FORM 10-K
(MARK ONE)
[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
[ ] TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM ___________ TO _____________
Commission file number 0-26944
Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.
(Exact name of Registrant as Specified in its Charter)
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1171 Sonora Court
Sunnyvale, California 94086
(Address of Principal Executive Offices including Zip Code)
(408) 735-9110
(Registrant's Telephone Number, Including Area Code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
Common Stock, no par value.
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] No [ ]
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer
(as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes [X] No [ ]
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. Yes [X] No [ ]
Aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of
SST as of June 30, 2004: $856,986,924 based on the closing price of SST's
Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq National Market. Number of shares
outstanding of SST's Common Stock, no par value, as of the latest practicable
date, February 28, 2005: 97,840,923.
Documents incorporated by reference: Exhibits previously filed as noted
on page 40. Part III - A portion of the Registrant's definitive proxy statement
for the Registrant's Annual Meeting of Shareholders, to be held on June 2, 2005, which will be filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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Silicon Storage Technology, Inc.
Part I. Page Item 1. 3 Item 2. 10 Item 3. 10 Item 4. 11 Part II. Item 5. 12 Item 6. 14 Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations 15 Item 7A. 40 Item 8. 41 Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and
Financial Disclosure 42 Item 9A. 42 Item 9B. 43 Part III. Item 10. 44 Item 11. 44 Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and
Related Shareholder Matters 44 Item 13. 44 Item 14. 44 Part IV. Item 15. 45 45 48 49 2
PART I Overview Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., or SST or us or we, is a leading supplier of flash
memory semiconductor devices for the digital consumer, networking, wireless communications and
Internet computing markets. We offer over 90 products based on our SuperFlash design and manufacturing process technology.
Our customers include: 3Com, Apple, Asustek, BenQ, Cisco, Dell, First International Computer, or
FIC, Gigabyte, Huawei, Hyundai, Infineon, Intel, IBM, Inventec, Legend, LG Electronics, or LG,
Motorola, National Semiconductor, NEC, Nintendo, Nortel, Panasonic, Philips, Quanta, Samsung, Sanyo,
Seagate, Siemens, Sony, Sony Ericsson, Texas Instruments and VTech. We also license our SuperFlash technology to leading semiconductor companies including
1st Silicon (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Analog Devices, IBM, Motorola Inc., National
Semiconductor Corporation, NEC Corporation, Oki Electric Industry Co., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.,
SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., Seiko Epson Corporation, Shanghai Huahong NEC Electronics Co., Ltd.,
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd., or TSMC, Toshiba Corporation and Winbond Electronics
Corporation for applications in semiconductor devices that integrate flash memory with other
functions on a single chip. Our products are manufactured at leading wafer foundries and semiconductor manufacturers
including Global Communication Semiconductor, Shanghai Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing
Corporation, or Grace, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., Seiko Epson
Corporation, Shanghai Hua Hong NEC Electronics Co. Ltd., TSMC and Yasu Semiconductor Corporation, or
Yasu. We also work with Grace, Powerchip Semiconductor Corporation, and TSMC to develop new
technology for manufacturing our products. The semiconductor industry has historically been cyclical, characterized by periodic changes in
business conditions caused by product supply and demand imbalance. When the industry experiences
downturns, they often occur in connection with, or in anticipation of, maturing product cycles and
declines in general economic conditions. These downturns are characterized by weak product demand,
excessive inventory and accelerated declines of selling prices. In some cases, downturns, such as
the one we have experienced from late 2000 through 2002, have lasted for more than a year. We began
to experience a slow recovery during 2002 through the first half of 2003. During the second half of
2003 and the first half of 2004, demand for our products increased sharply and we began to see
improvements in the average selling prices of our products. However, we experienced a decrease in
the average selling prices of our products as a result of the industry-wide oversupply and excessive
inventory in the market in the second half of 2004. Our business could be further harmed by
industry-wide prolonged downturns in the future. We derived 88.5%, 90.0% and 86.0% of our net product revenues during 2002, 2003 and 2004,
respectively, from product shipments to Asia. Additionally, substantially all of our wafer suppliers
and packaging and testing subcontractors are located in Asia. Industry Background Semiconductor integrated circuits are critical components used in an increasingly wide
variety of applications, such as computers and computer systems, communications equipment, consumer
products and industrial automation and control systems. As integrated circuit performance has
increased and size and cost have decreased, the use of semiconductors in these applications has
grown significantly. Historically, the demand for semiconductors has been driven by the PC market. In recent years,
growth in demand for semiconductors relating to PCs has been outpaced by growth in demand for
semiconductors that are used in digital electronic devices for communication and consumer
applications. Communications applications include digital subscriber line modems, cable modems,
networking equipment, wireless local area network, or WLAN, devices, cellular phones and Global
Positioning Systems, or GPS. Consumer-oriented digital electronic devices include digital cameras,
DVD players, MP3 players, personal data assistants, or PDAs, set-top boxes, Digital TVs and video
games. 3
In order to function correctly, PCs and other digital electronic devices require program code.
The program code defines how devices function and affects how they are configured. In PCs, this
program code, called BIOS, initiates the loading of the PC's operating system, which is then read
from the disk drive. In the case of other digital electronic devices, the program code is stored in
its entirety in nonvolatile memory, mostly in flash memory. As a result, virtually all digital
electronic systems that use a processor or controller for computing, consumer, communications, and
industrial applications require nonvolatile memory. System manufacturers generally prefer nonvolatile memory devices that can be reprogrammed
efficiently in the system in order to achieve several important advantages. With re-programmable
memory, manufacturers can cost effectively change program codes in response to faster product cycles
and changing market specifications. This in turn greatly simplifies inventory management and
manufacturing processes. Re-programmable memory also allows the manufacturer to reconfigure or
update a system either locally or through a network connection. In addition, in-system
re-programmable devices can be used for data storage functions, such as storage of phone numbers for
speed dialing in a cellular phone or captured images in a digital camera. Flash memory is the predominant re-programmable nonvolatile memory device used to store program
code and data. Flash memory can electrically erase select blocks of data on the device much faster
and more simply than with alternative solutions, such as Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, or
EPROM. Moreover, flash memory is significantly less expensive than other re-programmable solutions,
such as Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory, or EEPROMs. As a result, the demand for
flash memory has grown dramatically. This growth has been fueled by the need for code sharing and
other storage functions in a wide array of digital devices. According to a March 2005 Webfeet
Research report, worldwide flash memory revenue was $17.3 billion in 2004 and is expected to grow to
$19.8 billion in 2005 and $32.3 billion in 2009. Our Solution We are a leading supplier of flash memory semiconductor devices addressing the needs of
high volume applications. We believe our proprietary flash memory technology, SuperFlash, offers
superior performance to other flash memory solutions. In addition, we believe SuperFlash has
benefits that include high reliability, fast, fixed erase time, the ability to be scaled to a
smaller size and a low-cost manufacturing process. We offer over 90 products based on our
proprietary SuperFlash design and manufacturing process technology. These products are produced to
meet the needs of a wide range of digital consumer, networking, wireless communications and Internet
computing markets. Our product offerings include standard flash products, application specific
memory products, embedded controllers and mass data storage products. Our memory devices have
densities ranging from 256 Kbit to 32 Mbit and are generally used for the storage of program code.
Our flash embedded microcontrollers support concurrent flash read-while-write operations using
In-Application Programming, or IAP. Our mass data storage products are used for storing images, music
and other data in devices such as digital cameras and MP3 players. Our Strategy Our objective is to be the leading worldwide supplier of flash memory devices and the
leading licensor of embedded flash technology for program code storage applications. In addition, we
intend to leverage our SuperFlash technology to penetrate the high-density mass data storage
markets. We intend to achieve our objectives by: Maintaining a leading position in the program code storage market. We believe that program
code storage is an attractive segment of the flash memory market for a number of reasons. While
experiencing continued growth in all densities, solutions for program code storage applications
benefit from the increasing number and variety of digital electronic applications, longer product
lives and lower density requirements relative to mass data storage applications. We believe that our
proprietary SuperFlash technology is a superior product for program code storage applications
because we believe it offers superior reliability and performance at a lower cost of manufacture
than competing solutions. Continuing to enhance our leading flash memory technology. We believe that our proprietary
SuperFlash technology is less complicated, more reliable, more scalable and more cost-effective than
competing flash memory technologies. Our ongoing research and development efforts are focused on
enhancing our leading flash memory technology by working closely with technology partners who own
wafer fabrication facilities with advanced lithographic and other manufacturing equipment. 4
Introducing new products based on SuperFlash. We intend to introduce new standard memory
and various application specific products. We continue to develop and expand our ComboMemory family.
ComboMemory is a new class of devices for wireless and portable applications that combine volatile
and nonvolatile memory on a single monolithic device or multiple die in a common package with
optimized performance. We also continue to expand our flash microcontroller family and Advanced
Technology Architecture, or ATA, controller products. In 2004, we continued to expand our family of
serial flash products which now includes densities of 512kbit, 1Mbit, 2Mbit 4Mbit and 8Mbit. For PC
BIOS applications, we are expanding our LPC Firmware Flash product offering to match all the
densities offered in our Firmware Hub, or FWH, products. Maintaining a leading position in licensing embedded flash technology. We believe that
SuperFlash technology is well-suited for embedded memory applications, which integrate flash memory
and other functions onto a monolithic chip. We intend to continue to license SuperFlash technology
to semiconductor manufacturers for embedded flash applications, to enhance our technology and to
facilitate integration at higher densities and higher levels of complexity. Penetrating the high-density mass data storage market. Many digital electronic devices
currently being introduced, such as MP3 players, digital cameras and PDAs, require high-density
flash memory for storing music, pictures and other data that require mass data storage capacities.
We believe that the market for high-density flash memory is attractive based on its potential size
and growth. We further believe that SuperFlash technology can readily scale to address this market's
needs as they change. We intend to leverage our leading technology and strong manufacturing
partnerships to introduce high-density mass data storage flash products and to compete effectively
in this market. Leveraging our leading SuperFlash technology to become a premier provider of wireless memory
solutions. We intend to leverage our leading SuperFlash technology to provide products for
wireless applications such as cellular phones, GPS, WLAN, Bluetooth, data pagers and cordless
telephones. We have designed low-density flash products for wireless modems, WLANs, data pagers,
Bluetooth modules and cordless telephones, and we are currently designing higher density products
for the cellular phone market. We intend to continue to develop our products to take advantage of
the significant growth opportunities in the wireless applications market with specific focus on
cellular phone, GPS, WLAN and Bluetooth applications. Our Flash Products Currently, we offer low and medium density devices (256 Kbit to 32 Mbit) that target a
broad range of existing and emerging applications in the digital consumer, networking, wireless
communications and Internet computing markets. Our products are segmented largely based upon
attributes such as density, voltage, access speed, package and target application. We divide our
flash products into three distinct reportable segments: the Standard Memory Product Group, or SMPG,
the Application Specific Product Group, or ASPG, and the Special Product Group, or SPG. SMPG. SMPG includes the Multi-Purpose Flash, or MPF, family, the Multi-Purpose Flash Plus,
or MPF+, family and the Many-Time Programmable, or MTP, family. These product families allow us to
produce products optimized for cost and functionality to support a broad range of mainstream
applications that use nonvolatile memory products. Effective January 1, 2003, we transferred certain
MTP products from SMPG to SPG. Effective July 1, 2003, we transferred the Small Sector Flash, or
SSF, family from SMPG to SPG. Effective January 1, 2004, we transferred the last MTP series of
products from SMPG to SPG. Accordingly, our segment revenues and gross profit information have been
reclassified for presentation purposes as if transfers occurred as of January 1, 2002. ASPG. ASPG includes Concurrent SuperFlash, Serial Flash, Firmware Hub, or FWH and Low Pin
Count, or LPC, flash products. These products are designed to address specific applications such as
cellular phones, hard disk drives, optical drives and PCs. ASPG also includes flash embedded
controllers such as the ATA flash disk controller. Effective January 1, 2003, we transferred
FlashFlex51 microcontroller products from ASPG to SPG. Accordingly, our segment revenues and gross
profit information have been reclassified for presentation purposes as if the transfer occurred as
of January 1, 2002. SPG. SPG inc 5
Our Newly Acquired Businesses During the second half of 2004, we acquired a majority ownership of Emosyn LLC and
substantially all the assets of G-Plus, Inc., to help with our strategic growth. Emosyn.

Form 10-K
For the Year Ended December 31, 2004
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SST Communications Corporation or SCC.
SCC products include RF transceiver, synthesizer, power amplifier and switch products. These products provide end-to-end RF solutions to enable wireless multimedia and broadband networking applications. We formed SST Communications Corporation and acquired substantially all of the assets of G-Plus, Inc. on November 5, 2004. The segment data is reflected from this date through the end of the year.Financial information by reportable segment is contained in Note 15 of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements and is incorporated herein by reference.
Technology Licensing
We license our SuperFlash technology to semiconductor manufacturers for use in embedded flash applications. We intend to increase our market share by entering into additional license agreements for our SuperFlash process and memory cell technology with leading wafer foundries and semiconductor manufacturers. We expect to continue to receive licensing fees and royalties from these agreements. We design our products using our patented memory cell technology and fabricate them using our patented process technology. As of December 31, 2004, we held 116 patents in the United States relating to certain aspects of our products and processes, with expiration dates ranging from 2010 to 2023, and have filed for several more. In addition, we hold several patents in Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Canada and have filed several foreign patent applications in Europe, Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Canada.
Customers
We provide high-performance flash memory solutions and other products to customers in four major markets: digital consumer, networking, wireless communications and Internet computing. Our customers benefit by obtaining products that we believe are highly reliable, technologically advanced and have attractive cost structures. As a result of these highly desirable benefits, we have developed relationships with many of the industry's leading companies. In digital consumer products, we provide products for consumer companies including Funai, Orion, Apple, Inventec, Reingncom, Telechips, Orient Power, Sagem, Bang & Olufsen, BenQ, Creative Technologies, Hitachi, JVC, LG, Lite-On, Teac, Premier, Teraoptix, ALCO, BBK, Innowave, Coship, Kaon Media, Sandmartin, Nintendo, Panasonic, Philips, Samsung, Sanyo, Sharp, Sony, Toshiba, Thomson Multimedia, TiVo, and Micronas. In networking, we provide products for Broadcom, Atheros, Conexant, Askey, Gemtech, Cisco, Sagem, Samsung, Tecom, Huawei, ZTE, Alpha Networks, Cybertan, Global Sun, Adtran, Dare, Free Box, Avocent and Linksys. In wireless communications, we provide products for companies including Cambridge Silicon Radio, Sagem, Mitsumi, Alps, Bang & Olufsen, LG, Maxon, RTX, Vtech and Wistron. In Internet computing, we provide a wide array of products for companies including Asustek, Compal, Dell, FIC, Gigabyte, HP, IBM, Inventec, LG, Mitac, Quanta, Samsung, HonHai (Foxconn), Fujitsu Siemans, Seagate, Western Digital Maxtor, Matrox and Wistron.
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The following tables illustrate the geographic regions in which our customers or licensees operate based on the country to which the product is shipped by us or the logistics center or license revenue is generated.
Year ended December 31,
---------------------------------------------
2002 2003 2004
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United States................................... $ 21,871 $ 19,600 $ 32,833
Europe.......................................... 10,599 9,957 28,863
Japan........................................... 28,465 27,575 35,233
Korea........................................... 30,321 25,214 36,715
Taiwan.......................................... 91,219 109,254 125,491
China (including Hong Kong)..................... 70,609 76,107 148,100
Other Asian countries........................... 21,574 27,334 41,963
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$ 274,658 $ 295,041 $ 449,198
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Sales and Distribution
We sell a majority of our products to customers in Asia through our representatives. We distribute a majority of our products through our logistics center. We also sell and distribute our products in North America and Europe through manufacturers' representatives and distributors. Our manufacturer representative and distributor relationships are generally cancelable, with reasonable notice, by either party.
Applications
As the Digital Consumer, Networking, Wireless Communications and Internet Computing industries continue to expand and diversify, new applications are likely to be developed. We believe our products are designed to address this expanding set of applications:
Wireless Internet
Digital Consumer Networking Communications Computing
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TV Replayer Set-top Box VoIP Cellular Phone Information Appliance
Digital TV CD-ROM Drive DSL Modem Data Pager Notebook PC
Digital Camera CD-RW Drive Cable Modem Cordless Desktop PC
Digital Camcorder DVD-ROM Drive V.90/56K Modem Telephone Hard Disk Drive
DVD Player DVD-RAM Drive Wireless LAN GPS on Cellular LCD Monitor
DVD Recorder DVD-RW Drive Network Phone Palm PC
VCD Player Web Browser Interface Card Bluetooth X-PC
MP3 Player Hand-held GPS Router/Switch Applications Server
Video Game Electronic Toys Wireless Modems Graphics Card
PDA Smart Cards Printer
Electronic Book Memory Cards Copier/Scanner
Remote Controller Electronic Bar Code Scanner
Organizer Thin Client System
Manufacturing
We purchase wafers and sorted die from semiconductor manufacturing foundries, have this product shipped directly to subcontractors for packaging, testing, and finishing, and then ship the final product to our customers. Virtually all of our subcontractors are located in Asia.
Wafer and Sorted Die. During 2004, our major wafer fabrication foundries were TSMC, Grace, Sanyo, Samsung and Seiko-Epson. In 2004, wafer sort, which is the process of testing individual die on silicon wafer, was performed at King Yuan Electronics Company, Limited, or KYE, Lingsen, Samsung, Sanyo, Seiko-Epson and TSMC. Although capacity is not guaranteed, under these arrangements, we generally receive preferential treatment regarding wafer pricing and capacity. In order to obtain, on an ongoing basis, an adequate supply of wafers, we have considered and will continue to consider various possible options, including equity investments in foundries in exchange for guaranteed production volumes, the formation of joint ventures to own and operate foundries and the licensing of our proprietary technology. In 2001, we invested $50.0 million in Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, or GSMC, a Cayman Islands company, which has been funded mostly by investors who reside outside of China. In March 2004 we invested an additional $33.2 million in GSMC. Grace is a subsidiary of GSMC and is located in Shanghai, People's Republic of China. Grace has been manufacturing our products since late 2003.
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Packaging, Testing and Finishing. In the assembly process, the individual die are separated and assembled into packages. Following assembly, the packaged devices require testing and finishing to segregate conforming from nonconforming devices and to identify devices by performance levels. Currently, all devices are tested and inspected pursuant to our quality assurance program at our domestic or international subcontracted test facilities or at our test facilities in Sunnyvale, California before shipment to customers. Certain facilities currently perform consolidated assembly, packaging, test and finishing operations all at the same location. During 2004, most subcontracted facilities performing the substantial majority of our operations were in Taiwan. The subcontractors with the largest amount of our activity are KYE, Lingsen, and Powertech Technology, Incorporated, or PTI. We hold equity investments in three subcontractors: Apacer Technology, Inc., or Apacer, KYE and PTI. For newly released products, the initial test and finishing activities are performed at our Sunnyvale facility.
Research and Development
We believe that our future success will depend in part on the development of next generation technologies with reduced feature size. During 2002, 2003 and 2004, we spent $47.1 million, $43.1 million and $46.9 million, respectively, on research and development. Our research efforts are focused on process development and product development. Our research strategy is to collaborate with our partners to advance our technologies. We work simultaneously with several partners on the development of multiple generations of technologies. In addition, we allocate our resources and personnel into category-specific teams to focus on new product development. From time to time we invest in, jointly develop with, license or acquire technology from other companies in the course of developing products.
Competition
The semiconductor industry is intensely competitive and has been characterized by price erosion, rapid technological change and product obsolescence. We compete with major domestic and international semiconductor companies, many of whom have substantially greater financial, technical, marketing, distribution, manufacturing and other resources than us. Our low density memory products, sales of which presently account for substantially all of our revenues, compete against products offered by Spansion (AMD/Fujitsu), Atmel, Intel, Macronix, STMicroelectronics, PMC and Winbond. Our medium-density memory products compete with products offered by Spansion, Intel, ST Microelectronics, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Sharp Electronics and Toshiba. If we are successful in developing our high-density products, these products will compete principally with products offered by Spansion (AMD/Fujitsu), Atmel, Fujitsu, Hitachi, Intel, Mitsubishi, Samsung, SanDisk, Sharp Electronics, STMicroelectronics and Toshiba, as well as any new entrants to the market. In addition, competition may come from alternative technologies such as ferroelectric random access memory device, or FRAM, technology.
The competition in the existing markets for some of our product families, such as the FlashFlex51 microcontroller product family, is extremely intense. We compete principally with major companies such as Atmel, Microchip Technology, Motorola Philips and Winbond in the microcontroller market. We may, in the future, also experience direct competition from our foundry partners. We have licensed to our foundry partners the right to fabricate certain products based on our proprietary technology and circuit design, and to sell such products worldwide, subject to royalty payments back to us. The Emosyn products compete with Masked ROM and flash or EEPROM offerings primarily from Infineon, Renesas, Samsung and STMicroelectronics. For the SCC products, the competition in the existing markets is also extremely intense. SCC competes primarily with Microsemi, SiGe, Micromobio, Anadigic and Maxim especially in the WLAN (WiFi 802) markets.
We compete principally on price, reliability, functionality and the ability to offer timely delivery to customers. While we believe that our low density products currently compete favorably on the basis of cost, reliability and functionality, it is important to note that some of our principal competitors have a significant advantage over us in terms of greater financial, technical and marketing resources. Our long-term ability to compete successfully in the evolving flash memory market will depend on factors both within and beyond our control, including access to advanced process technologies at competitive prices, successful and timely product development, wafer supply, product pricing, actions of our competitors and general economic conditions.
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Employees
As of December 31, 2004, we employed 600 individuals on a full-time basis, all but 206 of whom reside in the United States. Of these 600 employees, 90 were employed in manufacturing support, 254 in engineering, 125 in sales and marketing and 131 in administration, finance and information technology. Our employees are not represented by a collective bargaining agreement, nor have we ever experienced any work stoppage related to strike activity. We believe that our relationship with our employees is good.
Executive Officers
The following table lists the names, ages and positions of our executive officers as of December 31, 2004. There are no family relationships between any executive officer of SST. Executive officers serve at the discretion of our board of directors.
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Name |
Age |
Position |
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Bing Yeh |
54 |
President and Chief Executive Officer |
__________
Bing Yeh, one of our co-founders, has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer and has been a member of our board of directors since our inception in 1989. Prior to that, Mr. Yeh served as a senior research and development manager of Xicor, Inc., a nonvolatile memory semiconductor company. From 1981 to 1984, Mr. Yeh held program manager and other positions at Honeywell Inc. From 1979 to 1981, Mr. Yeh was a senior development engineer of EEPROM technology of Intel Corporation. He was a Ph.D. candidate in Applied Physics and earned an Engineer degree at Stanford University. Mr. Yeh holds a M.S. and a B.S. in Physics from National Taiwan University.
Yaw Wen Hu, Ph.D., joined us in July 1993 as Vice President, Technology Development. In 1997, he was given the additional responsibility of wafer manufacturing and, in August 1999, he became Vice President, Operations and Process Development. In January 2000, he was promoted to Senior Vice President, Operations and Process Development. In April 2004, he was promoted to Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. Dr. Hu has been a member of our board of directors since September 1995. From 1990 to 1993, Dr. Hu served as deputy general manager of technology development of Vitelic Taiwan Corporation. From 1988 to 1990, he served as FAB engineering manager of Integrated Device Technology, Inc. From 1985 to 1988, he was the director of technology development at Vitelic Corporation. From 1978 to 1985, he worked as a senior development engineer in Intel Corporation's Technology Development Group. Dr. Hu holds a B.S. in Physics from National Taiwan University and a M.S. in Computer Engineering and a Ph.D. in Applied Physics from Stanford University.
Derek Best joined us in June 1997 as Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In June 2000 he was promoted to Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing. Prior to joining SST he worked for Micromodule Systems, a manufacturer of high-density interconnect technology, as vice president marketing and sales world wide from 1992 to 1996. From 1987 to 1992 he was a co-founder and owner of Mosaic Semiconductor, a SRAM and module semiconductor company. Mr. Best holds an Electrical Engineering degree from Portsmouth University in England.
Michael Briner joined us as Vice President, Design Engineering in November 1997, and became Vice President, Products during 1999. He was promoted to Senior Vice President of Application Specific Product Group in February 2001. From 1993 to 1997, he served as vice president of design engineering for Micron Quantum Devices, Inc., a subsidiary of Micron Technology, Inc., chartered to develop and manufacture flash memory products. From 1986 through 1992, he served as director of design engineering for the Nonvolatile Division of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. In this position, he was instrumental in helping AMD become a major nonvolatile memory manufacturer. Mr. Briner holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati.
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Chen Tsai joined us in August 1996 as Senior Manager, Yield Enhancement and became Director, Product and Test Engineering the same year. In 1999, he became Director of Worldwide Backend Operations and in 2000 he was promoted to Vice President of Worldwide Backend Operations. In October 2004, Mr. Tsai was appointed Senior Vice President of Worldwide Backend Operations. From 1992 to 1996, Mr. Tsai was Manager of Process Development at Atmel Corporation, a manufacturer of semiconductors, where he was also a Staff Engineer of E2PROM from 1989 to 1992. From 1988 to 1989, he was Vice President of Technology at Tristar Technology, Inc., a wireless systems company. From 1980 to 1988 he held various positions at Xicor, Inc. and Teledyne Semiconductor. Mr. Tsai holds a B.S. in Physics from Show Chu University and a M.S. in both Physics and Electrical Engineering from Florida Institute of Technology.
Isao Nojima joined us as Vice President, Memory Design and Product Engineering in March 1993 and became Vice President, Advanced Development in July 1997. He became Vice President of Standard Memory Product Group in July 2000. In April 2004, he was promoted to Senior Vice President of Standard Memory Product Group. From 1990 to 1993, Mr. Nojima served as director of design engineering of Pioneer Semiconductor Corporation, now called Pericom, a manufacturer of semiconductors. From 1980 to 1990, he served as design manager of Xicor Inc., a nonvolatile semiconductor company. From 1977 to 1980, he served as a senior design engineer for Intel Corporation. From 1969 to 1976, he was a senior researcher at Toshiba's R&D Center in Japan. Mr. Nojima holds a B.S. and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Osaka University in Japan.
Paul Lui joined us as Vice President and General Manager of the Linvex Product Line in June 1999 and became Vice President, Special Product Group in June 2001. From 1994 to 1999, he was the president and founder of Linvex Technology Corporation. From 1987 to 1994, he was the president and chief executive officer of Macronix, Inc. From 1981 to 1985, he served as group general manager at VLSI Technology, Inc. where he was responsible for transferring that company's technology to Korea. In addition, Mr. Lui has held senior engineering positions at the Synertek Division of Honeywell and McDonnell Douglas. Mr. Lui holds a M.S.E.E. degree from University of California, Berkeley and a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.
Jack Lai joined us as Chief Financial Officer and Vice President, Finance and Administration and Secretary in November 2003. Before joining SST, he was vice president and chief financial officer of Aplus Flash Technology, a memory design and manufacturing company, from 2001 to 2003. Prior to this, Mr. Lai had served as vice president of operations and finance and chief financial officer at WireX Communications, Inc., a software system developer, from 2000 to 2001 and vice president and chief financial officer at Genoa Electronics Corp., a manufacturer of computer and related systems, from 1998 to 1999. Mr. Lai holds M.B.A.'s from San Jose State University in San Jose, CA and Culture University in Taipei, Taiwan. He also holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Tamkang University in Taipei, Taiwan.
Available Information
We were incorporated in California in 1989. We make available free of charge on or through our Internet website,
http://www.sst.com, our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and, if applicable, amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC.As of December 31, 2004, we occupied three major facilities totaling 131 thousand square feet in Sunnyvale, California which our executive offices, research and development, principal manufacturing engineering and testing facilities are located. Of the three major facilities occupied, we own one facility totaling 20 thousand square feet and we lease 2 facilities totaling 111 thousand square feet. The leases on the two facilities expire in 2010. In addition, we leased 4 facilities totaling 77 thousand square feet in Sunnyvale, California that were all unoccupied by the end of 2004. The leases on all four of these facilities expire in 2005. We also have 54 thousand square feet of office space in various domestic and international sites with expiration ranging from 2005 to 2012. We believe these facilities are adequate to meet our needs for at least the next 12 months.
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In January 1996, Atmel Corporation filed suit against SST alleging that we infringed six U.S. patents. We successfully moved for summary judgment on two of the six asserted patents in September 1997. In January 2001, Atmel withdrew its allegation that we infringed another patent. On May 7, 2002, a judgment was entered against us in the amount of $36.5 million based on a jury's finding that we infringed two of the three remaining patents. We appealed the judgment on July 16, 2002. On September 12, 2003 the Court of Appeals upheld the jury's verdict. On November 18, 2003 the Court of Appeals denied our request for a rehearing, and in December 2003 we paid Atmel $37.8 million to satisfy the judgment plus statutory interest accrued during the appeals. The payment was recorded as other operating expense in the year ending December 31, 2003. In addition, on June 28, 2004 we paid $247 thousand of legal related expenses incurred by Atmel pursuant to the court order.
The third patent remaining in the case, the `903 patent, expired in September 2001. The trial court has held that, if it is found to be valid, certain of our products infringed that patent. A trial to determine whether the `903 patent is invalid began on July 29, 2002. On August 5, 2002 the jury announced that it was unable to reach a verdict on our invalidity defense, and a mistrial was declared. Atmel requested a new trial, but the Court stayed the matter until after our appeal of the earlier judgment is resolved. At Atmel's request, the Court directed the parties to conduct a settlement conference before a Magistrate Judge. That settlement conference was scheduled for April 14, 2004 and was subsequently rescheduled for September 7, 2004. No conclusion was reached during the settlement conference on September 7, 2004. A new trial date on the invalidity of the `903 patent has been scheduled for June 27, 2005. The impact related to the outcome of the remaining patent is undeterminable at this time.
In January and February 2005, multiple punative shareholder class action complaints were filed against SST and certain directors and officers, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, following our announcement of anticipated financial results for the fourth quarter of 2004. The complaints are captioned: Hunt v. Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., et al., Case No. C 05 00408 WHA (N.D. Cal.); Baker v. Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., et al., Case No. C 05 00295 PJH (N.D. Cal.); Grobler v. Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., et al., Case No. C 05 00376 MHP (N.D. Cal.); Talmo v. Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., et al., Case No. C 05 00390 MMC (N.D. Cal.); and DiCintio v. Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., et al., Case No. C 05 0708 MMC (N.D. Cal.). The complaints seek unspecified damages on alleged violations of federal securities laws during the period from March 22, 2004 to December 20, 2004. Consolidation and the appointment of lead plaintiff are currently pending in these purported class actions. We intend to take all appropriate action in response to these lawsuits. The impact related to the outcome of these matters is undeterminable at this time.
In January and February 2005, following the filing of the putative class actions, multiple shareholder derivative complaints were filed in California Superior Court for the County of Santa Clara, purportedly on behalf of SST against certain directors and officers. The factual allegations of these complaints are substantially identical to those contained in the putative shareholder class actions filed in federal court. The derivative complaints assert claims for, among other things, breach of fiduciary duty and violations of the California Corporations Code. These derivative actions have been consolidated under the caption In Re Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. Derivative Litigation, Lead Case No. 1:05CV034387 (Cal. Super. Ct., Santa Clara Co.). We intend to take all appropriate action in response to these lawsuits. The impact related to the outcome of these matters is undeterminable at this time.
From time to time, we are also involved in other legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business. We have incurred certain costs while defending these matters. There can be no assurance the remaining Atmel complaint, the shareholder class action complaints, the shareholder derivative complaints or other third party assertions will be resolved without costly litigation, in a manner that is not adverse to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows or without requiring royalty payments in the future which may adversely impact gross margins. No estimate can be made of the possible loss or possible range of loss associated with the resolution of these contingencies. As a result, no losses have been accrued in our financial statements as of December 31, 2004.
Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
No matters were submitted during the fourth quarter to a vote of security holders.
11
PART II
Price Range of Common Stock
The principal U.S. market for our Common Stock is the Nasdaq National Market. The only class of our securities that is traded is our Common Stock. Our Common Stock has traded on the Nasdaq National Market since November 21, 1995, under the symbol SSTI. The following table sets forth the quarterly high and low closing sales prices of the Common Stock for the period indicated as reported by the Nasdaq National Market. These prices do not include retail mark-ups, markdowns, or commissions. The closing sales price of our Common Stock on December 31, 2004, the last trading day in 2004, was $5.95.
|
2003 |
|
High Close |
Low Close |
|
First Quarter: |
January 1 - March 31, 2003 |
$ 4.78 |
$ 2.25 |
|
2004 |
|
High Close |
Low Close |
|
First Quarter: |
January 1 - March 31, 2004 |
$13.46 |
$10.64 |
|
2005 |
|
High Close |
Low Close |
|
First Quarter: |
January 1 - February 28, 2005 |
$ 5.72 |
$ 4.30 |
Approximate Number of Equity Security Holders
As of December 31, 2004, there were approximately 301 record holders of our Common Stock.
Dividends
We have never paid a cash dividend on our Common Stock and we intend to continue to retain earnings, if any, to finance future growth. Accordingly, we do not anticipate the payment of cash dividends to holders of Common Stock in the foreseeable future.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
Information regarding our equity compensation plans will be contained in our definitive Proxy Statement with respect to our Annual Meeting of Shareholders under the caption "Compensation - Equity Compensation Plan Information," and is incorporated by reference into this report. All of our equity compensation plans have been approved by our shareholders.
12
Stock Purchase Program
|
Period |
(a) Total Number of Shares Purchased |
(b) Average Price Paid per Share |
(c) Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or Programs |
(d) Maximum Number (or Approximate Dollar Value) of Shares that May Yet Be Purchased Under the Plans or Programs (1) |
|
July 1 through July 31, 2004 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
$15,000,000 |
|
August 1 through August 31, 2004 |
2,229,773 |
$5.77 |
2,229,773 |
$2,134,210 |
|
September 1 through September 30, 2004 |
344,700 |
$5.79 |
344,700 |
$138,397 |
|
Total |
2,574,473 |
$5.77(2) |
2,574,473 |
|
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Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial Data
The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and the Consolidated Financial Statements and the notes thereto included elsewhere in this report. Certain amounts in our prior years' consolidated financial statements have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. These reclassifications have no impact on our previously reported net income (loss).
Year ended December 31,
-----------------------------------------------------
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
(in thousands, except per share data)
Consolidated Statements of Operations Data:
Net revenues:
Product revenues - unrelated parties.......... $ 408,708 $ 168,593 $ 100,620 $ 86,549 $ 180,234
Product revenues - related parties............ 66,608 90,025 143,401 169,980 224,497
License revenues - unrelated parties.......... 14,945 35,412 30,637 38,512 44,311
License revenues - related parties............ -- -- -- -- 156
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Total net revenues.......................... 490,261 294,030 274,658 295,041 449,198
Cost of revenues.................................. 264,139 248,161 206,246 218,775 322,093
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Gross profit...................................... 226,122 45,869 68,412 76,266 127,105
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Operating expenses:
Research and development...................... 41,535 50,380 47,069 43,144 46,904
Sales and marketing........................... 27,968 26,794 25,498 22,272 28,295
General and administrative.................... 14,966 17,855 17,097 14,398 18,292
Other......................................... 3,911 1,346 -- 37,849 7,375
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Total operating expenses.................... 88,380 96,375 89,664 117,663 100,866
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Income (loss) from operations..................... 137,742 (50,506) (21,252) (41,397) 26,239
Interest and other income......................... 10,510 7,449 3,225 2,996 2,295
Interest and other expense........................ (691) (437) (242) (350) (281)
Impairment of equity investments.................. -- (3,274) (7,757) -- (509)
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Income (loss) before provision for (benefit from)
income taxes and minority interest............ 147,561 (46,768) (26,026) (38,751) 27,744
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes......... 41,813 (17,772) (10,931) 26,416 3,906
Minority interest................................. -- -- -- -- (91)
--------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
Net income (loss)................................. $ 105,748 $ (28,996) $ (15,095) $ (65,167) $ 23,929
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Net income (loss) per share - basic............... $ 1.23 $ (0.32) $ (0.16) $ (0.69) $ 0.25
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Net income (loss) per share - diluted............. $ 1.13 $ (0.32) $ (0.16) $ (0.69) $ 0.24
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:
Total assets...................................... $ 512,590 $ 446,760 $ 440,606 $ 396,361 $ 502,331
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Long-term obligations............................. $ 279 $ 1,793 $ 1,873 $ 1,423 $ 1,307
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
Shareholders' equity.............................. $ 416,635 $ 391,411 $ 381,851 $ 331,497 $ 375,984
========= ========= ========= ========= =========
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Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
Except for the historical information contained herein, the following discussion contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. All forward-looking statements included in this document are based on information available to us on the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Our actual results could differ materially from those discussed. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed below under the heading "Business Risks", as well as those discussed elsewhere in this report.
Overview
We are a leading supplier of flash memory semiconductor devices for the digital consumer, networking, wireless communication and Internet computing markets.
The semiconductor industry has historically been cyclical, characterized by periodic changes in business conditions caused by product supply and demand imbalance. When the industry experiences downturns, they often occur in connection with, or in anticipation of, maturing product cycles and declines in general economic conditions. These downturns are characterized by weak product demand, excessive inventory and accelerated declines of selling prices. In some cases, downturns, such as the one we experienced from late 2000 through 2002, have lasted for more than a year. We began to experience a slow recovery during 2002 through the first half of 2003. During the second half of 2003 and the first half of 2004, demand for our products increased sharply and we began to see improvements in the average selling prices of our products. However, we experienced a decrease in the average selling prices of our products as a result of the slow-down in the demand for some of our products in the second half of 2004 and our business could be further harmed again by prolonged industry-wide downturns in the future.
Our product sales are made primarily using short-term cancelable purchase orders. The quantities actually purchased by the customer, as well as shipment schedules are frequently revised to reflect changes in the customer's needs and in our supply of products. Accordingly, our backlog of open purchase orders at any given time is not a meaningful indicator of future sales. Changes in the amount of our backlog do not necessarily reflect a corresponding change in the level of actual or potential sales.
We derived 88.5%, 90.0% and 86.0% of our net product revenues during 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively, from product shipments to Asia. Additionally, substantially all of our wafer suppliers and packaging and testing subcontractors are located in Asia.
Shipments to our top ten end customers, which excludes transactions through stocking representatives and distributors, accounted for 31.5%, 37.7% and 29.1% of our net product revenues in 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively.
No single end customer, which we define as original equipment manufacturers, or OEMs, original design manufacturers, or ODMs, contract electronic manufacturers, or CEMs, or end users, represented 10.0% or more of our net product revenues during 2002, 2003 and 2004.
Since 2001, we have been increasing our out-sourcing activities for our customer service logistics to support our customers. Silicon Professional Technology Ltd., or SPT, supports our customers in Taiwan, China and other Southeast Asia countries. SPT provides planning, warehousing, delivery, billing, collection and other logistic functions for us in these regions. SPT is a wholly-owned subsidiary of one of our stocking representatives in Taiwan, Professional Computer Technology Limited, or PCT. Please see a description of our relationship with PCT under "Related Party Transactions." Products shipped to SPT are accounted for as our inventory held at our logistics center, and revenue is recognized when the products have been delivered and are considered as a sale to our end customers by SPT. For the years ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, SPT serviced end customer sales accounting for 57.4%, 64.2% and 52.9% of our net product revenues recognized. As of December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, SPT represented 68.5%, 73.4% and 55.1% of our net accounts receivable, respectively.
15
We ship products to, and have accounts receivable from, OEMs, ODMs, CEMs, stocking representatives, distributors, and our logistics center. Our stocking representatives, distributors and logistics center reship our products to our end customers, including OEMs, ODMs, CEMs and end users. Shipments, by us or our logistic center, to our top three stocking representatives for reshipment accounted for 16.9%, 29.9% and 34.0% of our product shipments in 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively. In addition, the same three stocking representatives solicited sales, for which they received a commission, for 41.3%, 32.8% and 25.1% of our product shipments to end users in 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively.
16
Results of Operations: Years Ended December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004
Net Revenues
Net revenues were $449.2 million in 2004, $295.0 million in 2003 and $274.7 million in 2002. Net revenues for 2004 increased compared to 2003 due to increased unit shipments and average selling prices, increased license and royalty revenues and sales from companies acquired during 2004. Net revenues for 2003 increased compared to 2002 due to increased unit shipments and increased license and royalty revenues, offset by decreased average selling prices. Average selling prices fluctuate due to a number of factors including the overall supply and demand for our products in the marketplace, maturing product cycles and changes in general economic conditions.
Product Revenues. Product revenues were $404.7 million in 2004, $256.5 million in 2003 and $244.0 million in 2002. Product revenues for 2004 increased compared to 2003 primarily due to increased unit shipments by 35.32%, and increased average selling prices by 16.2%. Product revenues for 2003 increased compared to 2002 primarily due to increased unit shipments by 23.5%, partially offset by decreased average selling prices by 15.7%. The decrease from 2001 to 2002 was primarily due to decreased average selling prices by 36.5%, partially offset by increased unit shipments of our products by 31.6%. Shipping volumes fluctuate due to overall industry supply and demand.
License Revenues. Revenues from license fees and royalties were $44.5 million in 2004, $38.5 million in 2003 and $30.6 million in 2002. The increase from 2003 to 2004 is due to increased license fees of $6.0 million from our new licensees. The increase from 2002 to 2003 related primarily to increased royalty payments from our existing licensees and up-front license fees from our new licensees. We anticipate that license revenues may fluctuate significantly in the future.
Gross Profit
Gross profit was $127.1 million, or 28.3% of net revenues, in 2004, $76.3 million, or 25.8% of net revenues, in 2003, and $68.4 million, or 24.9% of net revenues, in 2002. The increase in gross profit in 2004 when compared to 2003 is primarily due to improved manufacturing costs achieved by transitioning manufacturing technology to smaller geometries, the sale of previously reserved inventory, increases in average selling prices and unit shipments by 16.2% and 35.3%, respectively, as well as increased revenues from technology licensing by $6.0 million, offset by a net increase of $28.5 million in our provision for inventory and adverse purchase commitments over the 2003 provision. The increase in gross profit in 2003 when compared to 2002 is primarily due to increased unit shipments of 23.5%, increased technology licensing revenues of $7.9 million and improved manufacturing costs as a result of transitions to more advanced process technologies, offset by decreased average selling prices by 15.7%. Product gross margin was 20.4% in 2004, compared to 14.7% in 2003 and 15.5% in 2002. The increase in product gross margin in 2004 when compared to 2003 is primarily due to improved manufacturing costs, increases in average selling prices and unit shipments by 16.2% and 35.3%, respectively, offset by an increase in our provision for inventory and adverse purchase commitments of $28.5 million over the 2003 provision. The decrease in product gross margin in 2003 when compared to 2002 was primarily due to decreased average selling prices of 15.7%, offset by improved manufacturing costs as a result of transitions to more advanced process technologies. For other factors affecting our gross profit, please also see "Business Risks - We incurred significant inventory valuation adjustments in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and we may incur additional significant inventory valuation adjustments in the future."
Operating Expenses
Operating expenses consist of research and development, sales and marketing, general and administrative and other expenses. Operating expenses were $100.9 million, or 22.5% of net revenues, in 2004, $117.7 million or 39.9% of net revenues, in 2003, and $89.7 million, or 32.6% of net revenues, in 2002. The decrease in 2004 from 2003 was primarily due to the Atmel judgement of $37.8 million in 2003 and $1.0 million decrease in depreciation expense, offset by the $5.9 million write off of in process research and development related to our newly acquired businesses, increases of $5.9 million in headcount related expenses, $2.0 million in mask, wafer and evaluation parts, $2.0 million in general and administrative related to outside services and $1.6 million in commission expense and $1.5 million in operating lease impairment. The increase in 2003 from 2002 was primarily due to the Atmel judgement of $37.8 million, offset by decreases of $2.8 million in bad debt expense, $1.7 million in mask, wafer and evaluation part expenses, $1.5 million in legal fees, $1.1 million in commission expense and $1.1 million in depreciation expense. We anticipate that we will continue to devote substantial resources to research and development, sales and marketing and to general and administrative activities, and that these expenses will increase in absolute dollars.
17
Research and development. Research and development expenses include costs associated with the development of new products, enhancements to existing products, quality assurance activities and occupancy costs. These costs consist primarily of employee salaries and benefits and the cost of materials such as wafers and masks. Research and development expenses were $46.9 million, or 10.4% of net revenues, in 2004, $43.1 million, or 14.6% of net revenues, in 2003, and $47.1 million, or 17.1% of net revenues, in 2002. Research and development expenses increased by 8.7% from 2003 primarily due to increases in wafer, mask and evaluation part expenses of $2.0 million due to the completion of certain technology projects during 2004, headcount related expenses of $2.2 million due to profit sharing payments and increased headcount, offset by reduced depreciation expense of $797 thousand. Research and development expenses decreased by 8.3% from 2002 primarily due to decreases in wafer, mask and evaluation part expenses of $1.7 million due to cost reduction measures and the completion of certain technology projects during 2003, headcount related expenses of $1.4 million due to a reduction in headcount and depreciation expense of $761 thousand. We expect research and development expenses will increase in absolute dollars.
Sales and marketing. Sales and marketing expenses consist of commissions, headcount and related costs, as well as travel, entertainment and promotional expenses. Sales and marketing expenses were $28.3 million, or 6.3% of net revenues, in 2004, $22.3 million, or 7.5% of net revenues, in 2003, and $25.5 million, or 9.3% of net revenues, in 2002. The increase in sales and marketing expenses from 2003 to 2004 by 27.1% was primarily due to increases in headcount related costs of $2.4 million due to bonus and profit sharing payments and increased headcount, an increase in commission expense of $1.6 million due to increased sales, an increase in logistic center fees of $742 thousand due to increased activity through the logistic center, and increased marketing expenses of $395 thousand. The decrease in sales and marketing expenses from 2002 to 2003 by 12.7% was primarily due to decreases in headcount related costs of $1.7 million due to the transfer of some sales personnel to Asia and decreased facility and information technology related expenses, a decrease in commission expense of $1.1 million due to reduced commission rates and decreased marketing expenses of $849 thousand, offset by increased logistic center fees of $652 thousand due to increased activity through the logistic center. We expect sales and marketing expenses will increase in absolute dollars as we continue to expand our sales and marketing efforts. In addition, fluctuations in revenues will cause fluctuations in sales and marketing expenses as it impacts our commission expense.
General and administrative. General and administrative expenses consist of salaries and related costs for administrative, executive and finance personnel, recruiting costs, professional services and legal fees and allowances for doubtful accounts. General and administrative expenses were $18.3 million, or 4.1% of net revenues, in 2004, $14.4 million, or 4.9% of net revenues, in 2003, and $17.1 million, or 6.2% of net revenues, in 2002. The increase in general and administrative expenses from 2003 to 2004 by 27.0% was primarily due to increases in accounting and outside consulting fees of $2.0 million due to the increase costs of complying with Sarbanes-Oxley reporting, headcount related expenses of $1.3 million due to profit sharing payments and increased headcount, and bad debt expenses of $597 thousand due to a charge taken in 2004. The decrease in general and administrative expenses from 2002 to 2003 by 15.8% was primarily due to decreases in bad debt expenses of $2.8 million due to a charge taken in 2002 related to one specific customer, a decrease in legal fees of $1.5 million due to decreased Atmel defense activity, and lower depreciation and amortization expense of $876 thousand, offset by increases in headcount related costs of $2.4 million due to changes in allocations for facility, IT and insurance expenses. We anticipate that general and administrative expenses will increase in absolute dollars as we scale our facilities, infrastructure, and headcount to support our overall expected growth. We may also incur additional expenses in connection with the Atmel, shareholder class action and shareholder derivative litigation. For further information on this litigation see "Legal Proceedings."
Other operating expenses. In 2004, other operating expenses of $7.4 million, or 1.6% of net revenues, were comprised of $5.9 million related to the write off of in-process research and development relating to the acquisition of Emosyn and G-Plus and a $1.5 million period charge related to an operating lease for an abandoned building. At the time of the Emosyn acquisition, we estimated that the acquired IP R&D was approximately 30% complete and would be completed over the next nine months at an estimated cost of approximately $484 thousand, and at the time of the G-Plus acquisition, we estimated that the acquired IP R&D projects were between 20% to 80% complete and would be completed over the next fourteen months at an estimated cost of approximately $1.2 million. The charge related to an operating lease results from our purchase of a new building with the intent to vacate the leased property and represents the estimated difference between the total discounted future sublease income and our discounted lease commitments relating to this building. In 2003, other operating expenses were $37.8 million, or 12.8% of net revenues, which related entirely to the Atmel litigation settlement. The $37.8 million of settlement fees and interest was paid in December 2003. There were no other operating expenses recorded in 2002.
18
Interest and other income. Interest and other income was $2.3 million, or 0.5% of net revenues, during 2004, $3.0 million, or 1.0% of net revenues, during 2003, and $3.2 million, or 1.2% of net revenues, during 2002. Interest and other income decreased from 2003 to 2004 primarily due to decreased realized gains from the sale of some of our investments by $649 thousand. Interest income decreased from 2002 to 2003 primarily due to decreased interest rates on invested cash, offset by realized gains of $649 thousand on the sale of some of our investments.
Interest and other expense. Interest and other expense was $281 thousand during 2004 as compared to $350 thousand during 2003 and $242 thousand during 2002. Interest and other expenses in 2003 included a loss on sale of assets of $118 thousand. Interest expense relates to interest on our notes payable and interest and fees under a line of credit that we terminated in July 2002.
Impairment of equity investments. During 2003, Insyde, a company in which we have an investment, completed an initial public offering on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Since the initial public offering there had been a significant decline in the market value of the investment. During 2004, we recognized a $509 thousand loss from the impairment of our equity investment because Insyde's stock price had declined below the acquisition cost for more than six months. The impairment was considered to be "other-than-temporary" in nature, thus the investment value was permanently written down to reflect the fair value. As of December 31, 2004 the recorded value of our investment in Insyde was $456 thousand.
In 2000, we acquired a 10.0% interest in Apacer, a privately held company located in Taiwan that designs, manufactures and markets memory modules, for $9.9 million in cash. Our investment in Apacer was valued at cost. Bing Yeh, our President, CEO and Chairman of our Board of Directors, is a member of Apacer's Board of Directors. In 2001, we invested an additional $2.1 million in Apacer. In August 2002, we made an additional investment of $181 thousand. At the end of the third quarter of 2002, we determined that a continued and significant decline in Apacer's price per share was other than temporary, and accordingly, in the third quarter of 2002, we recorded a period charge to impairment of equity investments of $7.8 million to write down our investment in Apacer to $4.4 million which was determined using the price per share paid for the additional investment in August 2002. As of December 31, 2004 the recorded value of our investment in Apacer was $4.4 million.
Provision for (Benefit from) Income Taxes
In 2004, our income tax expense was $3.9 million on a net income before tax of $27.8 million. During the year of 2004, we maintained a full valuation allowance on our net deferred tax assets. The valuation allowance was determined in accordance with the provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109, or SFAS No. 109, "Accounting for Income Taxes," which requires an assessment of both positive and negative evidence when determining whether it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets are recoverable; such assessment is required on a jurisdiction by jurisdiction basis. Cumulative losses incurred in the U.S. in recent years represented sufficient negative evidence under SFAS No. 109 and accordingly, a full valuation allowance was recorded against U.S. deferred tax assets. We intend to maintain a full valuation allowance on the U.S. deferred tax assets until sufficient positive evidence exists to support reversal of the valuation allowance. Our income tax benefit of $10.9 million in 2002 consisted of a 42.0% tax rate on our loss before income taxes. In 2003, we implemented an international tax structure, which in conjunction with the full valuation allowance, will mean that going forward we will record a tax expense as a result of foreign tax withholding and alternative minimum tax until such time that the valuation allowance against the deferred tax asset is no longer required.
Segment Reporting
Our operations involve the design, development, manufacturing, marketing and technical support of our nonvolatile memory technology and products. We offer low to medium density devices that target a broad range of existing and emerging applications in the digital consumer, networking, wireless communications and Internet computing markets. Our products are differentiated based upon attributes such as density, voltage, access speed, package and predicted endurance. We also license our technology for use in non-competing applications. Our reportable segments are: the Standard Memory Product Group, or SMPG, the Application Specific Product Group, or ASPG, the Special Product Group, or SPG, the Emosyn Products, the SST Communications Corporation Products, or SCC, and Technology Licensing. Refer to Note 15 to the Consolidated Financial Statements for revenue and gross profit information by reportable segment. Our analysis of the changes for each segment is discussed below.
19
SMPG includes our three standard flash memory product families: the MPF family, the MPF+ family and the MTP family. Effective January 1, 2003, we transferred certain MTP products from SMPG to SPG. Effective July 1, 2003, we transferred the Small Sector Flash, or SSF, family from SMPG to SPG. Effective January 1, 2004, we transferred the last MTP series of products from SMPG to SPG. Accordingly, our segment revenues and gross profit information have been reclassified for presentation purposes as if the transfer occurred as of January 1, 2002. SMPG revenues were $269.4 million in 2004, $166.8 million in 2003 and $143.2 million in 2002. The increase in revenue in 2004 compared to 2003 was the result of both an increase in unit shipments of 26.9% and an increase in average selling prices of 28.7%. The increase in revenues in 2003 compared to 2002 was primarily due to increases in unit shipments of our products by 23.4%, offset by decreases in average selling prices of 7.6%. Gross margin was 18.0% in 2004, 12.8% in 2003 and 3.8% in 2002. The increase in gross margin in 2004 from 2003 was due to improvements in the market price during the first three quarters as well as lower manufacturing costs achieved by transitioning manufacturing technology to lower geometries. The increase in gross margin in 2003 from 2002 was primarily due to higher inventory valuation adjustments in 2002, the sale of previously reserved inventory in 2003 and product mix.
ASPG includes Concurrent SuperFlash, Serial Flash, Firmware Hub, or FWH, and Low Pin Count, or LPC flash products. ASPG also includes flash embedded controllers such as the ATA controller. Effective January 1, 2003, we transferred FlashFlex51 microcontroller products from ASPG to SPG. Accordingly, our segment revenues and gross profit information have been reclassified for presentation purposes as if the transfer occurred as of January 1, 2002. ASPG revenues were $73.2 million in 2004, $60.5 million in 2003 and $67.8 million in 2002. The increase in revenues in 2004 compared to 2003 was primarily due to an increase in unit shipments of 29.4%, offset by decreases in average selling prices of 7.7%. The decrease in revenues in 2003 compared to 2002 was primarily due to decreases in average selling prices of 31.8%, offset by increases in unit shipments of our products of 32.9%. Gross margin was 26.5% in 2004, 19.1% in 2003 and 36.2% in 2002. The increase in gross margin in 2004 from 2003 was due to lower manufacturing costs achieved by transitioning manufacturing technology to lower geometries and product mix. The decrease in gross margin in 2003 from 2002 was primarily due to decreases in average selling prices and product mix.
SPG includes ComboMemory, ROM/RAM Combos, SSF, MTP, FlashFlex51 microcontrollers and other special flash products. Effective January 1, 2003, we transferred certain MTP products from SMPG to SPG and FlashFlex51 microcontroller products from ASPG to SPG. Effective July 1, 2003, we transferred the SSF family from SMPG to SPG. Effective January 1, 2004, we transferred the last MTP series of products from SMPG to SPG. Accordingly, our segment revenue and gross margin information have been reclassified for presentation purposes as if the transfer occurred as of January 1, 2002. SPG revenues were $44.6 million in 2004, $29.3 million in 2003 and $33.0 million in 2002. The increase in revenues in 2004 compared to 2003 was the result of both an increase in unit shipments of 5.8% and an increase in average selling prices of 34.3%. The decrease in revenues in 2003 compared to 2002 was primarily due to decreases in average selling prices of 19.5% offset by an increase in unit shipments of our products by 12.3%. Gross margin was 28.5% in 2004, 16.3% in 2003 and 23.6% in 2002. The increase in gross margin in 2004 from 2003 was due to lower manufacturing costs achieved by transitioning manufacturing technology to lower geometries. The increase in gross margin in 2004 from 2003 was due to improvements in the market price during the first three quarters as well as lower manufacturing costs achieved by transitioning manufacturing technology to lower geometries. The decrease in gross margin in 2003 from 2002 was primarily due to decreases in average selling prices and product mix.
Emosyn Products include the Theseus Platinum product family and other flash memory based microprocessor chips. We acquired a majority ownership of Emosyn on September 10, 2004. The segment revenue of $16.9 million for 2004 is from the date of acquisition through the end of the year. Gross margin for 2004 was 14.0%.
SCC includes RF transceiver, synthesizer, power amplifier and switch products. We formed SST Communications Corporation and acquired substantially all of the assets of G-Plus, Inc. on November 5, 2004. The segment revenue of $593 thousand for 2004 is from the date of acquisition through the end of the year. Gross margin for 2004 was negative 35.8%.
Revenue and gross profit related to Technology Licensing was $44.5 million for 2004, $38.5 million for 2003 and $30.6 million for 2002. The increase from 2003 to 2004 is due to increased up-front license fees from our new licensees. The increase from 2002 to 2003 related primarily to increase royalty payments from our existing licensees and up-front license fees from our new licensees.
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Related Party Transactions
The following table is a summary of our related party revenues and purchases (in thousands):
Year Ended
December 31, 2004
--------------------------------
Revenues Purchases
------------ ------------------
Silicon Technology Co., Ltd..................... $ 7,943 $ --
Apacer Technology, Inc and related entities..... 2,359 707
Silicon Professional Technology Ltd............. 214,195 --
Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation... 156 59,278
King Yuan Electronics Company, Limited.......... -- 38,248
Powertech Technology, Incorporated.............. -- 14,718
------------ ------------------
$ 224,653 $ 112,951
============ ==================
Year Ended
December 31, 2003
--------------------------------
Revenues Purchases
------------ ------------------
Silicon Technology Co., Ltd..................... $ 3,615 $ --
Apacer Technology, Inc and related entities..... 1,555 2,361
Silicon Professional Technology Ltd............. 164,810 --
Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation... -- 12
King Yuan Electronics Company, Limited.......... -- 19,659
Powertech Technology, Incorporated.............. -- 9,280
------------ ------------------
$ 169,980 $ 31,312
============ ==================
Year Ended
December 31, 2002
--------------------------------
Revenues Purchases
------------ ------------------
Silicon Technology Co., Ltd..................... $ 2,089 $ --
Acer and related entities (1)................... 269 --
Apacer Technology, Inc and related entities..... 899 588
Professional Computer Technology Limited........ 141 --
Silicon Professional Technology Ltd............. 140,003 --
King Yuan Electronics Company, Limited.......... -- 18,163
Powertech Technology, Incorporated.............. -- 8,378
------------ ------------------
$ 143,401 $ 27,129
============ ==================
(1) Excludes Apacer Technology, Inc. balances.
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The following table is a summary of our related party accounts receivable and accounts payable and accruals (in thousands):
December 31, 2003 December 31, 2004
-------------------------------- -----------------------
Accounts Accounts
Accounts Payable and Accounts Payable and
Receivable Accruals Receivable Accruals
------------ ------------------ ----------- ----------
Silicon Technology Co., Ltd..................... $ 232 $ -- $ 322 $ --
Apacer Technology, Inc and related entities..... 400 736 458 320
Professional Computer Technology Limited........ -- 15 -- 72
Silicon Professional Technology Ltd............. 40,588 550 32,037 694
Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation... -- -- 156 17,227
King Yuan Electronics Company, Limited.......... -- 6,896 -- 13,702
Powertech Technology, Incorporated.............. -- 2,533 -- 3,867
Other........................................... -- 4 -- --
------------ ------------------ ----------- ----------
$ 41,220 $ 10,734 $ 32,973 $ 35,882
============ ================== =========== ==========
In 1996, we acquired a 14% interest in Silicon Technology Co., Ltd., or Silicon Technology, a privately held Japanese company, for $939 thousand in cash. Bing Yeh, our President, CEO and Chairman of our Board of Directors, is also a member of Silicon Technology's board of directors. We acquired the interest in Silicon Technology in order to provide a presence for our products in Japan. We now have our own office in Japan, although Silicon Technology continues to sell our products. At December 31, 2004, our investment, which is carried at cost, represented 9% of the outstanding equity of Silicon Technology. Our sales to Silicon Technology were made at prevailing market prices and the payment terms are consistent with the payment terms extended to our other customers. We are not obligated to provide Silicon Technology with any additional financing.
In 2000, we acquired a 10% interest in Apacer Technology Inc, or Apacer, for $9.9 million in cash. Apacer, a privately held Taiwanese company and a related entity of Acer, is a memory module manufacturer. Bing Yeh, our President, CEO and Chairman of our Board of Directors, is also a member of Apacer's board of directors. In 2001, we invested an additional $2.1 million in Apacer. In August 2002, we made an additional investment of $181 thousand. The investment was written down to $4.4 million during 2002, please refer to Note 13 of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. At December 31, 2004, our investment represented 10% of the outstanding equity of Apacer. Our sales to the related Acer entities were made at prevailing market prices and the payment terms are consistent with the payment terms extended to our other customers. Our purchases from Apacer are made pursuant to purchase orders at prevailing market prices. We do not have a long-term contract with Apacer to supply us with products. If Apacer were to terminate its relationship with us, we believe that we would be able to procure the necessary products from other production subcontractors. We are not obligated to provide Apacer with any additional financing.
In 2000, we acquired a 15% interest in Professional Computer Technology Limited, or PCT, a privately held Taiwanese company, for $1.5 million in cash. Bing Yeh, our President, CEO and Chairman of our Board of Directors, is also a member of PCT's board of directors. PCT is one of our stocking representatives. In May 2002, we made an additional investment of $179 thousand in PCT. During 2003, PCT completed an initial public offering on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and we sold a portion of our holdings. Under Taiwan security regulations, a certain number of shares must be held in a central custody and are restricted from sale for a period of time. The shares available for sale within one year are carried at the quoted market price and included in long-term available-for-sale investments in the balance sheet as of December 31, 2004. Shares required to be held in custody for greater than a one year period are carried at cost and included in equity investments. In February 2004, we purchased $1.7 million of PCT's European convertible bonds. As of December 31, 2004, the value of the stock and convertible bond investment recorded as long-term available-for-sale is valued at $6.4 million and the restricted portion of the investment carried at cost is recorded at $675 thousand. At December 31, 2004 our investment represented 13% of the outstanding equity and 13% of the European convertible bonds of PCT.
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PCT and it subsidiary, Silicon Professional Alliance Corporation, or SPAC, earn commissions for point-of-sales transactions to its customers. Commissions to PCT and SPAC are paid at the same rate as all of our other stocking representatives in Asia. In 2002, 2003 and 2004 we paid sales commissions of $2.5 million, $1.2 million and $579 thousand, respectively, to PCT and SPAC. Shipments, by us or our logistics center, to PCT and SPAC for reshipment accounted for 10.3%, 27.3% and 31.3% of our product shipments in 2002, 2003 and 2004. In addition, PCT and SPAC solicited sales, for which they earned a commission, for 19.5%, 12.0% and 3.3% of our shipments to end users in 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively.
In 2001, PCT established a separate company and wholly-owned subsidiary, Silicon Professional Technology, Ltd., or SPT, to provide planning, warehousing, delivery, billing, collection and other logistic functions for us in Taiwan. SPT now services substantially all of our end customers based in Taiwan, China and other Southeast Asia countries. Products shipped to SPT are accounted for as our inventory held at our logistics center, and revenue is recognized when the products have been delivered and are considered as a sale to our end customers by SPT. We pay SPT a fee based on a percentage of revenue for each product sold through SPT to our end customers. The fee paid to SPT covers the cost of warehousing and insuring inventory and accounts receivable, personnel costs required to maintain logistics and information technology functions and the costs to perform billing and collection of accounts receivable. SPT receives extended payment terms and is obligated to pay us whether or not they have collected the accounts receivable.
We do not have any long-term contracts with SPT, PCT or SPAC, and SPT, PCT or SPAC may cease providing services to us at any time. If SPT, PCT or SPAC were to terminate their relationship with us we would experience a delay in reestablishing warehousing, logistics and distribution functions which would harm our business. We are not obligated to provide SPT, PCT or SPAC with any additional financing.
In 2000, we acquired a 1% interest in King Yuan Electronics Company, Limited, or KYE, a publicly held Taiwanese company, which is a production subcontractor, for $4.6 million in cash. A member of our management team holds a supervisor position at KYE. The role and responsibilities of a supervisor are defined and governed by Corporate Law in Taiwan. The investment was made in KYE in order to strengthen the relationship between us and KYE. During 2001, KYE completed an initial public offering on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Accordingly, the investment has been included in long-term available-for-sale investments in the balance sheet as of December 31, 2003 and 2004. The investment was written down to $1.3 million during 2001 and is valued at $2.3 million as of December 31, 2004 based on the quoted market price. At December 31, 2004, our investment represented 0.5% of the outstanding equity of KYE. Our purchases from KYE are made pursuant to purchase orders at prevailing market prices. We do not have a long-term contract with KYE to supply us with services. If KYE were to terminate its relationship with us, we believe that we would be able to procure the necessary services from other production subcontractors. We are not obligated to provide KYE with any additional financing.
In 2000, we acquired a 3% interest in Powertech Technology, Incorporated, or PTI, a privately held Taiwanese company, which is a production subcontractor, for $2.5 million in cash. Bing Yeh, our President, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors, is also a member of PTI's board of directors. The investment was made in PTI in order to strengthen the relationship between us and PTI. During 2003, PTI completed an initial public offering on the Taiwan Stock Exchange and we sold a portion of our holdings. Under Taiwan security regulations, a certain number of shares must be held in a central custody and are restricted from sale for a period of time. The shares available for sale within one year are carried at the quoted market price and included in long-term available-for-sale investments in the balance sheet as of December 31, 2003 and 2004. Shares required to be held in custody for greater than a one year period are carried at cost and included in equity investments. In August 2004, we invested $723 thousand cash in PTI shares available for sale. As of December 31, 2004, the value of the investment recorded as long-term available-for-sale is valued at $14.1 million and the restricted portion of the investment carried at cost is recorded at $767 thousand. At December 31, 2004, our investment represented 2% of the outstanding equity of PTI. Our purchases from PTI are made pursuant to purchase orders at prevailing market prices. We do not have a long-term contract with PTI to supply us with services. If PTI were to terminate its relationship with us, we believe that we would be able to procure the necessary services from other production subcontractors. We are not obligated to provide PTI with any additional financing.
In 2001, we acquired a 9% interest in Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, or GSMC, a privately held Cayman Islands company for $50.0 million in cash. In March 2004, we invested an additional $33.2 million in GSMC. Bing Yeh, our President, CEO and Chairman of our Board of Directors, is also a member of GSMC's board of directors. In addition, a member of our management team holds one supervisor position at GSMC. The role and responsibilities of a supervisor are defined and governed by Corporate Law in the Cayman Islands. This investment is carried at cost. GSMC has a wholly owned subsidiary, Shanghai Grace Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, or Grace, which is a wafer foundry company with operations in China. Grace began to manufacture our products since late 2003. We do not have a long-term contract with Grace to supply us with products. At December 31, 2004, our investment represented 10% of the outstanding equity of GSMC.
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In 2002, we acquired a 6% interest in Insyde Software Corporation, or Insyde, a privately held Taiwanese company, for $964 thousand in cash. Bing Yeh, our President, CEO and Chairman of our Board of Directors, is also a member of Insyde's board of directors. During 2003, Insyde completed an initial public offering on the Taiwan Stock Exchange. Under Taiwan security regulations, a certain number of shares must be held in a central custody and are restricted from sale for a period of time. The shares available for sale within one year are carried at the quoted market price and included in long-term available-for-sale investments in the balance sheet as of December 31, 2003 and 2004. Shares required to be held in custody for greater than a one year period are carried at cost and included in equity investments. In January 2004, we invested an additional $133 thousand cash in Insyde's convertible bonds. The stock investment was written down $509 thousand during 2004, refer to Note 13 of these Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements. At December 31, 2004, our investment represented 6% of the outstanding equity and 6% of the convertible bonds of Insyde.
In June 2004, we acquired a 9% interest in Advanced Chip Engineering Technology, or ACET, a privately held Taiwanese company for $4.0 million cash. ACET, a related entity of KYE, is a production subcontractor. Chen Tsai, our Senior Vice President of Worldwide Backend Operations, is also a member of ACET's board of directors. At December 31, 2004 our investment, which is carried at cost, represented 9% of the outstanding equity of ACET.
In November 2004, we acquired a 30% interest in Nanotech Corporation, or Nanotech, a privately held Cayman Island company, for $3.8 million cash. Nanotech, a development stage company, has a wholly owned subsidiary which is in the process of establishing foundry operations in China. Bing Yeh, our President, CEO and Chairman of our Board of Directors, is also a member of Nanotech's board of directors. Tsuyoshi Taira, a member of our Board of Directors, also invested in this round of financing.
We are not obligated to provide Nanotech with any additional financing. At December 31, 2004 our investment, which is accounted for under the equity method, represented 30% of the outstanding equity of Nanotech.24
Critical Accounting Estimates
Our critical accounting estimates are as follows:
Revenue recognition. Sales to direct customers and foreign stocking representatives are recognized net of an allowance for estimated returns. When product is shipped to direct customers or stocking representatives, or by our distributors or SPT to end users, prior to recognizing revenue, we also require that evidence of the arrangement exists, the price is fixed or determinable and collection is reasonably assured. Our shipping terms are generally freight on board, or FOB, shipping point and payment terms typically range from 30 to 75 days. Sales to distributors are made primarily under arrangements allowing price protection and the right of stock rotation on merchandise unsold. Because of the uncertainty associated with pricing concessions and future returns, we defer recognition of such revenues, related costs of revenues and related gross profit until the merchandise is sold by the distributor. Products shipped to SPT are accounted for as our inventory held at our logistics center, and revenue is recognized when the products have been delivered and are considered as a sale to our end customers by SPT.
Most of our technology licenses provide for the payment of up-front license fees and continuing royalties based on product sales. For license and other arrangements for technology that we are continuing to enhance and refine, and under which we are obligated to provide unspecified enhancements, revenue is recognized over the lesser of the estimated period that we have historically enhanced and developed refinements to the technology, approximately two to three years (the upgrade period), or the remaining portion of the upgrade period from the date of delivery, provided all specified technology and documentation has been delivered, the fee is fixed or determinable and collection of the fee is reasonably assured. From time to time, we reexamine the estimated upgrade period relating to licensed technology to determine if a change in the estimated upgrade period is needed. Revenue from license or other technology arrangements where we are not continuing to enhance and refine technology or are not obligated to provide unspecified enhancements is recognized upon delivery, if the fee is fixed or determinable and collection of the fee is reasonably assured.
Royalties received under these arrangements during the upgrade period are recognized as revenue based on the ratio of the elapsed portion of the upgrade period to the estimated upgrade period. The remaining portions of the royalties are recognized ratably over the remaining portion of the upgrade period. Royalties received after the upgrade period has elapsed are recognized when reported to us.
If we make different judgments or utilize different estimates in relation to the estimated period of technology enhancement and development, the amount and timing of our license and royalty revenues could be materially different.
Allowance for sales returns. We maintain allowances for sales returns for estimated product returns by our customers. We estimate our allowance for sales returns based on our historical return experience, current economic trends, changes in customer demand, known returns we have not received and other assumptions. The allowance for sales returns was $1.8 million, $1.3 million and $2.0 million as of December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively. If we make different judgments or utilize different estimates, the amount and timing of our revenue could be materially different.
Allowance for doubtful accounts. We maintain allowance for doubtful accounts for estimated losses from the inability of our customers to make required payments. We evaluate our allowance for doubtful accounts based on the aging of our accounts receivable, the financial condition of our customers and their payment history, our historical write-off experience and other assumptions. If we were to make different judgments of the financial condition of our customers or the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required. The allowance for doubtful accounts was $4.4 million, $1.1 million and $1.2 million as of December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively.
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Allowance for excess and obsolete inventory and lower of cost or market. Our inventories are stated at the lower of cost (determined on a first-in, first-out basis) or market value. We typically plan our production and inventory levels based on internal forecasts of customer demand, which are highly unpredictable and can fluctuate substantially. The value of our inventory is dependent on our estimate of future average selling prices, and, if our projected average selling prices are over estimated, we may be required to adjust our inventory value to reflect the lower of cost or market. Our inventories include high technology parts and components that are specialized in nature or subject to rapid technological obsolescence. We maintain allowance for inventory for potentially excess and obsolete inventories and those inventories carried at costs that are higher than their market values. We review on-hand inventory including inventory held at the logistic center for potential excess, obsolete and lower of cost or market exposure and adjust the level of inventory reserve accordingly. Some of our customers have requested that we ship them product that has a finished goods date of manufacture that is less than one year old. In the event that this becomes a common requirement, it may be necessary for us to provide for an additional allowance for our on hand finished goods inventory with a date of manufacture of greater than one year old, which could result in additional inventory write-downs.
Our allowance for excess and obsolete inventories includes an allowance for our on hand finished goods inventory with a date of manufacture of greater than two years old and for certain products with a date of manufacture of greater than one year old. For the obsolete inventory analysis, we review inventory items in detail and consider date code, customer base requirements, known product defects, planned or recent product revisions, end of life plans and diminished market demand. If we determine that market conditions are less favorable than those currently projected by management, such as an unanticipated decline in average selling prices or demand not meeting our expectations, additional inventory write-downs may be required. The allowance for excess and obsolete inventories and lower of cost or market was $27.4 million, $11.2 million and $32.2 million as of December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively.Warranty accrual. Our products are generally subject to warranty and we provide for the estimated future costs of repair, replacement or customer accommodation upon shipment of the product in the accompanying statements of operations. Our warranty accrual is estimated based on historical claims compared to historical revenues and assumes that we have to replace products subject to a claim. For new products, we use our historical percentage for the appropriate class of product. Should actual product failure rates differ from our estimates, revisions to the estimated warranty liability would be required. The recorded value of our warranty accrual was $492 thousand, $187 thousand and $3.8 million as of December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively.
Litigation costs. From time to time, we are also involved in other legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business. We have incurred certain costs associated with defending these matters. There can be no assurance the Atmel complaint, shareholder class action complaints, shareholder derivative complaints or other third party assertions will be resolved without costly litigation, in a manner that is not adverse to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows or without requiring royalty payments in the future which may adversely impact gross margins. As of December 31, 2004, no estimate can be made of the possible loss or possible range of loss associated with the resolution of these contingencies. If additional information becomes available such that we estimate that there is a possible loss or possible range of loss associated with these contingencies, then we would record the minimum estimated liability, which could materially impact our results of operations and financial position.
Valuation of equity investments. We hold minority interests in companies having operations in the semiconductor industry. We record an investment impairment charge when we believe an investment has experienced a decline in value that is other than temporary. Future adverse changes in market conditions or poor operating results of underlying investments could result in losses or an inability to recover the carrying value of the investments, thereby possibly requiring an impairment charge in the future. The recorded value of our equity investments was $62.3 million, $70.1 million and $121.7 million as of December 31, 2002, 2003 and 2004, respectively.
Provision for adverse purchase commitments. We maintain a provision for adverse purchase commitments for in process orders at our vendors when there is a lower of cost or market valuation against our on hand inventory. Once production has begun against our purchase orders, we are committed to purchasing the inventory or, if we cancel the order, we are liable for all costs incurred up to the time of cancellation. If we have written down our on-hand inventory of the ordered product for lower of cost or market valuations, we must consider the impact to in process inventory at our vendor. We evaluate our in process orders to determine the impact of canceling the order and the impac