices
in Toulouse, France
and Hattenheim, Germany support our European sales expansion (3% of 2004
sales).
Asian
sales are also generated from Shanghai
KaiHong Electronics Co., Ltd. (“Diodes-China” or “KaiHong”), and
Diodes-Shanghai, 95% owned
manufacturing facilities in Shanghai, China, with offices in Shanghai and
Shenzhen, China, as well as from FabTech Incorporated (“Diodes-FabTech” or
“FabTech”), a silicon wafer manufacturer acquired in December 2000 located near
Kansas City, Missouri.
Revenues
were derived from the following countries (All Others represents countries with
less than 8% of total revenues each) (in thousands):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2003 |
|
Revenue |
|
%
of
Total
Revenue |
|
2004 |
|
Revenue |
|
%
of
Total
Revenue |
|
United
States |
|
$ |
41,593 |
|
|
30.4 |
|
|
United
States |
|
$ |
53,204 |
|
|
28.6 |
|
Taiwan |
|
|
38,087
|
|
|
27.8 |
|
|
Taiwan |
|
|
50,716
|
|
|
27.3 |
|
China |
|
|
25,908
|
|
|
18.9 |
|
|
China |
|
|
44,311
|
|
|
23.9 |
|
Korea |
|
|
14,455
|
|
|
10.6 |
|
|
Korea |
|
|
16,447
|
|
|
8.9 |
|
All
Others |
|
|
16,862
|
|
|
12.3 |
|
|
All
Others |
|
|
21,025
|
|
|
11.3 |
|
Total |
|
$ |
136,905 |
|
|
100 |
|
|
Total |
|
$ |
185,703 |
|
|
100 |
|
Manufacturing
and Significant Vendors
Diodes-China
and Diodes-Shanghai, both located in Shanghai, China, are our 95% owned joint
venture manufacturing facilities. Since Diodes-China’s inception in 1995, we
have invested approximately $77 million in plant and state-of-the-art equipment
in China. Both factories manufactures product for sale by our U.S. and Asian
operations, and also sells to external customers as well.
At
Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai, silicon wafers are received and inspected in a
highly controlled “clean room” environment awaiting the assembly operation. At
the first step of assembly, the wafers are sawn with very thin, high speed
diamond blades into tiny semiconductor “dice”, numbering as many as 200,000 per
5” diameter wafer. Dice are then loaded onto a handler, which automatically
places the dice, one by one, onto lead frames, which are package specific, where
they are bonded to the lead frame pad. Next, automatic wire bonders make the
necessary electrical connections from the die to the leads of the lead frame,
using micro-thin gold wire. The fully automatic assembly machinery then molds
the epoxy case around the die and lead frame to produce the desired
semiconductor product. After a trim, form, test, mark and re-test operation, the
parts are placed into special carrier housings and a cover tape seals the parts
in place. The taped parts are then spooled onto reels and boxed for
shipment.
Acquired
from LSC in December 2000, our wafer foundry, Diodes-FabTech, is located in
Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Diodes-FabTech manufactures primarily 5-inch
silicon wafers, which are the building blocks for semiconductors. FabTech
purchases polished silicon wafers and then, by using various technologies and
patents, in conjunction with many chemicals and gases, fabricates several layers
on the wafers, including epitaxial silicon, ion implants, dielectrics and
metals, with various patterns. Depending upon these layers and the die size
(which is determined during the photolithography process and completed at the
customer’s packaging site where the wafer is sawn into square or rectangular
die), different types of wafers with various currents, voltages and switching
speeds are produced.
In 2004,
our largest external supplier of products was LSC, a related party.
Approximately 17.2% and 17.3% of our sales were from product manufactured by LSC
in 2004 and 2003, respectively. Also, in 2004 and 2003, approximately 3.5% and
4.6%, respectively of our sales were from product manufactured by companies
owned by Keylink International (a related party). In addition, sales of products
manufactured by Diodes-China and Diodes-FabTech, our manufacturing subsidiaries,
were approximately 49% and 20% in 2004, respectively, versus 39% and 23% in
2003, respectively. We anticipate that Diodes-China will become an increasingly
valuable supplier. No other manufacturer of discrete semiconductors accounted
for more than 4% and 9% of our sales in 2004 and 2003,
respectively.
All of
the raw materials we use in our manufacturing operations are available both
domestically and abroad. Although we believe alternative sources exist for the
products of any of our suppliers, the loss of any one of its principal suppliers
or the loss of several suppliers in a short period of time could have a
materially adverse effect on our financial statements until an alternate source
is located and has commenced providing such products or raw
materials.
Related
Parties
We
conduct business with two related party companies, LSC (and its
subsidiaries) and
Keylink International (formerly Xing International) (and its subsidiaries). LSC,
a 32.3% shareholder, is our largest shareholder, and Keylink International is
owned by our 5% joint venture partner in Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai. C.H.
Chen, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and a member of our Board of
Directors, is also Vice-Chairman of LSC. M.K. Lu, a member of our Board of
Directors, is President of LSC, while Raymond Soong, our Chairman of the Board,
is the Chairman of the Lite-On Group, a significant shareholder of
LSC.
In
addition to being our largest external supplier of products, in 2004, we sold
silicon wafers to LSC totaling 11.1% (10.7% in 2003) of our total sales, making
LSC our largest customer. The Company has a long-standing sales agreement where
the Company is the exclusive North American distributor for certain of LSC
product lines. In addition, the Company leases warehouse space from LSC for its
operations in Hong Kong. Such transactions are on terms no less favorable to the
Company than could be obtained from unaffiliated third parties. The Audit
Committee of the Board of Directors has approved the contracts related to the
transactions.
In
December 2000, the Company acquired the wafer foundry, FabTech, Inc., from LSC.
As part of the purchase price, at December 31, 2004, LSC holds a subordinated,
interest-bearing note for approximately $3.8 million. In May 2002, the Company
renegotiated the terms of the note to extend the payment period from two years
to four years, and therefore, monthly payments of approximately $208,000 plus
interest began in July 2002. In connection with the terms of the acquisition,
LSC entered into a volume purchase agreement to purchase wafers from FabTech. In
addition, as per the terms of the stock purchase agreement, the Company has
entered into several management incentive agreements with members of FabTech’s
management. The agreements provide members of FabTech’s management guaranteed
annual payments as well as contingent bonuses based on the annual profitability
of FabTech, subject to a maximum annual amount. Any
portion of the guaranteed and contingent liability paid by FabTech is
reimbursed by LSC. Year
2004 is the final year of the management incentive agreements, with final
payment due by March 31, 2005.
In
addition to the 3.5% of our sales of product manufactured
by companies owned by Keylink International, in 2004,
the Company sold silicon wafers to companies owned by Keylink International
totaling 0.9% (1.1% in 2003) of the Company’s total sales. In addition,
Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai both lease their manufacturing facilities from,
and subcontract a portion of its manufacturing process (metal plating and
environmental services) to Keylink International. The Company also pays a
consulting fee to Keylink International. Such transactions are on terms no less
favorable to the Company than could be obtained from unaffiliated third parties.
The Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has approved the contracts related
to the transactions.
Income
taxes
In
accordance with the current taxation policies of the People’s Republic of China
(PRC), Diodes-China received preferential tax treatment for the years ended
December 31, 1996 through 2004. Earnings were subject to 0% tax rates from 1996
through 2000, and 12% from 2001 through 2004. Due to a $15.0 million permanent
re-investment of Diodes-China earnings in 2004, earnings from 2005 through 2007
will continue to be taxed at 12% (one half the normal rate of
the local and central
government tax rate of
24%).
The
Company has received indications from the local taxing authority in Shanghai
that the tax holiday may be extended beyond 2003. It is not known whether the
taxing authority for the central government of the PRC will participate in this
extended tax holiday arrangement. Also due
to the permanent re-investment, the Company recorded a $1.2 million tax refund
(net of U.S. taxes) in the fourth quarter of 2004. Earnings
of Diodes-China are also subject to tax of 3% by the local taxing authority in
Shanghai. The local taxing authority waived this tax
from 2001
through 2004, and is expected to waive this tax in 2005, but can re-impose the
tax at its discretion. For
2004, Diodes-Shanghai’s effective tax rate was 15%. As an incentive for the
establishment of Diodes-Shanghai, beginning in 2005, earnings will be exempted
from income tax for two years. Then, beginning in 2007, earnings will be subject
to 50% of the standard 15% tax rate for the following three years.
Earnings
of Diodes-Taiwan are currently subject to a tax rate of 35%, which is comparable
to the U.S. Federal tax rate for C corporations. Earnings of Diodes-Hong Kong
are currently subject to a 17.5% tax for local sales and/or local source sales,
all other sales are foreign income tax-free.
In
accordance with United States tax law, the Company receives credit against its
U.S. Federal tax liability for corporate taxes paid in Taiwan and China. The
repatriation of funds from Taiwan and China to the Company may be subject to
state income taxes.
As of
December 31, 2004, accumulated and undistributed earnings of Diodes-China are
approximately $44.2 million, including $25.0 million of restricted earnings
(which are not available for dividends). Through March 31, 2002, the Company had
not recorded deferred U.S. Federal or state tax liabilities (estimated to be
$8.9 million as of March 31, 2002) on these cumulative earnings since the
Company, at that time, considered this investment to be permanent, and had no
plans or obligation to distribute all or part of that amount from China to the
United States. Beginning in April 2002, the Company began to record deferred
taxes on a portion of the earnings of Diodes-China in preparation of a dividend
distribution. In the year ended December 31, 2004, the Company received a
dividend of approximately $5.7 million from its Diodes-China subsidiary, for
which the tax effect is included in U.S. Federal and state taxable income. As of
December 31, 2004, the Company has recorded $2.0 million in deferred taxes on
the cumulative earnings of Diodes-China.
The
Company is evaluating the need to provide additional deferred taxes for the
future earnings of Diodes-China, Diodes-Shanghai, and Diodes-Hong Kong to the
extent such earnings may be appropriated for distribution to the Company’s
corporate office in North America, and as further investment strategies with
respect to foreign earnings are determined. Should the Company’s North American
cash requirements exceed the cash that is provided through the domestic credit
facilities, cash can be obtained from the Company’s foreign subsidiaries.
However, the distribution of any unappropriated funds to the U.S. will require
the recording of income tax provisions on the U.S. entity, thus reducing net
income.
On
October 22, 2004, the President of the United States signed the American Jobs
Creation Act (AJCA) into law. Originally intended to repeal the extraterritorial
income (ETI) exclusion, which had triggered tariffs by the European Union, the
AJCA expanded to cover a wide range of business tax issues. Among other items,
the AJCA establishes a
phased repeal of the ETI, a new incentive tax deduction for U.S. corporations to
repatriate cash from foreign subsidiaries at a reduced tax rate (a deduction
equal to 85% of cash dividends received in the year elected that exceeds a
base-period amount) and significantly revises the taxation of U.S. companies
doing business abroad.
At
December 31, 2004, the Company made a minimum estimate for repatriating cash
from its subsidiaries in China and Hong Kong of $8.0 million under the AJCA, and
recorded an income tax expense of approximately $1.3 million. Under the
guidelines of the AJCA, the Company will develop a required domestic
reinvestment plan, covering items such as U.S. bank debt repayment, U.S. capital
expenditures and U.S. research and development activities, among others, to
cover the $8.0 million minimum dividend repatriation. In addition, the Company
will complete a quantitative analysis of the benefits of the AJCA, the foreign
tax credit implications, and state and local tax consequences of a dividend to
maximize the tax benefits of a 2005 dividend.
Available
Information
Our
website address is http://www.diodes.com. We make
available, free of charge through our website, our Annual Reports on Form 10-K,
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements,
and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or
15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after such material
is electronically filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange
Commission (“the SEC”).
Our
filings may also be read and copied at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 450
Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549. Information on the operation of the
Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The
SEC also maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information
statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically
with the SEC. The address of that site is www.sec.gov.
To
support our global customer-base, particularly in Asia and Europe, our website
is language-selectable into English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and German,
giving us an effective marketing tool for worldwide markets. With its extensive
online Product (Parametric) Catalog with advanced search capabilities, our
website facilitates quick and easy product selection. Our website provides easy
access to worldwide sales contacts and customer support, and incorporates a
distributor-inventory check to provide component inventory availability and a
small order desk for overnight sample fulfillment. Our
website also provides access to current and complete investor financial
information and corporate governance information including our Code of Business
Conduct, as well as SEC filings and press releases, as well as stock
quotes.
Critical
Accounting Policies and Estimates
The
preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make
estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and
liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of
the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses
during the reporting period. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates,
including those related to revenue recognition, allowance for doubtful accounts,
inventory reserves and income taxes, among others. Our estimates are based upon
historical experiences, market trends and financial forecasts and projections,
and upon various other assumptions that management believes to be reasonable
under the circumstances and at that certain point in time. Actual results may
differ, significantly at times, from these estimates under different assumptions
or conditions.
We
believe the following critical accounting policies and estimates affect the
significant estimates and judgments we use in the preparation of our
consolidated financial statements, and may involve a higher degree of judgment
and complexity than others.
Revenue
Recognition
Revenue
is recognized when there is persuasive
evidence that an arrangement exists, when delivery has occurred, when our price
to the buyer is fixed or determinable and when collectibility of the receivable
is reasonably assured. These elements are met when
title to the products is passed to the buyers, which is generally when our
product is shipped to both original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and
electronics component distributors.
We reduce
revenue in the period of sale for estimates of product returns, distributor
price adjustments and other allowances, the majority of which are related to our
North American operations. Our reserve estimates are based upon historical data
as well as projections of revenues, distributor inventories, price adjustments,
average selling prices and market conditions. Actual returns and adjustments
could be significantly different from our estimates and provisions, resulting in
an adjustment to revenues.
Inventory
Reserves
Inventories
are stated at the lower of cost or market value. Cost is determined principally
by the first-in, first-out method. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our
inventory, both finished goods and raw material, for obsolescence and
slow-moving items. This evaluation includes analysis of sales levels, sales
projections, and purchases by item, as well as raw material usage related to our
manufacturing facilities. Based upon this analysis, as well as an inventory
aging analysis, we accrue a reserve for obsolete and slow-moving inventory. If
future demand or market conditions are different than our current estimates, an
inventory adjustment may be required, and would be reflected in cost of goods
sold in the period the revision is made.
Accounting
for Income Taxes
As part
of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are
required to estimate our income taxes in each of the tax jurisdictions in which
we operate. This process involves using an asset and liability approach whereby
deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded for differences in the
financial reporting bases and tax bases of the Company's assets and liabilities.
Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for
income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities. Management continually
evaluates its deferred tax asset as to whether it is likely that the deferred
tax assets will be realized. If management ever determined that its deferred tax
asset was not likely to be realized, a write-down of the asset would be required
and would be reflected as an expense in the accompanying period.
Allowance
for Doubtful Accounts
Management
evaluates the collectability of our accounts receivable based upon a combination
of factors, including the current business environment and historical
experience. If we are aware of a customer’s inability to meet its financial
obligations to us, we record an allowance to reduce the receivable to the amount
we reasonably believe we will be able to collect from the customer. For all
other customers, we record an allowance based upon the amount of time the
receivables are past due. If actual accounts receivable collections differ from
these estimates, an adjustment to the allowance may be necessary with a
resulting effect on operating expense.
Impairment
of Long-lived Assets
As of
December 31, 2004, goodwill was $5.1 million ($4.2 million related to the
FabTech acquisition, and $0.9 million related to Diodes-China). Beginning in
fiscal 2002 with the adoption of SFAS No. 142 (“Goodwill and Other Intangible
Assets”), goodwill is no longer amortized, but instead tested for impairment at
least annually. As a result of the Company’s adoption of SFAS No.
142, an
independent appraiser hired by the Company performed the required impairment
tests of goodwill annually and has determined that the goodwill is fully
recoverable.
We assess
the impairment of long-lived assets, including goodwill, on an ongoing basis and
whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may
not be recoverable. Our impairment review process is based upon (i) an income
approach from a discounted cash flow analysis, which uses our estimates of
revenues, costs and expenses, as well as market growth rates, and (ii) a market
multiples approach which measures the value of an asset through an analysis of
recent sales or offerings or comparable public entities. If ever the carrying
value of the goodwill is determined to be less than the fair value of the
underlying asset, a write-down of the asset will be required, with the resulting
expense charged in the period that the impairment was determined.
Results
of Operations
The
following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the percentage that
certain items in the statement of income bear to net sales and the percentage
dollar increase (decrease) of such items from period to period.
|
|
Percent
of Net Sales |
|
Percentage
Dollar Increase (Decrease) |
|
|
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
Year
Ended December 31, |
|
|
2000 |
|
2001 |
|
2002 |
|
2003 |
|
2004 |
|
|
‘00
to ‘01 |
|
‘01
to ‘02 |
|
‘02
to ‘03 |
|
‘03
to ‘04 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
sales |
|
|
100.0
|
% |
|
100.0
|
% |
|
100.0
|
% |
|
100.0
|
% |
|
100.0
|
% |
|
|
(19.7)
|
% |
|
24.3
|
% |
|
18.2
|
% |
|
35.6
|
% |
Cost
of goods sold |
|
|
(67.8 |
) |
|
(84.8 |
) |
|
(76.9 |
) |
|
(73.3 |
) |
|
(67.3 |
) |
|
|
0.5 |
|
|
12.8 |
|
|
12.6 |
|
|
24.5 |
|
Gross
profit |
|
|
32.2 |
|
|
15.2 |
|
|
23.1 |
|
|
26.7 |
|
|
32.7 |
|
|
|
(62.1 |
) |
|
88.4 |
|
|
36.8 |
|
|
66.3 |
|
Operating
expenses
(1) |
|
|
(16.3 |
) |
|
(15.4 |
) |
|
(15.4 |
) |
|
(16.6 |
) |
|
(14.5 |
) |
|
|
(24.5 |
) |
|
24.0 |
|
|
27.8 |
|
|
18.8 |
|
Income
(loss) from operations |
|
|
15.9 |
|
|
(0.2 |
) |
|
7.7 |
|
|
10.1 |
|
|
18.2 |
|
|
|
(100.7 |
) |
|
6,893.2 |
|
|
54.5 |
|
|
143.9 |
|
Interest
expense, net |
|
|
(0.8 |
) |
|
(2.2 |
) |
|
(1.0 |
) |
|
(0.6 |
) |
|
(0.3 |
) |
|
|
120.6 |
|
|
(43.0 |
) |
|
(27.3 |
) |
|
(25.9 |
) |
Other
income |
|
|
0.4 |
|
|
0.8 |
|
|
(0.1 |
) |
|
0.0 |
|
|
(0.2 |
) |
|
|
56.7 |
|
|
(91.5 |
) |
|
(107.5 |
) |
|
8,260.0 |
|
Income
(loss) before taxes and minority
interest |
|
|
15.5 |
|
|
(1.6 |
) |
|
6.8 |
|
|
9.5 |
|
|
17.7 |
|
|
|
(107.9 |
) |
|
652.5 |
|
|
65.5 |
|
|
152.0 |
|
Income
tax benefit (provision) |
|
|
(2.2 |
) |
|
1.9 |
|
|
(1.5 |
) |
|
(1.8 |
) |
|
(3.5 |
) |
|
|
(29.1 |
) |
|
(2.3 |
) |
|
42.3 |
|
|
164.8 |
|
Minority
interest |
|
|
(0.6 |
) |
|
(0.2 |
) |
|
(0.3 |
) |
|
(0.3 |
) |
|
(0.4 |
) |
|
|
(65.1 |
) |
|
42.9 |
|
|
36.3 |
|
|
54.9 |
|
Net
income |
|
|
12.7 |
|
|
0.1 |
|
|
5.0 |
|
|
7.4 |
|
|
13.8 |
|
|
|
(99.2 |
) |
|
4,578.9 |
|
|
74.0 |
|
|
153.1 |
|
(1)
Operating expenses include loss on sale and impairment of fixed assets of
$43,000, $1,037,000 and $14,000 in 2002, 2003 and 2004,
respectively.
The
following discussion explains in greater detail the consolidated financial
condition of the Company. This discussion should be read in conjunction with the
consolidated financial statements and notes thereto appearing elsewhere herein.
Earnings per share discussion reflects three-for-two stock split in November
2003. All per share amounts have been adjusted to reflect the stock
split.
Year
2004 Compared to Year 2003
Net sales
for 2004 increased $48.8 million to $185.7 million from $136.9 million for 2003.
The 35.6% increase was due primarily to an approximately 40.0% increase in units
sold as a result of increased demand for the Company’s products, as well as a
more favorable pricing environment compared to 2003. In 2004, average selling
prices (“ASPs”) for discrete products increased approximately 1% while ASPs for
wafers fell approximately 9%; consequently, overall ASPs decreased approximately
3% from 2003.
Cost of
goods sold increased $24.6 million, or 24.5%, for 2004 compared to 2003. As a
percent of sales, cost of goods sold decreased from 73.3% for 2003 to 67.3% for
2004. The
Company’s average unit cost (“AUP”) for discrete devices decreased approximately
7% from 2003, and AUPs for wafer products decreased approximately 12%. These
cost decreases were due primarily to improved manufacturing
efficiencies.
Gross
profit for 2004 increased 66.3% to $60.7 million from $36.5 million for 2003. Of
the $24.2 million increase, $13.0 million was due to the 600 basis point
increase in gross profit margin from 26.7% in 2003 to 32.7% in 2004, while $11.2
million was due to the 35.6% increase in net sales. Gross profit increases in
Asia were the primary contributor to the gross profit increase in 2004. Gross
profit margin in the both the third and fourth quarter of 2004 increased to
33.9% due to enhanced capacity utilization, continuing manufacturing
efficiencies, relatively stable pricing, and a product mix that continues to
shift towards higher-value performance discretes and arrays.
For 2004,
selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) increased $3.9 million
to $23.5 million from $19.6 million for 2003. The 20.0% increase in SG&A was
due primarily to higher sales commissions, incentives, marketing and royalty
expenses associated with the 35.6% increase in sales, and higher labor and
benefit expenses. Also contributing to the increased SG&A were higher
corporate and administrative expenses, including legal and accounting fees
associated with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. However, as a percentage of sales,
SG&A decreased to 12.7% for 2004 from 14.3% last year.
Research
and development expenses (“R&D”) increased to $3.4 million, or 1.8% of
sales, in 2004 from $2.0 million, or 1.5% of sales, in 2003. R&D expenses
are primarily related to new product development at the silicon wafer level,
and, to a lesser extent, at the packaging level. We continue to seek to hire
qualified engineers who fit our focus on next-generation discrete processes and
packaging technologies. Our goal is to expand R&D to 3% of revenue as we
bring proprietary technology and advanced devices to the market.
Net
interest expense for 2004 decreased $223,000 to $637,000 from $860,000 in 2003,
due primarily to a decrease in the use of the Company’s credit facilities, as
well as lower interest rates. In 2004,
the Company paid down $5.4 million on its credit facilities, reducing the
balance from $17.5 million to $12.0 million.
Other
expense for 2004 increased $413,000 compared to last year, primarily due to
approximately $400,000 in currency exchange losses related to the weakened U.S.
dollar, primarily versus the Taiwan dollar recorded in the fourth quarter of
2004.
The
effective tax rate in 2004 was 19.9% compared to 18.9% in 2003. The Company
recorded a provision for income taxes in the amount of $6.5 million for the year
2004, compared to $2.5 million for 2003. Included in the tax provision in 2004
is $1.3 million in deferred taxes recorded in the fourth quarter for a minimum
$8 million planned foreign dividend distribution in 2005 under the American Jobs
Creation Act of 2004, offset by a $1.2 million foreign investment tax refund
(net of U.S. taxes), and a $0.5 million research and development tax
credit.
The
minority interest in joint venture represents the minority investor’s share of
the Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai joint venture’s income for the period. The
increase in the joint venture earnings for 2004 is primarily the result of
increased sales of higher margin products. The joint
venture investment is eliminated in consolidation of the Company’s financial
statements, and the activities of Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai are included
therein. As of December
31, 2004,
the
Company had a 95% controlling interest in the joint ventures.
The
Company generated net income of $25.6 million (or $1.91 basic earnings per share
and $1.65 diluted earnings per share) in 2004, as compared to $10.1 million (or
$0.79 basic earnings per share and $0.70 diluted earnings per share) for 2003.
This 153% increase is due primarily to the 35.6% sales increase at gross profit
margins of 32.7% compared to gross profit margins of 26.7% in 2003.
Year
2003 Compared to Year 2002
Net sales
for 2003 increased $21.1 million to $136.9 million from $115.8 million for 2002.
The 18.2% increase was due primarily to a 19.5% increase in units sold as a
result of increased demand for the Company’s products, as well as a more
favorable pricing environment compared to 2002. In 2003, average selling prices
ASPs for discrete products increased 4% while ASPs for wafers fell 7%;
consequently, overall ASPs decreased 1%.
Gross
profit for 2003 increased 36.8% to $36.5 million from $26.7 million for 2002. Of
the $9.8 million increase, $5.0 million was due to the increase in gross profit
margin from 23.1% in 2002 to 26.7% in 2003, while $4.8 million was due to the
18.2% increase in net sales. Gross profit increases in Asia were the primary
contributor to the gross profit increase in 2003. Gross profit margin in the
fourth quarter of 2003 increased to 29.5% due to increased capacity utilization,
continuing manufacturing efficiencies, relatively stable pricing, and a product
mix that continues to shift towards higher-value performance discretes and
arrays.
For 2003,
selling, general and administrative expenses (“SG&A”) increased $3.4 million
to $19.6 million from $16.2 million for 2002. The 20.7% increase in SG&A was
due primarily to higher sales commissions associated with the 18.2% increase in
sales, and higher labor benefits expenses. Also contributing to the increased
SG&A were higher corporate and administrative expenses, including legal and
accounting fees associated with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance. SG&A, as a
percentage of sales, increased to 14.3% for 2002 from 14.0% last
year.
R&D
expenses increased to $2.0 million, or 1.5% of sales, in 2003 from $1.5 million,
or 1.3% of sales, in 2002. R&D expenses are primarily related to new product
development at the silicon wafer level, and, to a lesser extent, at the
packaging level.
In 2003,
operating profit margins were negatively affected by a $1.0 million reserve for
fixed asset impairment, primarily as a result of the re-engineering of our wafer
production lines. During the year, we took advantage of opportunities to
purchase more efficient equipment at discounts. As a result, we retired
un-depreciated equipment that was replaced.
Net
interest expense for 2003 decreased $323,000 to $860,000 from $1.2 million in
2002, due primarily to a decrease in the use of the Company’s credit facilities,
as well as lower interest rates. In 2003,
the Company paid down $5.8 million on its long-term debt, reducing the balance,
net of current portion from $12.6 million to $6.8 million.
Other
expense for 2003 increased $72,000 compared to last year, primarily due to the
discontinuance of income Diodes-FabTech was receiving from an external company’s
use of its testing facilities in 2002, a decrease in high-technology grant
income received at Diodes-China in 2003, and currency exchange losses primarily
in Asia in 2003, partly offset by a severance payment in accordance with the
terms of a separation agreement in 2002, as well as the reduction in the expense
recorded for the management incentive agreement at Diodes-FabTech in
2003.
The
effective tax rate in 2003 was 18.9% compared to 22.0% in 2002, due primarily to
a higher
proportion of income earned by our Asian subsidiaries in lower tax
jurisdictions. The Company is benefiting from its Diodes-Hong Kong subsidiary,
established in 2002, not only due to its lower tax rates, but also as another
entry point into the Asia market. The Company recorded a provision for income
taxes in the amount of $2.5 million for the year 2003, compared to $1.7 million
for 2002. Included in the tax provision in 2003 is $840,000 in deferred taxes
recorded for a portion of the 2003 earnings at Diodes-China, and $200,000 for a
portion of the 2003 earnings at Diodes-Hong Kong.
The
minority interest in joint venture represents the minority investor’s share of
the Diodes-China joint venture’s income for the period. The increase in the
joint venture earnings for 2003 is primarily the result of increased sales.
The joint
venture investment is eliminated in consolidation of the Company’s financial
statements, and the activities of Diodes-China are included therein. As of
December
31, 2003,
the
Company had a 95% controlling interest in the joint venture.
The
Company generated net income of $10.1 million (or $0.79 basic earnings per share
and $0.70 diluted earnings per share) in 2003, as compared to $5.8 million (or
$0.47 basic earnings per share and $0.44 diluted earnings per share) for 2002.
This 74.0% increase is due primarily to the 18.2% sales increase at gross profit
margins of 26.7% compared to gross profit margins of 23.1% in 2002.
Financial
Condition
Liquidity
and Capital Resources
The
Company’s liquidity requirements arise from the funding of its working capital
needs, primarily inventory, work-in-process and accounts receivable, as well as
capital expenditures. The Company’s primary sources for working capital and
capital expenditures are cash flow from operations and borrowings under the
Company’s bank credit facilities. Any withdrawal of support from its banks could
have adverse consequences on the Company’s liquidity. The Company’s liquidity
depends, in part, on customers paying within credit terms, and any extended
delays in payments or changes in credit terms given to major customers may have
an impact on the Company’s cash flow. In addition, any abnormal product returns
or pricing adjustments may also affect the Company’s source of short-term
funding.
At
December 31, 2004 the Company had cash and cash equivalents totaling $19.0
million, an increase of $6.1 million from December 31, 2003. Cash
provided by operating activities in 2004 was $29.3 million compared to $18.8
million in 2003 and $20.0 million in 2002. The primary sources of cash flows
from operating activities in 2004 were net income of $25.6 million and
depreciation and amortization of $13.2 million. The primary sources in 2003 were
depreciation and amortization of $11.1 million and net income of $10.1 million.
The primary sources of cash flows from operating activities in 2002 were
depreciation and amortization of $9.7 million and net income of $5.8 million.
The primary use of cash flows from operating activities in 2004 was an increase
in accounts receivable of $13.2 million and an increase of inventory of $6.1
million. The primary use of cash flows from operating activities in 2003 was an
increase in accounts receivable of $8.5 million. The primary use of cash flows
from operating activities in 2002 was an increase in accounts receivable of $4.8
million.
For the
year ended December 31, 2004, accounts receivable increased 43.2% compared to
the 35.6% increase in sales, as days sales outstanding increased from 70 to 82
days due primarily to a trend in longer payment terms, primarily from Far East
customers as well as major distributors. The Company continues to closely
monitor its credit terms, while at times providing extended terms as required.
The ratio
of the Company’s current assets to current liabilities on December 31, 2004 was
2.16 to 1, compared to a ratio of 1.67 to 1 and 1.69 to 1 as of December 31,
2003 and 2002, respectively.
Cash used
by investing activities was $26.1 million in 2004, compared to $15.3 million in
2003 and $6.8 million in 2002. The primary investments were for additional
manufacturing equipment and expansion at the Diodes-China and Diodes-Shanghai
manufacturing facilities, and to a
lesser extent, for capacity increases at Diodes-FabTech.
On
December 1, 2000, the Company purchased all the outstanding capital stock of
FabTech Incorporated, a 5-inch wafer foundry located in Lee’s Summit, Missouri
from Lite-On Semiconductor Corporation (“LSC”), the Company’s largest
stockholder. The acquisition purchase price consisted of approximately $5
million in cash plus FabTech was obligated to repay an aggregate of
approximately $19 million of debt, consisting of (i) an approximately $13.6
million note payable to LSC, (ii) an approximately $2.6 million note payable to
the Company, and (iii) an approximately $3.0 million note payable to a financial
institution (which was repaid on December 4, 2000 with the proceeds of a
capital contribution by the Company). The acquisition was financed internally
and through bank credit facilities.
In June
2001, according to the Company’s U.S. bank covenants, Diodes-FabTech was not
permitted to make regularly scheduled principal and interest payments to LSC on
the remaining $10.0 million payable related to the FabTech acquisition note, but
was, however, able to renegotiate with LSC the terms of the note. Under the
terms of the amended and restated subordinated promissory note, payments of
approximately $417,000 plus interest were scheduled to begin again in July 2002,
provided the Company met the terms of its U.S. bank’s covenants. In May 2002,
the Company renegotiated the terms of the note with LSC to extend the payment
period from two years to four years, and accordingly, monthly payments of
approximately $208,000 plus interest began in July 2002.
Cash
provided by financing activities was $2.2 million in 2004, compared to $1.9
million in 2003, and cash used by financing activities of $14.0 million in 2002.
The primary source of cash in 2004 was the receipt of $5.8 million from stock
option exercises. At December 31, 2004, the Company’s
total bank credit facility of $46.5 million encompasses one major U.S. bank,
three banks in Mainland China and five in Taiwan. As of December 31, 2004, the
total credit lines were $12.5 million, $25.0 million, and $9.0 million, for the
U.S. facility secured by substantially all assets, the unsecured Chinese
facilities, and the unsecured Taiwanese facilities, respectively. As of December
31, 2004, the available credit was $5.1 million, $19.0 million, and $9.0
million, for the U.S. facility, the Chinese facilities, and the Taiwanese
facilities, respectively.
In
February 2003, the Company and its U.S. bank renewed its $7.5 million revolving
credit line, extending it for two years. In July 2004, Diodes-FabTech obtained a
$5.0 million credit facility to be used for capital expenditure requirements at
its wafer fabrication facility. This $5.0 million facility brought the Company’s
total credit facility to $46.5 million, with the total available and unused
credit at December 31, 2004 of $32.3 million.
The
credit agreements have certain covenants and restrictions, which, among other
matters, require the maintenance of certain financial ratios and operating
results, as defined in the agreements, and prohibit the payment of dividends.
The Company was in compliance with its covenants as of December 31,
2004.
The
Company has used its credit facilities primarily to fund the capacity expansion
at Diodes-China or Diodes-Shanghai and to a lesser extent Diodes-FabTech, as
well as for the FabTech acquisition, and to support all operations. The Company
believes that the continued availability of these credit facilities, together
with internally generated funds, will be sufficient to meet the Company’s
current foreseeable operating cash requirements.
The
Company had entered into an interest rate swap agreement with a major U.S. bank
which expired November 30, 2004, to hedge its exposure to variability in
expected future cash flows resulting from interest rate risk related to a
portion of its long-term debt. The interest rate under the swap agreement was
fixed at 6.8% and is based on the notional amount. The swap contract was
inversely correlated to the related hedged long-term debt and was therefore
considered an effective cash flow hedge of the underlying long-term debt. The
level of effectiveness of the hedge is measured by the changes in the market
value of the hedged long-term debt resulting from fluctuation in interest rates.
As a matter of policy, the Company does not enter into derivative transactions
for trading or speculative purposes.
Total
working capital increased 82.68% to $49.6 million as of December 31, 2004, from
$27.2 million as of December 31, 2003. The Company believes that such working
capital position will be sufficient for foreseeable operations and growth
opportunities. The Company’s total debt to equity ratio improved to 0.50 at
December 31, 2004, from 0.73 at December 31, 2003. It is anticipated that this
ratio may increase should the Company use its credit facilities to fund
additional inventory sourcing opportunities.
The
Company has no material plans or commitments for capital expenditures other than
in connection with manufacturing expansion at Diodes-China, Diodes-Shanghai and
Diodes-FabTech. However, to ensure that the Company can secure reliable and cost
effective inventory sourcing to support and better position itself for growth,
the Company is continuously evaluating additional internal manufacturing
expansion, as well as additional outside sources of products. The Company
believes its financial position will
provide
sufficient funds should an appropriate investment opportunity arise and thereby,
assist the Company in improving customer satisfaction and in maintaining or
increasing market share. Based upon plans for new product introductions, product
mixes, capacity restraints on certain product lines and equipment upgrades, the
Company anticipates that year 2005 capital expenditures for the manufacturing
facilities will be $12-16 million.
Off-Balance
Sheet Arrangements
The
Company does not have any transactions, arrangements and other relationships
with unconsolidated entities that will affect our liquidity or capital
resources. We have no special purpose entities that provided off-balance sheet
financing, liquidity or market or credit risk support, nor do we engage in
leasing, hedging (except for the interest rate swap agreement), or
research and development services, that could expose us to liability that is not
reflected on the face of the financial statements.
Contractual
Obligations
The
following table represents the Company’s contractual obligations as of December
31, 2004: