Paul Oldham
Analyst · Needham & Company. Your line is open
Thank you, Steve, and good morning everyone. We delivered solid financial results in the first quarter with revenue, profitability and cash flow up significantly year-over-year and above the midpoint of our guidance. Overall, customer demand was very strong; resulting in record backlog of over $400 million giving us increased visibility to customer requirements over the next several quarters. We executed well to meet customer commitment but industry-wide supply constraints limited upside in the quarter and will be the pacing factor in our revenue outlook in the near-term. As Steve mentioned, semiconductor revenues set another record driven by both customer demand and share gains for our full-suite of semi power solutions. Overall earnings grew 42% year-over-year, as gross margins continue to approach our long-term target of greater than 40%, partially offset by increased R&D investments to fuel future growth. Return on invested capital continues to be above 20% on solid profitability and working capital efficiency. First quarter revenue was $352 million, up nearly 12% year-over-year, but down 5% sequentially as we had anticipated. Semiconductor sales were $181 million, up 35% from last year, and up 9% over last quarter, as our operations team was able to respond to strengthening customer demand. Revenue from our industrial and medical markets grew 27% from a year-ago to $78 million, but declined 60% sequentially, mostly due to supply constraints. Data Center Computing revenue was $59 million, down 31% from the very strong quarter a year-ago, and 9% sequentially. However, demand for our products started to recover, with several customers placing orders late in the quarter, signaling a return to growth in demand after just two quarters of digestion. Telecom and networking revenue was $33 million in the quarter; essentially flat with last year and down 28% from Q4, reflecting a new baseline going forward as we streamline our portfolios focused on higher value applications. Non-GAAP gross margin for the quarter was 39.7%, up 190 basis points from a year-ago on higher sales and realized synergies. Gross margins were 20 basis points higher sequentially, primarily due to improved product mix, partially offset by lower volume and some added supply chain costs. We expect the logistics and supply chain costs to continue to be a headwind to gross margin in the near-term. Non-GAAP operating expenses were $79.5 million, up $2.5 million from last quarter on higher R&D as we fund investments in multiple new growth opportunities. Operating margins for the quarter was 17.1%, up 300 basis points from last year, reflecting improvements in gross margin, and SG&A as a percentage of sales. While we expect OpEx to increase modestly going forward, operating margins should expand in the second half as revenue growth accelerates. Non-GAAP other expense was $2.6 million, including $1.1 million in interest expense and $1.2 million of FX losses on settlements of year-end position. We expect other expenses to be in the $1.5 million to $2 million range going forward. Our non-GAAP tax expense was $7.9 million or 13.8% primarily unfavorable discrete item. Looking forward, we expect the GAAP and non-GAAP tax rates to remain in the 15% range. Non-GAAP earnings for the quarter were $1.29 share, up 42% from $0.91 a year-ago, but down from last quarter due to lower revenue. Turning now to the balance sheet. We ended the first quarter with cash and marketable securities of $513 million, up $30 million from Q4. Inventory increased by $26 million and turns were 3.7 times. Accounts payable rose to $163 million, with associated DPO of 68 days, largely offsetting the increased level of inventory. Inventories and payables should remain at a higher level on our expectation for increased volume and as we pursue supply of critical components. Receivables grow slightly to $237 million and DSO was 61 days. Total days of networking capital were 96 up one day from last quarter. Operating cash flow from continuing operations was $54.3 million. Capital expenditures for the quarter were $8.8 million and depreciation was $7.3 million. We continue to expect capital expenditures to be about 2% to 3% of sales for the year. During the quarter, we repaid $4.4 million of principal amortization on our debt, ending with total bank debt of $380 million and a net cash of $195 million. Our trailing 12-months gross debt leverage increased to 1.1 times. We did not repurchase any stock in Q1 and we paid $3.9 million for our first quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share. Now let me turn to guidance. We expect demand to remain strong and increase sequentially across our market driven by growing investment in semiconductor, improving macroeconomic conditions and strengthening orders in hyperscale. However, in the near-term, industry-wide supply constraints on specific components are limiting upside to our revenue. As a result, we're guiding Q2 revenue to be $360 million plus or minus $15 million. We expect non-GAAP gross margins to decline around 100 basis points sequentially, on less favorable product mix, and higher near-term material and break-top, which could last through the end of the year. Operating expenses are expected to be $81 million to $82 million as we continue to invest in R&D, and see natural increase in annual costs, partially offset by synergy actions. As a result, we expect non-GAAP earnings to be $1.25 per share, plus or minus $0.15. Looking beyond Q2, we believe demand will remain strong in the second half of 2021 and into 2022. Given the current supply chain environment, we expect second half revenue to grow 5% to 10% over the first half, with upside if conditions improve. In conclusion, we're more excited than ever about the opportunities across our markets. We're well positioned to continue to gain share and have seen strong adoption of our new products. We remain focused on executing our strategy to accelerate revenue and earnings growth over time. With that, let's take your questions. Operator?