TowerJazz Announces Third Quarter 2019 Results

Presents Sequential Increase in Revenues, Gross and Operating Profit, EBITDA, Net Profit and Free Cash Flow


MIGDAL HAEMEK, Israel, Nov. 13, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TowerJazz (NASDAQ: TSEM & TASE: TSEM) reported today its results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2019.

Third Quarter Results Overview
Revenues for the third quarter of 2019 were $312 million, as compared to $306 million in the prior quarter, reflecting 4% organic growth (defined as total revenue excluding revenues from Panasonic in the TPSCo fabs and revenues from Maxim in the San Antonio fab), and compared to revenues of $323 million for the third quarter of 2018, reflecting 11% organic growth year over year.

Gross and operating profits for the third quarter of 2019 were $58 million and $23 million, respectively, an increase of $5 million as compared to $53 million and $18 million, respectively, in the prior quarter. Gross and operating profits for the third quarter of 2018 were $73 million and $39 million, respectively.

EBITDA for the third quarter of 2019 was $75 million, an increase of $5 million as compared to $70 million in the prior quarter. EBITDA for the third quarter of 2018 was $89 million.

Net profit for the third quarter of 2019 was $22 million, or $0.21 diluted earnings per share, as compared to $21 million or $0.20 diluted earnings per share in the prior quarter. Net profit for the third quarter of 2018 was $34 million, or $0.33 diluted earnings per share.

Cash flow generated from operations was $73 million as compared with $72 million in the prior quarter and $69 million in the third quarter of 2018. The company invested $43 million in fixed assets, net and retired $6 million of debt during the third quarter of 2019.

Shareholders' equity as of September 30, 2019 was a record of $1.32 billion, as compared to $1.24 billion as of December 31, 2018, reflecting 69% from total assets.

Business Outlook
TowerJazz expects revenues for the fourth quarter of 2019 of approximately $312 million, with an upward or downward range of 5%.

Mr. Russell Ellwanger, Chief Executive Officer of TowerJazz, commented, “In addition to posting solid quarter results, we made significant progress on various fronts including strong activities furthering our accretive growth strategies, and also in each of our business units – for example contracts in advanced display and micro display and 300mm CMOS industrial sensors, key end customer qualification with our SiPho platform, and continued qualifications of our RFSOI and CIS back-side illumination (BSI) 300mm and 200mm advanced roadmaps. These should bear fruits through the year 2020 and beyond. Our 300mm Uozu capacity expansion plan is on track, additionally having decided to build in-house capacity for strongly differentiated BSI and in particular BSI stacked wafer CIS processes. We look forward to 2020, during which the capacity ramp together with the aforementioned business activities and additional initiatives should come into play, resulting in growing financials.”

Teleconference and Webcast
TowerJazz will host an investor conference call today, Wednesday, November 13, 2019, at 10:00a.m. Eastern time (9:00a.m. Central time, 8:00a.m. Mountain Time, 7:00a.m. Pacific Time and 5:00p.m. Israel time). Management will discuss the Company’s financial results for the third quarter of 2019 and present its outlook.

This call will be webcast and can be accessed via TowerJazz’s website at www.towerjazz.com, or can also be accessed by calling the following numbers: U.S. Toll Free: 1-888-407-2553; Israel: 03-918-0610; International: +972-3-918-0610. The teleconference will be available for replay for 90 days.

The Company presents its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP.  The financial information included in the tables below includes unaudited condensed financial data. Some of the financial information in this release and/ or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/ or results of the Company, which we describe in this release as “adjusted” financial measures, is non-GAAP financial measures as defined in Regulation G and related reporting requirements promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission as they apply to our Company. These adjusted financial measures are calculated excluding one or more of the following: (1) amortization of acquired intangible assets and (2) compensation expenses in respect of equity grants to directors, officers and employees. These adjusted financial measures should be evaluated in conjunction with, and are not a substitute for, GAAP financial measures. The tables also present the GAAP financial measures, which are most comparable to the adjusted financial measures, as well as a reconciliation between the adjusted financial measures and the comparable GAAP financial measures. As used and/ or presented in this release and/ or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/ or results of the Company, as well as calculated in the tables herein, the term Earnings Before Interest Tax Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) consists of net profit in accordance with GAAP, excluding interest and other financing expense, net, other income, net, taxes, non-controlling interest, depreciation and amortization expense and stock-based compensation expense. EBITDA is reconciled in the tables below from GAAP operating profit. EBITDA is not a required GAAP financial measure and may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure employed by other companies. EBITDA and the adjusted financial information presented herein and/ or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/ or results of the Company, should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for operating profit, net profit or loss, cash flows provided by operating, investing and financing activities, per share data or other profit or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. The term Net Cash, as used and/ or presented in this release and/ or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/ or results of the Company, is comprised of cash, cash equivalents, short-term deposits and marketable securities less debt amounts as presented in the balance sheets included herein. The term Net Cash is not a required GAAP financial measure, may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure employed by other companies and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for cash, debt, operating profit, net profit or loss, cash flows provided by operating, investing and financing activities, per share data or other profit or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. The term Free Cash Flow, as used and/ or presented in this release and/ or in related public disclosures or filings with respect to the financial statements and/ or results of the Company, is calculated to be cash from operating activities (in the amounts of $73 million, $72 million and $69 million for the three months periods ended September 30, 2019, June 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018, respectively and in the amounts of $220 million and $221 million for the nine months periods ended September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018, respectively) less cash for investments in property and equipment, net (in the amounts of $43 million, $44 million and $41 million for the three months periods ended September 30, 2019, June 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018, respectively and in the amounts of $128 million and $121 million for the nine months periods ended September 30, 2019 and September 30, 2018, respectively). The term Free Cash Flow is not a required GAAP financial measure, may not be comparable to a similarly titled measure employed by other companies and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for operating profit, net profit or loss, cash flows provided by operating, investing and financing activities, per share data or other profit or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. With regards to our balance sheet as of September 30, 2019, as disclosed in Note 2Y to our annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018, we implemented ASU 2016-02 “Leases” effective January 1, 2019 with regards to lease right-of-use assets and lease liabilities, which implementation resulted in our lease contracts value presentation under property and equipment, net, short-term debt and long-term debt as of September 30, 2019. In addition, short-term debt as of September 30, 2019 includes $37 million of the first and second installment payments scheduled in March and September 2020 for series G bonds.

About TowerJazz
Tower Semiconductor Ltd. (NASDAQ: TSEM, TASE: TSEM) and its subsidiaries operate collectively under the brand name TowerJazz, the global specialty foundry leader. TowerJazz manufactures next-generation integrated circuits (ICs) in growing markets such as consumer, industrial, automotive, medical and aerospace and defense. TowerJazz’s advanced technology is comprised of a broad range of customizable process platforms such as: SiGe, BiCMOS, mixed-signal/CMOS, RF CMOS, CMOS image sensor, integrated power management (BCD and 700V), and MEMS. TowerJazz also provides world-class design enablement for a quick and accurate design cycle as well as Transfer Optimization and development Process Services (TOPS) to IDMs and fabless companies that need to expand capacity. To provide multi-fab sourcing and extended capacity for its customers, TowerJazz operates two manufacturing facilities in Israel (150mm and 200mm), two in the U.S. (200mm) and three facilities in Japan (two 200mm and one 300mm) through its partnership with Panasonic Semiconductor Solutions Co. LTD. For more information, please visit: www.towerjazz.com.

CONTACTS:
Noit Levy | TowerJazz | +972 4 604 7066 | Noit.levi@towerjazz.com
GK Investor Relations | Gavriel Frohwein, +1 (646) 688 3559 | towerjazz@gkir.com

This press release includes forward-looking statements, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may vary from those projected or implied by such forward-looking statements and you should not place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with: (i) demand in our customers’ end markets; (ii) over demand for our foundry services and/or products that exceeds our capacity; (iii) maintaining existing customers and attracting additional customers, (iv) high utilization and its effect on cycle time, yield and on schedule delivery which may cause customers to transfer their product(s) to other fabs, (v) operating results fluctuate from quarter to quarter making it difficult to predict future performance, (vi) impact of our debt and other liabilities on our financial position and operations, (vii) our ability to successfully execute acquisitions, integrate them into our business, utilize our expanded capacity and find new business, (viii) fluctuations in cash flow, (ix) our ability to satisfy the covenants stipulated in our agreements with our lender banks and bondholders (as of September 30, 2019 we are in compliance with all such covenants included in our banks’ agreements, bond G indenture and others), (x) pending litigation, (xi) new customer engagements, qualification and production ramp-up at our facilities, including TPSCo and the San Antonio facility, (xii) meeting the conditions set in the approval certificates received from the Israeli Investment Center under which we received a significant amount of grants in past years, (xiii) receipt of orders that are lower than the customer purchase commitments, (xiv) failure to receive orders currently expected, (xv) possible incurrence of additional indebtedness, (xvi) effect of global recession, unfavorable economic conditions and/or credit crisis, (xvii) our ability to accurately forecast financial performance, which is affected by limited order backlog and lengthy sales cycles, (xviii) possible situations of obsolete inventory if forecasted demand exceeds actual demand when we manufacture products before receipt of customer orders, (xix) the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry and the resulting periodic overcapacity, fluctuations in operating results and future average selling price erosion, (xx) the execution of debt re-financing and/or fundraising to enable the service of our debt and/or other liabilities, (xxi) operating our facilities at high utilization rates which is critical in order to cover a portion or all of the high level of fixed costs associated with operating a foundry, and our debt, in order to improve our results, (xxii) the purchase of equipment to increase capacity, the timely completion of the equipment installation, technology transfer and raising the funds therefor, (xxiii) the concentration of our business in the semiconductor industry, (xxiv) product returns, (xxv) our ability to maintain and develop our technology processes and services to keep pace with new technology, evolving standards, changing customer and end-user requirements, new product introductions and short product life cycles, (xxvi) competing effectively, (xxvii) use of outsourced foundry services by both fabless semiconductor companies and integrated device manufacturers; (xxviii) achieving acceptable device yields, product performance and delivery times, (xxix) our dependence on intellectual property rights of others, our ability to operate our business without infringing others’ intellectual property rights and our ability to enforce our intellectual property against infringement, (xxx) our fab3 landlord’s construction project adjacent to our fabrication facility, including possible temporary reductions or interruptions in the supply of utilities and/ or fab manufacturing, as well as claims that our noise abatement efforts are not adequate under the terms of the amended lease; (xxxi) retention of key employees and recruitment and retention of skilled qualified personnel, (xxxii) exposure to inflation, currency rates (mainly the Israeli Shekel and Japanese Yen) and interest rate fluctuations and risks associated with doing business locally and internationally, as well fluctuations in the market price of our traded securities, (xxxiii) issuance of ordinary shares as a result of conversion and/or exercise of any of our convertible securities, as well as any sale of shares by any of our shareholders, or any market expectation thereof, which may depress the market price of our ordinary shares and may impair our ability to raise future capital, (xxxiv) meeting regulatory requirements worldwide, including environmental and governmental regulations,; (xxxv) negotiation and closure of a definitive agreement in relation to fab establishment in China, as well as project implementation through required outside funding and resources and receipt of future proceeds therefrom, and (xxxvi) business interruption due to fire and other natural disasters, the security situation in Israel and other events beyond our control such as power interruptions.

A more complete discussion of risks and uncertainties that may affect the accuracy of forward-looking statements included in this press release or which may otherwise affect our business is included under the heading "Risk Factors" in Tower’s most recent filings on Forms 20-F and 6-K, as were filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the Israel Securities Authority. Future results may differ materially from those previously reported. The Company does not intend to update, and expressly disclaims any obligation to update, the information contained in this release.

(Financial tables follow)

 

 
TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(dollars in thousands)
            
            
       September 30, June 30, December 31,
       2019 2019 2018
       (unaudited) (unaudited)  
            
A S S E T S       
            
 CURRENT ASSETS       
  Cash and cash equivalents$417,636$405,158$385,091
  Short-term deposits  159,230 147,032 120,079
  Marketable securities  146,264 146,893 135,850
  Trade accounts receivable 123,519 123,789 153,409
  Inventories  187,902 174,806 170,778
  Other current assets  21,571 22,374 22,752
   Total current assets  1,056,122 1,020,052 987,959
            
 LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS 36,662 36,874 35,945
            
 PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, NET 703,569 707,122 657,234
            
 INTANGIBLE ASSETS, NET 10,800 11,279 13,435
            
 GOODWILL  7,000 7,000 7,000
            
 DEFERRED TAX AND OTHER LONG-TERM ASSETS, NET90,269 89,171 88,404
            
   TOTAL ASSETS $1,904,422$1,871,498$1,789,977
            
            
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY      
            
 CURRENT LIABILITIES       
  Short-term debt $64,774$45,173$10,814
  Trade accounts payable  104,366 92,747 104,329
  Deferred revenue and customers' advances 6,539 7,975 20,711
  Other current liabilities  59,065 65,904 67,867
   Total current liabilities 234,744 211,799 203,721
            
 LONG-TERM DEBT  254,683 275,914 256,669
            
 LONG-TERM CUSTOMERS' ADVANCES 32,843 27,230 28,131
            
 LONG-TERM EMPLOYEE RELATED LIABILITIES 13,818 14,295 13,898
            
 DEFERRED TAX AND OTHER LONG-TERM LIABILITIES 45,598 47,403 51,353
            
   TOTAL LIABILITIES 581,686 576,641 553,772
            
   TOTAL SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY 1,322,736 1,294,857 1,236,205
            
    TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY $1,904,422$1,871,498$1,789,977
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
     current ratio 4.50 4.82 4.85
     net current assets 821,315 808,253 784,238
            


 
TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)
(dollars and share count in thousands, except per share data)
             
             
        Three  months  ended
        September 30,June 30, September 30,
        2019  2019 2018 
             
REVENUES  $312,122 $306,064$322,596 
             
COST OF REVENUES  253,841  252,657 249,975 
             
  GROSS PROFIT  58,281  53,407 72,621 
             
OPERATING COSTS AND EXPENSES:      
             
 Research and development 18,722  18,812 18,236 
 Marketing, general and administrative 16,840  16,838 15,826 
             
        35,562  35,650 34,062 
             
             
  OPERATING PROFIT 22,719  17,757 38,559 
             
FINANCING AND OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE), NET (426) 947 (2,497)
             
  PROFIT BEFORE INCOME TAX 22,293  18,704 36,062 
             
INCOME TAX BENEFIT (EXPENSE), NET 61  1,018 (2,388)
             
  PROFIT BEFORE NON CONTROLLING INTEREST  22,354  19,722 33,674 
             
NON CONTROLLING INTEREST (166) 1,214 (28)
             
  NET PROFIT $22,188 $20,936$33,646 
             
             
BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE$0.21 $0.20$0.34 
             
Weighted average number of shares 106,644  106,321 100,158 
             
             
DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE$0.21 $0.20$0.33 
             
Net profit used for diluted earnings per share$22,188 $20,936$33,646 
             
Weighted average number of shares 107,601  107,178 102,083 
             
             
RECONCILIATION FROM GAAP NET PROFIT TO ADJUSTED NET PROFIT:    
             
 GAAP NET PROFIT $22,188 $20,936$33,646 
  Stock based compensation  3,775  3,884 2,710 
  Amortization of acquired intangible assets  492  494 1,627 
 ADJUSTED NET PROFIT$26,455 $25,314$37,983 
             
ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE:      
             
 Basic   $0.25 $0.24$0.38 
              
 Diluted  $0.25 $0.24$0.37 
             


 
TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)
(dollars and share count in thousands, except per share data)
            
            
         Nine months ended
         September 30,
         2019  2018 
            
 REVENUES  $928,293 $970,444 
            
 COST OF REVENUES  753,454  753,130 
            
   GROSS PROFIT  174,839  217,314 
            
 OPERATING COSTS AND EXPENSES:    
            
  Research and development 56,702  54,675 
  Marketing, general and administrative 50,319  47,935 
            
         107,021  102,610 
            
            
   OPERATING PROFIT 67,818  114,704 
            
 FINANCING AND OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE), NET 1,247  (11,719)
            
   PROFIT BEFORE INCOME TAX 69,065  102,985 
            
 INCOME TAX EXPENSE, NET (588) (6,121)
            
   PROFIT BEFORE NON CONTROLLING INTEREST  68,477  96,864 
            
 NON CONTROLLING INTEREST 864  642 
            
   NET PROFIT $69,341 $97,506 
            
            
 BASIC EARNINGS PER SHARE$0.65 $0.98 
            
 Weighted average number of shares 106,103  99,186 
            
            
 DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE$0.65 $0.96 
            
 Net profit used for diluted earnings per share$69,341 $97,506 
            
 Weighted average number of shares 107,252  101,424 
            
            
 RECONCILIATION FROM GAAP NET PROFIT TO ADJUSTED NET PROFIT:  
            
  GAAP NET PROFIT $69,341 $97,506 
   Stock based compensation  11,482  8,755 
   Amortization of acquired intangible assets  2,627  4,940 
  ADJUSTED NET PROFIT$83,450 $111,201 
            
 ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE:    
            
  Basic   $0.79 $1.12 
            
  Diluted  $0.78 $1.10 
            


 
TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES
RECONCILIATION FROM GAAP OPERATING PROFIT TO EBITDA (UNAUDITED)
(dollars in thousands)
             
             
        Three months ended
        September 30, June 30, September 30,
        2019 2019 2018
             
 GAAP OPERATING PROFIT $22,719$17,757$38,559
  Depreciation of fixed assets  48,355 47,966 46,172
  Stock based compensation 3,775 3,884 2,710
  Amortization of acquired intangible assets 492 494 1,627
             
 EBITDA  $75,341$70,101$89,068
             


 
TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED SOURCES AND USES REPORT (UNAUDITED)
(dollars in thousands)
        
        
   Three months ended
   September 30, June 30, September 30,
   2019  2019  2018 
        
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - BEGINNING OF PERIOD$405,158 $408,098 $486,880 
        
 Net cash provided by operating activities 72,735  72,156  69,471 
 Investments in property and equipment, net (43,017) (43,727) (40,892)
 Exercise of options, net 43  --  21 
 Debt repaid, net (5,606) (7,475) (43,078)
 Effect of Japanese Yen exchange rate change over cash balance (104) 3,205  (3,057)
 Investments in short-term deposits, marketable securities and other assets, net(11,573) (27,099) (4,899)
        
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - END OF PERIOD$417,636 $405,158 $464,446 
        
FREE CASH FLOW$29,718 $28,429 $28,579 
        
        
        
   Nine months ended  
   September 30, September 30, 
   2019  2018  
       
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - BEGINNING OF PERIOD$385,091 $445,961  
       
 Net cash provided by operating activities 219,759  221,401  
 Investments in property and equipment, net (128,462) (121,087)  
 Exercise of options, net 440  705  
 Debt repaid, net (16,155) (45,925)  
 Effect of Japanese Yen exchange rate change over cash balance 2,361  (1,259)  
 Investments in short-term deposits, marketable securities and other assets, net(45,398) (35,350)  
       
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - END OF PERIOD$417,636 $464,446  
       
FREE CASH FLOW$91,297 $100,314  
       


 
TOWER SEMICONDUCTOR LTD. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (UNAUDITED)
(dollars in thousands)
            
       Three months ended
       September 30,June 30, September 30,
       2019  2019  2018 
            
CASH FLOWS - OPERATING ACTIVITIES      
            
 Net profit for the period$22,354 $19,722 $33,674 
            
 Adjustments to reconcile net profit for the period      
  to net cash provided by operating activities:      
   Income and expense items not involving cash flows:      
    Depreciation and amortization 53,203  52,853  52,764 
    Effect of exchange rate differences on debentures 3,095  2,204  788 
    Other income, net (266) (428) -- 
   Changes in assets and liabilities:      
    Trade accounts receivable (496
 12,665  (3,767)
    Other assets (1,978) (2,050) (919)
    Inventories (13,276) 378  (7,237)
    Trade accounts payable 12,110
  (12,553) (2,652)
    Deferred revenue and customers' advances  4,178  (2,964) 35 
    Other current liabilities (6,494) 2,957  (2,764)
    Long-term employee related liabilities (32) (29) (240)
    Deferred tax, net and other long-term liabilities 337  (599) (211)
     Net cash provided by operating activities 72,735  72,156  69,471 
            
CASH FLOWS - INVESTING ACTIVITIES      
 Investments in property and equipment, net (43,017) (43,727) (40,892)
 Investments in deposits, marketable securities and other assets, net (11,573) (27,099) (4,899)
     Net cash used in investing activities (54,590) (70,826) (45,791)
            
CASH FLOWS - FINANCING ACTIVITIES      
            
 Debt repaid, net (5,606) (7,475) (43,078)
 Exercise of options 43  --  21 
     Net cash used in financing activities (5,563) (7,475) (43,057)
            
EFFECT OF FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE CHANGE (104) 3,205  (3,057)
            
            
INCREASE (DECREASE) IN CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 12,478  (2,940) (22,434)
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - BEGINNING OF PERIOD 405,158  408,098  486,880 
            
CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS - END OF PERIOD$417,636 $405,158 $464,446