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STMicroelectronics Reports 2015 First Quarter Financial Results

April 30, 2015 1:33 AM

GENEVA, Switzerland, April 30, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM), a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 28, 2015.

First quarter net revenues totaled $1.71 billion, gross margin was 33.2%, and net loss was $0.03 per share.

"As expected, the start of the year reflected seasonal softness. Additionally, revenues in the first quarter were affected by the anticipated currency impact on the portion of our euro-denominated revenues, and by lower sales of components for PC applications, both particularly affecting our SP&A segment revenue performance," commented ST President and CEO Carlo Bozotti.

"Although revenues came in lower than the midpoint of our first quarter outlook, gross margin was well aligned with our guidance and, despite seasonal factors, ST generated positive free cash flow.

"During the quarter, we saw ST products enabling more and more of the Internet of Things as well as some of the latest flagship mobile and wearable devices: our AMOLED drivers, touchscreen controllers, pressure sensors, 6-axis motion MEMS, high-performance microphones and STM32 microcontrollers ramped production or were designed-in with global brands in exciting, new devices. The many new industry-leading products we introduced during 2014 are steadily increasing our footprint with customers and starting to bring results."

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(*)Free cash flow is a non-U.S. GAAP measure. Please refer to Attachment A for additional information explaining why the Company believes this measure is important and reconciliation to U.S. GAAP.

Summary Financial Highlights

U.S. GAAP (Million US$) Q1 2015 Q4 2014 Q1 2014
Net Revenues 1,705 1,829 1,825
Gross Margin 33.2% 33.8% 32.8%
Operating Income (Loss), as reported (19) 38 (4)
Net Income (Loss), attributable to parent company (22) 43 (24)
Non-U.S. GAAP* (Million US$) Q1 2015 Q4 2014 Q1 2014
Operating Income (Loss) before impairment and restructuring charges 10 58 8
Operating Margin before impairment and restructuring charges 0.6% 3.2% 0.4%

First Quarter Review

First quarter revenues were slightly better than ST's usual seasonality decreasing 6.8% on a sequential basis, although reflecting the impact of the U.S. dollar strengthening on about 15% of our revenues that are Euro-denominated and lower sales of components for PC applications than anticipated.

On a year-over-year basis, first quarter revenues decreased 6.6% and, excluding legacy ST-Ericsson products and the one-time $15 million payment to ST from a patent settlement benefiting the Analog & MEMS (AMS) product line within the SP&A segment in the year-ago quarter, decreased 3.6%.

Microcontroller, Memory, and Secure MCU (MMS) led the product lines with year-over-year revenue growth of 8.0%.

On a year-over-year basis by region of shipment, Greater China & South Asia, EMEA and the Americas decreased by 3.7%, 3.8%, and 3.9%, respectively. Japan & Korea revenues were lower by 22.2% mainly driven by the decline of legacy ST-Ericsson products.

First quarter gross profit was $566 million and gross margin was 33.2%. Gross margin improved 40 basis points year-over-year, benefiting from manufacturing efficiencies and favorable currency effects, net of hedging, partially offset by price pressure and by about 80 basis points of unused capacity charges mainly related to manufacturing capacity in digital technology. Gross margin decreased 60 basis points sequentially due to price pressure partially offset by favorable currency effects, net of hedging. In the first quarter of 2015, unused capacity charges, largely related to digital technology, had a negative impact on the gross margin of about 110 basis points.

Combined R&D and SG&A expenses were $591 million compared to $606 million in the year-ago quarter mainly due to favorable currency effects, net of hedging. On a sequential basis, combined R&D and SG&A expenses decreased 3.3% benefiting from a lower number of days in the quarter and favorable currency effects, net of hedging.

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(*)Operating income (loss) before impairment and restructuring charges and operating margin before impairment and restructuring charges are non-U.S. GAAP measures. Please refer to Attachment A for reconciliation to U.S. GAAP and additional information explaining why the Company believes these measures are important.

First quarter other income & expenses, net, registered income of $35 million mainly due to R&D funding.

Impairment and restructuring charges in the first quarter were $29 million compared to $12 million in the year-ago quarter and $20 million in the prior quarter principally due to the ongoing EPS restructuring plan targeting $100 million in annualized cost savings.

First quarter operating income before impairment and restructuring charges was $10 million compared to income of $8 million in the year-ago quarter.

First quarter net loss was $22 million or $(0.03) per share, compared to a net loss per share of $(0.03) in the year-ago quarter and a net income of $0.05 in the prior quarter. On an adjusted basis, ST's non-U.S. GAAP net income per share was $0.01 in the first quarter compared to a net loss per share of $(0.01) in the year-ago quarter and a net income of $0.07 in the prior quarter.*

For the first quarter of 2015, the effective average exchange rate for the Company was approximately $1.23 to €1.00 compared to $1.35 to €1.00 for the first quarter of 2014 and $1.29 to €1.00 for the fourth quarter of 2014.

Quarterly Net Revenues Summary

Net Revenues By Product Line and Segment (Million US$) Q1 2015 Q4 2014 Q1 2014
Analog & MEMS (AMS) 255 266 304
Automotive (APG) 434 436 445
Industrial & Power Discrete (IPD) 430 462 442
Sense & Power and Automotive Products (SP&A) 1,119 1,164 1,191
Digital Product Group (DPG) (a) 207 259 282
Microcontroller, Memory & Secure MCU (MMS) 374 388 346
Other EPS - 13 -
Embedded Processing Solutions (EPS) 581 660 628
Others 5 5 6
Total 1,705 1,829 1,825

(a) Effective January 1, 2015, the Digital Convergence Group (DCG) and Imaging, BI-CMOS and Silicon Photonics (IBP) groups were combined under one single organization, called Digital Product Group (DPG).

Net Revenues By Market Channel(%) Q1 2015 Q4 2014 Q1 2014
Total OEM 70% 68% 70%
Distribution 30% 32% 30%

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(*)Adjusted net earnings per share is a non-U.S. GAAP measure. For additional information and reconciliation to U.S. GAAP, please refer to Attachment A.

Quarterly Revenues and Operating Results by ST Product Segment

Commencing January 1, 2015, unused capacity charges have been allocated to the associated product segments. Comparative numbers have been restated accordingly.

Operating Segment (Million US$) Q1 2015 Net Revenues Q1 2015 Operating Income (Loss) Q4 2014 Net Revenues Q4 2014 Operating Income (Loss) Q1 2014 Net Revenues Q1 2014 Operating Income (Loss)
Sense & Power and Automotive Products (SP&A) 1,119 72 1,164 98 1,191 101
Embedded Processing Solutions (EPS) 581 (64) 660 (34) 628 (82)
Others (a) 5 (27) 5 (26) 6 (23)
TOTAL 1,705 (19) 1,829 38 1,825 (4)

(a) Net revenues of "Others" includes revenues from sales of Subsystems, assembly services, and other revenue. Operating income (loss) of "Others" includes items such as impairment, restructuring charges and other related closure costs, phase out and start-up costs, and other unallocated expenses such as: strategic or special research and development programs, certain corporate-level operating expenses, patent claims and litigations, and other costs that are not allocated to product groups, as well as operating earnings of the Subsystems and Other Products Group. "Others" includes $29 million, $20 million, and $12 million of impairment, restructuring charges, and other related closure costs in the first quarter of 2015 and fourth and first quarters of 2014, respectively.

Sense & Power and Automotive Products first quarter net revenues decreased 6.0% compared to the year-ago quarter mainly due to lower AMS sales. SP&A revenues decreased 3.9% sequentially, mainly due to lower IPD sales related to power supply components for PC applications. SP&A operating margin, including unused capacity charges, decreased to 6.4% in the 2015 first quarter compared to 8.5% and 8.4% in the year-ago and prior quarter, respectively, mainly due to lower revenues.

Embedded Processing Solutions first quarter net revenues reflected mixed results, with strong year-over-year growth for MMS of 8.0% more than offset by the decrease of ST-Ericsson legacy products and lower DPG revenues. EPS revenues decreased 7.4% and 12.0% on a year-over-year and sequential basis, respectively, mainly due to lower DPG sales. First quarter EPS operating margin, including unused capacity charges, was negative 11.1%. Despite lower sales and higher unused capacity charges, EPS operating margin improved from negative 13.1% in the year-ago quarter mainly due to lower operating expenses from favorable currency effects and higher R&D funding. First quarter operating margin decreased from negative 5.1% in the prior quarter mainly due to lower sales partially offset by lower unused capacity charges.

"Our cost savings program within the EPS organization remains on track and, as anticipated, we will end our participation in the IBM Technology Development Alliance at the end of the second quarter," said Jean-Marc Chery, ST Chief Operating Officer.

Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Highlights

Free cash flow improved to $41 million in the first quarter compared to negative $51 million in the year-ago quarter.*

Capital expenditure payments, net of proceeds from sales, were $89 million during the first quarter of 2015 compared to $112 million in the year-ago quarter.

Inventory was $1.19 billion at quarter end, down 6% from the prior quarter. Inventory in the first quarter of 2015 was at 3.8 turns or 95 days.

In the first quarter, the Company paid cash dividends totaling $82 million.

ST's net financial position was $512 million at March 28, 2015 compared to $550 million at December 31, 2014.* ST's financial resources equaled $2.29 billion and total debt was $1.78 billion at March 28, 2015.

Total equity, including non-controlling interest, was $4.76 billion at quarter end.

Second Quarter 2015 Business Outlook

Mr. Bozotti commented, "In the second quarter, we expect to increase our revenues by about 3.5% sequentially, with most of our product groups contributing. Gross margin is anticipated to increase by about 60 basis points to 33.8%, including existing hedging contracts significantly mitigating the positive impact from currency."

Second quarter 2015 revenues are expected to increase about 3.5% on a sequential basis, plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Gross margin in the second quarter is expected to be about 33.8%, plus or minus 2.0 percentage points.

This outlook is based on an assumed effective currency exchange rate of approximately $1.16 = €1.00 for the 2015 second quarter and includes the impact of existing hedging contracts. The second quarter will close on June 27, 2015.

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(*)Free cash flow and net financial position are non-U.S. GAAP measures. For additional information and reconciliation to U.S. GAAP, please refer to Attachment A.

Key Summary Financial Information

Commencing January 1, 2015, the Digital Convergence Group (DCG) and Imaging, BI-CMOS and Silicon Photonics (IBP) groups were combined under one single organization, called Digital Product Group (DPG).

Revenues (Million US$) Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 FY 2014 Q1 2015
Digital Product Group (DPG) 282 259 286 259 1,086 207

Reflecting the allocation of unused capacity charges to the associated product segments as of January 1, 2015, the Company has reclassified prior period operating income (loss).

Operating Income (Loss) (Million US$) Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014 FY 2014 Q1 2015
Sense & Power and Automotive Products (SP&A) 101 125 111 98 435 72
Embedded Processing Solutions (EPS) (82) 10 (38) (34) (144) (64)

Recent Corporate Developments

The complete agenda and all relevant detailed information concerning the 2015 Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, as well as all related AGM materials are available on the Company's website (www.st.com).

Q1 2015 - Product and Technology Highlights

Embedded Processing Solutions (EPS)

Digital Products (DPG)

Microcontroller, Memory and Secure MCU (MMS)

Sense & Power and Automotive Products (SP&A)

Analog, MEMS and Sensors (AMS)

Automotive (APG)

Industrial and Power Discrete (IPD)

Use of Supplemental Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Information

This press release contains supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information, including operating income (loss) before impairment and restructuring charges, operating margin before impairment and restructuring charges, adjusted net earnings per share, free cash flow and net financial position.

Readers are cautioned that these measures are unaudited and not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for U.S. GAAP financial measures. In addition, such non-U.S. GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled information by other companies.

See Attachment A of this press release for a reconciliation of the Company's non-U.S. GAAP financial measures to their corresponding U.S. GAAP financial measures. To compensate for these limitations, the supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information should not be read in isolation, but only in conjunction with the Company's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Forward-looking Information

Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 or Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended) that are based on management's current views and assumptions, and are conditioned upon and also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance, or events to differ materially from those anticipated by such statements, due to, among other factors:

Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual results and performance of our business to differ materially and adversely from the forward-looking statements. Certain forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology, such as "believes," "expects," "may," "are expected to," "should," "would be," "seeks" or "anticipates" or similar expressions or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions.

Some of these risk factors are set forth and are discussed in more detail in "Item 3. Key Information - Risk Factors" included in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2014, as filed with the SEC on March 3, 2015. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in this release as anticipated, believed, or expected. We do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update any industry information or forward-looking statements set forth in this release to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.

STMicroelectronics Conference Call and Webcast Information

On April 30, 2015, the management of STMicroelectronics will conduct a conference call to discuss the Company's operating performance for the first quarter of 2015.

The conference call will be held at 9:30 a.m. CET / 8:30 a.m. BST / 3:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time (ET) / 12:30 a.m. U.S. Pacific Time (PT). The conference call will be available live via the Internet by accessing http://investors.st.com. Those accessing the webcast should go to the Web site at least 15 minutes prior to the call, in order to register, download and install any necessary audio software. The webcast will be available until May 15, 2015.

About STMicroelectronics ST is a global leader in the semiconductor market serving customers across the spectrum of sense and power and automotive products and embedded processing solutions. From energy management and savings to trust and data security, from healthcare and wellness to smart consumer devices, in the home, car and office, at work and at play, ST is found everywhere microelectronics make a positive and innovative contribution to people's life. By getting more from technology to get more from life, ST stands for life.augmented.

In 2014, the Company's net revenues were $7.40 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.

For further information, please contact:

INVESTOR RELATIONS: Tait Sorensen Group VP, Investor Relations Tel: +1 602 485 2064 [email protected]

MEDIA RELATIONS: Nelly Dimey Director, Corporate Media and Public Relations Tel: + 33 1 58 07 77 85 [email protected]

(tables attached)

STMicroelectronics N.V.
Consolidated Statements of Income
(in millions of U.S. dollars, except per share data ($))
Three Months Ended
(Unaudited) (Unaudited)
March 28, March 29,
2015 2014
Net sales 1,693 1,801
Other revenues 12 24
NET REVENUES 1,705 1,825
Cost of sales (1,139) (1,226)
GROSS PROFIT 566 599
Selling, general and administrative (222) (228)
Research and development (369) (378)
Other income and expenses, net 35 15
Impairment, restructuring charges and other related closure costs (29) (12)
Total Operating Expenses (585) (603)
OPERATING LOSS (19) (4)
Interest expense, net (5) (2)
Income (loss) on equity-method investments 4 (8)
Gain on financial instruments, net - 1
LOSS BEFORE INCOME TAXES (20) (13)
AND NONCONTROLLING INTEREST
Income tax expense (1) (9)
NET LOSS (21) (22)
Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interest (1) (2)
NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARENT COMPANY (22) (24)
EARNINGS PER SHARE (BASIC) ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARENT COMPANY STOCKHOLDERS (0.03) (0.03)
EARNINGS PER SHARE (DILUTED) ATTRIBUTABLE TO PARENT COMPANY STOCKHOLDERS (0.03) (0.03)
NUMBER OF WEIGHTED AVERAGE
SHARES USED IN CALCULATING
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE 874.0 890.7
STMicroelectronics N.V.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
As at March 28, December 31, March 29,
In millions of U.S. dollars 2015 2014 2014
(Unaudited) (Audited) (Unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents 1,949 2,017 1,744
Short-term deposits - - 1
Marketable securities 338 334 -
Trade accounts receivable, net 971 911 1,112
Inventories 1,193 1,269 1,331
Deferred tax assets 96 97 130
Assets held for sale 34 33 -
Other current assets 408 390 382
Total current assets 4,989 5,051 4,700
Goodwill 76 82 90
Other intangible assets, net 184 193 228
Property, plant and equipment, net 2,468 2,647 3,066
Non-current deferred tax assets 385 386 222
Long-term investments 58 69 72
Other non-current assets 552 576 639
3,723 3,953 4,317
Total assets 8,712 9,004 9,017
LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Short-term debt 200 202 225
Trade accounts payable 706 597 764
Other payables and accrued liabilities 860 841 866
Dividends payable to stockholders 14 87 4
Accrued income tax 38 39 51
Total current liabilities 1,818 1,766 1,910
Long-term debt 1,575 1,599 908
Post-employment benefit obligations 367 392 366
Long-term deferred tax liabilities 10 10 10
Other long-term liabilities 181 182 148
2,133 2,183 1,432
Total liabilities 3,951 3,949 3,342
Commitment and contingencies
Equity
Parent company stockholders' equity
Common stock (preferred stock: 540,000,000 shares authorized, not issued; common stock: Euro 1.04 nominal value, 1,200,000,000 shares authorized, 910,847,920 shares issued, 874,019,201 shares outstanding) 1,157 1,157 1,156
Capital surplus 2,749 2,741 2,587
Retained earnings 795 817 1,052
Accumulated other comprehensive income 332 613 1,024
Treasury stock (334) (334) (212)
Total parent company stockholders' equity 4,699 4,994 5,607
Noncontrolling interest 62 61 68
Total equity 4,761 5,055 5,675
Total liabilities and equity 8,712 9,004 9,017
STMicroelectronics N.V.
SELECTED CASH FLOW DATA
Cash Flow Data (in US$ millions) Q1 2015 Q4 2014 Q1 2014
Net Cash from operating activities 149 311 53
Net Cash used in investing activities (108) (103) (39)
Net Cash used in financing activities (102) (317) (105)
Net Cash decrease (68) (113) (92)
Selected Cash Flow Data (in US$ millions) Q1 2015 Q4 2014 Q1 2014
Depreciation & amortization 175 199 205
Net payment for Capital expenditures (89) (108) (112)
Dividends paid to stockholders (82) (90) (85)
Change in inventories, net 18 (30) 6

(Attachment A)

STMicroelectronics

Supplemental Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Information U. S. GAAP - Non-U.S. GAAP Reconciliation In Million US$ Except Per Share Data

The supplemental non-U.S. GAAP information presented in this press release is unaudited and subject to inherent limitations. Such non-U.S. GAAP information is not based on any comprehensive set of accounting rules or principles and should not be considered as a substitute for U.S. GAAP measurements. Also, our supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information may not be comparable to similarly titled non-U.S. GAAP measures used by other companies. Further, specific limitations for individual non-U.S. GAAP measures, and the reasons for presenting non-U.S. GAAP financial information, are set forth in the paragraphs below. To compensate for these limitations, the supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information should not be read in isolation, but only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Operating income (loss) before impairment and restructuring charges is used by management to help enhance an understanding of ongoing operations and to communicate the impact of the excluded items, such as impairment, restructuring charges and other related closure costs. Adjusted net earnings and earnings per share (EPS) are used by management to help enhance an understanding of ongoing operations and to communicate the impact of the excluded items like impairment, restructuring charges and other related closure costs, net of the relevant tax impact.

The Company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information for investors and management because they measure the Company's capacity to generate profits from its business operations, excluding the effect of acquisitions and expenses related to the rationalizing of its activities and sites that it does not consider to be part of its on-going operating results, thereby offering, when read in conjunction with the Company's GAAP financials, (i) the ability to make more meaningful period-to-period comparisons of the Company's on-going operating results, (ii) the ability to better identify trends in the Company's business and perform related trend analysis, and (iii) an easier way to compare the Company's results of operations against investor and analyst financial models and valuations, which usually exclude these items.

Q1 2015 (US$ millions and cents per share) Gross Profit Operating Income (loss) Net Earnings Corresponding EPS
U.S. GAAP 566 (19) (22) (0.03)
Impairment & Restructuring 29 29
Estimated Income Tax Effect (1)
Non-U.S GAAP 566 10 6 0.01
Q4 2014 (US$ millions and cents per share) Gross Profit Operating Income (loss) Net Earnings Corresponding EPS
U.S. GAAP 619 38 43 0.05
Impairment & Restructuring 20 20
Estimated Income Tax Effect (2)
Non-U.S GAAP 619 58 61 0.07
Q1 2014 (US$ millions and cents per share) Gross Profit Operating Income (loss) Net Earnings Corresponding EPS
U.S. GAAP 599 (4) (24) (0.03)
Impairment & Restructuring 12 12
Estimated Income Tax Effect (1)
Non-U.S GAAP 599 8 (13) (0.01)

(Attachment A - continued)

Net financial position: resources (debt), represents the balance between our total financial resources and our total financial debt. Our total financial resources include cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, short-term deposits and restricted cash, and our total financial debt includes short-term borrowings, current portion of long-term debt and long-term debt, all as reported in our consolidated balance sheet. We believe our net financial position provides useful information for investors because it gives evidence of our global position either in terms of net indebtedness or net cash position by measuring our capital resources based on cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities and the total level of our financial indebtedness. Net financial position is not a U.S. GAAP measure.

Net Financial Position (in US$ millions) March 28, 2015 December 31, 2014 March 29, 2014
Cash and cash equivalents 1,949 2,017 1,744
Marketable securities 338 334 -
Short-term deposits - - 1
Total financial resources 2,287 2,351 1,745
Short-term debt (200) (202) (225)
Long-term debt (1,575) (1,599) (908)
Total financial debt (1,775) (1,801) (1,133)
Net financial position 512 550 612

Free cash flow is defined as net cash from operating activities minus net cash from (used in) investing activities, excluding proceeds from the sale of marketable securities and net cash variation for joint ventures deconsolidation. We believe free cash flow provides useful information for investors and management because it measures our capacity to generate cash from our operating and investing activities to sustain our operating activities. Free cash flow is not a U.S. GAAP measure and does not represent total cash flow since it does not include the cash flows generated by or used in financing activities. In addition, our definition of free cash flow may differ from definitions used by other companies.

Free cash flow (in US$ millions) Q1 2015 Q4 2014 Q1 2014
Net cash from operating activities 149 311 53
Net cash used in investing activities (108) (103) (39)
Proceeds from sale of marketable securities and net cash variation for joint ventures deconsolidation - - (65)
Free cash flow 41 208 (51)

--end---

ST Q1 2015 earnings-30april2015 http://hugin.info/152740/R/1917039/685730.pdf

HUG#1917039

Source: STMicroelectronics

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