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DGAP-Ad-hoc: Dialog Semiconductor Plc.: Dialog Semiconductor Reports Fourth Quarter and Year Ended 31 December 2009 Results


Dialog Semiconductor Plc. / Final Results

11.02.2010 07:30

Dissemination of an Ad hoc announcement according to § 15 WpHG, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.


Company reports revenue in 2009 of $217.6 million, achieving 34.5% growth over 2008

Kirchheim/Teck, Germany, 11th February 2010 - Dialog Semiconductor plc (FWB: DLG), a leading provider of Power Management Semiconductor solutions today reports results for Q4 and the audited financial year ended 31st December 2009.

Q4 and Financial Year 2009 Financial Highlights
- Revenue for Q4 2009 was $77.6 million, an increase of 31.4% over the prior quarter and 49.5% on Q4 2008. For the financial year, revenue was $217.6 million representing an increase of 34.5% over 2008.
- Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash increased in Q4 2009 by $76.8 million to stand at $123.1 million, an increase of $86.2 million over the prior year period, including $59.7 million from an equity     offering in September 2009.

- Further improvement in net income in Q4 2009 with a net income of $19.9 million or 25.6% of revenue. For the financial year, net income was $32.7 million or 15.0% of revenue, including the positive impact of a     $7.5 million deferred tax asset.

- For the financial year 2009, gross margin was 44.9%, representing an increase of 6.2 percentage points year over year, including the benefit of an exceptional cash settlement of $2.3 million in Q2 2009.
- Q4 2009 diluted and basic earnings per share of 31 cents and 34 cents respectively. For the financial year 2009, diluted and basic earnings per share of 60 cents and 67 cents respectively.
Q4 and Financial Year 2009 Operational Highlights
- Continued Power Management design wins within the smartphone market segment, with 2009 seeing the ramp of high volume designs in several     industry leaders' products.

- Success within the emerging 3G Android smartphone segment with the first design win announced in Q4 2009 with LG for China Mobile.
- Adoption of our 3G/HSPA Power Management technology in convergent     devices including ebooks and netbooks.

- Platform partnership announced with NEC Electronics(R) based on NEC Emma Mobile(TM) processor and Dialog's Configurable Power Management     standard product

- Entrance in 2009 to the portable audio market with industry's lowest     power solution.

- Strategic partnership with Intel(R) and first design wins in 2009 for Power Management companion products for Atom(TM) processors.
- Increased demand from Automotive and Industrial segment during Q4 2009
- Winners of Global semiconductor association and Elektras's European     fabless company awards for 2009.




Information and Explaination of the Issuer to this News:
Commenting on the results Dialog Chief Executive, Dr Jalal Bagherli, said:
'2009 was a very successful year for Dialog where we led the industry and continued to grow. We focused our efforts on solidifying our position as the leading Power Management IC provider to the industry's leading smartphone manufacturers, 3G/HSPA cellphones and portable media devices while delivering strong revenue growth and improved profitability through the economic downturn. We also reinforced our customer relationships and strengthened our already robust balance sheet.

'As a leader in portable power management integrated technology, we are now a highly credible partner worldwide for delivering and extending the battery efficiency of portable devices. With our current design wins, and a pipeline of innovative new products, leading to further design win opportunities, we are very encouraged by our long-term growth prospects as energy efficiency assumes an ever increasing importance in product design.'
FINANCIAL OVERVIEW

Revenue in Q4 2009 was $77.6 million, a sequential increase of 31.4% on the $59.1 million of revenue delivered in the Q3 2009 and an increase of 49.5% over the $51.9 million in the comparative period last year. For the financial year 2009, revenue was $217.6 million: an increase of 34.5% over 2008, where revenue was $161.8 million.

Gross margin in Q4 was 48.0%. This represents an increase of 5.9 percentage points over the 42.1% in the comparative period last year, demonstrating operational leverage from much higher volumes. For the financial year 2009, the gross margin was 44.9% representing an increase of 6.2 percentage points over the gross margin of 38.7% registered in 2008. Excluding the effect of the $2.3 million cash settlement from the BenQ insolvency received in Q2 2009, gross margin for 2009 would have been 44.4%.
The growth in revenue led to further improvement in our operating profit during Q4 2009. Operating profit in Q4 2009 was $14.2 million or 18.3% of total revenues compared to $9.6 million or 16.3% of total revenues in the prior quarter. For the full year 2009, our operating profit grew by $22.7 million from $6.0 million in 2008 to $28.7 million in 2009, representing 13.2% of total revenue.

The net tax credit of $3.9 million for the year ended 31 December 2009 includes a one-off benefit of $7.5 million - or 14 cents per diluted share, being the recognition of a proportion of the deferred tax assets principally relating to carried forward losses. The current year taxable profits also benefit from the utilisation of brought forward tax losses leaving a residual minimum level tax charge mainly applying to taxable profits in Germany. Going forward and on a quarterly basis, we will consider whether it is appropriate to continue to recognise further currently unrecognised deferred tax assets.

In Q4 2009, our ninth consecutive quarter of profitability, net income was $19.9 million or 31 cents per diluted share (34 cents per basic share). This compares to a net income level of $8.8 million or 18 cents per diluted share (19 cents per basic share) delivered in the prior quarter and to a net income of $4.6 million or 10 cents per share (basic and diluted) in the fourth quarter of 2008. For the 2009 financial year, net income was $32.7 million or 60 cents per diluted share (67 cents per basic share), compared to $6.8 million and earnings per share of 15 cents recorded in 2008 (basic and diluted).

At 31 December 2009, we had a cash, restricted cash and cash equivalents balance of $123.1 million, with no debt. This represents an increase of $76.8 million over the cash and securities balance of the prior quarter and $86.2 million for the financial year. Of this increase, $33.2 million was generated from operations during the year and $59.7 million originates from the Company's successful international equity offering which closed in September 2009, where 12 million ordinary shares were issued at a price of EUR3.65.

At the end of Q4 2009, our inventory was $26.2million, almost flat compared to the prior quarter despite total revenues increasing by 34.5%. This demonstrates our capacity to tightly manage our supply chain.
OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW

Wireless Segment: 

Our design win success with cellphone customers for Power Management continued in 2009 as we expanded our customer base to now number more than 10: including major design wins in smartphones and 3G/HSPA enabled cellphones. Additionally, our 3G/HSPA modem platform solution and power management technology is also now being successfully adopted in ebook, netbook and other convergent portable devices; markets which we believe represent new growth areas for Dialog in the future.
Transition of our portfolio to a balance of standard and custom devices also continued in 2009 where we launched new standard product families which will provide us with a platform on which to accelerate further diversification. These include programmable power management devices which revolutionize the way analog designers can design and configure their systems. Additionally, we have sampled with customers the first devices from a family of new ultra low power audio products which are currently under development, setting a new benchmark in the industry for lowest power consumption.

Our Smartxtend(TM) passive matrix OLED developments remain on track for industry adoption within the portable device and cellphone markets. In 2009, we continued to develop the technology and, by the end of Q4 2009, had sampled our first optimised product with our OLED module partners for product development and evaluation. This technology delivers a strong value proposition over traditional TFT LCD displays and competing active matrix OLED technologies. Dialog also maintains its early leadership in e-paper/e-ink display based products, winning designs during the year in innovative portable applications.

We continue to execute on our strategy to strengthen technology leadership and in February 2010 - post year end - we purchased complimentary power management technology from Diodes Zetex GmbH. As part of this transaction, Dialog has also acquired specific Diodes intellectual property rights and an employee team located in Munich, Germany.

Automotive and Industrial Segment: 

2009 was a difficult year for our Automotive and Industrial segment, with the global economic crisis having a marked effect on the automotive industry, affecting sharply our automotive revenue early in the year. However, some pick-up did begin to take place later in the year and our shipments recovered to near historical levels. This is a dynamic we see continuing into 2010.

The transition to increasing use of energy saving lighting, including LEDs, is also providing an opportunity for Dialog to further build on its existing lighting business for the future. To capitalize on this opportunity, during 2009 we announced a joint development centre in Austria with TridonicAtco - a leader in lighting.

Additionally, to support the increasingly popular Intel(R) Atom(TM) processors, we provide very high integrated power management and clocking companion devices for Automotive Infotainment and Embedded Industrial processor applications. During 2009, we shipped the first samples and announced a strategic partnership with Harman Becker who will use our products in their automotive infotainment systems.
OUTLOOK

The first quarter of 2010 has started strongly across all of Dialog's business areas and, for the full year, we expect our revenue profile will broadly follow the consumer seasonal trends we have seen in prior years. Industry analysts predict that the semiconductor market will grow in 2010, with the rate of growth dependent upon how quickly consumer confidence and the broader macro-economic environment recover: something which is still unclear. Overall, despite this market uncertainty, we remain confident in our ability to grow our revenue faster than the market in the year ahead and to deliver a successful result for 2010.

                                - // -

Dialog Semiconductor invites you today at 10:00 CET/ 09:00 UK to listen in a live conference call to managements discussion of Q4 2009 and full year 2009 performance. To access the call, please use the following dial-in numbers: Germany +49 (0) 6103-485-3002, UK +44-207-153-2027, USA +1-480-629-9726, with no access code required. An instant replay facility will be available for 30 days after the call and can be accessed at +49-6958-999-0568 with access code 142537#. An audio replay of the conference call will also be posted soon thereafter on the company's website at:

http://www.diasemi.com/investor_relations.php

Additional information to this adhoc release including the company's consolidated income statement, consolidated balance sheet, consolidated statements of cash flows and selected notes for the period ending 31 December 2009 is available under the investor relations section of the Company's web site.

For further information please contact:

Dialog Semiconductor FD - London FD - Frankfurt Neue Straße 95 Matt Dixon Claudine Schaetzle D-73230 Kirchheim/Teck T +44 20 7269 7214 T +49 69 920 37 185 Germany matt.dixon@fd.com claudine.schaetzle@fd.com T +49-7021-805-412 
F +49-7021-805-200 
dialog@fd.com 
www.dialog-semiconductor.com 

Information about Dialog Semiconductor:

Dialog Semiconductor creates energy-efficient, highly integrated, mixed-signal circuits optimised for personal mobile, lighting & display and automotive applications. The company provides flexible and dynamic support, world-class innovation and the assurance of dealing with an established business partner.

With its focus and expertise in system power management, Dialog brings decades of experience to the rapid development of integrated circuits for power management, audio, display processing and motor control. Dialog's processor companion chips enhance both the performance of hand-held products and the consumers' multimedia experience. With world-class manufacturing partners, Dialog operates a fabless business model.
Dialog Semiconductor plc is headquartered near Stuttgart with a global sales, R&D and marketing organisation. In 2009, it had $218 million in revenue and was one of the fastest growing European public semiconductor companies. It currently has approximately 340 employees. The company is listed on the Frankfurt (FWB: DLG) stock exchange.
Forward Looking Statements:

This press release contains 'forward-looking statements' that reflect management's current views with respect to future events. The words 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'estimate, 'expect,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'plan,' 'project' and 'should' and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: an economic downturn in the semiconductor and telecommunications markets; changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, the timing of customer orders and manufacturing lead times, insufficient, excess or obsolete inventory, the impact of competing products and their pricing, political risks in the countries in which we operate or sale and supply constraints. If any of these or other risks and uncertainties occur (some of which are described under the heading 'Risks and their management' in Dialog Semiconductor's most recent Annual Report) or if the assumptions underlying any of these statements prove incorrect, then actual results may be materially different from those expressed or implied by such statements. We do not intend or assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statement which speaks only as of the date on which it is made, however, any subsequent statement will supersede any previous statement.

11.02.2010 Ad hoc announcement, Financial News and Media Release distributed by DGAP. Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

 
Language:     English
Company:      Dialog Semiconductor Plc.
Tower Bridge House, St. Katharine's Way               E1W 1AA London
              Großbritannien
Phone:        +49 7021 805-412
Fax:          +49 7021 805-200
E-mail:       birgit.hummel@diasemi.com
Internet:     www.diasemi.com
ISIN:         GB0059822006
WKN:          927200
Indices:      TecDAX
Listed: Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr in Berlin, München, Düsseldorf, Stuttgart, Hamburg  
End of News DGAP News-Service  





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