Earnings Release • Jan 23, 2020
Earnings Release
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PR No: C2938C
Geneva, January 23, 2020 - STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, reported U.S. GAAP financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2019. This press release also contains non-U.S. GAAP measures (see Appendix for additional information).
ST reported fourth quarter net revenues of \$2.75 billion, gross margin of 39.3%, operating margin of 16.7%, and net income of \$392 million or \$0.43 diluted earnings per share.
Jean-Marc Chery, STMicroelectronics President & CEO, commented:
| (US\$ m, except per share data) |
Q4 2019 |
Q3 2019 | Q4 2018 |
Q/Q | Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Revenues | \$2,754 | \$2,553 | \$2,648 | 7.9% | 4.0% |
| Gross Profit | \$1,081 | \$967 | \$1,059 | 11.8% | 2.0% |
| Gross Margin | 39.3% | 37.9% | 40.0% | 140 bps |
(70) bps |
| Operating Income | \$460 | \$336 | \$443 | 37.1% | 3.7% |
| Operating Margin | 16.7% | 13.1% | 16.8% | 360 bps | (10) bps |
| Net Income | \$392 | \$302 | \$418 | 29.9% | (6.2)% |
| Diluted Earnings Per Share | \$0.43 | \$0.34 | \$0.46 | 26.5% | (6.5)% |
Quarterly Financial Summary (U.S. GAAP)
| (US\$ m, except earnings per share data) | FY2019 | FY2018 | Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net Revenues | \$9,556 | \$9,664 | (1.1)% |
| Gross Profit | \$3,696 | \$3,861 | (4.3)% |
| Gross Margin | 38.7% | 40.0% | (130) bps |
| Operating Income | \$1,203 | \$1,400 | (14.0)% |
| Operating Margin | 12.6% | 14.5% | (190) bps |
| Net Income | \$1,032 | \$1,287 | (19.8)% |
| Diluted Earnings Per Share | \$1.14 | \$1.41 | (19.1)% |
| Net Revenues By Product Group (US\$ m) | Q4 2019 |
Q3 2019 | Q4 2018 |
Q/Q | Y/Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automotive and Discrete Group (ADG) | 924 | 894 | 967 | 3.3% | (4.5)% |
| Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group (AMS) | 1,085 | 968 | 988 | 12.1% | 9.9% |
| Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group (MDG) | 742 | 688 | 689 | 7.9% | 7.6% |
| Others | 3 | 3 | 4 | - | - |
| Total Net Revenues | 2,754 | 2,553 | 2,648 | 7.9% | 4.0% |
Net revenues totaled \$2.75 billion. On a sequential basis, revenues increased 7.9%, 290 basis points better than the mid-point of the Company's guidance. On a year-over-year basis, fourth quarter net revenues increased 4.0% as the Company recorded higher sales in Analog, Microcontrollers, Imaging and MEMS partially offset by lower Automotive sales. On a year-over-year basis, sales to OEMs increased 8.9%, while Distribution decreased 6.9%.
Gross profit totaled \$1.08 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 2.0%. Gross margin of 39.3% decreased 70 basis points year-over-year, mainly impacted by price pressure and unsaturation charges. Fourth quarter gross margin was 110 basis points higher than the mid-point of the Company's guidance, mainly due to better than expected manufacturing efficiencies and improved product mix. Fourth quarter gross margin included about 100 basis points of unsaturation charges.
Operating income increased 3.7% to \$460 million, compared to \$443 million in the year-ago quarter. The Company's operating margin decreased 10 basis points on a year-over-year basis to 16.7% of net revenues, compared to 16.8% in the 2018 fourth quarter.
By product group, compared with the year-ago quarter:
Automotive and Discrete Group (ADG):
Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group (AMS):
Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group (MDG):
Net income and diluted earnings per share decreased to \$392 million and \$0.43, respectively, compared to \$418 million and \$0.46, respectively, in the year-ago quarter.
| Trailing 12 Months | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (US\$ m) | Q4 2019 |
Q3 2019 |
Q4 2018 |
Q4 2019 |
Q4 2018 |
TTM Change |
| Net cash from operating activities | 775 | 429 | 656 | 1,869 | 1,845 | 1.3% |
| Free cash flow (non-U.S. GAAP) | 461 | 170 | 363 | 497 | 533 | (6.8)% |
Capital expenditure payments, net of proceeds from sales, were \$236 million in the fourth quarter and \$1.17 billion for 2019. In the year-ago quarter, capital expenditures, net, were \$279 million.
Inventory at the end of the fourth quarter was \$1.69 billion, down from \$1.79 billion in the prior quarter. Day sales of inventory at quarter-end was 90 days compared to 100 days in the prior quarter.
Free cash flow (non-U.S. GAAP) was \$461 million in the fourth quarter and \$497 million for 2019.
The Company paid cash dividends totaling \$53 million in the fourth quarter and \$214 million for 2019. In addition, ST executed a \$63 million and \$250 million share buy-back in the fourth quarter and full year, respectively, as part of its previously announced share repurchase program.
ST's net financial position (non-U.S. GAAP) was \$672 million at December 31, 2019 compared to \$348 million at September 28, 2019 and reflected total liquidity of \$2.74 billion and total financial debt of \$2.07 billion.
The Company's guidance, at the mid-point, for the 2020 first quarter is:
STMicroelectronics will conduct a conference call with analysts, investors and reporters to discuss its fourth quarter 2019 financial results and current business outlook today at 9:30 a.m. Central European Time (CET) / 3:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (ET). A live webcast (listen-only mode) of the conference call will be accessible at ST's website, http://investors.st.com, and will be available for replay until February 7, 2020.
This press release contains supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information.
Readers are cautioned that these measures are unaudited and not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for U.S. GAAP financial measures. In addition, such non-U.S. GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled information from other companies.
See the Appendix of this press release for a reconciliation of the Company's non-U.S. GAAP financial measures to their corresponding U.S. GAAP financial measures. To compensate for these limitations, the supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information should not be read in isolation, but only in conjunction with the Company's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 or Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended) that are based on management's current views and assumptions, and are conditioned upon and also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those anticipated by such statements, due to, among other factors:
Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results and performance of our business to differ materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements. Certain forwardlooking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, such as "believes," "expects," "may," "are expected to," "should," "would be," "seeks" or "anticipates" or similar expressions or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions.
Some of these risk factors are set forth and are discussed in more detail in "Item 3. Key Information — Risk Factors" included in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2018, as filed with the SEC on February 28, 2019. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this release as anticipated, believed, or expected. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
ST is a global semiconductor leader delivering intelligent and energy-efficient products and solutions that power the electronics at the heart of everyday life. ST's products are found everywhere today, and together with our customers, we are enabling smarter driving and smarter factories, cities and homes, along with the next generation of mobile and Internet of Things devices.
By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented.
In 2019, the Company's net revenues were \$9.56 billion, serving more than 100,000 customers worldwide.
Further information can be found at www.st.com.
Céline Berthier Group VP, Investor Relations Tel: +41 22 929 58 12 [email protected]
Alexis Breton Corporate External Communications STMicroelectronics Tel: + 33 6 59 16 79 08 [email protected]
| Three months ended | ||
|---|---|---|
| December 31, | December 31, | |
| 2019 | 2018 | |
| (Unaudited) | (Unaudited) | |
| Net sales | 2,750 | 2,633 |
| Other revenues | 4 | 15 |
| NET REVENUES | 2,754 | 2,648 |
| Cost of sales | (1,673) | (1,589) |
| GROSS PROFIT | 1,081 | 1,059 |
| Selling, general and administrative | (285) | (285) |
| Research and development | (387) | (345) |
| Other income and expenses, net | 54 | 16 |
| Impairment, restructuring charges and other related closure costs | (3) | (2) |
| Total operating expenses | (621) | (616) |
| OPERATING INCOME | 460 | 443 |
| Interest income (expense), net | (1) | 1 |
| Other components of pension benefit costs | (4) | (2) |
| Income (loss) on equity-method investments | - | 6 |
| Loss on financial instruments, net | - | (1) |
| INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND NONCONTROLLING INTEREST | 455 | 447 |
| Income tax expense | (62) | (28) |
| NET INCOME | 393 | 419 |
| Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest | (1) | (1) |
| NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARENT COMPANY | 392 | 418 |
| EARNINGS PER SHARE (BASIC) ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARENT COMPANY STOCKHOLDERS |
0.44 | 0.46 |
| EARNINGS PER SHARE (DILUTED) ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARENT COMPANY STOCKHOLDERS |
0.43 | 0.46 |
| NUMBER OF WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES USED IN CALCULATING DILUTED EPS |
910.0 | 905.5 |
(in millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data (\$))
| Twelve months ended | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, | December 31, | ||
| 2019 | 2018 | ||
| (Unaudited) | (Audited) | ||
| Net sales | 9,529 | 9,612 | |
| Other revenues | 27 | 52 | |
| NET REVENUES | 9,556 | 9,664 | |
| Cost of sales | (5,860) | (5,803) | |
| GROSS PROFIT | 3,696 | 3,861 | |
| Selling, general and administrative | (1,093) | (1,095) | |
| Research and development | (1,498) | (1,398) | |
| Other income and expenses, net | 103 | 53 | |
| Impairment, restructuring charges and other related closure costs | (5) | (21) | |
| Total operating expenses | (2,493) | (2,461) | |
| OPERATING INCOME | 1,203 | 1,400 | |
| Interest income (expense), net | 1 | (7) | |
| Other components of pension benefit costs | (16) | (11) | |
| Income (loss) on equity-method investments | 1 | 8 | |
| Loss on financial instruments, net | - | (1) | |
| INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES AND NONCONTROLLING INTEREST | 1,189 | 1,389 | |
| Income tax expense | (156) | (96) | |
| NET INCOME | 1,033 | 1,293 | |
| Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest | (1) | (6) | |
| NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARENT COMPANY | 1,032 | 1,287 | |
| EARNINGS PER SHARE (BASIC) ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARENT COMPANY STOCKHOLDERS |
1.15 | 1.43 | |
| EARNINGS PER SHARE (DILUTED) ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARENT COMPANY STOCKHOLDERS |
1.14 | 1.41 | |
| NUMBER OF WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES USED IN CALCULATING DILUTED EPS |
903.6 | 911.0 | |
| As at December 31, September 28, December 31, In millions of U.S. dollars 2019 2019 2018 (Unaudited) (Unaudited) (Audited) ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents 2,597 2,345 2,266 Restricted cash 10 60 - Short-term deposits 4 - - Marketable securities 133 133 330 Trade accounts receivable, net 1,380 1,388 1,277 Inventories 1,691 1,785 1,562 Other current assets 442 415 419 Total current assets 6,257 6,126 5,854 Goodwill 162 161 121 Other intangible assets, net 299 291 212 Property, plant and equipment, net 4,007 3,897 3,495 Non-current deferred tax assets 695 684 672 Long-term investments 11 62 61 Other non-current assets 437 401 452 5,611 5,496 5,013 Total assets 11,868 11,622 10,867 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Current liabilities: Short-term debt 173 171 146 Trade accounts payable 950 915 981 Other payables and accrued liabilities 831 857 874 Dividends payable to stockholders 58 112 60 Accrued income tax 52 77 59 Total current liabilities 2,064 2,132 2,120 Long-term debt 1,899 2,019 1,764 Post-employment benefit obligations 445 386 385 Long-term deferred tax liabilities 19 18 14 Other long-term liabilities 330 315 160 2,693 2,738 2,323 Total liabilities 4,757 4,870 4,443 Commitment and contingencies Equity Parent company stockholders' equity Common stock (preferred stock: 540,000,000 shares authorized, 1,157 1,157 1,157 not issued; common stock: Euro 1.04 nominal value, 1,200,000,000 shares authorized, 911,186,920 shares issued, 891,434,489 shares outstanding) Capital surplus 2,992 2,950 2,843 Retained earnings 2,747 2,355 1,991 Accumulated other comprehensive income 475 422 509 Treasury stock (328) (266) (141) Total parent company stockholders' equity 7,043 6,618 6,359 Noncontrolling interest 68 134 65 Total equity 7,111 6,752 6,424 |
STMicroelectronics N.V. CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total liabilities and equity 11,868 11,622 10,867 |
||||
| STMicroelectronics N.V. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| SELECTED CASH FLOW DATA | |||
| Cash Flow Data (in US\$ millions) | Q4 2019 | Q3 2019 | Q4 2018 |
| Net Cash from operating activities | 775 | 429 | 656 |
| Net Cash used in investing activities | (314) | (59) | (284) |
| Net Cash from (used in) financing activities | (264) | (129) | 60 |
| Net Cash increase | 202 | 226 | 431 |
| Selected Cash Flow Data (in US\$ millions) | Q4 2019 | Q3 2019 | Q4 2018 |
| Depreciation & amortization | 220 | 216 | 212 |
| Net payment for Capital expenditures | (236) | (244) | (279) |
| Dividends paid to stockholders | (53) | (54) | (54) |
| Change in inventories, net | 112 | 77 | 18 |
| Q4 2019 |
Q3 2019 |
Q2 2019 |
Q1 2019 |
Q4 2018 |
FY 2019 |
FY 2018 |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net Revenues By Market Channel (%) |
|||||||
| Total OEM | 72% | 72% | 70% | 66% | 69% | 70% | 65% |
| Distribution | 28% | 28% | 30% | 34% | 31% | 30% | 35% |
| €/\$ Effective Rate | 1.12 | 1.14 | 1.14 | 1.16 | 1.17 | 1.14 | 1.18 |
| Product Group Data (US\$ m) |
|||||||
| Automotive & Discrete Group (ADG) | |||||||
| - Net Revenues |
924 | 894 | 885 | 903 | 967 | 3,606 | 3,556 |
| - Operating Income |
113 | 76 | 73 | 95 | 141 | 357 | 431 |
| Analog, MEMS & Sensors Group (AMS) | |||||||
| - Net Revenues |
1,085 | 968 | 694 | 552 | 988 | 3,299 | 3,154 |
| - Operating Income |
281 | 198 | 74 | 43 | 202 | 596 | 488 |
| Microcontrollers & Digital ICs Group (MDG) | |||||||
| - Net Revenues |
742 | 688 | 591 | 617 | 689 | 2,638 | 2,940 |
| - Operating Income |
119 | 108 | 45 | 83 | 122 | 354 | 547 |
| Others (a) | |||||||
| - Net Revenues |
3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 14 |
| - Operating Income (Loss) |
(53) | (46) | 4 | (10) | (22) | (104) | (66) |
| Total | |||||||
| - Net Revenues |
2,754 | 2,553 | 2,173 | 2,076 | 2,648 | 9,556 | 9,664 |
| - Operating Income |
460 | 336 | 196 | 211 | 443 | 1,203 | 1,400 |
(a) Net revenues of Others includes revenues from sales assembly services and other revenue. Operating income (loss) of Others includes items such as unused capacity charges, impairment, restructuring charges and other related closure costs, management reorganization costs, phase out and start-up costs, and other unallocated expenses such as: strategic or special research and development programs, certain corporatelevel operating expenses, patent claims and litigations, and other costs that are not allocated to product groups, as well as operating earnings of other products. Others includes:
| (US\$ m) | Q4 2019 |
Q3 2019 |
Q2 2019 |
Q1 2019 |
Q4 2018 |
FY 2019 |
FY 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unused Capacity Charges | 29 | 28 | 7 | 1 | - | 65 | 1 |
| Impairment & Restructuring Charges | 3 | - | 2 | - | 2 | 5 | 21 |
The supplemental non-U.S. GAAP information presented in this press release is unaudited and subject to inherent limitations. Such non-U.S. GAAP information is not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles and should not be considered as a substitute for U.S. GAAP measurements. Also, our supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information may not be comparable to similarly titled non-U.S. GAAP measures used by other companies. Further, specific limitations for individual non-U.S. GAAP measures, and the reasons for presenting non-U.S. GAAP financial information, are set forth in the paragraphs below. To compensate for these limitations, the supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information should not be read in isolation, but only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Non-U.S. GAAP net earnings and earnings per share (EPS) are used by management to help enhance an understanding of ongoing operations and to communicate the impact of the excluded items such as impairment, restructuring charges and other related closure costs attributable to ST and other one-time items, and their related estimated income tax effect.
The Company believes that these non-U.S. GAAP financial measures provide useful information for investors and management because they measure the Company's capacity to generate profits from its business operations, excluding the effect of acquisitions and expenses related to the rationalizing of its activities and sites that it does not consider to be part of its on-going operating results, thereby offering, when read in conjunction with the Company's U.S. GAAP financials, (i) the ability to make more meaningful period-to-period comparisons of the Company's ongoing operating results, (ii) the ability to better identify trends in the Company's business and perform related trend analysis, and (iii) to facilitate a comparison of the Company's results of operations against investor and analyst financial models and valuations, which may exclude these items.
| (US\$ m, except earnings per share data) | Q4 2019 |
Q3 2019 |
Q2 2019 |
Q1 2019 |
Q4 2018 |
FY 2019 |
FY 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. GAAP Net Earnings | 392 | 302 | 160 | 178 | 418 | 1,032 | 1,287 |
| U.S. GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share | 0.43 | 0.34 | 0.18 | 0.20 | 0.46 | 1.14 | 1.41 |
| Impairment & Restructuring | 3 | - | 2 | - | 2 | 5 | 21 |
| Estimated Income Tax Effect | - | - | - | - | - | (1) | (2) |
| Non-U.S. GAAP Net Earnings | 395 | 302 | 162 | 178 | 420 | 1,036 | 1,306 |
| Non-U.S. GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share | 0.43 | 0.34 | 0.18 | 0.20 | 0.46 | 1.15 | 1.43 |
Net financial position (non-U.S. GAAP measure): resources (debt), represents the balance between our total liquidity and our total financial debt. Our total liquidity includes cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term deposits and marketable securities, and our total financial debt includes short-term borrowings, current portion of long-term debt and long-term debt, all as reported in our consolidated balance sheet. We believe our net financial position provides useful information for investors and management because it gives evidence of our global position either in terms of net indebtedness or net cash position by measuring our capital resources based on cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, short-term deposits and marketable securities and the total level of our financial indebtedness.
| (US\$ m) | Dec 31 2019 |
Sep 28 2019 |
Jun 29 2019 |
Mar 30 2019 |
Dec 31 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash and cash equivalents | 2,597 | 2,345 | 2,119 | 2,307 | 2,266 |
| Restricted Cash | 10 | 60 | 60 | 60 | - |
| Short-term deposits | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Marketable securities | 133 | 133 | 333 | 331 | 330 |
| Total liquidity | 2,744 | 2,538 | 2,512 | 2,698 | 2,596 |
| Short-term debt | (173) | (171) | (174) | (173) | (146) |
| Long-term debt | (1,899) | (2,019) | (2,030) | (2,015) | (1,764) |
| Total financial debt | (2,072) | (2,190) | (2,204) | (2,188) | (1,910) |
| Net financial position | 672 | 348 | 308 | 510 | 686 |
Free cash flow (non-U.S. GAAP measure) is defined as net cash from operating activities minus net cash from (used in) investing activities, excluding payment for purchases (proceeds from matured) marketable securities and short-term deposits. We believe free cash flow provides useful information for investors and management because it measures our capacity to generate cash from our operating and investing activities to sustain our operating activities. Free cash flow does not represent total cash flow since it does not include the cash flows generated by or used in financing activities. In addition, our definition of free cash flow may differ from definitions used by other companies.
| (US\$ m) | Q4 2019 |
Q3 2019 |
Q2 2019 |
Q1 2019 |
Q4 2018 |
FY 2019 |
FY 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net cash from operating activities | 775 | 429 | 324 | 341 | 656 | 1,869 | 1,845 |
| Net cash used in investing activities | (314) | (59) | (391) | (408) | (284) | (1,172) | (1,212) |
| Payment for purchase and proceeds from matured marketable securities, and investment in short-term deposits |
- | (200) | - | - | (9) | (200) | (100) |
| Free cash flow | 461 | 170 | (67) | (67) | 363 | 497 | 533 |
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