Ichor Holdings, Ltd. Announces First Quarter 2019 Financial Results

Ichor Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ICHR), a leader in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of critical fluid delivery subsystems for semiconductor capital equipment, today announced first quarter 2019 financial results.

Highlights for the first quarter of 2019:

• Revenues of $138 million;
• Gross margin of 14.7% on a GAAP basis and 14.9% on a non-GAAP basis;
• Net earnings of $0.07 per diluted share on a GAAP basis and $0.25 on a non-GAAP basis.

“Our first quarter results were aligned with our forecast, and performed favorably compared to industry declines in wafer fab equipment spending,” commented Tom Rohrs, Chairman and CEO of Ichor. “We continued to demonstrate the resiliency of our variable operating model, reporting continued strong profits during the current spending environment of significantly curtailed investments in the memory segment. Our modest sequential revenue decline of just 2.5% from the fourth quarter indicates that the majority of inventory corrections are behind us and that our market share gains began to contribute to our revenues early in 2019. With similar revenue levels expected in the second quarter, we continue to expect revenues to be stronger in the second half of the year, given our key customer positions supporting leading-edge technology investments as well as the incremental contribution of our market share gains increasing as we progress through the year. Ichor is well-positioned to continue delivering strong profits during this challenging business environment, while executing on our strategy to expand our market share within our served markets.”

U.S. GAAP Financial Results Overview

For the first quarter of 2019, revenue was $137.8 million, net income was $1.5 million, and net income per diluted share (“diluted EPS”) was $0.07. This compares to revenue of $141.4 million and $258.0 million, net income of $3.5 million and $16.7 million, and diluted EPS of $0.15 and $0.63, for the fourth and first quarters of 2018, respectively.

Non-GAAP Financial Results Overview

For the first quarter of 2019, non-GAAP adjusted net income was $5.6 million and non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS was $0.25. This compares to non-GAAP adjusted net income of $7.3 million and $27.5 million, and non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS of $0.32 and $1.03, for the fourth and first quarters of 2018, respectively.

Second Quarter 2019 Financial Outlook

For the second quarter of 2019, we expect revenue to be in the range of $133 to $143 million. We expect GAAP diluted EPS to be in the range of $(0.03) to $0.05 and non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS to be in the range of $0.20 to $0.26.

This outlook for non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS excludes known charges related to amortization of intangible assets, share-based compensation expense, tax adjustments related to these non-GAAP adjustments, and non-recurring charges known at the time of providing this outlook. This outlook for non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS excludes any items that are unknown at this time, such as non-recurring tax-related items or other unusual items which we are not able to predict without unreasonable efforts due to their inherent uncertainty.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Results

We ended the first quarter of 2019 with cash of $31.6 million. The net decrease of $12.2 million from December 28, 2018 was primarily due to net payments on long-term debt of $7.4 million, capital expenditures of $4.8 million, share repurchases of $1.6 million, and cash used in operations of $0.4 million, partially offset by net proceeds from the issuance of ordinary shares under our share-based compensation plans of $2.0 million.

Our cash used in operations during the first quarter of 2019 of $0.4 million was due to net income of $1.5 million and net non-cash charges of $6.8 million, partially offset by an increase in our net operating assets and liabilities of $8.7 million. Non-cash charges primarily consist of depreciation and amortization of $5.2 million and share-based compensation of $1.3 million. The increase in our net operating assets and liabilities was primarily due to an increase in accounts receivable, net of $13.6 million and a decrease in accrued and other liabilities of $4.3 million, partially offset by a decrease in inventories of $6.9 million, a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of $1.4 million, and an increase in accounts payable of $0.9 million.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Results

In addition to U.S. GAAP results, this press release also contains non-GAAP financial results, including non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP adjusted net income, and non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS. These non-GAAP metrics exclude amortization of intangible assets, share-based compensation expense, non-recurring expenses including adjustments to the cost of goods sold, tax adjustments related to those non-GAAP adjustments, and non-recurring discrete tax items including tax impacts from releasing a valuation allowance related to foreign tax credits, to the extent they are present in gross profit, operating income, and net income. A table showing these metrics on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, with reconciliation footnotes thereto, is included at the end of this press release. Non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS is defined as non-GAAP adjusted net income divided by weighted average diluted ordinary shares outstanding during the period.

Management uses non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP adjusted net income, and non-GAAP adjusted diluted EPS to evaluate our operating and financial results. We believe the presentation of non-GAAP results is useful to investors for analyzing business trends and comparing performance to prior periods, along with enhancing investors’ ability to view our results from management’s perspective. A table presenting the reconciliation of non-GAAP adjusted net income to U.S. GAAP net income is also included at the end of this press release.

Conference Call

We will conduct a conference call to discuss our first quarter 2019 results and business outlook on May 7, 2019, at 1:30 p.m. PDT.

To listen to the conference call via the Internet, please visit the investor relations section of our web site at ir.ichorsystems.com. To listen to the conference call via telephone, please call 844-395-9251 (domestic) or 478-219-0504 (international), conference ID: 6069628.

A taped replay of the webcast will be available shortly after the call on our website or by calling 855-859-2056 (domestic) or 404-537-3406 (international), conference ID: 6069628.

About Ichor

We are a leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of critical fluid delivery subsystems and components for semiconductor capital equipment. Our product offerings include gas and chemical delivery subsystems, collectively known as fluid delivery subsystems, which are key elements of the process tools used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices. Our gas delivery subsystems deliver, monitor and control precise quantities of the specialized gases used in semiconductor manufacturing processes such as etch and deposition. Our chemical delivery subsystems precisely blend and dispense the reactive liquid chemistries used in semiconductor manufacturing processes such as chemical-mechanical planarization, electroplating, and cleaning. We also manufacture precision machined components, weldments, and proprietary products for use in fluid delivery systems for direct sales to our customers. We also manufacture certain components for internal use in fluid delivery systems and for direct sales to our customers. This vertically integrated portion of our business is primarily focused on metal and plastic parts that are used in gas and chemical systems, respectively. We are headquartered in Fremont, CA. www.ichorsystems.com.

We use a 52 or 53 week fiscal year ending on the last Friday in December. The three months ended March 29, 2019, December 28, 2018, and March 30, 2018 were all 13 weeks. References to the first quarter of 2019, the fourth quarter of 2018, and the first quarter of 2018 relate to the three month periods then ended.

Safe Harbor Statement

Certain statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "guidance," "expects," "intends," "projects," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "targets," "anticipates," “look forward,” and similar expressions are used to identify these forward-looking statements.

Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding expected revenue, growth, earnings, profitability, and industry trends for the second quarter of 2019, as well as any other statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions regarding Ichor’s business and industry, the economy and other future conditions, which may not prove to be accurate. These statements are not guarantees and are subject to risks, uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Accordingly, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Many factors could cause actual results to differ materially and adversely from these forward-looking statements, including: (1) dependence on expenditures by manufacturers and cyclical downturns in the semiconductor capital equipment industry, (2) reliance on a very small number of original equipment manufacturers for a significant portion of sales, (3) negotiating leverage held by our customers, (4) competitiveness and rapid evolution of the industries in which we participate, (5) risks associated with weakness in the global economy and geopolitical instability, (6) keeping pace with developments in the industries we serve and with technological innovation generally, (7) designing, developing and introducing new products that are accepted by original equipment manufacturers in order to retain our existing customers and obtain new customers, (8) managing our manufacturing and procurement process effectively, (9) defects in our products that could damage our reputation, decrease market acceptance and result in potentially costly litigation, (10) dependence on a limited number of suppliers and (11) the integration of recent acquisitions with Ichor, including the ability to retain customers, suppliers and key employees. Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in Ichor's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including other risks, relevant factors and uncertainties identified in the "Risk Factors" section of Ichor's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 8, 2019, and subsequent filings with the SEC.

All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to us as of the date hereof, and qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of actual results, changes in Ichor’s expectations, future events or developments, or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Jeff Andreson, President and CFO 510-897-5200
Claire McAdams, IR 530-265-9899
[email protected]