STMicroelectronics reports Q4 and FY 2019 Financial Results

• Q4 net revenues $2.75 billion; gross margin 39.3%; operating margin 16.7%; net income $392 million • FY net revenues $9.56 billion; gross margin 38.7%; operating margin 12.6%; net income $1,032 million • Business outlook at midpoint: Q1 net revenues o

STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, with a facility in Malta reported US GAAP financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2019.

ST reported fourth quarter net revenues of $2.75 billion, gross margin of 39.3%, operating margin of 16.7%, and net income of $392 million or $0.43 diluted earnings per share.

Jean-Marc Chery, STMicroelectronics President & CEO, commented: “We closed 2019 with a solid fourth quarter sales and financial performance. Net revenues grew 7.9% sequentially, above the mid-point of our guidance of 5.0%, with all product groups contributing to the growth. Our gross margin was 39.3%, 110 basis points higher than the mid-point of our guidance, mainly due to better than expected manufacturing efficiencies and improved product mix. On a sequential basis, our operating margin was up 360 basis points to 16.7% and free cash flow increased to $461 million in the fourth quarter.

“Our 2019 financial performance, with net revenues of $9.56 billion and an operating margin of 12.6%, is aligned with the full year expectations we provided in April 2019.

“ST’s first quarter outlook, at the midpoint, is for net revenues of $2.36 billion, increasing year-over-year by 13.7% and decreasing sequentially by 14.3%; gross margin is expected to be 38.0%, including about 80 basis points of unsaturation charges.

“For 2020, we plan to invest about $1.5 billion in CAPEX to support our strategic initiatives and revenue growth to progress towards our mid-term revenue ambition of $12 billion.”

On a sequential basis, revenues increased 7.9%, 290 basis points better than the midpoint of the company’s guidance. On a yearover-year basis, fourth quarter net revenues increased 4.0% as the company recorded higher sales in Analog, Microcontrollers, Imaging and MEMS partially offset by lower Automotive sales.

On a year-over-year basis, sales to OEMs increased 8.9%, while Distribution decreased 6.9%. Gross profit totaled $1.08 billion, representing a year-over-year increase of 2.0%. Gross margin of 39.3% decreased 70 basis points year-over-year, mainly impacted by price pressure and unsaturation charges.

Fourth quarter gross margin was 110 basis points higher than the mid-point of the company’s guidance, mainly due to better than expected manufacturing efficiencies and improved product mix. Fourth quarter gross margin included about 100 basis points of unsaturation charges. Operating income increased 3.7% to $460 million, compared to $443 million in the year-ago quarter. The company’s operating margin decreased 10 basis points on a year-over-year basis to 16.7% of net revenues, compared to 16.8% in the 2018 fourth quarter.

By product group, compared with the year-ago quarter:

Automotive and Discrete Group

Revenue decreased in both Automotive and Power Discrete.

Operating profit decreased by 19.9% to $113 million. Operating margin was 12.2% compared to 14.6%.

Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group:

Revenue increased in Analog, Imaging and MEMS. Operating profit increased by 39.1% to $281 million. Operating margin was 25.9% compared to 20.5%.

Microcontrollers and Group:

Digital Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Highlights

ICs

Revenue increased in Microcontrollers and was substantially flat in Digital ICs. Operating profit decreased by 2.5% to $119 million. Operating margin was 16.0% compared to 17.7%.

Net income and diluted earnings per share decreased to $392 million and $0.43, respectively, compared to $418 million and $0.46, respectively, in the year-ago quarter.

Capital expenditure payments, net of proceeds from sales, were $236 million in the fourth quarter and $1.17 billion for 2019. In the year-ago quarter, capital expenditures, net, were $279 million. Inventory at the end of the fourth quarter was $1.69 billion, down from $1.79 billion in the prior quarter. Day sales of inventory at quarter-end was 90 days compared to 100 days in the prior quarter. Free cash flow(non-U.S. GAAP) was $461 million in the fourth quarter and $497 million for 2019.

The company paid cash dividends totaling $53 million in the fourth quarter and $214 million for 2019.

In addition, ST executed a $63 million and $250 million share buy-back in the fourth quarter and full year, respectively, as part of its previously announced share repurchase program.

ST’s net financial position (non-US GAAP) was $672 million at December 31, 2019 compared to $348 million at September 28, 2019 and reflected total liquidity of $2.74 billion and total financial debt of $2.07 billion.

Business outlook

The company’s guidance, at the mid-point, for the 2020 first quarter is:

• Net revenues are expected to be $2.36 billion, a decrease of 14.3% sequentially, plus or minus 350 basis points;

• Gross margin of 38.0%, plus or minus 200

basis points;

• This outlook is based on an assumed effective currency exchange rate of approximately $1.12 = €1.00 for the 2020 first quarter and includes the impact of existing hedging contracts;

• The first quarter will close on March 28,

2020.

Recent corporate developments

On December 2, 2019, ST announced the closing of the full acquisition of Swedish silicon carbide wafer manufacturer Norstel AB. ST exercised its option to acquire the remaining 45% stake, following the initial transaction announced in February 2019. The total consideration for the acquisition of Norstel was $137.5 million, funded with available cash.

In December 2019, Philippe Brun, President, Human Resources and Corporate Social Responsibility, left the company.

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: • Changes in global trade policies, including the adoption and expansion of tariffs and trade barriers, that could affect the macroeconomic environment and adversely impact the demand for our products;

• Uncertain macro-economic and industry trends, which may impact end-market demand for our products;

• The Brexit vote and impact of the withdrawal of the UK may adversely affect business activity, political stability and economic conditions in the UK, the Eurozone, the EU and elsewhere. The specific terms of the U.K. withdrawal from the EU are still uncertain and while we do not have material operations in the UK and have not experienced any material impact from Brexit on our underlying business to date, we cannot predict its future implications; • Customer demand that differs from pro

jections;

• The ability to design, manufacture and sell innovative products in a rapidly changing technological environment;

• Changes in economic, social, labor, political, or infrastructure conditions in the locations where we, our customers, or our suppliers operate, including as a result of macro-economic or regional events, military conflicts, social unrest, labor actions, or terrorist activities;

• Unanticipated events or circumstances, which may impact our ability to execute our plans and/or meet the objectives of our R&D and manufacturing programs, which benefit from public funding; • Financial difficulties with any of our major distributors or significant curtailment of purchases by key customers;

• The loading, product mix, and manufacturing performance of our production facilities and/or our required volume to fulfill capacity reserved with suppliers or third party manufacturing providers; • Availability and costs of equipment, raw materials, utilities, third-party manufacturing services and technology, or other supplies required by our operations;

• The functionalities and performance of our IT systems, which are subject to cybersecurity threats and which support our critical operational activities including manufacturing, finance and sales, and any breaches of our IT systems or those of our customers or suppliers;

• Theft, loss, or misuse of personal data about our employees, customers, or other third parties, and breaches of global and local privacy legislation, including the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation; • The impact of intellectual property claims by our competitors or other third parties, and our ability to obtain required licenses on reasonable terms and conditions; • Changes in our overall tax position as a result of changes in tax rules, new or revised legislation, the outcome of tax audits or changes in international tax treaties which may impact our results of operations as well as our ability to accurately estimate tax credits, benefits, deductions and provisions and to realize deferred tax assets;

• Variations in the foreign exchange markets and, more particularly, the US dollar exchange rate as compared to the Euro and the other major currencies we use for our operations;

• The outcome of ongoing litigation as well as the impact of any new litigation to which we may become a defendant;

• Product liability or warranty claims, claims based on epidemic or delivery failure, or other claims relating to our products, or recalls by our customers for products containing our parts;

• Natural events such as severe weather, earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions or other acts of nature, health risks and epidemics in locations where we, our customers or our suppliers operate; • Industry changes resulting from vertical and horizontal consolidation among our suppliers, competitors, and customers; and

• The ability to successfully ramp up new programs that could be impacted by factors beyond our control, including the availability of critical third party components and performance of subcontractors in line with our expectations.