OCZ Technology Group Reports Fiscal 2012 Third Quarter Results


Revenue Nearly Doubled to $103M, SSD Revenue up 130%,
Fifth Consecutive Quarter of Gross Margin Expansion Drives non-GAAP Earnings

SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan. 9, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:OCZ), a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, reports its third quarter results for the fiscal year 2012 (Q3'12), which ended on November 30, 2011.

Q3'12 Financial Highlights

  • Net revenue in Q3'12 was a record $103.1 million, and increased 94% compared with net revenue of $53.2 million reported in Q3'11, and increased 31% compared with net revenue of $78.5 million reported in Q2'12.
  • SSD revenue reached a record $95.5 million, an increase of 130% compared with Q3'11 SSD revenue of $41.5 million, and a 34% increase compared with Q2'12 SSD revenue of $71.1 million.
  • On a trailing twelve month basis, SSD revenue was approximately $294 million, up 237% compared with $87 million in the prior trailing twelve months period.
  • Gross margin increased to 22.5% compared with 14.4% in Q3'11, and 21.6% in Q2'12.
  • GAAP net loss for Q3'12 was $0.9 million or $0.02 loss per share compared with a GAAP net loss of $8.3 million or $0.29 loss per share in Q3'11.
  • Non-GAAP net income for Q3'12 was $3.0 million or $0.06 income per share as compared with a non-GAAP net loss for Q3'11 of $0.9 million, or $0.03 loss per share.

"We are pleased to report another quarter of record revenue and increased margins. This trend is being driven by an increase in market adoption of our SSDs, and is supported by OCZ's substantially increased investments in R&D and the ability to execute on bringing new leading-edge products to market ahead of the competition," said Ryan Petersen, CEO of OCZ Technology. "Looking forward, we believe OCZ's momentum positions us well to continue to increase market share in what is widely regarded as one of the fastest growing markets in technology."

"Exiting the quarter, we saw a material increase in demand for our higher margin products, specifically our PCIe line. This trend, when taken together with the continuing expansion of OCZ products now being shipped with our Indilinx controllers, supports an increase in the rate of our gross margin expansion on a go forward basis," added Petersen.

"Also, today we announced the acquisition of flash virtualization pioneer Sanrad Inc. Sanrad's field proven virtualization products have numerous enterprise deployments and the VXL software platform delivers application optimized caching and virtualization technology for VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Citrix Xen-based server virtualization platforms. This acquisition can be transformational for OCZ as, by integrating the Sanrad virtualization software with products such as our Z-Drive series of PCIe SSDs, we can now offer a complete solution for the virtualization of even the most intensive applications," concluded Mr. Petersen.

Recent Business Highlights

  • Demonstrated at Storage Visions our next generation Z-Drive R5, the world's first PCIe Gen 3 Solid State Storage Solution, running in the IBM System x3650 M3. The Z-Drive R5 utilizes the Kilimanjaro Native PCIe SSD controller platform to deliver in excess of 2.5 Million IOPS and 7GB/s of bandwidth.
  • Announced the Z-Drive R4 CloudServ equipped HP ProLiant DL370 G6 Server running more than 3 Million IOPs with up to 16TB of PCIe-based flash storage per PCIe device.
  • Launched several Indilinx Everest platform based products including the Petrol SATA 6 Gbps Series of SSDs, utilizing the next generation NAND flash technology and reduces SSD per gigabyte costs by as much as 30%, and the Octane SATA 3.0 and SATA 2.0 SSD series SSDs which are the world's first 1TB capacity SSD in a compact 2.5 inch format.
  • Completed the acquisition and integration of the Abingdon UK-based storage team from PLX Technology, and substantial associated intellectual property.
  • Announced the acquisition of certified VMware partner, Sanrad Inc. for $15 million in OCZ common stock.
  • Signed a proposal letter with Wells Fargo Capital Finance ("WFCF") for a $50 million senior secured credit facility to replace the current $25 million credit facility with Silicon Valley Bank ("SVB") which expires in early February 2012. As in the current SVB facility, borrowings under the WFCF facility will be limited to the borrowing base based on OCZ's receivables. This new credit facility is subject to finalization of a definitive agreement and final WFCF approval. It also provides for a potential expansion to $75 million if certain conditions are met.

Recent Sales Highlights

  • OCZ Indilinx SSDs based on the acclaimed Everest Series SATA 3.0 (6Gbps) platform are the default storage solution for the newest LG Electronics' notebook, the XNote Z300 based on the Intel® Ultrabook™ initiative.
  • OCZ's range of mSATA SSDs have recently been certified by Intel® for integration into Intel Ultrabook thin form factor notebooks.
  • OCZ SSDs were selected by Voxel for managed hosting in custom, on-demand dedicated servers.
  • OCZ Deneva 2 SSD Series was qualified by PSSC Labs for integration into workstations, HPC servers, and datacenter appliances.
  • OCZ PCIe SSDs were selected by CIARA for integration into the Company's premium KRONOS S Line Workstations.
  • OCZ Deneva 2 was qualified and integrated into OliveHD's award winning O4HD and O6HD music servers.

Revenue Information

To help investors better understand OCZ's historical revenue trends, including geographic revenue by delivery location and its rapid product transition from high performance memory into SSDs, additional revenue information is shown in the chart below.

Quarterly net revenue by product groups and major geographic area by delivery location ($000)'s (Unaudited):

  3QFY11 4QFY11 1QFY12 2QFY12 3QFY12
Product Groups          
SSD  $ 41,471  $ 58,195  $ 69,122  $ 71,077  $ 95,465
Memory  6,261  1,956  (a)   (a)   (a) 
Power supplies/Other  5,490  4,415  4,672  7,377  7,619
Total  $ 53,222  $ 64,566  $ 73,794  $ 78,454  $ 103,084
           
           
Major Geo Areas          
North America  $ 17,758  $ 21,845  $ 20,848  $ 25,895  $ 34,875
EMEA  30,315  34,250  40,997  41,841  54,158
ROW  5,149  8,471  11,949  10,718  14,051
Total  $ 53,222  $ 64,566  $ 73,794  $ 78,454  $ 103,084
           
(a) Beginning in 1QFY12 Memory revenue is immaterial and included in Power Supplies/Other

Hard Drive Shortage Capitalization

The widely reported hard disk drive (HDD) shortage had minimal impact on revenue during the third quarter, however, based on continuing strength in market demand resulting from the Thailand floods, the Company plans to aggressively address the areas of the market that it feels represent permanent conversions to SSDs from HDDs. The Company anticipates the ability to begin addressing this demand by its first fiscal quarter.

In support of this initiative, the Company took steps late in the quarter to opportunistically build inventory of NAND flash wafer, and plans to increase its working capital availability with the Wells Fargo credit facility described above.

Business Outlook:

In order to help investors better understand our rapidly evolving business, OCZ is moving to quarterly revenue and gross margin guidance.

  • OCZ expects revenue for its 4th fiscal quarter ending February 29, 2012, to be in the range of $105 to $120 million, and revenue for its fiscal year ending February 29, 2012 to be in the range of $360 to $375 million.
  • GAAP Gross margins are expected to be between 23.5% and 25.5% for its 4th fiscal quarter.

Conference Call:

OCZ will host its fiscal 2012 third quarter conference call for the period ended November 30, 2011 at 5:00pm ET (2:00pm PT), on January 9, 2012. Ryan Petersen, CEO, and Arthur Knapp, CFO, will discuss the Company's performance on the call.

A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available by visiting the Investor Relations events conference call section of OCZ's website at http://ir.stockpr.com/ocztechnology/conference-calls, which will be archived for replay until February 15, 2012. Please connect at least 15 minutes prior to the conference call to ensure adequate time for connection.

All interested parties can join the call by dialing (253) 237-1170 or (877) 372-0867. Please call-in 15 minutes prior to the call to secure a line. The conference call will be archived for phone replay until January 18, 2012. To access the archived conference call, please dial (404) 537-3406 or (855) 859-2056 and enter replay passcode 36392962.

About OCZ Technology Group, Inc.

Founded in 2002, San Jose, CA-based OCZ Technology Group, Inc. (OCZ), is a leader in the design, manufacturing, and distribution of high performance and reliable Solid-State Drives (SSDs) and premium computer components. OCZ has built on its expertise in high-speed memory to become a leader in the enterprise and consumer SSD markets, a technology that competes with traditional rotating magnetic hard disk drives (HDDs). SSDs are faster, more reliable, generate less heat and use significantly less power than the HDDs used in the majority of computers today. In addition to SSD technology, OCZ also offers high performance components for computing devices and systems, including enterprise-class power management products as well as leading-edge computer gaming solutions. For more information, please visit: www.ocztechnology.com.

The OCZ Technology Group, Inc. logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7439

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements and assumptions included in this release are 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, including, in particular, statements about our plans, strategies and prospects and estimates of industry growth for the fiscal quarter ending November 30, 2011 and beyond. These statements identify prospective information and include words such as "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "projects" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on information available to us as of the date of this release. Current expectations, forecasts and assumptions involve a number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by these forward-looking statements. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors may be beyond our control. Such risks and uncertainties also include the impact of the variable demand, particularly in view of current business and economic conditions; dependence on our ability to successfully qualify, manufacture and sell our disk drive products in increasing volumes on a cost-effective basis and with acceptable quality, particularly our new disk drive products with lower cost structures; product mix, particularly increased acceptance and sales of enterprise SSDs; our ability to capitalize on our technological leadership; the impact of competitive product announcements; our ability to achieve projected cost savings; our ability to rapidly increase our manufacturing capacity in pace with our competitors if demand for disk drives increases; and our maintaining adequate working capital, including through the potential Wells Fargo credit facility referred to earlier in this press release. We also encourage you to read our Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on May 17, 2011, and amended on May 31, 2011, and statements made in other subsequent filings, as they contain information concerning risk, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing our views as of any subsequent date and we undertake no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date they were made.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

OCZ provides Non-GAAP net revenue, cost of revenue, operating income/(loss), and net income/(loss) as supplemental financial measures to its investors as a complement to GAAP financial results. An explanation and reconciliation of these Non-GAAP measures to GAAP net income/(loss) is set forth below. OCZ believes that providing this information allows OCZ's investors greater transparency and a better understanding of OCZ's core financial performance. Non-GAAP operating and net income/(loss) are not in accordance with or an alternative for, generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. Non-GAAP measures should not be considered in isolation from or as a substitute for financial information presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies.

Calculation of Non-GAAP Operating and Net Income (loss)

Non-GAAP operating income/(loss) is calculated as operating income/(loss) excluding the impact of inventory adjustments for discontinued products, severance cost, goodwill and intangible impairment non-cash charges related to stock options, and certain other one-time charges and credits specifically identified in the non-GAAP reconciliation schedules set forth below. Non-GAAP net income/(loss) is calculated as net income (loss) excluding the impact of inventory adjustments for discontinued products, severance cost, goodwill and intangible impairment, non-cash charges related to stock options and warrants, and certain other one-time charges and credits specifically identified in the non-GAAP reconciliation schedules set forth below. OCZ uses Non-GAAP operating and net income/(loss) in evaluating OCZ's historical and prospective cash usage, as well as its cash usage relative to its competitors. Specifically, management uses these non-GAAP measures to further understand and analyze the cash used in/generated from OCZ's core operations. OCZ believes that by excluding these non-cash and non-recurring charges, more accurate expectations of its future cash needs can be assessed in addition to providing a better understanding of the actual cash used in or generated from core operations for the periods presented. OCZ further believes that providing this information allows OCZ's investors greater transparency and a better understanding of OCZ's core financial results.

OCZ Technology Group, Inc.      
Reconciliation of Selected GAAP Measures to Non-GAAP Measures (Unaudited)      
($ in thousands, except per share data)      
                 
  Three Months Ended November 30,
    2011     2010  
   GAAP   Adj     non-GAAP   GAAP   Adj     non-GAAP 
                 
Net revenue  $ 103,084  $ --     $ 103,084  $ 53,222  $ 1,470  (a)   $ 54,692
Cost of revenue  79,909  --     79,909  45,561  (1,500)  (b)   44,061
Gross profit  23,175      23,175  7,661  2,970    10,631
                 
Gross margin % 22.5%     22.5% 14.4%     19.4%
                 
Research and development   7,045  (481)  (c)   6,564  1,914  (84)  (c)   828
             (995)  (e)   
             (7)  (h)   
                 
Sales and marketing   7,240  (160)  (c)   7,080  4,763  (58)  (c)   4,695
             (6)  (f)   
             (4)  (h)   
                 
General, administrative and operations  6,544  (301)  (c)   6,243  5,558  (98)  (c)   5,027
             (321)  (f)   
             (105)  (g)   
             (7)  (h)   
Operating expenses  20,829  (942)    19,887  12,235  (1,685)    10,550
Income (loss) from operations  2,346  942    3,288  (4,574)  4,655    81
                 
Financing costs/other  (255)  --     (255)  (952)  --     (952)
Adjustment to the fair value of common stock warrants  (2,998)  2,998  (d)   --   (2,788)  2,788  (d)   -- 
                 
Income (loss) before income taxes  (907)  3,940    3,033  (8,314)  7,443    (871)
                 
Income tax expense (benefit)  (1)      (1)  25      25
Net income (loss)  $ (906)      $ 3,034  $ (8,339)      $ (896)
                 
Net income (loss) per share:                
 Basic  $ (0.02)      $ 0.06  $ (0.29)      $ (0.03)
 Diluted  $ (0.02)      $ 0.06  $ (0.29)      $ (0.03)
                 
Shares used in net income (loss) per share computation:                
 Basic  51,800      51,800  28,600      28,600
 Diluted  51,800      53,900  28,600      28,600
                 
                 
Computational Notes:                
 (a) Abnormal level of rebates on liquidation sales of certain DRAM module products
 (b) Reserves for discontinuance of additional DRAM module products    
 (c) Stock based compensation    
 (d) Non-cash costs for revaluation of warrants issued in connection with equity financing   
 (e) Technology acquisition 
 (f) Executive severance  
 (g) Other non-recurring costs    
 (h) Intangibles    
 
 
OCZ Technology Group, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share amount)
         
  Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
  November 30, November 30,
  unaudited unaudited
  2011 2010 2011 2010
         
Net revenue  $ 103,084  $ 53,222  $ 255,332  $ 125,550
Cost of revenue  79,909  45,561  200,482  112,105
Gross profit  23,175  7,661  54,850  13,445
         
Research and development   7,045  1,914  18,494  5,172
Sales and marketing   7,240  4,763  17,584  11,140
General, administrative and operations  6,544  5,558  18,031  13,679
Acquisition related charge  --   --   1,702  -- 
Special inventory charge   --   --   2,975  -- 
Total operating expenses  20,829  12,235  58,786  29,991
         
Income (Ioss) from operations  2,346  (4,574)  (3,936)  (16,546)
         
Other (expense), net  (64)  (101)  (137)  (112)
Interest and financing costs  (191)  (851)  (850)  (2,019)
Adjustment to the fair value of common stock warrants  (2,998)  (2,788)  (1,852)  (1,237)
(Loss) before income taxes  (907)  (8,314)  (6,775)  (19,914)
Income tax expense (benefit)  (1)  25  --   861
Net (loss)  $ (906)  $ (8,339)  $ (6,775)  $ (20,775)
         
Net (loss) per share:        
Basic  $ (0.02)  $ (0.29)  $ (0.14)  $ (0.78)
Diluted  $ (0.02)  $ (0.29)  $ (0.14)  $ (0.78)
         
Shares used in net (loss) per share computation:        
Basic  51,800  28,600  48,800  26,800
Diluted  51,800  28,600  48,800  26,800
 
 
OCZ Technology Group, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
($ In thousands)
     
  November 30, 2011 February 28, 2011
  unaudited  
     
ASSETS    
Current Assets:    
Cash and cash equivalents  $ 38,583  $ 17,514
Restricted cash  62  1,300
Accounts receivable, net of allowances   65,642  31,687
Inventories, net  77,760  22,798
Prepaid expenses and other current assets  6,934  2,875
Total current assets  188,981  76,174
Property and equipment, net  5,011  3,046
Intangibles, net  6,064  18
Goodwill  46,834  9,989
Other assets  182  42
Total assets  $ 247,072  $ 89,269
     
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY    
Current liabilities:    
Loans payable  $ 22,723  $ 20,011
Accounts payable  67,289  40,645
Accrued and other liabilities  10,403  6,137
Total current liabilities  100,415  66,793
     
Common stock warrant liability  10,130  9,417
Other long-term liabilities  208  -- 
     
Total liabilities  110,753  76,210
     
Commitments and contingencies   --   -- 
     
Stockholders' equity:    
Preferred stock, $0.0025 par value, 20,000 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding  --   -- 
Common stock, $0.0025 par value, 120,000 shares authorized; 51,976,061 and 35,401,908 shares issued and outstanding at November 30, 2011 and February 28, 2011, respectively  130  88
Additional paid-in capital  199,106  68,749
Accumulated deficit  (62,265)  (55,490)
Accumulated other comprehensive loss  (652)  (288)
Total stockholders' equity  136,319  13,059
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity  $ 247,072  $ 89,269
 
 
OCZ Technology Group, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
 
  (Unaudited)
  Nine Months Ended
  November 30, 2011 November 30, 2010
     
     
Cash flows from operating activities:    
Net income (loss)  $ (6,775)  $ (20,775)
Adjustments to reconcile net income/(loss) to net cash used in operating activities:    
Depreciation  1,252  807
Amortization of intangibles  267  53
Bad debt expense  837  931
Stock-based compensation  2,417  624
Adjustment to deferred tax asset  --   836
Fair value adjustment of stock warrants  1,852  1,236
Inventory reserve  5,407  3,696
Non-cash asset addition  --   644
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions:    
Accounts receivable  (34,780)  (10,561)
Inventory  (60,340)  (10,332)
Prepaid expenses and other assets  (3,835)  (945)
Accounts payable  26,125  12,032
Accrued and other liabilities  1,948  2,171
Net cash used in operating activities  (65,625)  (19,583)
     
Cash flows from investing activities:    
Purchases of property and equipment  (2,287)  (728)
Purchased Intangibles  (2,570)  -- 
(Increase) decrease in deposits  --   (4)
Business acquisition earn out payments  --   (35)
Asset Purchase Agreement PLX  (2,200)  -- 
Acquistion of Indilinx  123  -- 
 Net cash used in investing activities  (6,934)  (767)
     
Cash flows from financing activities:    
Issurance of common stock  93,495  34,287
Proceeds from employee stock programs  931  403
Proceeds from warrant exercises  213  -- 
Proceeds from bank loan  22,723  5,083
Repayment of bank loans  (24,934)  -- 
Restricted Cash for Letter of credit  1,238  -- 
Increase (repayment) of shareholder loan  --   (500)
 Net cash provided by financing activities  93,666  39,273
     
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents  (38)  (44)
     
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents  21,069  18,879
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period  17,514  1,224
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period  $ 38,583  $ 20,103


            

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