Micron: Fiscal 4Q12 Financial Results

Micron Technology, Inc. announced results of operations for its fourth quarter and 2012 fiscal year, which ended August 30, 2012.

For the fourth quarter, the company had a net loss attributable to Micron shareholders of $243 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.0 billion. The results for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 compare to a net loss of $320 million, or $0.32 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.2 billion for the third quarter of fiscal 2012, and a net loss of $135 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, on net sales of $2.1 billion for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011.

For the 2012 fiscal year, the company had a net loss attributable to Micron shareholders of $1.03 billion, or $1.04 per diluted share, on net sales of $8.2 billion. Cash flows from operations were $2.1 billion for fiscal 2012. The results for fiscal 2012 compare to net income of $167 million, or $0.17 per diluted share, on net sales of $8.8 billion for the 2011 fiscal year.

Revenues from sales of NAND Flash products were 14% higher in fiscal 2012 compared to fiscal 2011 due to a 106% increase in unit sales volume from the ramp of the IM Flash Singapore wafer fabrication facility partially offset by a 45% decrease in average selling prices.

Revenues from sales of DRAM products were 12% lower in fiscal 2012 compared to fiscal 2011 due to a 45% decrease in average selling prices, partially offset by a 59% increase in unit sales volumes.

"In 2012, despite difficult market conditions and lower average selling prices, we continued to execute on our technology and manufacturing roadmaps and moved our products increasingly into premium segments. Our focus throughout 2013 is to drive additional cost reductions and advance our leading-edge memory technology to achieve increased manufacturing efficiencies," said Micron CEO Mark Durcan.

Revenues from sales of NAND Flash products were 12% lower in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2012, due to an 11% decrease in sales volume. The decrease in sales volume was due primarily to a one-time increase in volume in the third quarter or fiscal 2012 from the sale of work in process inventories resulting from the restructuring of the IM Flash joint venture with Intel Corporation.

Revenues from sales of DRAM products in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 were 9% lower compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2012 due to a 9% decrease in sales volume.

Sales of NOR Flash products were approximately 12% of total net sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012.

The company’s consolidated gross margin of 11% in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 was essentially unchanged from the third quarter of fiscal 2012. Improvements in margin from sales of NAND Flash and NOR Flash products were offset by declines in margins from sales of DRAM products.

Cash flows from operations for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012 were $450 million. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, the company invested $372 million in capital expenditures and ended the quarter with cash and investments of $2.9 billion.

For all of fiscal 2012, the company invested approximately $1.9 billion in capital expenditures.

Other operating expense in the third quarter of fiscal 2012 includes $17 million from the termination of a lease with IM Flash Technologies, LLC, a joint venture of the company, and a charge of $10 million to write off a receivable in connection with resolution of certain prior year tax matters.

In the first quarter of fiscal 2011, the company entered into a 10-year patent cross-license agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. Other operating income for fiscal 2011 included gains of $275 million for cash received from Samsung under the agreement. The agreement is a life-of-patents license for existing patents and applications, and a 10-year term license for all other patents.

In the third quarter of fiscal 2011, the company sold its wafer fabrication facility in Japan to Tower Semiconductor Ltd.. Under the arrangement, Tower paid $40 million in cash, approximately 1.3 million ordinary shares of Tower (subsequent to a 1 for 15 reverse stock split on August 6, 2012), and $20 million in installment payments. The company recorded a gain of $54 million (net of transaction costs of $3 million) in connection with the sale of the Japan Fab.

Other operating income in fiscal 2011 included $8 million for receipts from the U.S. government in connection with anti-dumping tariffs.

On April 6, 2012, the company entered into a series of agreements with Intel Corporation to restructure IM Flash. The company acquired Intel’s remaining 18% interest in IM Flash Singapore, LLP for $466 million. The company also acquired IMFT’s assets located at its Virginia wafer fabrication facility, for which Intel received a distribution from IMFT of $139 million. Additionally, the company received a $300 million deposit from Intel which may be applied either to Intel’s purchases of NAND Flash under a supply agreement or, under certain circumstances, refunded. The company and Intel will continue to share output of IMFT and certain research and development costs generally in proportion to their investments in IMFT. The agreements also provided for the following:

• expansion of the scope of the IMFT joint venture to include certain emerging memory technologies;
• supply of NAND Flash memory products and certain emerging memory products to Intel on a cost-plus basis and termination of IMFS’s supply agreement with the company and Intel;
• extension of IMFT’s joint venture agreement through 2024;
• certain buy-sell rights, commencing in 2015, pursuant to which Intel may elect to sell to the company, or the company may elect to purchase from Intel, Intel’s interest in IMFT (if Intel so elects, the company would set the closing date of the transaction within two years following such election and could elect to receive financing from Intel for one to two years);
• termination of IMFT’s lease to use approximately 50% of the company’s Virginia fabrication facility; and
• financing of $65 million provided by Intel to the company under a two-year senior unsecured promissory note, payable with interest in approximately equal quarterly installments.