UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

 

Form 10-K

 

 

Commission file number: 0-7422

 

 

 

 

STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

 

(631) 435-6000

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

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 þ     No o

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the 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.  þ

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).  Yes o     No þ

 

Aggregate market value of voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of August 31, 2007, based upon the closing price of the common stock as reported by The NASDAQ Global Select Market* on such date, was approximately $822,363,126

 

Number of shares of common stock outstanding as of March 31, 2008 22,722,128

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy Statement for the 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders are incorporated by reference into Part II and Part III of this report on Form 10-K.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

 

General Description of the Business

 

Standard Microsystems Corporation (the “Company” or “SMSC”) a Delaware corporation founded in 1971, designs and sells a wide variety of silicon-based integrated circuits that are primarily utilizing analog or mixed-signal technologies. The Company’s integrated circuits and systems provide a wide variety of signal processing attributes that are incorporated by its globally diverse customers into end products in the Consumer Electronics & Infotainment, the Mobile & Desktop PC, and Industrial & Other markets. These products generally provide connectivity, networking, or input/output control solutions for a variety of high-speed communication, computer and related peripheral, consumer electronics, industrial control system, or auto infotainment applications. The market for these solutions is increasingly diverse, and the Company’s various technologies are increasingly used in various combinations and in alternative applications.

 

SMSC’s integrated circuits and systems provide numerous signal processing attributes that are incorporated by its globally diverse customers into a range of end products in the consumer electronics and infotainment, mobile and desktop personal computer (“PC”) and industrial markets.

 

SMSC’s semiconductor products generally enable the transfer or networking of data and multimedia content, embedded control of power and wake/sleep functions, and environmental sensing, fan control and human interface solutions for a variety of computing, consumer electronics, industrial, or automotive infotainment applications.

 

SMSC has what is commonly referred to as a “fabless” business model, meaning that the Company does not own the manufacturing assets to make the silicon wafer-based integrated circuits or to package them, but rather has these manufactured by other companies to its specifications and incorporating its designs. The Company performs a large portion of its product testing at its Hauppauge, New York facility (on all products except for testing of its automotive infotainment products).

 

SMSC’s business is based on substantial intangible intellectual property assets consisting of patented technology, or access to market peer technology, as well as extensive experience in integrating designs into systems, the ability to work closely with customers to solve technology application challenges, to develop products that satisfy market needs and the ability to efficiently manage its global network of suppliers. These attributes allow SMSC to provide technical performance, cost, or time-to-market advantages to its customers and to develop leadership positions in several technologies and markets.

 

SMSC has operations in the United States, Germany, Japan, China, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan. Major engineering design centers are located in Arizona, New York, Texas and Germany. Refer to Part I — Item 1.A. — Risk Factors and Part II — Item 7.A. — Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk for further discussion regarding risks associated with foreign operations.

 

Available Information

 

SMSC’s website address is www.smsc.com. Through the Investor Relations section of our website we make available, free of charge, our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and any amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”), as well as any filings made pursuant to Section 16 of the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Our Internet website and the information contained therein or incorporated therein are not incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

You may also read and copy materials that we have filed with the SEC at its Public Reference Room located at 100 F Street, N.E., Room 1580, Washington, D.C. 20549. Please call the Commission at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information on the Public Reference Room. In addition, the Commission maintains an Internet site that

contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically at www.sec.gov .

 

Principal Markets and Products of the Company

 

SMSC develops its products to serve applications in three principal vertical markets: Consumer Electronics & Infotainment; Mobile & Desktop PCs; and Industrial & Other. Most of the Company’s products or technologies are sold into multiple end markets, and its product technologies, intellectual property and proprietary processes are increasingly being re-used and may be combined into new solutions that can be sold into these markets. Its products are manufactured using industry standard processes and all are sold through a unified direct sales force that also manages global relationships with independent, third party sales representatives and distributors.

 

The flexibility of SMSC’s products to address multiple end market applications and the convergence of multimedia technologies is creating new market opportunities. For example, computer makers are supplying devices that address entertainment needs, traditional manufacturers of consumer entertainment goods are addressing computing needs and automotive manufacturers and system integrators are seeking ways to deliver increasing multimedia content into the automobile. As a result of substantial investment in research and development over the past several years, the functionality of SMSC’s products has been greatly enhanced, and the portfolio of products in computing, connectivity and networking has broadened considerably, enabling increased presence in many other vertical applications using these technologies. This strategic thrust to link available technologies into new applications and invest in new technologies capable of serving different aspects of these converging markets is expected to result in increased product diversity and broader sales and marketing opportunities.

 

The Company has substantial expertise in Universal Serial Bus (“USB”) technology, which enables the transfer of data between devices or hosts. This technology is being adopted in a large number of consumer and industrial applications, as well as on computer motherboards, expansion circuit boards and in peripheral devices. SMSC is regarded as an industry leader in providing semiconductors that incorporate the common industry USB standard specification, referred to in the industry as USB 2.0 or “Hi-Speed USB”. USB 2.0’s high data transfer rate supports the high bandwidth and speed requirements of consumer multimedia technologies, and because of its ease-of-use and broad and growing acceptance it has become the leading standard by which interoperability and connectivity is provided between diverse systems platforms such as consumer electronics, multimedia computing and mobile storage applications. Designers are attracted to USB 2.0’s speed, “plug-and-play” features and its predictable software development requirements. The ubiquity of USB 2.0 silicon and software makes it a cost-effective choice for designers to add a high-speed serial data pipe for transferring media content.

 

SMSC’s products are positioned in several areas within the USB connectivity market and include:

 

 

In addition, SMSC has extensive expertise in designing embedded Ethernet products. Ethernet has emerged as a ubiquitous, versatile networking technology found in home, business and industrial environments. The Company’s Ethernet products can be designed into applications that may or may not support Peripheral Component Interconnect (“PCI”) interfaces. PCI is a high-speed connection technology common in computers, but is not typically found in consumer electronics and embedded industrial applications. Much of SMSC’s networking growth is currently being derived from consumer electronics design wins for platforms and applications such as digital televisions, set-top boxes and digital video recorders that transfer multimedia content via Ethernet technology. These devices are increasingly adding networking capabilities to broaden their features and attractiveness to the end consumer. Also, in both business and industrial environments, such as office buildings, or factory floors, there

continues to be a rapidly expanding demand for computers, machinery, appliances and other applications to be networked together.

 

SMSC also serves the embedded market with other networking technologies, such as ARCNET and CircLink^tm, an ARCNET derivative. By replacing traditionally slow, wire intensive, hard-to-use serial communications, these solutions allow designers to reduce wiring and microcontroller costs, and create a more flexible and modular systems architecture. These products target networking applications requiring a high level of predictable behavior, throughput, and ease of implementation such as telecom equipment, robotics, digital copiers and printers, and transportation systems.

 

SMSC’s networking products include:

 

 

The Company also markets High Performance Analog (“HPA”) products, which serve both the consumer electronics and PC markets. Leveraging its expertise in high-speed transceivers, fan control and thermal management, SMSC engineers technologically leading HPA products for applications such as portable devices and notebook computers that require a high level of precision and speed.

 

SMSC is a leading global supplier of embedded controller and analog thermal sensor technology for computing applications supplied by major original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), original design manufacturers (“ODMs”) and motherboard manufacturers. The Company’s embedded controller solutions offer programmable, mixed-signal features that allow for feature customization. SMSC also offers a set of companion chips which offer additional system features such as general purpose input/output (“GPIO”) expansion, temperature and voltage sensing, fan control and consumer infrared remote control. The Company’s broad product portfolio also provides a variety of integration choices for designers, with unique configurations of serial ports, parallel ports, keyboard controllers, infrared ports, GPIO pins, logic integration and power management.

 

SMSC’s computing platform products also extend into the x86-based server market. Advanced I/O products for server applications build on SMSC’s broad I/O and system management expertise and include timers, flash memory interfaces, thermal management and other server requirements.

 

The Company’s computing products include:

 

 

SMSC is also a supplier of products for the automotive market based on its market-leading Media Oriented Systems Transport (“MOST^®”) technology. MOST is a networking standard which enables the transport of high-bandwidth digital audio, video and packet-based data, along with control information. MOST-enabled network

interface controllers (“NICs”) are being designed into automotive networks to transfer high-performance multimedia content among devices such as radios, navigation systems, digital video displays, microphones and CD-players quickly and without electrostatic disruption. The Company also markets a chip interconnect technology known as Media Local Bus (MediaLB^tm), enabling consumer applications to easily connect to SMSC’s new network interface controllers for MOST. The MOST technology is a de facto industry standard for high bandwidth automotive multimedia networking deployed by virtually every major European automobile manufacturer and, more recently, by Asian manufacturers. SMSC also believes it has the potential to expand its solutions into other geographic areas and non-automotive markets. The Company also sells related system design and diagnostic tool products to customers who need to build or maintain MOST compliant systems. These products were added as a result of the acquisition of OASIS SiliconSystems Holding AG (“OASIS”) on March 30, 2005, as further discussed below.

 

Seasonality

 

The Company’s business historically has been subject to repeated seasonality, with the first and last quarters of each fiscal year tending to be weaker than the second and third. See Part I Item 1.A. — Risk Factors — Seasonality of the Business, for further discussion.

 

Competition

 

The Company competes in the semiconductor industry, servicing and providing solutions for various applications. Many of the Company’s larger customers conduct business in the PC and related peripheral devices markets. Intense competition, rapid technological change, cyclical market patterns, price erosion and periods of mismatched supply and demand have historically characterized these industries. See Part I Item 1.A. — Risk Factors, for a more detailed discussion of these market characteristics and associated risks.

 

The Company faces competition from several semiconductor companies, some of which have greater size and financial resources than the Company. The Company’s principal competitors in the computing market include eNe, Integrated Technology Express, Inc. (“ITE”), Renesas Technology (“Renesas”) and Winbond Electronics Corporation. Principal competitors in SMSC’s other markets include Cypress Semiconductor, Renesas, Davicom Semiconductor Inc, Genesys Logic, Inc, ASIX Electronics Corp, Realtek Semiconductor Corp., NXP Semiconductors, Alcor Micro Corp., and Micrel Semiconductor, Inc. As SMSC continues to broaden its product offerings, it will likely face new competitors. Many of the Company’s potential competitors have greater financial resources and the ability to invest larger dollar amounts into research and development. Some have their own manufacturing facilities, which may give them a cost advantage on large volume products and increased certainty of supply.

 

The principal methods employed by the Company to compete effectively include introducing innovative new products, providing superior product quality and customer service, adding new features to its products, improving product performance and reducing manufacturing costs. SMSC also cultivates strategic relationships with certain key customers who are technology leaders in its target markets, and who provide insight into market trends and opportunities for the Company to better support those customers’ current and future needs.

 

The Company believes that it currently competes effectively in the areas discussed above to the extent they are within its control. However, given the pace at which change occurs in the semiconductor, personal computer, automotive and other high-technology industries, SMSC’s current competitive capabilities are not a guarantee of future success. In addition, reductions in the growth rates of these industries, or other competitive developments, could adversely affect its future financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

 

Research and Development

 

The semiconductor industry and the individual markets that the Company currently serves are highly competitive, and the Company believes that continued investment in research and development (“R&D”) is essential to maintaining and improving its competitive position. In fiscal years 2008, 2007 and 2006 the Company spent approximately $71.7 million, $66.6 million and $58.3 million, respectively, on R&D. SMSC has strategic relationships with many of its customers and often tailors its solutions to these specific customers’ needs. Serving a

wide array of world class OEMs and ODMs, the Company’s continued success will be based, among other things, on its ability to meet the individual needs of these customers and to help them speed their own products to market.

 

SMSC’s R&D activities are performed by highly-skilled engineers and technicians, and are primarily directed towards the design of integrated circuits in both mainstream and emerging technologies, the development of software drivers, firmware and design tools and intellectual property (“IP”), as well as ongoing cost reductions and performance improvements in existing products.

 

Over the past several years, SMSC has evolved from an organization having strength primarily in digital design, to one with broad engineering and design expertise in digital, analog and mixed-signal solutions. Electronic signals fall into one of two categories — analog or digital. Digital signals are used to represent the “ones” and “zeros” of binary arithmetic, and are either on or off. Analog, or linear, signals represent real-world phenomena, such as temperature, pressure, sound, speed and motion. These signals can be detected and measured using analog sensors, which represent real-world phenomena by generating varying voltages and currents. Mixed-signal products combine digital and analog circuitry into a single device. Mixed-signal solutions can significantly reduce board space by integrating system interfaces, reducing external component requirements and lowering power consumption, all of which reduce system costs.

 

SMSC employs engineers with a wide range of experience in software, digital, mixed-signal and analog circuit design, from experienced industry veterans to new engineers recently graduated from universities. Their activities are supported by high tech hardware, software and other product design tools procured from leading global suppliers. The Company’s major engineering design centers are strategically located in New York, Texas, Arizona and Karlsruhe, Germany to take full advantage of the technological expertise found in each region, and to closely cater to its customer base.

 

Manufacturing

 

SMSC provides semiconductor products using a “fabless” manufacturing model, common in the semiconductor industry. Third party contract foundries and package assemblers are engaged to fabricate the Company’s products onto silicon wafers, cut these wafers into die and assemble the die into finished packages. This strategy allows the Company to focus its resources on product design and development, marketing, test and quality assurance. It also reduces fixed costs and capital requirements and provides the Company access to some of the most advanced manufacturing capabilities. See Part I Item I.A. — Risk Factors — Reliance upon Subcontract Manufacturing, for further discussion. The Company also faces certain risks as a result of doing business in Asia, where many of the Company’s subcontractors conduct business. See Part I Item I.A. — Risk Factors — Business Concentration in Asia, for further discussion.

 

The Company’s primary wafer suppliers, and their headquarters locations, are currently Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing, Ltd. in Singapore, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd. (“TSMC”) in Taiwan and STMicroelectronics N.V. in Switzerland. The Company may negotiate additional foundry supply contracts and establish other sources of wafer supply for its products as such arrangements become useful or necessary, either economically or technologically.

 

Processed silicon wafers are shipped to various third party assembly suppliers, most of which are located in Asia, where they are separated into individual chips that are then encapsulated into plastic packages. This enables the Company to take advantage of these subcontractors’ cost effective high volume manufacturing processes and package technologies, speed and supply flexibility. The Company purchases most of its assembly services from Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc., Amkor Technology, Inc., ChipMOS Technologies Ltd., Orient Semiconductor Electronics Ltd. and STATSChipPac Ltd. See Part I Item 1.A. — Risk Factors — Reliance upon Subcontract Manufacturing and Business Concentration in Asia for further discussion.

 

Following assembly, each of the packaged units receives final testing, marking and inspection prior to shipment to customers. Final testing for a large portion of the Company’s non-automotive products is performed at

SMSC’s own testing operation in Hauppauge, New York. Final testing services of independent test suppliers, most of which occurs in Asia, are also utilized and afford the Company increasing flexibility to adjust to near-term fluctuations in product demand and corresponding production requirements.

 

Customers demand semiconductors of the highest quality and reliability for incorporation into their products. SMSC focuses on product reliability from the initial stages of the design cycle through each specific design process, including production test design. In addition, to further validate product performance across process variation and to ensure acceptable design margins, designs are typically subject to in-depth circuit simulation at temperature, voltage and processing extremes before initiating the manufacturing process. The Company prequalifies each of its assembly, test and wafer foundry subcontractors using a series of industry standard environmental product stress tests, as well as an audit and analysis of the subcontractor’s quality system and manufacturing capability. Wafer foundry production and assembly services are monitored to ensure consistent overall quality, reliability and yield levels.

 

Raw Materials

 

As a fabless semiconductor company, SMSC does not directly purchase commodities used in the manufacturing process. However, the Company may be subject to commodity price risk as detailed in Part I — Item 1.A. — Risk Factors — Reliance Upon Subcontract Manufacturing and in Part II — Item 7.A — Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk — Commodity Price Risk.

 

Sales, Marketing and Customer Service

 

The Company’s primary sales and marketing strategy is to achieve design wins with technology leaders and channel customers in targeted markets by providing superior products, field applications and engineering support. Sales managers are dedicated to key OEM and ODM customers to achieve high levels of customer service and to promote close collaboration and communication. Supporting the success of its customers through technological excellence, innovation and overall product quality are centerpieces of SMSC’s corporate strategy.

 

The Company also serves its customers with a worldwide network of field application engineers. These engineers assist customers in the selection and proper use of its products and are available to answer customer questions and resolve technical issues. The field application engineers are supported by factory application engineers, who work with the Company’s factory design and product engineers to develop the requisite support tools and facilitate the introduction of new products.

 

The Company strives to make the “design-in” of its products as easy as possible for its customers. To facilitate this, SMSC offers a wide variety of support tools, including evaluation boards, sample firmware diagnostics programs, sample schematics and printed circuit board layout files, driver programs, data sheets, industry standard specifications and other documentation. These tools are readily available from the Company’s sales offices and sales representatives. SMSC’s home page on the World Wide Web (www.smsc.com) provides customers with immediate access to its latest product information. In addition, the Company maintains online tools resources so that registered customers can download these items as needed. Customers are also provided with reference platform designs for many of the Company’s products, which enable easier and faster transitions from initial prototype designs through final production releases.

 

SMSC strategically markets and sells all of its products globally through a centrally managed sales network using various channels in multiple geographic regions. SMSC conducts sales activities in the United States via a direct sales force, electronics distributors and manufacturers’ representatives. Two independent distributors are currently engaged to serve the majority of the North American market. Internationally, products are marketed and sold through regional sales offices located in Germany, Taiwan, China, Korea and Singapore as well as through a network of independent distributors and representatives. The Company serves the Japanese marketplace primarily through its Tokyo, Japan-based subsidiary, SMSC Japan, through relationships with five leading distributors in that market.

 

Consistent with industry practice, most distributors have certain rights of return and price protection privileges on unsold products. Distributor contracts may generally be terminated by written notice by either party. The

contracts specify the terms for the return of inventories. Shipments made by SMSC Japan to distributors in Japan are made under agreements that permit limited or no stock return or price protection privileges.

 

The Company generates a significant portion of its sales and revenues from international customers. While the demand for the Company’s products is primarily driven by the worldwide demand for Consumer Electronics & Infotainment, Mobile & Desktop PC and Industrial & Other applications sold by U.S.-based suppliers, a significant portion of the Company’s products are sold to manufacturing subcontractors of those U.S.-based suppliers, and to distributors who serve to feed the high technology manufacturing pipeline, located in Asia. The Company expects that international shipments, particularly to Asian-based customers, will continue to represent a significant portion of its sales and revenues. See Part I Item 1.A. — Risk Factors — Business Concentration in Asia, for further discussion.

 

Markets & Strategy

 

As previously outlined, the Company designs products that address specific applications for end products sold in three primary “vertical” markets:

 

 

SMSC’s sales and revenues of products across these “vertical” end-markets, as well as intellectual property revenues (consisting of royalties and similar contractual payments), are presented in the following table for fiscal 2008 and 2007 (dollars in millions):

 

 

Designs that serve the Consumer Electronics & Infotainment market primarily provide connectivity or networking functions that allow data transfer or content sharing in consumer or automotive products. For instance, the Company provides USB 2.0 hub, flash memory card reader and mass storage devices that may be embedded in LCD monitors, printers, set-top boxes, digital televisions or gaming products to transfer content at high speeds. SMSC’s Ethernet networking products address system resource limitations and other challenges typical of embedded consumer electronics systems for applications such as digital televisions, DVD and hard disk drive-based video recorders and digital media servers and adapters. The Company also designs network multimedia processing engines supporting multiple high definition audio/video streams, software protocol stack management and security, through PCI or non-PCI interfaces. Lastly, SMSC’s MOST technology enables the networking of infotainment systems in automobiles, such as a CD changer, radio, global positioning system, mobile telephone or a DVD player, by providing the means to distribute multimedia entertainment functions among various control devices in the car.

 

SMSC serves industry leading PC customers in the Mobile & Desktop PC market with embedded controllers, mixed-signal system controllers, server I/O devices, USB 2.0 hubs and analog solutions including fan control, temperature and voltage sensing and consumer infrared functionality. Applications include mobile and desktop computers, servers, media center PCs and docking stations.

 

Customers in the Industrial & Other markets are primarily supported by the Company’s products that serve long life cycle embedded systems and those that require highly accurate signal transfer or industrial-level temperature monitoring functionality. SMSC provides Ethernet, ARCNET, CircLink^tm and Embedded I/O

technology to address applications that include POS terminals, building and factory automation, security systems, industrial PCs, ATM machines and interactive kiosks.

 

The Company uses a highly integrated approach in developing its products, and discrete technologies developed by the Company are frequently integrated across many of its products and customer-specific applications. Further, the Company continuously explores and seeks opportunities to introduce new or existing products, either individually or in combination within systems and end products, for broader application within or across these “vertical” markets. Strategically, the Company believes that the integration of products and convergence of applications will be a continuing trend. The Company’s ability to anticipate and capitalize on these trends will be essential to its long-term success, and hence will continue to be a prime consideration in resource allocation decisions and the internal evaluation of the Company’s competitive and financial performance.

 

In executing this strategic approach, the Company is managed in a highly integrated manner, and internal resources are allocated and corresponding investments are made in a manner that the Company believes will maximize total returns from product sales both individually (with respect to individual products or product families) and in the aggregate (a “portfolio” approach). Such returns are measured at the “project” level. As used by the Company, the concept of “returns” encompasses both “turns” (i.e. pay-back multiple) and net present value metrics, as well as strategic considerations. Projects consist of either a single product offering (as would be the case for a new product launch) or a product family, consisting of multiple product variants stemming from an original design. Such variants can consist of relatively simple modifications to an original design, introduction of “next generation” capabilities and features and/or strategic integration(s) of new technologies into existing products.

 

Projected results for each project are evaluated independently for the impact on returns to SMSC as a whole, and the allocation of resources (particularly engineering and R&D investment) are based on the individual project economics. While the Company’s internal resources may be augmented or tempered depending on the business environment, product pipeline and other factors, such decisions are predicated on expected overall project returns and the corresponding impact on consolidated financial performance.

 

Given the proliferation of customer demand for products based on convergent technologies, especially among the Company’s current product offerings and core competencies, the opportunities to improve overall project/product returns with incremental investments are expected to increase. In addition, we believe that the continuous focus on such products and opportunities are strategic and key to the future success of the Company.

 

Acquisition of OASIS

 

On March 30, 2005, SMSC announced the acquisition of OASIS, a leading provider of MOST technology, serving a top tier customer base of leading automakers and automotive suppliers. OASIS’ infotainment networking technology has been deployed by many European luxury and mid-market car brands, including Audi, BMW, Daimler, Land Rover, Porsche, Saab and Volvo, and more recently, by several Asian vehicle manufacturers.

 

The initial cost of the acquisition at March 30, 2005 was approximately $118.6 million, including approximately $79.5 million of cash, 2.1 million shares of SMSC common stock, valued at $35.8 million, and an estimated $3.3 million of direct acquisition costs, including legal, banking, accounting and valuation fees. Included with the net assets acquired from OASIS were approximately $22.4 million of cash and cash equivalents; therefore SMSC’s initial net cash outlay for the transaction, including transaction costs, was approximately $60.4 million.

 

The terms of the agreement also provided the former OASIS shareholders the opportunity to earn up to $20 million of additional consideration, based upon achieving certain fiscal 2006 performance goals, the amount earned of which, if any, was indeterminable until February 28, 2006. Based upon fiscal 2006 performance and per the computation completed and submitted on April 28, 2006, the former OASIS shareholders earned approximately $16.4 million of additional consideration, consisting of approximately 0.2 million shares of SMSC common stock valued for accounting purposes as of May 9, 2006 at $4.0 million, and approximately $12.4 million of cash, all of which was paid during the first quarter of fiscal 2007. SMSC’s existing cash balances were used to fund the cash portion of the additional consideration. The fair value of the shares tendered was approximately $1.4 million less at the settlement date than had been estimated as of February 28, 2006, resulting in a corresponding adjustment to goodwill in the first quarter of fiscal 2007.

Geographic Information

 

The information below summarizes sales and revenues to unaffiliated customers for fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006 by country (in thousands):

 

 

Product sales to electronic component distributors were reflected in the table above based on the country of their respective operations; the geographic locations of end customers may differ.

 

It is expected that in future periods sales and revenues will increase at a more rapid rate in countries and geographic regions outside of the United States.

 

The Company’s long-lived assets include net property and equipment, goodwill and other intangible assets, deferred income taxes and various long-lived financial instruments. Net property, plant and equipment by country is as follows (in thousands):

 

 

Intellectual Property

 

The Company believes that intellectual property is a valuable asset that has been, and will continue to be, important to the Company’s success. The Company has received numerous United States and foreign patents, or cross licenses to patents that relate to its technologies and additional patent applications are pending. The Company also has obtained certain domestic and international trademark registrations for its products and maintains certain details about its processes, products and strategies as trade secrets. It is the Company’s policy to protect these assets through reasonable means. To protect these assets, the Company relies upon nondisclosure agreements, contractual provisions, patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright laws.

 

SMSC has patent cross-licensing agreements with more than thirty companies, including such semiconductor manufacturers as Intel Corporation, Micron Technology, Samsung Electronics Co., National Semiconductor Corporation and Toshiba Corporation, providing access to approximately 45,000 U.S. patents. Almost all of the Company’s cross-licensing agreements give SMSC the right to use patented intellectual property of the other companies royalty-free. SMSC also receives related payments from Intel. See Part IV Item 15(a)(1) — Financial Statements — Note 11, for further discussion on the Company’s agreement with Intel. In situations where the Company needs to acquire strategic intellectual property not covered by cross-licenses, the Company at times will seek to, and has entered into agreements to purchase or license, the required intellectual property.

 

Backlog and Customers

 

The Company’s business is characterized by short-term order and shipment schedules, rather than long-term volume purchase contracts. The Company schedules production, the cycle for which is typically several months long, based generally upon a forecast of demand for its products, recognizing that subcontract manufacturers require long lead times to manufacture and deliver the Company’s final products. The Company modifies and rebalances its production schedules to actual demand as required. Sales are made primarily pursuant to purchase orders generally requiring delivery within one month, and at times, several months. Typical of industry practice,

orders placed with the Company may be canceled or rescheduled by the customer on short notice without significant penalty. In addition, incoming orders and resulting backlog can fluctuate considerably during periods of perceived or actual semiconductor supply shortages or overages. As a result, the Company’s backlog may not be a reliable indicator of future sales and can fluctuate considerably.

 

From period to period, several key customers can account for a significant portion of the Company’s sales and revenues. Sales and revenues from significant customers for fiscal 2008, 2007 and 2006, stated as percentages of total sales and revenues, are summarized as follows:

 

 

 

 

The Company’s contracting sales counterparty may vary as a result of the manner in which it goes to market, the structure of the semiconductor market, industry consolidation and customer preferences. In many cases the Company’s products will be designed into an end product by an OEM customer who will then contract to have the product manufactured by an ODM. In such cases, the Company will sell its products directly to the selected ODM, who becomes the Company’s contracting counterparty for the sale. In other cases, the OEM or ODM may design the product and be the contracting counterparty. In some cases the Company or the ODM may wish to have a distributor as the direct sales counterparty. As a result of changing relationships and shifting market practices and preferences, the mix of customers can change from period to period and over time.

 

Two customers accounted for more than 10% of total sales each, and jointly a combined 35% of total sales and revenues for fiscal 2008. In addition to the above factors, this was partly a result of the acquisition of one large distributor (Sertek) by another large distributor (Yosun) in March 2007.

 

All of the customers listed in the table above are distributors of SMSC products in Asia and in turn resell the Company’s products to many different end users.

 

The Company continues to expect that a small number of larger customers will continue to account for a significant portion of its sales and revenues in fiscal 2009 and for the foreseeable future. The Company does not believe that the change in identity of the customers from 2006-2008 represents a fundamental change in its business, rather the change in top customers, in part, is due to the shifting nature of OEM preferences for where they have their product designs manufactured, industry consolidation or ODM customers changing the distributor from whom they purchase the Company’s products.

 

Employees

 

At February 29, 2008, the Company employed 888 individuals, including 177 in sales, marketing and customer support, 218 in manufacturing and manufacturing support, 350 in research and product development and 143 in administrative support and facility maintenance activities.

 

The Company’s future success depends in large part on the continued service of key technical and management personnel and on its ability to continue to attract and retain qualified employees, particularly highly skilled design, product and test engineers involved in manufacturing existing products and the development of new products. The competition for such personnel is intense.

 

The Company has never had a work stoppage. None of SMSC’s employees are represented by labor organizations, and the Company considers its employee relations to be positive.

 

 

Readers of this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Report”) should carefully consider the risks described below, in addition to the other information contained in this Report and in the Company’s other reports filed or furnished with

the SEC, including the Company’s prior and subsequent reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K, in connection with any evaluation of the Company’s financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

 

The risks and uncertainties described below are not the only ones facing the Company. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known or those that are currently deemed immaterial may also affect the Company’s operations. Any of the risks, uncertainties, events or circumstances described below could cause the Company’s financial condition or results of operations to be adversely affected.

 

THE COMPANY COMPETES IN COMPETITIVE INDUSTRIES; HAS EXPERIENCED SIGNIFICANT VOLATILITY IN ITS STOCK PRICE; AND FACES A CHALLENGING MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT

 

The Semiconductor Industry — The Company competes in the semiconductor industry, which has historically been characterized by intense competition, rapid technological change, cyclical market patterns, price erosion, periods of mismatched supply and demand and high volatility of results. The semiconductor industry has experienced significant economic downturns at various times in the past, characterized by diminished product demand and accelerated erosion of selling prices. In addition, many of the Company’s competitors in the semiconductor industry are larger and have significantly greater financial and other resources than the Company. General conditions in the semiconductor industry, and actions of specific competitors, could adversely affect the Company’s results. In particular, the semiconductor industry demand is currently experiencing an uncertain near term outlook linked to macroeconomic conditions affecting the credit market and housing values, which may in turn effect consumption of products with electronics content. The Company’s business plans for fiscal year 2009 assume that conditions in the semiconductor industry will improve in the second half of calendar year 2008 and in calendar year 2009. The Company’s results may be adversely affected if demand in the semiconductor industry does not improve as anticipated, or declines even further.

 

The subprime credit crisis has also led to deterioration in capital market liquidity that has adversely affected general business conditions outside of the banking and financial services sectors. The recent failure of the auction rate securities markets has also caused the Company to reclassify its investments in auction rate securities from short-term to long-term. If the issuers of the Company’s auction rate securities suffer a material decline in their creditworthiness, the value of the Company’s auction rate securities could be impaired. The Company’s results may also be adversely affected if these and other events in the financial markets, or other macroeconomic events, lead to a recession or otherwise result in decreased demand for the Company’s products.

 

The semiconductor industry, including its supply chain, is maturing, and has been undergoing consolidation through mergers and acquisitions. In addition, there have been a number of ownership changes through the purchase of previously public companies, in part due to an influx of capital led by private equity firms. As a result of this consolidation and the ownership changes, the Company may experience changes in its relationships in the supply chain and may have fewer sources of supply for wafer production, assembly services, or other products or services it needs to procure which could impair sourcing flexibility or increase costs. The Company may also face fewer and larger, more capable, better financed competitors. Consolidation and ownership changes within the semiconductor industry could adversely affect the Company’s results.

 

The Personal Computer (“PC”) Industry — Demand for many of the Company’s products depends largely on sales of personal computers and peripheral devices. Reductions in the rate of growth of the PC market could adversely affect the Company’s operating results. In addition, as a component supplier to PC manufacturers, the Company may experience greater demand fluctuation than its customers themselves experience.

 

The PC industry is characterized by ongoing product changes and improvements, much of which is driven by several large companies whose own business strategies play significant roles in determining PC architectures. Future shifts in PC architectures may not always be anticipated or be consistent with the Company’s product design “roadmaps”.

 

The Company has a business strategy that involves marketing and selling new products and technologies directly to market-leading companies (although resultant sales are often made to third-party intermediaries such as ODMs). If the market performance of any of these companies declines materially, or if they order fewer products from the Company than forecasted, the Company’s revenues and profitability could be adversely affected. These large companies also possess significant leverage in negotiating the terms and conditions of supply as a result of

their market power. The Company may be forced in certain circumstances to accept potential liability exceeding the purchase price of the products sold by the Company, or various forms of potential consequential damages to avoid losing business to competitors. Such terms and conditions could adversely impact the revenues and margins earned by the Company.

 

The Company during fiscal year 2007 also adjusted its strategy and eliminated certain low margin products to try to improve its profitability. Although the Company believes this strategy was successful in fiscal year 2008, the Company’s results may be adversely affected in the future if it cannot replace lost revenue from low margin products with higher margin products. In addition, the Company’s business plan for fiscal year 2009 is predicated on revenue growth in specific products and technologies, in particular the Company’s high performance analog (“HPA”) products, and on a number of new product introductions planned for the second and third quarters of fiscal year 2009. If this growth in HPA and other new or enhanced products does not materialize as expected, or the Company fails to meet its schedule for product introductions, the Company’s results could be adversely affected.

 

Volatility of Stock Price — The volatility of the semiconductor industry has also been reflected historically in the market price of the Company’s common stock. The market price of the Company’s common stock can fluctuate significantly on the basis of such factors as the Company’s or its competitors’ introductions of new products, quarterly fluctuations in the Company’s financial results, announcements by the Company or its competitors of significant technical innovations, acquisitions, strategic partnerships, joint ventures or capital commitments; introduction of technologies or product enhancements that reduce the need for the Company’s products; the loss of, or decrease in sales to, one or more key customers; a large sale of stock by a significant shareholder; dilution from the issuance of the Company’s stock in connection with acquisitions; the addition or removal of our stock to or from a stock index fund; departures of key personnel; the required expensing of stock options or Stock Appreciation Rights (“SARs”); quarterly fluctuations in the Company’s guidance or in the financial results of other semiconductor companies or personal computer companies; changes in the expectations of market analysts or investors, or general conditions in the semiconductor industry or financial markets. In addition, stock markets in general have experienced extreme price and volume volatility in recent years. This volatility has often had a significant impact on the stock prices of high technology companies, at times for reasons that appear unrelated to business performance. The Company’s stock price experienced significant volatility in fiscal year 2008, particularly in its fiscal fourth quarter, and the Company’s stock price may continue to experience significant volatility in the future.

 

The volatility of the stock price itself can impact the Company’s earnings because volatility is one measurement that is used in calculating the value of stock based compensation to employees. In particular, changes in stock price can materially affect the periodic compensation expense associated with SARs, which is remeasured quarterly.

 

THE COMPANY HAS LARGE CONCENTRATED CUSTOMERS AND MUST SATISFY DEMANDING PRICE, TECHNOLOGY AND QUALITY REQUIREMENTS

 

Product Development, Quality and Technological Change — The Company’s growth is highly dependent upon the successful development and timely introduction of new products at competitive prices and performance levels, with acceptable margins. The success of new products depends on various factors, including timely completion of product development programs, the availability of third party intellectual property on reasonable terms and conditions, market acceptance of the Company’s and its customers’ new products, achieving acceptable yields, securing sufficient capacity at a reasonable cost for the Company’s products and the Company’s ability to offer these new products at competitive prices.

 

The Company’s products are generally designed into its customers’ products through a competitive process that evaluates the Company’s product features, price, and many other considerations. In order to succeed in having the Company’s products incorporated into new products being designed by its customers, the Company seeks to anticipate market trends and meet performance, quality and functionality requirements of such customers and seeks to successfully develop and manufacture products that adhere to these requirements. In addition, the Company is expected to meet the timing and price requirements of its customers and must make such products available in sufficient quantities. There can be no assurance that the Company will be able to identify market trends or new product opportunities, develop and market new products, achieve design wins or respond effectively to new technological changes or product announcements by others.

Although the Company has significant processes and procedures in place in an attempt to guarantee the quality of its products, there can also be no assurance that the Company will not suffer unexpected yield or quality issues that could materially affect its operating results. The Company’s products are complex and may contain errors, particularly when first introduced or as new versions are released. The Company relies primarily on its in-house testing and quality personnel to design test operations and procedures to detect any errors prior to delivery of its products to its customers. Should problems occur in the operation or performance of the Company’s ICs, it may experience delays in meeting key introduction dates or scheduled delivery dates to its customers. These errors also could cause the Company to incur significant re-engineering costs, divert the attention of its engineering personnel from its product development efforts and cause significant customer relations and business reputation problems. Furthermore, a supply interruption or quality issue could result in claims by customers for recalls or rework of finished goods containing components supplied by the Company. Such claims can far exceed the revenues received by the Company for the sale of such products. Although the Company attempts to mitigate such risks via insurance, contractual terms, and maintaining buffer stocks of inventory, there can be no assurance that the Company will not receive such claims in the future, or that the Company will be able to maintain its customers if it refuses to be responsible for some portion of these claims.

 

As part of its product development cycle, the Company often is required to make significant investments well before it can expect to receive revenue from those investments. For example, investments to produce semiconductors for automotive companies, even if successful, may not result in a product appearing in an automobile and associated revenue until many years later. The long lead-time between investment and revenue may increase the risk associated with such investments. The Company’s operating results may be adversely affected if the product development cycle is delayed, or if the Company chooses the wrong products to invest in, or if product development costs exceed budgets.

 

The Company’s future growth will depend, among other things, upon its ability to continue to expand its products into new markets. To the extent that the Company attempts to compete in new markets, it may face competition from suppliers that have well-established market positions and products that have already been proven to be technologically and economically competitive. There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in displacing these suppliers in the targeted applications.

 

Price Erosion — The semiconductor industry is characterized by intense competition. Historically, average selling prices in the semiconductor industry generally, and for the Company’s products in particular, have declined significantly over the life of each product. While the Company expects to reduce the average prices of its products over time as it achieves manufacturing cost reductions, competitive and other pressures may require the reduction of selling prices more quickly than such cost reductions can be achieved. If not offset by reductions in manufacturing costs or by a shift in the mix of products sold toward higher-margin products, declines in the average selling prices could reduce profit margins.

 

Strategic Relationships with Customers — The Company’s future success depends in significant part on strategic relationships with certain of its customers. If these relationships are not maintained, or if these customers develop their own solutions, adopt a competitor’s solution, or choose to discontinue their relationships with SMSC, the Company’s operating results could be adversely affected.

 

In the past, the Company has relied on its strategic relationships with certain customers who are technology leaders in its target markets. The Company intends to pursue and continue to form these strategic relationships in the future. These relationships often require the Company to develop new products that typically involve significant technological challenges. These customers frequently place considerable pressure on the Company to meet their tight development schedules. Accordingly, the Company may have to devote a substantial portion of its resources to these strategic relationships, which could detract from or delay completion of other important development projects.

 

Some of the Company’s important end user customers are relying more heavily on original design manufacturers (“ODMs”) to make decisions as to which components are incorporated into their products. The Company’s results may be adversely affected if it fails to maintain effective relationships with these ODMs.

Customer Concentration and Shipments to Distributors — A limited number of customers account for a significant portion of the Company’s sales and revenues. The Company’s sales and revenues from any one customer can fluctuate from period to period depending upon market demand for that customer’s products, the customer’s inventory management of the Company’s products and the overall financial condition of the customer. Loss of an important customer, or deteriorating results from an important customer, could adversely impact the Company’s operating results.

 

A significant portion of the Company’s product sales are made through distributors. The Company’s distributors generally offer products from several different suppliers, including products that may be competitive with the Company’s products. Accordingly, there is risk that these distributors may give higher priority to products of other suppliers, thus reducing their efforts to sell the Company’s products. In addition, the Company’s agreements with its distributors are generally terminable at the distributor’s option. No assurance can be given that future sales by distributors will continue at current levels or that the Company will be able to retain its current distributors on acceptable terms. A reduction in sales efforts by one or more of the Company’s current distributors or a termination of any distributor’s relationship with the Company could have an adverse effect on the Company’s operating results.

 

The Company does not have long-term purchase contracts or commitments from its customers, and substantially all of the Company’s sales are made on a purchase order basis. Therefore, customers may decide to significantly alter their purchasing patterns without penalty and with little advance notice. As a result, substantially all of our sales are being made on a purchase order basis, which permits our customers to cancel, change or delay product purchase commitments with little or no notice to us and without penalty. Also, we do not generally obtain letters of credit, credit insurance, or other security for payment from customers or distributors. Accordingly, we are typically not protected against accounts receivable default or bankruptcy by these entities. Our ten largest customers or distributors represent a substantial majority of our accounts receivable. If any such customer or distributor were to become insolvent or otherwise not satisfy its obligations to us, we could be materially harmed.

 

Sales and revenues and associated gross profit from shipments to the Company’s distributors, other than to distributors in Japan, are deferred until the distributors resell the products. Shipments to distributors, other than to distributors in Japan, are made under agreements allowing price protection and limited rights to return unsold merchandise. The Company’s revenue recognition is therefore highly dependent upon receiving pertinent, accurate and timely data from its distributors. Distributors routinely provide the Company with product, price, quantity and end customer data when products are resold, as well as report the quantities of the Company’s products that are still in their inventories. In determining the appropriate amount of revenue to recognize, the Company uses this data and applies judgment in reconciling any differences between the distributors’ reported inventories and shipment activities. Although this information is reviewed and verified for accuracy, any errors or omissions made by the Company’s distributors and not detected by the Company, if material, could affect reported operating results.

 

Shipments to ODMs and Other Integrators — As part of its strategy, the Company is attempting to sell more products directly to certain significant ODMs. Some of these ODMs previously purchased the Company’s products through distributors. The Company is making this change because it believes it can better service its customers, and more efficiently manage its business, as a result. The Company’s sales and margins may be adversely affected if the Company does not properly execute the transition from indirect to direct sales for the designated ODMs. It is also possible that the Company’s sales via its distributors may suffer as a result of this strategy.

 

As a component manufacturer, the overwhelming majority of products made by the Company are shipped to third parties for integration with or into other products. The third parties then sell their product, containing the Company’s components, to other integrators or to the ultimate commercial customer. If these third party integrators experience delays in developing or manufacturing their products, quality problems, or are unable to satisfy their customer’s demand for any reason, demand for the Company’s products will be adversely affected. This could materially affect the Company’s revenues and profitability.

 

Seasonality of the Business — The Company’s business historically has been subject to repeated seasonality, with the first and last quarters of each fiscal year tending to be weaker than the second and third quarters. The seasonality of the Company’s business may adversely impact the Company’s stock price and result in additional

volatility in its results of operations. Because the Company expects a certain degree of seasonality in its results, it may fail to recognize an actual downturn in its business, and continue to make investments or other business decisions that adversely affect its business in the future.

 

Credit Issues — The Company attempts to mitigate its credit risk by doing business only with creditworthy entities and by managing the amount of credit extended to its customers. However, the Company may choose to extend credit to certain entities because it is necessary to support the requirements of an important customer or for other reasons. In the past the Company has had to take certain charges against earnings as a result of the inability of certain of its customers to pay for goods received. There can be no assurance that the Company will not incur similar charges in the future.

 

THE COMPANY’S ‘FABLESS’ BUSINESS MODEL IS HEAVILY CONCENTRATED IN ASIA AND DEPENDENT ON A SMALL NUMBER OF WAFER AND ASSEMBLY COMPANIES WHO POSSESS NEGOTIATING LEVERAGE. THE COMPANY IS OFTEN REQUIRED TO COMMIT TO CERTAIN PURCHASE QUANTITIES TO SECURE CAPACITY, AND IS SUBJECT TO FLUCTUATIONS IN COMMODITY PRICES AND AVAILABILITY

 

Business Concentration in Asia — A significant number of the Company’s foundries and subcontractors are located in Asia. Many of the Company’s customers also manufacture in Asia or subcontract to Asian companies. A significant portion of the world’s personal computer component and circuit board manufacturing, as well as personal computer assembly, occurs in Asia, and many of the Company’s suppliers and customers are based in, or do significant business in, Taiwan. In addition, many companies are expanding their operations in Asia in an attempt to reduce their costs, and the Company is also exploring relationships with companies in Asia as part of its ongoing efforts to make its supply chain more efficient. This concentration of manufacturing and selling activity in Asia, and in Taiwan in particular, poses risks that could affect the supply and cost of the Company’s products, including currency exchange rate fluctuations, economic and trade policies and the political environment in Taiwan, China and other Asian communities. For example, legislation in the United States restricting or adding tariffs to imported goods could adversely affect the Company’s operating results.

 

The risk of earthquakes in Taiwan and the Pacific Rim region is significant due to the proximity of major earthquake fault lines in the area. We are not currently covered by insurance against business disruption caused by earthquakes as such insurance is not currently available on terms that we believe are commercially reasonable. Earthquakes, fire, flooding, lack of water or other natural disasters in Taiwan or the Pacific Rim region, or an epidemic, political unrest, war, labor strike or work stoppage in countries where our semiconductor manufacturers, assemblers and test subcontractors are located, likely would result in the disruption of our foundry, assembly or test capacity. There can be no assurance that alternate capacity could be obtained on commercially reasonable terms, if at all.

 

Reliance upon Subcontract Manufacturing — The vast majority of the Company’s products are manufactured and assembled by independent foundries and subcontract manufacturers under a “fabless” model. This reliance upon foundries and subcontractors involves certain risks, including potential lack of manufacturing availability, reduced control over delivery schedules, the availability of advanced process technologies, changes in manufacturing yields, dislocation, expense and delay caused by decisions to relocate manufacturing facilities or processes, and potential cost fluctuations. During downturns in the semiconductor economic cycle, reduction in overall demand for semiconductor products could financially stress certain of the Company’s subcontractors. If the financial resources of such independent subcontractors are stressed, the Company may experience future product shortages, quality assurance problems, increased manufacturing costs or other supply chain disruptions.

 

During upturns in the semiconductor cycle, it is not always possible to adequately respond to unexpected increases in customer demand due to capacity constraints. The Company may be unable to obtain adequate foundry, assembly or test capacity from third-party subcontractors to meet customers’ delivery requirements even if the Company adequately forecasts customer demand. Alternatively, the Company may have to incur unexpected costs to expedite orders in order to meet unforecasted customer demand. The Company typically does not have supply contracts with its third-party vendors that obligate the vendor to perform services and supply products for a specific period, in specific quantities, and at specific prices. The Company’s third-party foundry, assembly and test subcontractors typically do not guarantee that adequate capacity will be available within the time required to meet

customer demand for products. In the event that these vendors fail to meet required demand for whatever reason, the Company expects that it would take up to twelve months to transition performance of these services to new providers. Such a transition may also require qualification of the new providers by the Company’s customers or their end customers, which would take additional time. The requalification process for the entire supply chain including the end customer could take several years for certain of the Company’s products.

 

In the past, the Company received several unexpected price increases from several entities that assemble or package products. In the past there have been periods of shortage of capacity among companies that supply assembly services. In the latter part of fiscal year 2008 the Company’s margins were adversely impacted because of the extraordinary rise in the price of gold, a component of certain semiconductor packages. The Company’s contracts generally do not protect it from price increases in certain base commodities used in the semiconductor manufacturing process. Although the Company resists attempts by suppliers to increase prices, there can be no assurance that the Company’s margins will not be impacted in fiscal year 2009 or other future periods as a result of a shortage of capacity, changes in commodity prices, or price increases in assembly or other services. Because at various times the capacity of either wafer producers or assemblers can been limited, the Company may be unable to satisfy the demand of its customers, or may have to accept price increases or other compensation arrangements that increase its operating expenses and erode its margins.

 

Forecasts of Product Demand — The Company generally must order inventory to be built by its foundries and subcontract manufacturers well in advance of product shipments. Production is often based upon either internal or customer-supplied forecasts of demand, which can be highly unpredictable and subject to substantial fluctuations. Because of the volatility in the Company’s markets, there is risk that the Company may forecast incorrectly and produce excess or insufficient inventories. This inventory risk is increased by the trend for customers to place orders with shorter lead times and the customers’ ability to cancel or reschedule existing orders. In addition, the Company is sometimes the only supplier of a particular part to a customer. The value of the product line using the Company’s product may far exceed the value of the particular product sold by the Company to its customer. The Company may be forced to carry additional inventory of certain products to insure that its customers avoid production interruptions and to avoid claims being made by its customers for supply shortages.

 

Prior to purchasing the Company’s products, customers require that products undergo an extensive qualification process, which involves testing of the products in the customer’s system as well as rigorous reliability testing. This qualification process may continue for six months or longer. However, qualification of a product by a customer does not ensure any sales of the product to that customer. Even after successful qualification and sales of a product to a customer, a subsequent revision to the integrated circuit or software, changes in the integrated circuit’s manufacturing process or the selection of a new supplier by us may require a new qualification process, which may result in delays and in us holding excess or obsolete inventory. After products are qualified, it can take an additional six months or more before the customer commences volume production of components or devices that incorporate these products. Despite these uncertainties, the Company devotes substantial resources, including design, engineering, sales, marketing and management efforts, toward qualifying its products with customers in anticipation of sales. If the Company is unsuccessful or delayed in qualifying any products with a customer, such failure or delay would preclude or delay sales of such product to the customer, which may impede the Company’s growth and cause its business to suffer.

 

The Company also invested in fiscal year 2007 and 2008 in new test equipment to reduce costs. If volumes in fiscal year 2009 are insufficient to utilize this new test capacity, then costs may be higher than planned. As a result, the Company could be less competitive than anticipated, which could adversely affect return on investment and profitability.

 

THE COMPANY HAS GLOBAL OPERATIONS THAT SUBJECT US TO RISKS THAT MAY HARM OUR RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION

 

Global Operations Risks — We have sales, R&D, and operations facilities in many countries, and as a result, we are subject to risks associated with doing business globally. Our global operations may be subject to risks that

may limit our ability to build product, design, develop, or sell products in particular countries, which could, in turn, harm our results of operations and financial condition, including;

 

 

In addition, although most of our products are priced and paid for in U.S. dollars, a significant amount of certain types of expenses, such as payroll, utilities, tax, and marketing expenses, are paid in local currencies, and therefore fluctuations in exchange rates could harm our business operating results and financial condition. In addition, changes in tariff, export and import regulations, and U.S. and non-U.S. monetary policies, may harm our operating results and financial condition by increasing our expenses and reducing our revenue. Varying tax rates in different jurisdictions could harm our operating results and financial condition by increasing our overall tax rate.

 

THE COMPANY’S SUCCESS DEPENDS ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ITS ACQUISITIONS, RETAINING AND INTEGRATING KEY PERSONNEL, AND MANAGING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RISKS AND GROWTH

 

Strategic Business Acquisitions — The Company has made strategic acquisitions of complementary businesses, products and technologies in the past, including the OASIS acquisition in 2005, and may continue to pursue such acquisitions in the future as business conditions warrant. Business acquisitions can involve numerous risks, including: unanticipated costs and expenses; risks associated with entering new markets in which the Company has little or no prior experience; diversion of management’s attention from its existing businesses; potential loss of key employees, particularly those of the acquired business; differences between the culture of the acquired company and the Company, difficulties in integrating the new business into the Company’s existing businesses, potential dilution of future earnings; and future impairment and write-offs of purchased goodwill, other intangible assets and fixed assets due to unforeseen events and circumstances. Although the Company believes it has managed the OASIS acquisition well to date, there is no guarantee that the OASIS or other acquisitions in the future will produce the benefits intended. Future acquisitions also could cause the Company to incur debt or contingent liabilities or cause the Company to issue equity securities that could negatively impact the ownership percentages of existing shareholders.

 

Protection of Intellectual Property — The Company has historically devoted significant resources to research and development activities and believes that the intellectual property derived from such research and development is a valuable asset that has been, and will continue to be, important to the Company’s success. The Company relies upon nondisclosure agreements, contractual provisions and patent and copyright laws to protect its proprietary rights. No assurance can be given that the steps taken by the Company will adequately protect its proprietary rights, or that competitors will be prevented from using the Company’s intellectual property. During its history, the Company has executed patent cross-licensing agreements with many of the world’s largest semiconductor suppliers, under which the Company receives and conveys various intellectual property rights. Many of these agreements are still effective. The Company could be adversely affected should circumstances arise that result in the early termination of these agreements. In addition, the Company also frequently licenses intellectual property from third parties to meet specific needs as it develops its product portfolio. The Company’s competitive position and its results could be adversely affected if it is unable to license desired intellectual property at all, or on commercially reasonable terms.

 

Infringement and Other Claims — Companies in the semiconductor industry often aggressively protect and pursue their intellectual property rights. From time to time, the Company has received, and expects to continue to receive notices claiming that the Company has infringed upon or misused other parties’ proprietary rights, or claims

from its customers for indemnification for intellectual property matters. The Company has also in the past received, and may again in the future receive, notices of claims related to business transactions conducted with third parties, including asset sales and other divestitures.

 

If it is determined that the Company’s or its customer’s products or processes were to infringe on other parties’ intellectual property rights, a court might enjoin the Company or its customer from further manufacture and/or sale of the affected products. The Company would then need to obtain a license from the holders of the rights and/or reengineer its products or processes in such a way as to avoid the alleged infringement. There can be no assurance that the Company would be able to obtain any necessary license on commercially reasonable terms acceptable to the Company or that the Company would be able to reengineer its products or processes to avoid infringement. An adverse result in litigation arising from such a claim could involve the assessment of a substantial monetary award for damages related to past product sales that could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations and financial condition. In addition, even if claims against the Company are not valid or successfully asserted, defense against the claims could result in significant costs and a diversion of management and resources. The Company might also be forced to settle such a claim even if not valid as a result of pressure from its customers, because of the expense of defense, or because the risk of contesting such a claim is simply too great. Such settlements could adversely affect the Company’s profitability.

 

Dependence on Key Personnel — The success of the Company is dependent in large part on the continued service of its key management, engineering, marketing, sales and support employees. Competition for qualified personnel is intense in the semiconductor industry, and the loss of current key employees, or the inability of the Company to attract other qualified personnel, including the inability to offer competitive stock-based and other compensation, could hinder the Company’s product development and ability to manufacture, market and sell its products. We believe that our future success will be dependent on retaining the services of our key personnel, developing their successors and certain internal processes to reduce our reliance on specific individuals, and on properly managing the transition of key roles when they occur.

 

Risks from Continued Growth — The Company’s revenues have grown from approximately $156 million in fiscal year 2003 to approximately $378 million in fiscal year 2008. The increase in revenues has also been accompanied by a dramatic increase in the number of units of product the Company must produce to achieve these revenues. The Company may be unable to meet future revenue and profitability goals if it does not successfully create and manage the infrastructure, computer systems and processes necessary for continued “top line” and “bottom line” growth. The Company plans to make a significant investment in information technology in fiscal year 2009 in order to create the base for continued growth and to help it manage the growth that has already occurred. The Company’s results could be materially affected if the information technology investments are not implemented effectively or otherwise fail to accomplish planned objectives.

 

THE COMPANY’S RESULTS COULD BE ADVERSELY AFFECTED FROM FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH LEGAL AND REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

 

Internal Controls Over Financial Reporting — Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires the Company to evaluate the effectiveness of its system of internal controls over financial reporting as of the end of each fiscal year, beginning with fiscal 2005, and to include a report by management assessing the effectiveness of its system of internal controls over financial reporting within its annual report.

 

The Company’s management does not expect that its system of internal controls over financial reporting will prevent all error and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Further, the design of a control system must recognize that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all control systems, no evaluation of controls can provide absolute assurance that all control issues and instances of fraud, if any, involving the Company have been, or will be, detected. These inherent limitations include faulty judgments in decision-making and breakdowns that may occur because of simple error or mistake. Controls can also be circumvented by individual acts, by collusion of two or more people, or by management override of the controls. The design of any system of controls is based in part on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and the Company cannot provide assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions. Over time, controls may

become inadequate because of changes in conditions or deterioration in the degree of compliance with policies or procedures. In addition, because of the Company’s revenue recognition policies, the accuracy of the Company’s financial statements is dependent on data received from third party distributors (refer to Part I Item 7. — Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, for further discussion). Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.

 

Although the Company’s management has concluded that its system of internal controls over financial reporting was effective as of February 29, 2008, there can be no assurance that the Company or its independent registered public accounting firm will not identify a material weakness in the system of internal controls over financial reporting in the future. A material weakness in the Company’s system of internal controls over financial reporting would require management and/or the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm to evaluate the Company’s system of internal controls as ineffective. This in turn could lead to a loss of public confidence, which could adversely affect the Company’s business and the price of its common stock.

 

Corporate Governance — In recent years, the NASDAQ Global Select Market, on which the Company’s common stock is listed, has adopted comprehensive rules and regulations relating to corporate governance. These laws, rules and regulations have increased, and may continue to increase, the scope, complexity and cost of the Company’s corporate governance, reporting and disclosure practices. Failure to comply with these rules and regulations could adversely affect the Company, and in a worst case, result in the delisting of its stock. As a result of these rules, the Company’s board members, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer and other corporate officers could also face increased risks of personal liability in connection with the performance of their duties. As a result, the Company may have difficulty attracting and retaining qualified board members and officers, which would adversely affect its business. Further, these developments could affect the Company’s ability to secure desired levels of directors’ and officers’ liability insurance, requiring the Company to accept reduced insurance coverage or to incur substantially higher costs to obtain coverage.

 

Changes in Accounting for Equity Compensation — The Company has historically used stock options and SARs as a key component of employee compensation in order to align employees’ interests with the interests of its stockholders, encourage employee retention, and provide competitive compensation packages. The Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) recently adopted changes to generally accepted accounting principles known as Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 123(R), Share-Based Payment (revised 2004) (“SFAS 123(R)”) requiring a charge to earnings for employee stock option grants and other equity incentives which became effective beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2007. To the extent that this or other new regulations make it more difficult or expensive to grant options to employees, the Company may consider changes to its equity compensation strategy. To the extent that such changes might limit the Company’s use of equity-based compensation, it might become more difficult to attract, retain and motivate employees. Any of these results could materially and adversely affect the Company’s business.

 

Environmental Regulation — Environmental regulations and standards are established worldwide to control discharges, emissions, and solid wastes from manufacturing processes. Within the United States, federal, state and local agencies establish these regulations. Outside of the United States, individual countries and local governments establish their own individual standards. The Company believes that its activities conform to present environmental regulations and historically the effects of this compliance have not had a material effect on the Company’s capital expenditures, operating results, or competitive position. Future environmental compliance requirements, as well as amendments to or the adoption of new environmental regulations or the occurrence of an unforeseen circumstance could subject the Company to fines or require the Company to acquire expensive remediation equipment or to incur other expenses to comply with environmental regulations. In addition, many of the Company’s customers belong to trade groups or other similar bodies that are creating their own private governance, health, safety and environmental standards. Some of these customers are mandating that the Company comply with these standards as a condition to selling product to these customers. The Company’s sales and profitability may suffer it is unable to satisfy these private standards, or if complying with these standards imposes significant costs on the Company.

 

The Company has received no written comments from the SEC staff regarding its periodic or current reports as filed under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, nor on any filings made pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, that remain unaddressed or unresolved as of the filing date of this Report.

 

SMSC’s headquarters facility is located in Hauppauge, New York, where it owns a 200,000 square foot building and conducts research, development, product testing, warehousing, shipping, marketing, selling and administrative activities (the “HQ facility”).

 

In the first quarter of fiscal 2007, the Company completed an expansion (from approximately 80,000 square feet to the present fully utilized 200,000 square feet) and renovation of the HQ facility. During fiscal 2006, while the current HQ facility was under construction, the Company leased (until May 31, 2006) a separate 50,000 square foot facility, also located in Hauppauge, New York, which was vacated shortly after the HQ facility was completed and operations were consolidated. The final cost of the HQ facility expansion and renovation was $24.4 million.

 

In addition, the Company maintains offices in leased facilities as follows:

 

 

The Company believes that all of its facilities are in good condition, adequate for intended use and sufficient for its immediate needs. The Company has recently entered into a new one hundred and twenty five (125) month lease agreement, expiring in April 2019, for a 54,000 square foot facility in northern Austin, Texas, and will consolidate operations at the existing two leased facilities as these leases expire in fiscal 2009 (August 2008 and January 2009).

 

The Company currently expects to either renew existing leases or identify suitable alternative leased space for all leases expiring in fiscal 2009, except the for the two Austin, Texas facilities as previously noted. It is not certain

whether the Company will negotiate new leases on its other facilities as such leases expire in fiscal 2010 and beyond. Such determinations will be made as those leases approach expiration and will be based on an assessment of requirements and market conditions at that time. Further, management believes that additional space can be readily obtained, if necessary, based on prior experience and current and expected real estate market conditions.

 

From time to time as a normal consequence of doing business, various claims and litigation may be asserted or commenced against the Company. In particular, the Company in the ordinary course of business may receive claims that its products infringe the intellectual property of third parties, or that customers have suffered damage as a result of defective products allegedly supplied by the Company. Due to uncertainties inherent in litigation and other claims, the Company can give no assurance that it will prevail in any such matters, which could subject the Company to significant liability for damages and/or invalidate its proprietary rights. Any lawsuits, regardless of their success, would likely be time-consuming and expensive to resolve and would divert management’s time and attention, and an adverse outcome of any significant matter could have a material adverse effect on the Company’s consolidated results of operations or cash flows in the quarter or annual period in which one or more of these matters are resolved.

 

On July 3, 2007, OPTi, Inc. (“OPTi”) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas against the Company, Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Atmel Corporation, Broadcom Corporation, Renesas Technology America, Inc., Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., STMicroelectronics, Inc., and Via Technology, Inc. OPTi’s Complaint alleges that the Company’s Low Pin Count products infringe two patents and seeks unspecified damages (including treble damages for willful infringement), attorneys fees and injunctive relief. On September 5, 2007, the Company answered the Complaint, denying OPTi’s allegations and asserting counterclaims for declaratory judgments of invalidity, unenforceability and noninfringement of the two patents-in-suit. The Court has set a claim construction hearing for July 30, 2009, and a trial to begin on November 2, 2009. The Company intends to vigorously defend against the allegations of OPTi’s Complaint.

 

No matters were submitted to a vote of security holders during the fourth quarter of the fiscal year ended February 29, 2008.

 

Market Information and Holders

 

The Company’s common stock is traded in the over-the-counter market under the NASDAQ symbol SMSC. Trading is reported in the NASDAQ Global Select Market. There were approximately 1,007 holders of record of the Company’s common stock at February 29, 2008.

 

The following table sets forth the high and low trading prices, for the periods indicated, for SMSC’s common stock as reported by the NASDAQ Global Select Market:

 

Dividend Policy

 

The present policy of the Company is to retain earnings to provide funds for the operation and expansion of its business. The Company has never paid a cash dividend and does not currently expect to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

 

The information under the caption “Equity Compensation Plan Information,” appearing in the 2008 Proxy Statement related to the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “2008 Proxy Statement”), is hereby incorporated by reference. For additional information on the Company’s stock-based compensation plans, refer to Part IV Item 15(a)(1) — Financial Statements — Note 12.

 

Common Stock Repurchase Program

 

In October 1998, the Company’s Board of Directors approved a common stock repurchase program, allowing the Company to repurchase up to one million shares of its common stock on the open market or in private transactions. The Board of Director authorized the repurchase of additional shares in one million share increments in July 2000, July 2002 and November 2007, bringing the total authorized repurchases to four million shares as of February 29, 2008. On April 22, 2008, the Company’s Board of Directors further authorized the repurchase of up to an additional one million shares, bringing the total authorized to five million shares at present.

 

As of February 29, 2008, the Company has repurchased approximately 3.4 million shares of its common stock at a cost of $72.7 million under this program, including 1,165,911 shares repurchased at a cost of $40.6 million in fiscal 2008, 253,300 shares repurchased at a cost of $6.1 million in fiscal 2007 and 150,200 shares repurchased at a cost of $2.2 million in fiscal 2006.

 

Share repurchase activity for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008 was as follows:

 

Stock Performance Graph

 

The line graph below compares the cumulative total stockholder return on our common stock with the cumulative total return of the NASDAQ Composite Index and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index for the five fiscal years ended February 29, 2008. The graph and table assume that $100 was invested on February 28, 2003 (the last day of trading for the fiscal year ended February 28, 2003) in each of our common stock, the NASDAQ Composite Index and the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, and that all dividends were reinvested.

 

COMPARISON OF 5 YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN*
Among Standard Microsystems Corporation, The NASDAQ Composite Index
And The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index

 

 

 

Standard Microsystems Corporation and Subsidiaries

 

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

 

 

This selected financial data should be read in conjunction with the financial statements as set forth in Part IV Item 15(a)(1) — Financial Statements and Part II. Item 7. — Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

The operating results presented above reflect:

 

 

GENERAL

 

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes, included in Part IV Item 15(a)(1)— Financial Statements, of this Report.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

 

Portions of this Report may contain forward-looking statements, within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are based on management’s beliefs and assumptions, current expectations, estimates and projections. Such statements, including statements relating to the Company’s expectations for future financial performance, are not considered historical facts and are considered forward-looking statements under the federal securities laws. Words such as “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. These risks and related uncertainties may cause the Company’s actual future results to be materially different from those discussed in forward-looking statements. The Company’s risks and uncertainties include the timely development and market acceptance of new products; the impact of competitive products and pricing; the Company’s ability to procure capacity from suppliers and the timely performance of their obligations, commodity prices, the effects of changing economic conditions domestically and internationally and on its customers; relationships with and dependence on customers and growth rates in the personal computer, consumer electronics and embedded and automotive markets and within the Company’s sales channel; changes in customer order patterns, including order cancellations or reduced bookings; the effects of tariff, import and currency regulation; potential or actual litigation; and excess or obsolete inventory and variations in inventory valuation, among others. In addition, SMSC competes in the semiconductor industry, which has historically been characterized by intense competition, rapid technological change, cyclical market patterns, price erosion and periods of mismatched supply and demand.

 

The Company’s forward looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties surrounding future expectations and may not reflect the potential impact of any future acquisitions, mergers or divestitures. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and are based upon the information available to SMSC at this time. Such statements are subject to change, and the Company does not undertake to update such statements, except to the extent required under applicable law and regulation. These and other risks and uncertainties, including potential liability resulting from pending or future litigation, are detailed from time to time in the Company’s periodic and current reports as filed with the SEC. Readers are advised to review other sections of this Report, including Part I Item 1.A. — Risk Factors, for a more complete discussion of these and other risks and uncertainties. Other cautionary statements and risks and uncertainties may also appear elsewhere in this Report.

Description of Business

 

Standard Microsystems Corporation (the “Company” or “SMSC”) designs and sells a wide variety of silicon-based integrated circuits that are primarily utilizing analog or mixed-signal technologies. The Company’s integrated circuits and systems provide a wide variety of signal processing attributes that are incorporated by its globally diverse customers into a wide variety of end products in the Consumer Electronics & Infotainment, the Mobile & Desktop PC, and Industrial & Other markets. These products generally provide connectivity, networking, or input/output control solutions for a variety of high-speed communication, computer and related peripheral, consumer electronics, industrial control systems or auto infotainment applications. The market for these solutions is increasingly diverse, and the Company’s various technologies are increasingly used in various combinations and in alternative applications.

 

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES & ESTIMATES

 

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amount of sales and revenues and expenses during the reporting period.

 

SMSC believes the following critical accounting policies and estimates are important to the portrayal of the Company’s financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and require critical management judgments and estimates about matters that are inherently uncertain. Although management believes that its judgments and estimates are appropriate and reasonable, actual future results may differ from these estimates, and to the extent that such differences are material, future reported operating results may be affected.

 

Revenue Recognition

 

Sales and revenues and associated gross profit from shipments to the Company’s distributors, other than to distributors in Japan, are deferred until the distributors resell the products. Shipments to distributors, other than to distributors in Japan, are made under agreements allowing price protection and limited rights to return unsold merchandise. In addition, SMSC’s shipments to its distributors may be subject from time to time to short-term fluctuations as distributors manage their inventories to current levels of end-user demand. Therefore, SMSC considers the policy of deferring revenue on shipments to distributors to be a more meaningful presentation of the Company’s operating results, as it allows investors to better understand end-user demand for the products that SMSC sells through distribution channels, and it better focuses the Company on end-user demand. This policy is a common practice within the semiconductor industry. The Company’s revenue recognition is therefore highly dependent upon receiving pertinent, accurate and timely data from its distributors. Distributors routinely provide the Company with product, price, quantity and end customer data when products are resold, as well as report the quantities of the Company’s products that are still in their inventories. In determining the appropriate amount of revenue to recognize, the Company uses this data in reconciling any differences between the distributors’ reported inventories and shipment activities. Although this information is reviewed and verified for accuracy, any errors or omissions made by the Company’s distributors and not detected by the Company, if material, could affect reported operating results.

 

Shipments made by the Company’s Japanese subsidiary to distributors in Japan are made under agreements that permit limited or no stock return or price protection privileges. SMSC recognizes revenue from product sales to distributors in Japan, and to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), as title passes upon delivery, net of appropriate reserves for product returns and allowances.

 

Inventories

 

The Company’s inventories are comprised of complex, high technology products that may be subject to rapid technological obsolescence and which are sold in a highly competitive industry. Inventories are valued at the lower of standard cost (which approximates first-in, first-out cost) or market, and are reviewed for product obsolescence and impairment in value, based upon assumptions of future demand and market conditions. The Company often receives orders from customers and distributors requesting delivery of product on relatively short notice and with

lead times that are shorter than the manufacturing cycle time. In order to provide competitive delivery times to its customers, the Company builds and stocks a certain amount of inventory in anticipation of customer demand that may or may not materialize. Historically, forecasts of customer demand, particularly at a part-number level, are challenging and can vary significantly from actual future demand. In addition, as is common in the semiconductor industry, customers may be allowed to cancel orders with minimal advance notice. These dynamics create risks that the Company may forecast incorrectly and consequently produce excess or insufficient inventories.

 

When it is determined that specific inventory is stated at a higher value than that which can be recovered, the Company writes this inventory down to its estimated realizable value with a charge to costs of goods sold. While the Company endeavors to appropriately forecast customer demand and stock commensurate levels of inventory, unanticipated inventory write-downs may be required in future periods relating to inventory on hand as of any reported balance sheet.

 

Stock-Based Compensation

 

The Company has several stock-based compensation plans in effect under which incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, restricted stock awards (“RSAs”) and stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) are granted to employees and directors. Stock options and SARs are granted with exercise prices equal to the fair value of the underlying shares on the date of grant. New shares are issued in settling stock option exercises and restricted stock awards.

 

Effective March 1, 2006 the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (“SFAS”) No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based Payment (“SFAS 123R”). SFAS 123R supersedes Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees (“APB 25”) and related interpretations and amends SFAS No. 95, Statement of Cash Flows. SFAS 123R requires all share-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, restricted stock units and employee stock purchase rights, to be recognized in the financial statements based on their respective grant date fair values and does not allow the previously permitted pro forma disclosure-only method as an alternative to financial statement recognition. SFAS 123R also requires the benefits of tax deductions in excess of recognized compensation cost be reported as a financing cash flow, rather than as an operating cash flow as required under previous literature. In March 2005 the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 107 (“SAB 107”), which provides guidance regarding the interaction of SFAS 123R and certain SEC rules and regulations. The Company considered the provisions of SAB 107 in its adoption of SFAS 123R.

 

The Company elected the modified prospective transition method as permitted by SFAS 123R. Accordingly, prior periods have not been revised to reflect the impact of SFAS 123R. Under this transition method, compensation cost recognized for fiscal year 2008 includes: (i) compensation cost for all stock-based payments granted prior to, but not yet vested as of, February 28, 2007 (based on the grant-date fair value estimated in accordance with the original provisions of SFAS No. 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation (“SFAS 123”), and previously presented in the pro forma footnote disclosures); and (ii) compensation cost for all stock-based payments granted or modified subsequent to February 28, 2007 (based on fair values estimated in accordance with the new provisions of SFAS No. 123R).

 

In connection with the implementation of SFAS No. 123R, the Company elected the long form method in determining our additional paid-in capital pool of windfall benefits and the graded vesting method to amortize compensation expense over the service period. The estimated value of the Company’s stock-based awards (including stock options, restricted stock awards and stock appreciation rights), less expected forfeitures, is amortized over the awards’ respective requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period, on a straight-line basis.

 

Share-based compensation recognized in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2007 as a result of the adoption of SFAS No. 123(R), as well as pro forma disclosures according to the original provisions of SFAS No. 123 for periods prior to the adoption of SFAS No. 123(R), use the Black-Scholes option pricing model for estimating the fair value of options and SARs granted. The Black-Scholes model requires certain assumptions, judgements and estimates by the Company to determine fair value, including expected stock price volatility, risk-free interest rate and expected life. The Company based the expected volatility on historical volatility. Additionally, the Company

based the expected life of options, RSAs and SARs granted on an actuarial model. Share-based compensation related to RSAs is calculated based on the market price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. There were no dividends expected to be paid on the Company’s common stock over the expected lives estimated.

 

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

 

The Company maintains allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments. These estimated losses are based upon historical bad debts, specific customer creditworthiness and current economic trends. The Company regularly performs credit evaluations consisting primarily of reviews of its customers’ financial condition, using information provided by the customers as well as publicly available information, if any. If the financial condition of an individual customer or group of customers deteriorates, resulting in such customers’ inability to make payments within approved credit terms, additional allowances may be required.

 

Valuation of Long-Lived Assets

 

Long-lived assets, including property, plant and equipment, and intangible assets, are monitored and reviewed for impairment in value whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of any such asset may not be recoverable. The determination of recoverability is based on an estimate of undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the related asset and its eventual disposition. The estimated cash flows are based upon, among other things, certain assumptions about expected future operating performance, growth rates and other factors. Estimates of undiscounted cash flows may differ from actual cash flows due to factors such as technological changes, economic conditions, and changes in the Company’s business model or operating performance. If at the time of such evaluation the sum of expected undiscounted cash flows (excluding interest) is below the carrying value, an impairment loss is recognized, which is measured as the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the fair value of the asset.

 

Goodwill is tested for impairment in value annually, as well as when an event or circumstance occurs indicating a possible impairment in value. The Company completed its most recent annual goodwill impairment review during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, during which no impairment in value was identified. Unless an indicator of impairment is identified earlier, the next goodwill impairment review will be performed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009.

 

Marketable and non-marketable long-term equity investments are also monitored for indications of impairment in value. The Company records an impairment charge against these investments when the investment is judged to have experienced a decline in value that is other than temporary. Judgments regarding the value of non-marketable equity investments are subjective and dependent upon management’s assessment of the performance of the investee and its prospects for future success. As of February 29, 2008, the Company had no significant long-term equity investments.

 

Income Taxes

 

Accounting for income tax obligations requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the tax effects of differences between the book and tax bases of recorded assets and liabilities as well as tax attributes such as net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets resulting from these differences must be reduced by a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized.

 

The Company regularly evaluates the realizability of its deferred tax assets by assessing its forecasts of future taxable income and reviewing available tax planning strategies that could be implemented to realize the deferred tax assets. At February 29, 2008, the Company had $33.7 million of deferred tax assets net of a valuation allowance of $2.0 million and $12.8 million of deferred tax liabilities. Factors that may affect the Company’s ability to achieve sufficient future taxable income for purposes of realizing its deferred tax assets include declines in sales and revenues or gross profit, increased competition and loss of market share, delays in product availability, and technological obsolescence.

In July 2006, the FASB issued FASB Interpretation (“FIN”) No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes — an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 (“FIN 48”), which for SMSC, became effective as of March 1, 2007. FIN 48 clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise’s financial statements in accordance with SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes (“SFAS 109”). FIN 48 requires that all tax positions be evaluated using a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. Differences between tax positions taken in a tax return and amounts recognized in the financial statements are recorded as adjustments to income taxes payable or receivable, or adjustments to deferred taxes, or both. The Company adopted FIN 48 on March 1, 2007. As a result of the adoption of this accounting pronouncement, the Company recognized $1.5 million of previously unrecognized tax benefits, which was accounted for as an increase to the opening balance of retained earnings. At adoption the company’s total unrecognized tax benefits was stated at $3.3 million which included $0.6 million of interest.

 

Legal Contingencies

 

From time to time, the Company is subject to legal proceedings and claims, including claims of alleged infringement of patents and other intellectual property rights and other claims arising in the ordinary course of business. These contingencies require management to assess the likelihood and possible cost of adverse judgments or outcomes. Liabilities for legal contingencies are accrued when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of the liability can be reasonably estimated. There can be no assurance that any third-party assertions against the Company will be resolved without costly litigation, in a manner that is not adverse to its financial position, results of operations or cash flows. In addition, the resolution of any future intellectual property litigation may subject the Company to royalty obligations, product redesigns or discontinuance of products, any of which could adversely impact future profitability.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements (“SFAS 157”). SFAS 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. This Statement applies under other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements, the FASB having previously concluded in those accounting pronouncements that fair value is the relevant measurement attribute. Accordingly, this Statement does not require any new fair value measurements. In February 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position (FSP) 157-1, Application of FASB Statement No. 157 to FASB Statement No. 13 and Other Accounting Pronouncements That Address Fair Value Measurements for Purposes of Lease Classification or Measurement under Statement 13 (“FSP 157-1”) and FSP 157-2, “Effective Date of FASB Statement No. 157” (“FSP 157-2”). FSP 157-1 amends SFAS 157 to remove certain leasing transactions from its scope. FSP 157-2 delays the effective date of SFAS 157 for all non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities, except for items that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis (at least annually), until the beginning of the first quarter of SMSC’s fiscal year beginning March 1, 2009. The measurement and disclosure requirements related to financial assets and financial liabilities are effective for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007, which we plan to adopt beginning in the first quarter of fiscal 2009. We are currently evaluating the impact, if any, the adoption of SFAS 157 will have on our consolidated financial statements in fiscal 2009 and in fiscal 2010 when it is applied to non-financial assets and non-financial liabilities.

 

In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (“SFAS 159”). SFAS 159 permits companies to choose to measure certain financial instruments and other items at fair value. The standard requires that unrealized gains and losses are reported in earnings for items measured using the fair value option. SFAS 159 is effective for fiscal years beginning after November 15, 2007 (SMSC’s fiscal year beginning March 1, 2008). The Company is currently evaluating the impact, if any, the adoption of SFAS 159 will have on its financial position, results of operations and cash flows.

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141R, Business Combinations, (“SFAS 141R”). SFAS 141R establishes principles and requirements for how the acquirer shall recognize and measure in its financial statements the identifiable assets acquired, liabilities assumed, any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree and goodwill acquired in the business combination. SFAS 141R is effective for business combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the beginning of the first annual reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008 (SMSC’s fiscal year beginning March 1, 2009). The Company is currently determining the impact of implementing SFAS 141R on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements — an Amendment of Accounting Research Bulletin or ARB No. 51, (“SFAS 160”). SFAS 160 establishes and expands accounting and reporting standards for the noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary. SFAS 160 is effective for business combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the beginning of the first annual reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008 (SMSC’s fiscal year beginning March 1, 2009). The Company is currently determining the impact of implementing SFAS 160 on our Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

BUSINESS ACQUISITION

 

On March 30, 2005, SMSC announced the acquisition of OASIS SiliconSystems Holding AG (“OASIS”), a leading provider of Media Oriented Systems Transport (“MOST^®” or “MOST”) technology, serving a top tier customer base of leading automakers and automotive suppliers. OASIS’ infotainment networking technology has been deployed by many European luxury and mid-market car brands, including Audi, BMW, Daimler, Land Rover, Porsche, Saab and Volvo and more recently, by Asian vehicle manufacturers.

 

The initial cost of the acquisition at March 30, 2005 was approximately $118.6 million, including approximately $79.5 million of cash, 2.1 million shares of SMSC common stock, valued at $35.8 million, and an estimated $3.3 million of direct acquisition costs, including legal, banking, accounting and valuation fees. Included with the net assets acquired from OASIS were approximately $22.4 million of cash and cash equivalents; therefore SMSC’s initial net cash outlay for the transaction, including transaction costs, was approximately $60.4 million.

 

The terms of the agreement also provided the former OASIS shareholders the opportunity to earn up to $20 million of additional consideration, based upon achieving certain fiscal 2006 performance goals, the amount earned of which was indeterminable until February 28, 2006. Based upon fiscal 2006 performance and per the computation completed and submitted on April 28, 2006, the former OASIS shareholders earned approximately $16.4 million of additional consideration, consisting of approximately 0.2 million shares of SMSC common stock valued for accounting purposes as of May 9, 2006 at $4.0 million, and approximately $12.4 million of cash, all of which was tendered and paid during the first quarter of fiscal 2007. SMSC’s existing cash balances were used to fund the cash portion of the additional consideration. The fair value of the shares tendered was approximately $1.4 million less at the settlement date than had been estimated as of February 28, 2006, resulting in a corresponding adjustment to Goodwill in the first quarter of fiscal 2007. Refer to Part IV Item 15(a)(i) — Financial Statements — Note 5, for additional information on the final computation and settlement of this obligation.

 

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

Fiscal Year Ended February 29, 2008 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended February 28, 2007

 

Sales and Revenues

 

The Company’s sales and revenues for fiscal 2008 were $377.8 million, consisting of $365.7 million of product sales and $12.2 million of intellectual property revenues, compared to fiscal 2007 sales and revenues of $370.6 million, consisting of $359.0 million of product sales and $11.6 million of intellectual property revenues. This 2% increase for the company as a whole came from modest increases in mobile computing, networking, USB and automotive products. During the calendar year of 2008 the Company executed a strategy to reduce less profitable sales, by disengaging from sales efforts to certain customers and markets, and by declining to accept some lower margin business.

Intellectual property revenues include $12.0 million and $11.3 million in fiscal 2008 and 2007, respectively, received from Intel Corporation pursuant to the terms of a September 2003 business agreement. Intellectual property revenues for fiscal 2008 include payments under this agreement of $3.0 million in the first, second, third and fourth quarters. Fiscal 2007 results include the payments of $2.8 million in the first, second and third quarters and $3.0 million in the fourth quarter. Payments pursuant to this agreement cease in the third quarter of fiscal 2009.

 

Sales and revenues by country for fiscal years 2008 and 2007 were as follows (in thousands):

 

 

Product sales to electronic component distributors were reflected in the table above based on the country of their respective operations; the geographic locations of end customers may differ.

 

Intellectual property revenues received from Intel are included within the United States.

 

The Company expects international shipments to Asia to continue to represent a significant portion of its sales and revenues for the foreseeable future. A significant portion of the world’s high technology manufacturing and assembly activity occurs in Asia, where many of the Company’s significant customers conduct business. In addition, many of the Company’s customers are establishing new lower cost operations in China, and a growing amount of the Company’s shipments are now being made to that country.

 

Costs of Goods Sold

 

Costs of goods sold include: the purchase cost of finished silicon wafers manufactured by independent foundries (including mask and tooling costs); costs of assembly, packaging and mechanical and electrical testing; manufacturing overhead; quality assurance and other support overhead (including costs of personnel and equipment associated with manufacturing support); royalties paid to developers of intellectual property incorporated into the Company’s products; and adjustments for excess, slow-moving or obsolete inventories.

 

Costs of goods sold for fiscal 2008 were $181.1 million, or 47.9% of sales and revenues, compared to $193.5 million, or 52.2% of sales and revenues, in fiscal 2007. Excluding intellectual property revenues, costs of goods sold were 49.5% of product sales in fiscal 2008, as compared to 53.9% in fiscal 2007.

 

The reduction in costs of goods sold on a percentage basis in the current-year period compared to the prior-year results has resulted primarily from the Company’s strategy, beginning in the latter half of fiscal 2007, to discontinue sales of certain lower profit generating legacy computing products, as well as successfully achieving material cost savings and production and test efficiencies. The Company routinely assesses its stock positions and evaluates for potential defective, excess or obsolete inventory. Lower of cost or market (“LCM”) adjustments are made as required. In fiscal 2008, the Company recorded approximately $1.8 million of net LCM adjustments, as compared with $3.2 million in fiscal 2007. The reduction in net LCM charges is primarily attributable to a reduction in quality related issues, which were somewhat higher than usual in fiscal 2007, as the Company has recently increased its investment in quality assurance capabilities and can now more closely monitor and control quality performance at the fabless supply chain partner level.

In addition, in the latter half of fiscal 2008 and particularly in the fourth quarter, the Company incurred an additional $0.4 million in surcharges from assembly service providers to compensate for the recent rise in gold prices. Expenses of $1.4 million relating to stock-based compensation pursuant to SFAS 123R are included in the current year, compared to $0.5 million related to stock-based compensation in the prior year. Costs of goods sold include approximately $0.4 million in fiscal 2007 relating to prior periods for certain United States Customs fees.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

Research and development (“R&D”) expenses consist primarily of salaries and related costs of employees engaged in research, design and development activities, costs related to engineering design tools and computer hardware, subcontractor costs and device prototyping costs. The Company’s R&D activities are performed by highly-skilled and experienced engineers and technicians, and are primarily directed towards the design of new integrated circuits; the development of new software drivers, firmware and design tools and blocks of logic; and investment in new product offerings based on converging technology trends, as well as ongoing cost reductions and performance improvements in existing products.

 

The Company intends to continue its efforts to develop innovative new products and technologies, and believes that an ongoing commitment to R&D is essential in order to maintain product leadership and compete effectively. Therefore, the Company expects to continue to make significant R&D investments in the future.

 

R&D expenses were $71.7 million and $66.6 million in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2007, respectively, growing from approximately 18.0% to 19.0% of sales and revenues. Expenses rose $5.1 million, due to increased investment in new product development and due to higher expenses relating to stock-based compensation pursuant to SFAS 123R, which grew from $3.9 million in fiscal 2007 to $6.7 million in fiscal 2008.

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

 

Selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses consist primarily of sales, marketing, finance (including compliance costs), information technology, legal, human resources management and other executive and administrative costs. SG&A expenses were $80.8 million, or approximately 21.4% of sales and revenues, for fiscal 2008, compared to $73.8 million, or approximately 19.9% of sales and revenues, for fiscal 2007. SG&A expenses increased $7.0 million, primarily due to increased headcount and other infrastructure costs, in support of business growth. Net charges of $7.0 million relating to stock-based compensation pursuant to SFAS 123R are included in the current year, compared to $4.3 million in charges related to stock-based compensation in the prior year. SG&A expenses include approximately $0.5 million in fiscal 2007 relating to prior periods for certain employee benefits related charges.

 

Amortization of Intangible Assets

 

Amortization expense was $6.7 million and $6.4 million in fiscal 2008 and 2007, respectively, and represents the amortization of finite-lived intangible assets associated with the Company’s March 2005 acquisition of OASIS and June 2002 acquisition of Gain. Amortization expense increased in fiscal 2008 as compared with the prior fiscal year as a substantial portion of the intangible assets acquired in the OASIS acquisition are denominated in euro, which appreciated considerably in value during the year against the U.S. dollar. Amortization on euro-based intangible assets therefore increased in translated U.S. dollar terms.

 

Interest and Other (Expense) Income

 

The increase in interest income, from $4.7 million in fiscal 2007 to $7.5 million in fiscal 2008 was the result of an increase in interest earned on short-term and long-term investments, as well as the impact of higher default rates on auction rate securities, beginning in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008. Interest expense remained at $0.3 million in both fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2008. Other expenses in fiscal 2008 consisted primarily of foreign exchange rate losses on USD transactions of SMSC Europe. Other income in fiscal 2007 included $0.2 million in gains on the sale of certain fixed assets.

Provision for Income Taxes

 

The Company’s effective income tax rate reflects statutory federal, state and foreign tax rates, the impact of certain permanent differences between the book and tax treatment of certain expenses, and the impact of tax-exempt income and various income tax credits.

 

The provision for income taxes for fiscal 2008 was $10.4 million, or an effective income tax rate of 24.1% against $43.3 million of income before income taxes. This provision included the impact of $1.6 million from income tax credits, $2.3 million from tax exempt income, a $2.0 million benefit from differences between foreign and U.S. income tax rates, a reversal of unrecognized tax benefits of $1.1 million and an adjustment to prior years taxes for stock options for $1.2 million.

 

Legislation was not passed extending the income tax credits related to qualified research and development expenditures in the U.S. incurring after December 31, 2007. For the first three quarters of fiscal year 2008 the company has recognized these credits in its tax provision and is waiting passage of new legislation to recognize the additional credits.

 

The provision for income taxes for fiscal 2007 was $8.3 million, or an effective income tax rate of 23.4% against $35.3 million of income before income taxes. This provision included the impact of $2.3 million from income tax credits, $1.5 million from tax exempt income and a $0.7 million provision for differences between foreign and U.S. income tax rates.

 

The provisions for income taxes from continuing operations have not been reduced for approximately $6.4 million and $0.5 million of tax benefits in fiscal 2008 and 2007, respectively, derived from activity in stock-based compensation plans. These tax benefits have been credited to additional paid-in capital.

 

The Company adopted FIN 48 on March 1, 2007 (beginning of fiscal 2008). As a result of the adoption of this accounting pronouncement, the Company recognized $1.5 million of previously unrecognized tax benefits, which was accounted for as an increase to the opening balance of retained earnings.

 

Fiscal Year Ended February 28, 2007 Compared to Fiscal Year Ended February 28, 2006

 

Sales and Revenues

 

The Company’s sales and revenues for fiscal 2007 were $370.6 million, consisting of $359.0 million of product sales and $11.6 million of intellectual property revenues, compared to fiscal 2006 sales and revenues of $319.1 million, consisting of $308.3 million of product sales and $10.8 million of intellectual property revenues. Product sales include $62.3 million and $52.8 million of sales from shipments of OASIS products subsequent to the March 30, 2005 acquisition date in fiscal 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

Intellectual property revenues include $11.3 million and $10.3 million in fiscal 2007 and 2006, respectively, received from Intel Corporation pursuant to the terms of a September 2003 business agreement. Intellectual property revenues for fiscal 2007 include payments under this agreement of $2.8 million in the first, second and third quarters and $3.0 million in the fourth quarter. Fiscal 2006 results include the payments of $2.5 million in the first, second and third quarters and $2.8 million in the fourth quarter.

 

Sales and revenues by country for fiscal years 2007 and 2006 were as follows (in thousands):

 

Product sales to electronic component distributors were reflected in the table above based on the geographic location of their respective operations; the geographic locations of the end customers may differ. Intellectual property revenues received from Intel are included within the United States.

 

Costs of Goods Sold

 

Costs of goods sold include: the purchase cost of finished silicon wafers manufactured by independent foundries (including mask and tooling costs); costs of assembly, packaging and mechanical and electrical testing; manufacturing overhead; quality assurance and other support overhead (including costs of personnel and equipment associated with manufacturing support); royalties paid to developers of intellectual property incorporated into the Company’s products; and adjustments for excess, slow-moving or obsolete inventories.

 

Costs of goods sold for fiscal 2007 were $193.5 million, or 52.2% of sales and revenues, compared to $172.3 million, or 54.0% of sales and revenues, in fiscal 2006. Excluding intellectual property revenues, costs of goods sold were 53.9% of product sales in fiscal 2007, as compared to 55.9% in fiscal 2006.

 

The reduction in costs of goods sold on a percentage basis in fiscal 2007 compared to fiscal 2006 results is primarily a result of a changed sales mix in favor of higher margin consumer electronics and industrial applications. In addition, net LCM adjustments increased to $3.2 million in fiscal 2007, up from $0.3 million in fiscal 2006, primarily as a result of certain production quality related issues experienced with product sourced from certain assembly services suppliers. In fiscal 2006, costs of sales included a $1.7 million charge associated with sales of inventory that was acquired from OASIS and valued in the acquisition above its historical cost. There were no corresponding charges in fiscal 2007. Expenses of $0.5 million relating to SARs, RSAs and stock options pursuant to SFAS 123R are included in fiscal 2007 results, compared to $0.9 million in charges related to SARs and RSAs in fiscal 2006. Costs of goods sold also includes approximately $0.4 million in fiscal 2007 relating to prior periods for certain United States Customs fees.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

R&D expenses were $66.6 million and $58.3 million in fiscal 2007 and fiscal 2006, respectively, or approximately 18.0% of sales and revenues in both periods. Expenses rose $8.3 million, primarily due to increased investment in new product development, commensurate with the increase in overall product sales. Expenses of $3.9 million relating to SARs, RSAs and stock options pursuant to SFAS 123R are included in fiscal 2007 results, compared to $3.8 million in charges related to SARs and RSAs in fiscal 2006.

 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

 

SG&A expenses were $73.8 million, or approximately 19.9% of sales and revenues, for fiscal 2007, compared to $69.2 million, or approximately 21.7% of sales and revenues, for fiscal 2006. SG&A expenses increased $4.7 million, primarily due to increased headcount and other infrastructure costs, in support of business growth. Net charges of $4.3 million relating to SARs, RSAs and stock options pursuant to SFAS 123R are included in fiscal 2007 results, compared to $9.8 million in charges related to SARs and RSAs in fiscal 2006. SG&A expenses include approximately $0.5 million in fiscal 2007 relating to prior periods for certain employee benefits related charges. In fiscal 2006, SG&A expenses include approximately $0.2 million of expenses relating to prior periods for certain office lease expenses.

 

Amortization of Intangible Assets

 

Amortization expense was $6.4 million and $5.8 million in fiscal 2007 and 2006, respectively, and represents the amortization of finite-lived intangible assets associated with the Company’s March 2005 acquisition of OASIS and June 2002 acquisition of Gain.

 

In-Process Research and Development

 

The $0.9 million in-process research and development expense recorded in fiscal 2006 represents the fair value of in-process technology for OASIS research projects that, as of the March 30, 2005 closing date of the OASIS acquisition, had not reached technological feasibility and had no alternative future uses. These projects primarily focused on deployment of certain technology into consumer electronics applications. The estimated fair value of

this in-process research and development was recorded as an expense as of the OASIS acquisition date, in the fiscal quarter ended May 31, 2005.

 

Interest and Other Income (Expense)

 

The increase in interest income, from $3.3 million in fiscal 2006 to $4.7 million in fiscal 2007, primarily reflects the impact of higher average interest rates during fiscal 2007. Interest expense increased $0.2 million in fiscal 2007 as the company took advantage of supplier financing for advanced design tool acquisitions. Other income in fiscal 2007 included $0.2 million in gains on the sale of certain fixed assets.

 

Provision for Income Taxes

 

The Company’s effective income tax rate reflects statutory federal, state and foreign tax rates, the impact of certain permanent differences between the book and tax treatment of certain expenses, and the impact of tax-exempt income and various income tax credits.

 

The provision for income taxes for fiscal 2007 was $8.3 million, or an effective income tax rate of 23.4% against $35.3 million of income before income taxes. This provision included the impact of $2.3 million from income tax credits, $1.5 million from tax exempt income and a $0.7 million provision for differences between foreign and U.S. income tax rates.

 

The income tax credits relate to qualified research and development expenditures in the U.S., and were not recognized until the fourth quarter of fiscal 2007. Legislation was passed in late December 2006 extending the availability of these credits retroactively to January 1, 2006. The Company had claimed these credits in prior fiscal periods, but did not recognize any associated benefits in its tax provision for the first three quarters in fiscal 2007, pending the passage of this legislation.

 

The provision for income taxes for fiscal 2006 was $4.5 million, or an effective income tax rate of 27.3% against $16.5 million of income before income taxes. This provision included the impact of $1.7 million from income tax credits, $0.9 million from tax exempt income and a $1.0 million provision for differences between foreign and U.S. income tax rates.

 

The provisions for income taxes from continuing operations have not been reduced for approximately $0.5 million and $5.7 million of tax benefits in fiscal 2007 and 2006, respectively, derived from activity in stock-based compensation plans. These tax benefits have been credited to additional paid-in capital.

 

LIQUIDITY & CAPITAL RESOURCES

 

The Company currently finances its operations through a combination of existing working capital resources and cash generated by operations. The Company had no bank debt during fiscal 2008, 2007 or 2006.

 

The Company’s cash, cash equivalents, short-term and long-term investments (including investments in auction rate securities with maturities in excess of one year) were $186.1 million at February 29, 2008, compared to $160.0 million at February 28, 2007.

 

Operating activities generated $61.3 million of cash during fiscal 2008, compared to $37.0 million of cash generated in fiscal 2007. Comparative operating cash flows reflect the impact of improved profitability in fiscal 2008, partially offset by an increase in inventories in support of revenue growth.

 

Investing activities consumed $14.2 million of cash during fiscal 2008, reflecting a $0.7 million increase of short-term and long-term investments and $13.3 million in capital expenditures. Capital expenditures were significantly lower than the prior years, primarily due to a relative decrease in expenditures for test and other related production equipment in fiscal 2008. Investing activities consumed $52.0 million of cash during fiscal 2007, reflecting a $12.7 million increase of short-term and long-term investments, the $12.6 million settlement of the cash portion of the OASIS acquisition contingent consideration, and $27.0 million in capital expenditures (mostly for test equipment).

 

Long-term investments consist of highly rated auction rate securities (most of which are backed by U.S. Federal or state and municipal government guarantees). As of November 30, 2007 and prior period-end dates, these investments were classified as short-term in nature. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, such investments became subject to adverse market conditions, and the liquidity typically associated with the financial

markets for such instruments became restricted as auctions began to fail. Given the underlying terms of these securities, in most cases where auctions fail, the investor is entitled to higher interest rates to compensate for the lack of liquidity. At present, the Company is earning higher overall returns on these investments securities as a consequence of current market conditions. The Company expects such market conditions to be temporary, and has classified its investments in auction rate securities as long-term in the interim. However, in the event that these market conditions are not temporary and the Company’s future operating requirements dictated liquidation of these securities, it is possible they may/or not be liquidated at full book value. Should such need arise and current market conditions persist, the Company may also be required to record impairment charges on such investments.

 

Net cash used in financing activities of $23.6 million during fiscal 2008 included $40.6 million of treasury stock purchases and $2.2 million of payments under supplier financing arrangements, partially offset by $18.4 million of proceeds from exercises of stock options and $0.9 million excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation. Financing activities provided $7.4 million of cash during fiscal 2007, including $14.5 million of proceeds from exercises of stock options, partially offset by $6.1 million of treasury stock purchases and $1.5 million for payments under supplier financing arrangements.

 

Working capital decreased $92.2 million, or 43.4%, to $120.0 million in fiscal 2008. This was largely due to the reclassification of $124.5 million in auction rate securities from short-term to long-term investments on the balance sheet in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2008, offset in part by increases in cash and net current assets. Accounts receivable increased from $48.0 million at February 28, 2007 to $52.9 million at February 29, 2008. The Company’s inventories increased to $58.9 million at February 29, 2008, compared to $50.9 million at February 28, 2007, in support of higher sales levels and given the Company’s decision to build inventory in support of anticipated customer demand, especially for instances where the Company’s products are sole-source or custom designed for major customers’ programs. Total current liabilities increased from $74.7 million at February 28, 2007 to $79.5 million at February 29, 2008.

 

Capital expenditures for fiscal 2008 were $13.3 million, primarily for test and other related production equipment. Capital expenditures in fiscal 2007 of $27.0 million were primarily for test and other related production equipment, as well as the completion of the Hauppauge, New York headquarters building expansion, which began during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005.

 

In addition, the Company also made non-cash capital investments of $4.1 million in fiscal 2008 for advanced design tools acquired under supplier financing arrangements. The Company acquired $6.9 million of advanced design tools during fiscal 2007 under similar agreements, for which the vendors also provided extended payment terms. Payments under these agreements are reported within cash flows from financing activities on the consolidated statements of cash flows.

 

The Company made cash payments for U.S. Federal and state and foreign income taxes of $7.9 million and $10.7 million in fiscal 2008 and fiscal 2007, respectively. For federal income tax purposes, the Company had approximately $5.8 million federal net operating loss carryforwards as of the fiscal year end 2006 which were fully utilized in fiscal year 2007.

 

In November 2007, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of up to additional one million shares, for a total of up to 4 million shares authorized under the common stock repurchase program first initiated in October 1998.

 

As of February 29, 2008, the Company has repurchased approximately 3.4 million shares of its common stock at a cost of $72.7 million under this program, including 1,165,911 shares repurchased at a cost of $40.6 million in fiscal 2008, and 253,300 shares repurchased at a cost of $6.1 million in fiscal 2007. Subsequent to year-end and through April 18, 2008 (inclusive), the Company repurchased an additional 199,145 shares at a cost of $5.8 million.

The Company’s contractual payment obligations and purchase commitments as of February 29, 2008 were as follows:

 

Other obligations include accrued officers and directors retirement obligations and supplier financed software obligations. Inventory and other purchase obligations include purchase commitments for processed silicon wafers and assembly and test services. The Company depends entirely upon subcontractors to manufacture its silicon wafers and provide assembly services, as well as for certain of its test services. Due to the length of subcontractor lead times, the Company orders these materials and services well in advance, and generally expects to receive and pay for these materials and services within the next six months.

 

For purposes of the preceding table, obligations for the purchase of goods or services are defined as agreements that are enforceable and legally binding and that specify all significant terms, including: fixed or minimum quantities to be purchased; fixed, minimum or variable price provisions; and the approximate timing of the transaction. The Company cannot cancel these obligations without incurring cost. Non-cancelable purchase orders for manufacturing requirements are typically fulfilled by vendors within short time horizons, generally three months or less. The Company has additional purchase orders, not included within the table, that represent authorizations to purchase rather than binding agreements.

 

The Company has considered in the past, and will continue to consider, various possible transactions to secure necessary foundry manufacturing capacity, including equity investments in, prepayments to, or deposits with foundries, in exchange for guaranteed capacity or other arrangements which address the Company’s manufacturing requirements. The Company may also consider utilizing cash to acquire or invest in complementary businesses or products or to obtain the right to use complementary technologies. From time to time, in the ordinary course of business, the Company may evaluate potential acquisitions of or investments in such businesses, products or technologies owned by third parties.

 

Despite the recent trends and factors adversely affecting the markets for auction rate securities and ensuing lack of liquidity for securities held, the Company expects that its cash, cash equivalents, liquid investments, cash flows from operations and its borrowing capacity will be sufficient to finance the Company’s operating and capital requirements through the end of fiscal 2009 and the foreseeable future.

 

Interest Rate Risk — The Company’s exposure to interest rate risk relates primarily to its investment portfolio (i.e. with respect to interest income). The primary objective of SMSC’s investment portfolio management is to invest available cash while preserving principal and meeting liquidity needs. In accordance with the Company’s investment policy, investments are placed with high credit-quality issuers and the amount of credit exposure to any one issuer is limited.

 

As of February 29, 2008, the Company’s $124.5 million of long-term investments consisted primarily of investments in corporate, government and municipal obligations with maturities of between three and twelve months at acquisition. If market interest rates were to increase immediately and uniformly by 10% from levels at February 29, 2008, the Company estimates that the fair values of these investments would decline by an immaterial amount. The Company would not expect operating results or cash flows to be affected to any significant degree by the effect of a sudden change in market interest rates.

 

Equity Price Risk — The Company is not exposed to any equity significant price risks at February 29, 2008.

Foreign Currency Risk — The Company has international sales and expenditures and is, therefore, subject to certain foreign currency rate exposures, principally the euro and Japanese Yen. In order to reduce the risk from fluctuation in foreign exchange rates, most of the Company’s product sales and all of its arrangements with its foundry, test and assembly vendors are denominated in U.S. dollars.

 

From time to time, the Company’s foreign operating subsidiaries, SMSC Japan and SMSC Europe, have entered into foreign currency contracts to minimize the exposure of their U.S. dollar denominated transactions, assets and liabilities to currency exchange rate risk. Gains or losses on these contracts are intended to offset the gains or losses recorded for statutory purposes from the remeasurement of certain assets and liabilities from U.S. dollars into local currencies. As of February 29, 2008, the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Japan had two forward contracts initiated in January 2008 for the delivery of $1.4 million (in exchange for Yen), to cover scheduled payments on intercompany debt due the U.S. parent company. Although these contracts were not formally designated as hedges, they were intended to lock in the settlement rate on the underlying obligations and, as such, effectively mitigate the currency exposure on this intercompany debt. These were the only such contracts initiated during fiscal 2008. As of February 28, 2007 and during the fiscal year then ended, there were no such contracts outstanding.

 

The Company has never received a cash dividend (repatriation of cash) from SMSC Japan.

 

Commodity Price Risk — Precious metals are routinely used in the manufacture of our products. Supplies for such commodities may from time-to-time become restricted, or general market factors and conditions may affect pricing of such commodities. In the latter part of fiscal 2008, particularly in the fourth quarter, the price of gold increased precipitously, and certain of our supply chain partners assessed surcharges to compensate for the resultant increase in manufacturing costs. While the Company is currently evaluating opportunities to control the risk of similar, increases in commodities-related costs, there can be no assurance that the Company will be able to successfully safeguard against potential short-term and long-term commodities price fluctuations.

 

The financial statements and supplementary data required by this item are set forth in Part IV Item 15(a)(1) — Financial Statements, of this Report.

 

None.

 

Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

Under the supervision and with the participation of the Company’s management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the Company conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of its disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of February 29, 2008. There are inherent limitations to the effectiveness of any system of disclosure controls and procedures, including the possibility of human error and the circumvention or overriding of the controls and procedures. Accordingly, even effective disclosure controls and procedures can only provide reasonable assurance of achieving their control objectives. Disclosure controls and procedures include controls and procedures designed to reasonably assure that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this Form 10-K, are recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures are also designed to reasonably assure that such information is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

 

Based upon this evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer have concluded that, as of February 29, 2008, the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed in the Company’s Exchange Act reports is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified by the SEC, and that material information relating to SMSC and its consolidated subsidiaries is accumulated and communicated to the

Company’s management, including the Chief Executive Officer and the Chief Financial Officer, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosures.

 

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

The Company’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal controls over financial reporting. Internal controls over financial reporting are defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act as processes designed by, or under the supervision of, the Company’s principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by the Company’s board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, together with all applicable rules and regulations of the SEC governing financial reporting requirements, and include those policies and procedures that:

 

(1) Pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company;

 

(2) Provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and

 

(3) Provide reasonable assurances regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Because of inherent limitations, internal controls over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

 

The Company’s management assessed the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting as of February 29, 2008 based on the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in its report entitled Internal Control-Integrated Framework. Based upon this assessment, management has concluded that, as of February 29, 2008, the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting are effective based on those criteria.

 

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm that audited the consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule included in this annual report, has also audited the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of February 29, 2008, as stated in their report which appears herein.

 

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

No change in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act) occurred during the fiscal quarter ended February 29, 2008 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting.

 

None.

 

The information required by Items 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of Part III of this Report, to the extent not set forth herein, is incorporated herein by reference from the registrant’s 2008 Proxy Statement relating to the annual meeting of stockholders to be held in 2008, which definitive proxy statement shall be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days after the end of the fiscal year to which this Report relates.

 

The information concerning the Company’s code of ethics as required by Part III of this Report is incorporated herein by reference to the section entitled “Code of Business Conduct and Ethics” appearing in the 2008 Proxy Statement.

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS CORPORATION
(Registrant)

 

Joseph S. Durko

Vice President, Corporate Controller and

Chief Accounting Officer (duly authorized officer)

 

Date: April 28, 2008

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities indicated.

 

 

 

 

Schedules not listed above have been omitted because they are not applicable, not required or the information required to be set forth therein is included in the Consolidated Financial Statements or notes thereto.

 

The consolidated financial statements and financial statement schedule listed in Section 1 and Section 2 of this Item 15, respectively, appear within this report immediately following the Index to Exhibits.

 

 

Exhibits, which are listed on the Index to Exhibits, are filed as part of this report and such Index to Exhibits is incorporated by reference.

 

To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of
Standard Microsystems Corporation:

 

In our opinion, the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and the related consolidated income statements, shareholders’ equity and cash flows present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Standard Microsystems Corporation and its subsidiaries at February 29, 2008 and February 28, 2007, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended February 29, 2008 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the accompanying financial statement schedule listed in the index appearing under Item 15(a)(2) presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein when read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial statements. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of February 29, 2008, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s management is responsible for these financial statements and financial statement schedule, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements, on the financial statement schedule and on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our integrated audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the financial statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

 

As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for uncertainty in income tax positions in fiscal 2008, the manner in which it accounts for share-based compensation in fiscal 2007, and the manner in which it accounts for defined benefit pension plans effective February 28, 2007.

 

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

 

/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

New York, New York

April 29, 2008

STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENTS

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.

STANDARD MICROSYSTEMS CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY