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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 


 

FORM 10-K

 


 

x

   ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d)
OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
     For the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2004

¨

   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 0-21422

 

OPTi Inc.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in this charter)

 

CALIFORNIA   77-0220697

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporated or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

880 Maude Avenue, Suite A,

Mountain View, California

  94043
(Address of principal executive office)   (Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code  (650) 625-8787

 

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 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  þ    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 the Form 10-K.    ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in exchange Act Rule 12(b)-2).    Yes  ¨    No  þ

 

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant, based upon the closing sale price of the Common Stock on September 30, 2003, as reported on the Nasdaq National Market, was approximately $7,816,003. Shares of Common Stock held by each executive officer and director and by each person who owns 5% or more of the outstanding Common Stock have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

 

The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s common stock as of May 31, 2004 was 11,633,903.

 



Table of Contents

OPTi Inc.

 

Form 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2004

 

INDEX

 

         

Page

Number


PART I

         

Item 1.

  

Business

   1

Item 2.

  

Properties

   5

Item 3.

  

Legal Proceedings

   5

Item 4.

  

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

   5

PART II

         

Item 5.

  

Market for Registrant’s Common Stock and Related Stockholder Matters

   6

Item 6.

  

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

   7

Item 7.

   Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations    8

Item 7A.

  

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk

   11

Item 8.

  

Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

   11

Item 9.

   Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure    11

Item 9A.

  

Controls and Procedures

   11

PART III

         

Item 10.

  

Directors and Executive Officers of the Registrant

   12

Item 11.

  

Executive Compensation

   13

Item 12.

  

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

   15

Item 13.

  

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

   17

Item 14.

  

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

   17

PART IV

         

Item 15.

  

Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules and Reports on Form 8-K

   18
    

Signatures

   20


Table of Contents

PART I

 

Item 1.    Business

 

Information set forth in this report constitutes and includes forward looking information made within the meaning of Section 27A of the Security Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that involve risks and uncertainties. The Company’s actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including the ability of its licensee to continue to sale the licensed products, market conditions generally and in the personal computer and semiconductor industries, changes in intellectual property law in the semiconductor industry and in general and other matters. Readers are encouraged to refer to “Factors Affecting Earnings and Stock Price” found below.

 

Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports are available on the Securities and Exchange Commission website http://www.sec.gov.

 

Introduction

 

OPTi Inc. a California corporation (“OPTi” or the “Company”), was founded in 1989, as an independent supplier of semiconductor products to the personal computer (“PC”) and embedded marketplaces.

 

In September 2002, the Company sold its product fabrication, distribution and sales operations to Opti Technologies, Inc., an unrelated third party, and the Company ceased manufacturing, marketing and sales operations. However, the Company believes that certain of its patented technology is in widespread unlicensed use and the Company has been engaged in perfecting its intellectual property position, investigating unlicensed use of its technology and developing and validating a strategy to pursue product licenses from unlicensed users.

 

As of the end of fiscal 2004, the Company expects to receive only an additional $52,000 in royalty revenue due from the sale of its operations to Opti Technology, Inc. and those payments are expected to be completed in the first half of fiscal 2005. The Company currently expects that all other future revenues, if any, will arise only through the pursuit of its patent infringement cases and associated licensing efforts. The Company has accordingly reduced its operating personnel and expenses to minimum levels.

 

In addition, during the December 2003 fiscal quarter, the Company realized a gain of $306,000 on the sale of its remaining shares in Tripath Technology, Inc., a publicly traded company. OPTi had made strategic investments in Tripath then a non-public company. In April 2002, OPTi declared an asset dividend and distributed substantially all of its holdings in Tripath to OPTi shareholders. OPTi retained 52,952 shares in Tripath in order to avoid the difficulties relating to distributing fractional shares of Tripath to OPTi shareholders in the asset dividend. Following the December 2003 fiscal quarter sale of the shares in Tripath, OPTi holds no further shares in Tripath or any other companies. OPTi holds substantially all of its liquid assets in cash and cash equivalents for the purpose of financing its efforts to pursue licenses and claims relating to its intellectual property and the Company has no current intention of investing or trading in securities.

 

The Company changed its fiscal year-end from December 31, to March 31, effective with the year beginning April 1, 2002. A three-month transition period from January 1, 2002 through March 31, 2002 (the “Transition Period”) proceeds the start of the 2003 fiscal year. “2001” refer to the years ended December 31, the Transition Period refers to the three months ended March 31, 2002, and “2004” and “2003” refers to the twelve months ended March 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively.

 

1


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Industry Background

 

During the last decade, the PC industry has grown rapidly as increased functionality combined with lower pricing have made PC” valuable and affordable tolls for business and personal use.

 

The trend to higher performance, lower cost personal computers has been accompanied by a variety of changes in the market for personal computers and the technologies used to address these emerging market requirements. The consumer and home office sectors have become the fastest growing sectors of the PC market, driven, in part, by the emergence of low-cost multimedia computers and peripherals.

 

These changes in the PC market and technology directly affect the market for core logic chipsets. The primary customer base for chipsets has shifted significantly to major PC manufactures and to the suppliers to these leading OEM customers, in contrast to prior periods in which motherboard manufacturers and system integrators represented the largest portion of the market for core logic chipsets. Large OEMs require increasingly higher levels of product integration, thus enabling them to reduce parts count and control total product costs.

 

Growth has continued in the PC market as computer and consumer electronics industries have converged, combining increased multimedia and communications capabilities. Today’s systems increasingly offer more powerful microprocessors, highly integrated chipsets, integrated video, stereo sound, highspeed fax and modem communications and CD-ROM.

 

OPTi believes that the existing technology used in current generations of core logic chipsets may be infringing some of the patented technology that the Company had developed.

 

Strategy

 

Pursue Infringement Claims for Proprietary Chipset Technologies

 

The Company’s current strategy is to pursue licensing opportunities as a means of resolving potential infringement of its proprietary intellectual property in the core logic area. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2000, the Company entered into a one-time licensing arrangement for $13,311,000 on the core logic technology that the Company had developed during its existence. During the first quarter of fiscal year 2004, the Company also entered into a one-time license arrangement on its patented technology. The Company believes that there may be additional companies that may be infringing its patents. The Company is actively working to explore all possible arrangements to settle such infringement.

 

Research and Development

 

As of June 14, 2004, the Company had no research and development employees. During 2004, 2003 and 2002 the Company had no research and development expenses. All research and development costs are expensed as incurred.

 

At this time the Company is not engaged in any research and development activity.

 

Intellectual Property

 

The Company seeks to protect its proprietary technology by the filing of patents. The Company currently has thirty four issued U.S. patents based on certain aspects of the Company’s designs. The Company currently has two pending U.S. patents for its technology, and there can be no assurance that the pending patents will be issued or, if issued, will provide protection for the Company’s competitive position.

 

2


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The Company has been and may from time to time continue to be notified of claims that it may be infringing patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights owned by other third parties. There can be no assurances that these or other companies will not in the future pursue claims against the Company with respect to the alleged infringement of patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights. In addition, litigation may be necessary to protect the Company’s intellectual property rights and trade secrets, to determine the validity of and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to defend against third party claims of invalidity. Any litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

The Company has entered into license agreements in the past regarding certain alleged infringement claims asserted by third parties. There can be no assurance that additional infringement, invalidity, right to use or ownership claims by third parties or claims for indemnification resulting from infringement claims will be asserted in the future. If any other claims or actions are asserted against the Company, the Company may seek to obtain a license under a third party’s intellectual property rights. There can be no assurance, however, that a license will be available under reasonable terms or at all. The failure to obtain a license under a patent or intellectual property right from a third party for technology used by the Company could cause the Company to incur substantial liabilities and adversely affect the Company’s pursuit of its own patent infringement claims. In addition, should the Company decide to litigate the claims, such litigation could be extremely expensive and time consuming and could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations, regardless of the outcome of the litigation.

 

Factors Affecting Earnings and Stock Price

 

Reporting of OPTi Common Stock Trading on the Pink Sheets

 

In May 2004, the Nasdaq National Market advised us that it had denied our appeal of the Nasdaq staff’s determination to delist our common stock due to the staff’s belief that OPTi’s current business plan of pursuing license revenues from companies we believe are infringing OPTi’s patents did not constitute active business operations, at a level and type consistent with the Nasdaq’s qualitative listing criteria for listed companies.

 

Since May 26, 2004, our common stock has traded over-the-counter and has been quoted on the Pink Sheets. Some investors may be less likely to invest in stocks that are not traded on recognized national markets and listing services such as Nasdaq. Therefore, investors in our common stock may experience reduced liquidity when attempting to trade shares of our common stock.

 

Dependence on Intellectual Property Position

 

The success of the Company’s current strategy of resolving potential infringement of its patented core logic technology can be affected by new developments in intellectual property law generally and with respect to semiconductor patents in particular and upon the Company’s success in defending its patent position. It is difficult to predict developments and changes in intellectual property law. However, such changes could have an adverse impact on the Company’s ability to pursue infringement claims on its previously developed technology.

 

Uncertain Revenue Stream

 

During fiscal 2004, payments from OPTi’s significant revenue stream (royalty payments from Opti Technologies, Inc., an unrelated third party to whom the Company sold rights to its product lines in September 2002) continued but OPTi expects that the remaining $52,000 of revenue will be completed in the first half of fiscal 2005. No further revenue is expected from Opti Technologies, Inc. and the Company’s future revenues depend on the success of our strategy of pursuing license claims to our intellectual property position. Although the Company recently engaged a major law firm to pursue licensing and claims on our behalf, there can be no assurances whether or when revenues will result from the pursuit of such claims.

 

3


Table of Contents

In addition, the Company’s focus on pursuing claims related to its intellectual property position can result in one time payments that may increase revenues during a single fiscal period but may not be repeated in future periods. For example, in the fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2003, the Company reached a settlement of certain claims and counterclaims with National Semiconductor that included, among other things, a one time cash payment to the Company. Under the terms of the settlement, the Company will not receive future payments from National Semiconductor. Consequently, settlements of these claims will cause our operating results to fluctuate from period to period and revenues that we may receive from such a settlement should not be viewed as indicative of future trends in our operating results.

 

Fluctuations in Operating Results

 

The Company has experienced significant fluctuations in its operating results in the past and expects that it will experience such fluctuations in the future. In the past, these fluctuations were caused by a variety of factors including increased competition, price competition, changes in customer demand, ability to continue to sale existing products, inventory adjustments, changes in the availability of foundry capacity, changes in the mix of products sold and litigation expenses. In the future, the Company’s operating results will largely be dependent on its ability to generate revenue from its pursuit of license and patent infringement claims.

 

Limited Trading Volume

 

Daily trading volume in our shares has varied from zero to over one million shares during the last two years. Therefore, investors in our stock may find liquidity in our shares to be limited and difficult to predict .

 

Possible Volatility of Stock Price

 

There can be no assurances as to the Company’s operating results in any given period. The Company expects that the trading price of its common stock will continue to be subject to the possibility of significant volatility.

 

Employees

 

As of March 31, 2004, the Company had one full-time and two part-time general and administration employees. The two part-time employees were also the executive officers of the Company. The Company’s employees are not represented by any collective bargaining unit, and the Company has never experienced a work stoppage. The Company’s ability to retain key employees is a critical factor to the Company’s success.

 

The executive officers of the Company as of June 14, 2004 were as follows:

 

Name


   Age

    

Position with the Company


Bernard T. Marren

   68     

President and Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Board

Michael Mazzoni

   41     

Chief Financial Officer and Secretary

 

Bernard T. Marren has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company since May 1998. Mr. Marren was elected as a director in May 1996. He also founded and was the first President of SIA (the Semiconductor Industry Association). Mr. Marren is also a director of several private companies.

 

Michael Mazzoni has served as Chief Financial Officer since December 2000. Mr. Mazzoni also served with the Company from October 1993 to January 2000. The last two years prior to his departure Mr. Mazzoni served as its Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Mazzoni also currently serves as Chief Financial Officer of Horizon Navigation, Inc., a privately held navigation company, and has served in that role since January 2003. Prior to rejoining the Company, Mr. Mazzoni was Chief Financial Officer of Xpeed, Inc., a startup in the Digital Subscriber Line CPE business, from January 2000 to November 2000.

 

4


Table of Contents

Item 2.    Properties

 

The Company is headquartered in Mountain View, California, where it leases administrative facilities in one location consisting of an aggregate of approximately, 2,700 square feet. The lease on this building expires in April 2005. The Company believes that these facilities are adequate for its needs in the forseeable future.

 

Item 3.    Legal Proceedings

 

The Company from time to time has been notified of claims that it may be infringing patents, maskwork rights, or copyrights owned by third parties. There can be no assurance that the Company will not become involved in litigation regarding the alleged infringements by the Company of third party intellectual property rights. At this time the Company is unaware of any such claims.

 

Item 4.    Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

 

OPTi shareholders voted on two proposals at the Company’s Annual Meeting of shareholders, which was held on March 25, 2004.

 

Proposal 1 was to re-elect all four of the Company’s directors to serve as members of the OPTi Board of Directors for the ensuing year and until their successors are duly elected; and

 

Proposal 2 was to ratify and approve the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as independent auditors of OPTi Inc. for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004.

 

Each nominee for the Board of Directors was re-elected at the 2003 Annual Meeting. The following number of votes was cast “for” and “against” each nominee:

 

     For

   Against

Bernard T. Marren

   11,470,446    6,316

Kapil K. Nanda

   11,471,646    5,116

William H. Welling

   11,468,646    8,116

Stephen F. Diamond

   11,451,446    25,316

 

The shareholders also approved the second proposal, to ratify Ernst & Young LLP as independent auditors of OPTi Inc. The following votes were tabulated:

 

     For

   Against

   Abstain

Appointment of Ernst & Young LLP

   11,473,762    3,000    —  

 

5


Table of Contents

PART II

 

Item 5.    Market for Registrant’s Common Stock and Related Stockholder Matters

 

The following required information is filed as a part of this Report:

 

On February 19, 2002, the Company paid a cash dividend of $1.50 per share on each share of its common stock. The Board of Directors decided to provide the cash dividend based upon the Company’s then existing excess cash position. The Company currently intends to retain any future earnings for use in the operation of its business.

 

The Company’s common stock traded on the Nasdaq National Market until May 25, 2004. Its common stock is currently traded over-the-counter under the symbol “OPTI.PK” and is reported on the Pink Sheets. The following table sets forth the range of high and low closing prices for the Common Stock:

 

     Quarterly Period Ended

     June 30,

   Sept. 30,

   Dec. 31,

   Mar. 31,

Common stock price per share:

                           

Fiscal 2004

                           

High

   $ 1.72    $ 1.61    $ 1.56    $ 1.63

Low

     1.35      1.38      1.36      1.40

Fiscal 2003

                           

High

   $ 1.70    $ 1.45    $ 1.72    $ 1.43

Low

     1.26      1.12      1.16      1.27

 

As of June 14, 2004, there were approximately 143 holders of record of the Company’s common stock.

 

6


Table of Contents

Item 6.    Selected Consolidated Financial Data

 

   

Year Ended

March 31,

2004


   

Year Ended

March 31,

2003


   

Three Months

Ended

March 31,
2002


   

Year Ended

December 31,

2001


   

Year Ended

December 31,

2000


 

Year Ended

December 31,

1999


 
    (In thousands, except per share data)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

                                             

Net sales

  $ 1,050     $ 3,072     $ 1,029     $ 7,566     $ 23,198   $ 22,257  

Cost of sales

    —         1,289       554       3,555       6,453     14,403  
   


 


 


 


 

 


Gross margin

    1,050       1,783       475       4,011       16,745     7,854  

Operating expenses

    1,148       1,904       689       4,776       7,578     16,776  
   


 


 


 


 

 


Operating income (loss)

    (98 )     (121 )     (214 )     (765 )     9,167     (8,922 )

Other income (expenses):

                                             

Interest income and other

    432       1,748       85       1,655       2,138     3,231  

Interest expense

    —         —         —         —         —       (261 )
   


 


 


 


 

 


Income (loss) before provision for income taxes

    334       1,627       (129 )     890       11,305     (5,952 )

Provision (benefit) for income
taxes

    —         (165 )     —         12       261     59  
   


 


 


 


 

 


Net income (loss)

  $ 334     $ 1,792     $ (129 )   $ 878     $ 11,044   $ (6,011 )
   


 


 


 


 

 


Basic net income (loss) per
share

  $ 0.03     $ 0.15     $ (0.01 )   $ 0.08     $ 0.95   $ (0.54 )
   


 


 


 


 

 


Shares used in computing basic per share amounts

    11,634       11,634       11,634       11,638       11,644     11,059  
   


 


 


 


 

 


Diluted net income (loss) per
share

  $ 0.03     $ 0.15     $ (0.01 )   $ 0.08     $ 0.95   $ (0.54 )
   


 


 


 


 

 


Shares used in computing diluted per share amounts

    11,634       11,634       11,634       11,639       11,653     11,059  
   


 


 


 


 

 


Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

                                             

Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments

  $ 15,520     $ 15,008     $ 17,679     $ 34,847     $ 58,126   $ 23,722  

Working capital

    15,451       15,139       17,832       35,461       56,950     19,682  

Total assets

    15,744       15,393       19,240       36,961       61,272     28,232  

Long-term obligations, excluding current portion

    —         —         —         —&n