Rambus (RMBS)

[eastunder]

Rambus Reports First Quarter Financial Results

http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Rambus+Reports+First+Quarter+Financial+Results/7358657.html

First Quarter Fiscal 2012 Business and Financial Highlights

Quarterly revenue of $62.9 million; non-GAAP customer licensing income of $65.3 million
Quarterly GAAP diluted loss per share of $0.25; non-GAAP diluted income per share of $0.03
Signed five-year patent license agreements with nVidia and MediaTek Inc., settling all outstanding claims, including resolution of past use of Rambus’ patented innovations
Acquired privately-held Unity Semiconductor, an innovative technology company focused on non-volatile memory solutions

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS), one of the world’s premier technology licensing companies, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

GAAP Financial Results:

Revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was $62.9 million, down 25% sequentially from the fourth quarter of 2011. This quarter-over-quarter decline was primarily due to recognition of one-time royalty revenue during the fourth quarter of 2011 from a licensing agreement with Broadcom and lower royalties reported by certain licensees, due to seasonality. This decline was partially offset by a new patent license agreement signed with MediaTek in the first quarter of 2012. As compared to the first quarter of 2011, revenue was up 1% primarily due to the complete allocation of Samsung’s quarterly license payment to revenue since the second quarter of 2011 and revenue recognized from various new patent license agreements signed in the past year. The increased revenue is also due to revenue from patent license agreements resulting from the acquisition of Cryptography Research Inc. (“CRI”), partially offset by lower royalties reported by certain licensees, and expiration of a patent license agreement in the second quarter of 2011.

Total operating costs and expenses for the first quarter of 2012 were $80.4 million, which included general litigation expenses of $4.1 million, $6.7 million of stock-based compensation expenses and $14.9 million related to deal costs, retention bonuses and amortization expenses for business acquisitions which occurred during the past twelve months. This is compared to total operating costs and expenses for the fourth quarter of 2011 of $101.5 million, which included general litigation expenses of $16.8 million, $6.5 million of stock-based compensation expenses, $13.5 million for previous stock-based compensation restatement and related legal expenses, and $13.1 million related to retention bonuses and amortization expenses from the acquisition of CRI. Total operating costs and expenses in the first quarter of 2011 were $54.2 million, which included general litigation expenses of $9.2 million, $7.3 million of stock-based compensation expenses, $1.2 million for previous stock-based compensation restatement and related legal expenses, and a $6.2 million credit for gain from the Samsung settlement.

Net loss for the first quarter of 2012 was $27.9 million as compared to net loss of $28.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and net loss of $4.2 million in the first quarter of 2011. Diluted net loss per share for the first quarter of 2012 was $0.25 as compared to net loss per share of $0.26 in the fourth quarter of 2011 and net loss per share of $0.04 in the first quarter of 2011.

Non-GAAP Financial Results (1):

Customer licensing income in the first quarter of 2012 was $65.3 million, down 23% sequentially from the fourth quarter of 2011 for the reasons set out in the Company’s discussion of GAAP financial results above. As compared to the first quarter of 2011, customer licensing income was down 5% primarily due to lower royalties reported by certain licensees and expiration of a patent license agreement in the second quarter of 2011, partially offset by revenue recognized from various new patent license agreements signed in the past year as well as revenue from CRI patent license agreements.

Total non-GAAP operating costs and expenses in the first quarter of 2012 were $56.7 million, which included general litigation expenses of $4.1 million. This is compared to total non-GAAP operating costs and expenses for the fourth quarter of 2011 of $66.4 million, which included general litigation expenses of $16.8 million. Total operating costs and expenses in the first quarter of 2011 were $49.9 million, which included general litigation expenses of $9.2 million.

Non-GAAP net income in the first quarter of 2012 was $3.6 million as compared to $9.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and $10.2 million in the first quarter of 2011. Non-GAAP diluted net income per share was $0.03 in the first quarter of 2012 as compared to $0.08 in the fourth quarter of 2011 and $0.09 in the first quarter of 2011.

Other Financial Highlights:

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of March 31, 2012 were $232.5 million, a decrease of approximately $57.0 million from December 31, 2011. During the first quarter of 2012, the Company used $31.1 million to acquire privately-held Unity Semiconductor and an additional $11.6 million on other acquisitions.

During the first quarter of 2012, the Company recorded an income tax provision of approximately $3.9 million. As the Company continues to maintain a full valuation allowance against its U.S. deferred tax assets, the Company’s tax provision consists of primarily withholding taxes and current state and foreign taxes.

The Company will host a conference call at 2:00 p.m. PT today to discuss its financial results. The call, audio and slides will be available online at http://investor.rambus.com/events.cfm. A replay will be available following the call on Rambus' Investor Relations website for one week at the following numbers: [phone] (domestic) or [phone] (international) with ID# 69256005.