Cohu Reports Fourth Quarter 2023 Results

In this article:
  • Full year 2023 revenue of $636 million

  • Fourth quarter revenue $137 million

  • Fourth quarter gross margin of 47.7%; non-GAAP gross margin of 48.5%

  • Paid off the remaining balance of $29.3 million of Term Loan B in early first quarter 2024

  • Introduced AI inspection software to increase vision yield, expanding recurring business

POWAY, Calif., February 15, 2024--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cohu, Inc. (NASDAQ: COHU), a global leader in semiconductor equipment and services, today reported fiscal 2023 fourth quarter net sales of $137.2 million and GAAP loss of $2.0 million or $0.04 per share. Net sales for full year 2023 were $636.3 million with GAAP income of $28.2 million or $0.59 per share.

The Company also reported non-GAAP results, with fourth quarter 2023 income of $11.1 million or $0.23 per share and income of $77.9 million or $1.62 per share for full year 2023.

GAAP Results

(in millions, except per share amounts)

Q4 FY 2023

Q3 FY 2023

Q4 FY 2022

12 Months 2023

12 Months 2022

Net sales

$

137.2

$

150.8

$

191.1

$

636.3

$

812.8

Net income (loss)

$

(2.0

)

$

3.9

$

21.6

$

28.2

$

96.8

Net income (loss) per share

$

(0.04

)

$

0.08

$

0.45

$

0.59

$

1.98

Non-GAAP Results

(in millions, except per share amounts)

Q4 FY 2023

Q3 FY 2023

Q4 FY 2022

12 Months 2023

12 Months 2022

Net income

$

11.1

$

16.9

$

33.5

$

77.9

$

141.9

Net income per share

$

0.23

$

0.35

$

0.70

$

1.62

$

2.91

Total cash and investments at the end of fourth quarter 2023 were $335.7 million and our Term Loan B principal amount was $29.3 million; however, on February 9, 2024, the Company paid off the remaining amounts owed under the loan. Cohu repurchased 390,285 shares of its common stock during fourth quarter 2023 for an aggregate amount of approximately $12.8 million.

"Fourth quarter results were in-line or better than guidance with strong gross margin and profitability. We launched AI inspection software with two customers and opened our new factory in the Philippines which is ramping manufacturing of test contactors, both aligned with our strategy to expand recurring business. Cohu achieved recurring revenue of $310 million over the last twelve months with a 3-year compound growth rate of 5%," said Cohu President and CEO Luis Müller. "Although demand for systems is likely to remain subdued in the near-term, our customers have been forecasting a recovery for the second half of 2024."

Cohu expects first quarter 2024 sales to be in a range of $107 million +/- $6 million.

Conference Call Information:

The Company will host a live conference call and webcast with slides to discuss fourth quarter 2023 results at 1:30 p.m. Pacific Time/4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on February 15, 2024. Interested parties may listen live via webcast on Cohu’s investor relations website at https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/5ovoraj2.

To participate via telephone and join the call live, please register in advance at https://register.vevent.com/register/BI94bbc71cea5a4b439ae74a94ccfd02e2 to receive the dial-in number along with a unique PIN number that can be used to access the call.

About Cohu:

Cohu (NASDAQ: COHU) is a global technology leader supplying test, automation, inspection and metrology products and services to the semiconductor industry. Cohu’s differentiated and broad product portfolio enables optimized yield and productivity, accelerating customers’ manufacturing time-to-market. Additional information can be found at www.cohu.com.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information:

Included within this press release and accompanying materials are non-GAAP financial measures, including non-GAAP Gross Margin/Profit, Income and Income (adjusted earnings) per share, Operating Income, Operating Expense, effective tax rate, free cash flow, net cash per share and Adjusted EBITDA that supplement the Company’s Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations prepared under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). These non-GAAP financial measures adjust the Company’s actual results prepared under GAAP to exclude charges and the related income tax effect for: share-based compensation, the amortization of purchased intangible assets, manufacturing transition and severance costs, acquisition-related costs and associated professional fees, restructuring costs, inventory step-up, depreciation of purchase accounting adjustments to property, plant and equipment, employer payroll taxes related to accelerated vesting share-based awards, amortization of cloud-based software implementation costs (Adjusted EBITDA only) and loss on extinguishment of debt (Adjusted EBITDA only). Reconciliations of GAAP to non-GAAP amounts for the periods presented herein are provided in schedules accompanying this release and should be considered together with the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations. With respect to any forward-looking non-GAAP figures, we are unable to provide without unreasonable efforts, at this time, a GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation of any forward-looking figures due to their inherent uncertainty.

These non-GAAP measures are not meant as a substitute for GAAP, but are included solely for informational and comparative purposes. The Company’s management believes that this information can assist investors in evaluating the Company’s operational trends, financial performance, and cash generating capacity. Management uses non-GAAP measures for a variety of reasons, including to make operational decisions, to determine executive compensation in part, to forecast future operational results, and for comparison to our annual operating plan. However, the non-GAAP financial measures should not be regarded as a replacement for (or superior to) corresponding, similarly captioned, GAAP measures.

Forward Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained in this release and accompanying materials may be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding expectations related to our AI inspection software products or our new factory in the Philippines; expanding Cohu’s recurring revenue; Cohu’s FY2024 outlook, including quarterly projections; expected market condition improvements or other forecasts based upon customer input; and any other statements that are predictive in nature and depend upon or refer to future events or conditions; and/or include words such as "may," "will," "should," "would," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "likely," "believe," "estimate," "project," "intend;" and/or other similar expressions among others. Statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on current beliefs and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. Any third-party industry analyst forecasts quoted are for reference only and Cohu does not adopt or affirm any such forecasts.

Actual results and future business conditions could differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement as a result of various factors, including, without limitation: new product investments and product enhancements which may not be commercially successful; the semiconductor industry is seasonal, cyclical, volatile and unpredictable; recent erosion in mobile, automotive and industrial market sales; our ability to manage and deliver high quality products and services; failure of sole source contract manufacturer or our ability to manage third-party raw material, component and/or service providers; ongoing inflationary pressures on material and operational costs coupled with rising interest rates; economic recession; the semiconductor industry is intensely competitive, subject to rapid technological changes, and experiences consolidation of key customers for semiconductor test equipment; a limited number of customers account for a substantial percentage of net sales; significant exports to foreign countries with economic and political instability and competition from a number of Asia-based manufacturers; our relationships with customers may deteriorate; loss of key personnel; risks of using artificial intelligence within Cohu’s product developments and business; reliance on foreign locations and geopolitical instability in such locations critical to Cohu and its customers; natural disasters, war and climate-related changes, including related economic impacts; levels of debt; access to sufficient capital on reasonable or favorable terms; foreign operations and related currency fluctuations; required or desired accounting charges and the cost or effectiveness of accounting controls; instability of financial institutions where we maintain cash deposits and potential loss of uninsured cash deposits; significant goodwill and other intangibles as percentage of our total assets; increasingly restrictive trade and export regulations impacting our ability to sell products, specifically within China; risks associated with acquisitions, investments and divestitures such as integration and synergies; constraints related to corporate governance structures; share repurchases and related impacts; financial or operating results that are below forecast or credit rating changes impacting our stock price or financing ability; law/regulatory changes and including environmental or tax law changes; significant volatility in our stock price; the risk of cybersecurity breaches; enforcing or defending intellectual property claims or other litigation.

These and other risks and uncertainties are discussed more fully in Cohu’s filings with the SEC, including our most recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Q, and the other filings made by Cohu with the SEC from time to time, which are available via the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Except as required by applicable law, Cohu does not undertake any obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statement, or to make any other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

For press releases and other information of interest to investors, please visit Cohu’s website at www.cohu.com.

COHU, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

Three Months Ended (1)

Twelve Months Ended (1)

December 30,

December 31,

December 30,

December 31,

2023 (2)

2022

2023

2022

Net sales

$

137,226

$

191,105

$

636,322

$

812,775

Cost and expenses:

Cost of sales (excluding amortization)

71,816

97,954

333,454

429,449

Research and development

22,117

22,951

88,571

92,589

Selling, general and administrative

32,846

34,849

132,249

131,390

Amortization of purchased intangible assets

9,738

8,103

36,355

33,185

Restructuring charges

375

5

2,421

605

136,892

163,862

593,050

687,218

Income from operations

334

27,243

43,272

125,557

Other (expense) income:

Interest expense

(754

)

(1,249

)

(3,382

)

(4,177

)

Interest income

2,847

2,461

11,504

4,012

Foreign transaction gain (loss)

(2,924

)

(2,344

)

(5,209

)

1,635

Loss on extinguishment of debt

-

-

(369

)

(312

)

Income (loss) from operations before taxes

(497

)

26,111

45,816

126,715

Income tax provision

1,531

4,483

17,660

29,868

Net income (loss)

$

(2,028

)

$

21,628

$

28,156

$

96,847

Income (loss) per share:

Basic:

$

(0.04

)

$

0.46

$

0.59

$

2.01

Diluted:

$

(0.04

)

$

0.45

$

0.59

$

1.98

Weighted average shares used in computing income (loss) per share: (3)

Basic

47,369

47,477

47,486

48,178

Diluted

47,369

48,175

48,025

48,799

(1)

The three- and twelve-month periods ended December 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022 were both comprised of 13 weeks and 52 weeks, respectively.

(2)

On January 30, 2023 the Company completed the acquisition of MCT Worldwide, LLC ("MCT") and on October 2, 2023 the Company completed the acquisition of Equiptest Engineering Pte. Ltd. ("EQT"). The results of MCT’s and EQT’s operations have been included since those dates.

(3)

For the three-month period ended December 30, 2023, potentially dilutive securities were excluded from the per share computations due to their antidilutive effect.

COHU, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited)

(in thousands)

December 30,

December 31,

2023

2022

Assets:

Current assets:

Cash and investments

$

335,698

$

385,576

Accounts receivable

124,624

176,148

Inventories

155,793

170,141

Other current assets

22,703

32,986

Total current assets

638,818

764,851

Property, plant & equipment, net

69,085

65,011

Goodwill

241,658

213,539

Intangible assets, net

151,770

140,104

Operating lease right of use assets

16,778

22,804

Other assets

32,243

21,105

Total assets

$

1,150,352

$

1,227,414

Liabilities & Stockholders’ Equity:

Current liabilities:

Short-term borrowings

$

1,773

$

1,907

Current installments of long-term debt

4,551

4,404

Deferred profit

3,586

8,022

Other current liabilities

93,511

146,539

Total current liabilities

103,421

160,872

Long-term debt

34,303

72,664

Non-current operating lease liabilities

13,175

19,209

Other noncurrent liabilities

49,283

45,828

Cohu stockholders’ equity

950,170

928,841

Total liabilities & stockholders’ equity

$

1,150,352

$

1,227,414

COHU, INC.

Supplemental Reconciliation of GAAP Results to Non-GAAP Financial Measures (Unaudited)

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

Three Months Ended

December 30,

September 30,

December 31,

2023

2023

2022

Income from operations - GAAP basis (a)

$

334

$

7,402

$

27,243

Non-GAAP adjustments:

Share-based compensation included in (b):

Cost of sales (COS)

226

223

168

Research and development (R&D)

860

849

767

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A)

3,471

3,262

2,888

4,557

4,334

3,823

Amortization of purchased intangible assets (c)

9,738

8,857

8,103

Restructuring charges related to inventory adjustments in COS (d)

(3

)

(18

)

(35

)

Restructuring charges (d)

375

742

5

Manufacturing and sales transition costs included in (e):

COS

7

-

(13

)

R&D

-

-

(7

)

SG&A

527

61

1,723

534

61

1,703

Inventory step-up included in COS (f)

868

-

-

Acquisition costs included in SG&A (g)

288

758

72

Depreciation of PP&E step-up included in SG&A (h)

30

14

-

Income from operations - non-GAAP basis (i)

$

16,721

$

22,150

$

40,914

Net income (loss) - GAAP basis

$

(2,028

)

$

3,915

$

21,628

Non-GAAP adjustments (as scheduled above)

16,387

14,748

13,671

Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments (j)

(3,239

)

(1,754

)

(1,761

)

Net income - non-GAAP basis

$

11,120

$

16,909

$

33,538

GAAP net income (loss) per share - diluted

$

(0.04

)

$

0.08

$

0.45

Non-GAAP net income per share - diluted (k)

$

0.23

$

0.35

$

0.70

Management believes the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures, when taken together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provides meaningful supplemental information regarding the Company’s operating performance. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing the Company's operating results, as well as when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods and these non-GAAP measures allow investors to evaluate the Company’s financial performance using some of the same measures as management. Management views share-based compensation as an expense that is unrelated to the Company’s operational performance as it does not require cash payments and can vary in amount from period to period and the elimination of amortization charges provides better comparability of pre- and post-acquisition operating results and to results of businesses utilizing internally developed intangible assets. Management initiated certain restructuring activities including employee headcount reductions and other organizational changes to align our business strategies in light of the merger with Xcerra and the acquisitions of MCT and EQT. Restructuring costs have been excluded because such expense is not used by Management to assess the core profitability of Cohu’s business operations. PP&E and inventory step-up costs have been excluded by management as they are unrelated to the core operating activities of the Company. Acquisition costs have been excluded by management as they are unrelated to the core operating activities of the Company and the frequency and variability in the nature of the charges can vary significantly from period to period. Excluding this data provides investors with a basis to compare Cohu’s performance against the performance of other companies without this variability. However, the non-GAAP financial measures should not be regarded as a replacement for (or superior to) corresponding, similarly captioned, GAAP measures. The presentation of non-GAAP financial measures above may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies and investors should be careful when comparing our non-GAAP financial measures to those of other companies.

(a)

0.2%, 4.9% and 14.3% of net sales, respectively.

(b)

To eliminate compensation expense for employee stock options, stock units and our employee stock purchase plan.

(c)

To eliminate the amortization of acquired intangible assets.

(d)

To eliminate restructuring costs incurred related to the integration of MCT and Xcerra.

(e)

To eliminate the manufacturing transition and severance costs.

(f)

To eliminate amortization of inventory step up charges related to the acquisition of MCT and EQT.

(g)

To eliminate professional fees and other direct incremental expenses incurred related to acquisitions.

(h)

To eliminate depreciation of PP&E step up charges related to the acquisition of MCT and EQT.

(i)

12.2%, 14.7% and 21.4% of net sales, respectively.

(j)

To adjust the provision for income taxes related to the adjustments described above based on applicable tax rates.

(k)

The three months ended December 30, 2023 was computed using 47,795 shares outstanding, as the effect of dilutive securities was excluded from GAAP diluted common shares due to the reported net loss under GAAP, but are included for non-GAAP diluted common shares since the Company has non-GAAP net income. All other periods presented were calculated using the number of GAAP diluted shares outstanding.

COHU, INC.

Supplemental Reconciliation of GAAP Results to Non-GAAP Financial Measures (Unaudited)

(in thousands, except per share amounts)

Twelve Months Ended

December 30,

December 31,

2023

2022

Income from operations - GAAP basis (a)

$

43,272

$

125,557

Non-GAAP adjustments:

Share-based compensation included in (b):

Cost of sales (COS)

845

646

Research and development (R&D)

3,394

3,100

Selling, general and administrative (SG&A)

12,998

11,172

17,237

14,918

Amortization of purchased intangible assets (c)

36,355

33,185

Restructuring charges related to inventory adjustments in COS (d)

(62

)

(454

)

Restructuring charges (d)

2,421

605

Manufacturing and sales transition costs included in (e):

COS

25

(13

)

R&D

22

(7

)

SG&A

1,007

1,723

1,054

1,703

Inventory step-up included in COS (f)

1,141

-

Acquisition costs included in SG&A (g)

1,571

72

Depreciation of PP&E step-up included in SG&A (h)

67

-

Payroll taxes related to accelerated vesting of share-based awards included in SG&A (i)

-

132

Income from operations - non-GAAP basis (j)

$

103,056

$

175,718

Net income - GAAP basis

$

28,156

$

96,847

Non-GAAP adjustments (as scheduled above)

59,784

50,161

Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments (k)

(10,054

)

(5,063

)

Net income - non-GAAP basis

$

77,886

$

141,945

GAAP net income per share - diluted

$

0.59

$

1.98

Non-GAAP income per share - diluted (l)

$

1.62

$

2.91

Management believes the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures, when taken together with the corresponding GAAP financial measures, provides meaningful supplemental information regarding the Company’s operating performance. Our management uses these non-GAAP financial measures in assessing the Company's operating results, as well as when planning, forecasting and analyzing future periods and these non-GAAP measures allow investors to evaluate the Company’s financial performance using some of the same measures as management. Management views share-based compensation as an expense that is unrelated to the Company’s operational performance as it does not require cash payments and can vary in amount from period to period and the elimination of amortization charges provides better comparability of pre- and post-acquisition operating results and to results of businesses utilizing internally developed intangible assets. Management initiated certain restructuring activities including employee headcount reductions and other organizational changes to align our business strategies in light of the merger with Xcerra and the acquisitions of MCT and EQT. Restructuring costs have been excluded because such expense is not used by Management to assess the core profitability of Cohu’s business operations. PP&E and inventory step-up costs have been excluded by management as they are unrelated to the core operating activities of the Company. Acquisition costs have been excluded by management as they are unrelated to the core operating activities of the Company and the frequency and variability in the nature of the charges can vary significantly from period to period. Employer payroll taxes related to accelerated severance stock-based compensation are dependent on the Company's stock price and the timing and size of the vesting of their restricted stock, over which management has limited to no control, and as such management does not believe it correlates to the company's operation of the business. Excluding this data provides investors with a basis to compare Cohu’s performance against the performance of other companies without this variability. However, the non-GAAP financial measures should not be regarded as a replacement for (or superior to) corresponding, similarly captioned, GAAP measures. The presentation of non-GAAP financial measures above may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies and investors should be careful when comparing our non-GAAP financial measures to those of other companies.

(a)

6.8% and 15.4% of net sales, respectively.

(b)

To eliminate compensation expense for employee stock options, stock units and our employee stock purchase plan.

(c)

To eliminate the amortization of acquired intangible assets.

(d)

To eliminate restructuring costs incurred related to the integration of MCT and Xcerra.

(e)

To eliminate the manufacturing transition and severance costs.

(f)

To eliminate amortization of inventory step up charges related to the acquisition of MCT and EQT.

(g)

To eliminate professional fees and other direct incremental expenses incurred related to acquisitions.

(h)

To eliminate the property, plant & equipment step-up depreciation accelerated related to the acquisition of MCT and EQT.

(i)

To eliminate the impact of employer payroll taxes associated with the acceleration of Pascal Rondé share-based awards under the terms of his separation agreement.

(j)

16.2% and 21.6% of net sales, respectively.

(k)

To adjust the provision for income taxes related to the adjustments described above based on applicable tax rates.

(l)

All periods presented were computed using the number of GAAP diluted shares outstanding.

COHU, INC.

Supplemental Reconciliation of GAAP Results to Non-GAAP Financial Measures (Unaudited)

(in thousands)

Three Months Ended

December 30,

September 30,

December 31,

2023

2023

2022

Gross Profit Reconciliation

Gross profit - GAAP basis (excluding amortization) (1)

$

65,410

$

70,895

$

93,151

Non-GAAP adjustments to cost of sales (as scheduled above)

1,098

205

120

Gross profit - Non-GAAP basis

$

66,508

$

71,100

$

93,271

As a percentage of net sales:

GAAP gross profit

47.7

%

47.0

%

48.7

%

Non-GAAP gross profit

48.5

%

47.1

%

48.8

%

Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation

Net income - GAAP Basis

$

(2,028

)

$

3,915

$

21,628

Income tax provision

1,531

4,721

4,483

Interest expense

754

773

1,249

Interest income

(2,847

)

(3,207

)

(2,461

)

Amortization of purchased intangible assets

9,738

8,857

8,103

Depreciation

3,372

3,319

3,268

Amortization of cloud-based software implementation costs (2)

700

700

626

Other non-GAAP adjustments (as scheduled above)

6,619

5,877

5,568

Adjusted EBITDA

$

17,839

$

24,955

$

42,464

As a percentage of net sales:

Net income - GAAP Basis

(1.5

)%

2.6

%

11.3

%

Adjusted EBITDA

13.0

%

16.5

%

22.2

%

Operating Expense Reconciliation

Operating Expense - GAAP basis

$

65,076

$

63,493

$

65,908

Non-GAAP adjustments to operating expenses (as scheduled above)

(15,289

)

(14,543

)

(13,551

)

Operating Expenses - Non-GAAP basis

$

49,787

$

48,950

$

52,357

(1)

Excludes amortization of $7,476, $6,948 and $6,350 for the three months ending December 30, 2023, September 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively.

(2)

Represents amortization of capitalized implementation costs related to cloud-based software arrangements that are included within SG&A.

Twelve Months Ended

December 30,

December 31,

2023

2022

Gross Profit Reconciliation

Gross profit - GAAP basis (excluding amortization) (1)

$

302,868

$

383,326

Non-GAAP adjustments to cost of sales (as scheduled above)

1,949

179

Gross profit - Non-GAAP basis

$

304,817

$

383,505

As a percentage of net sales:

GAAP gross profit

47.6

%

47.2

%

Non-GAAP gross profit

47.9

%

47.2

%

Adjusted EBITDA Reconciliation

Net income (loss) - GAAP Basis

$

28,156

$

96,847

Income tax provision

17,660

29,868

Interest expense

3,382

4,177

Interest income

(11,504

)

(4,012

)

Amortization of purchased intangible assets

36,355

33,185

Depreciation

13,389

12,831

Amortization of cloud-based software implementation costs (2)

2,800

2,060

Loss on extinguishment of debt

369

312

Other non-GAAP adjustments (as scheduled above)

23,362

16,976

Adjusted EBITDA

$

113,969

$

192,244

As a percentage of net sales:

Net income (loss) - GAAP Basis

4.4

%

11.9

%

Adjusted EBITDA

17.9

%

23.7

%

Operating Expense Reconciliation

Operating Expense - GAAP basis

$

259,596

$

257,769

Non-GAAP adjustments to operating expenses (as scheduled above)

(57,835

)

(49,982

)

Operating Expenses - Non-GAAP basis

$

201,761

$

207,787

(1)

Excludes amortization of $28,417 and $26,023 for the twelve months ending December 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively.

(2)

Represents amortization of capitalized implementation costs related to cloud-based software arrangements that are included within SG&A.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240215208057/en/

Contacts

Cohu, Inc.
Jeffrey D. Jones - Investor Relations
858-848-8106

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