All financial results are reported on a U.S. GAAP basis.
Revenue for the third quarter of 2014 was $13.1 million, as compared to revenue of $12.0 million for the second quarter of 2014, and $16.9 million for the third quarter of 2013.
Net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders for the third quarter of 2014 was $9.2 million or $0.137 per basic and diluted American Depositary Share ("ADS"). This compares to net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders of $3.5 million or $0.050 per basic and diluted ADS, for the second quarter of 2014, and net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor¡¯s shareholders of $0.2 million or $0.002 per basic and diluted ADS, for the third quarter of 2013.
Actions Semiconductor reported gross margin of 14.6% for the third quarter of 2014, compared to gross margin of 18.4% for the second quarter of 2014, and 33.2% for the third quarter of 2013. Gross margin was impacted by fierce competition in the tablet market and a net inventory write-down that reduced margin by nearly 7%. The Company ended the third quarter with $161.3 million in cash and cash equivalents, together with time deposits, trading securities and marketable securities, current and non-current.
Since the share repurchase program commenced in 2007, the Company has invested approximately $78.9 million in repurchasing its ADSs and ordinary shares, including $25.0 million representing the equivalent of 10.0 million ADSs repurchased through a Dutch auction tender offer in September 2014. As of September 30, 2014, the equivalent of approximately 33.7 million ADSs were repurchased.
"In the third quarter of 2014, revenue came in toward the low end of our expectations, primarily due to a supply shortage of 8-inch wafers for multimedia products from our foundry. Competition in the worldwide tablet market remained intense, keeping selling prices and margins low. Lower gross margin, combined with mask expenses related to our new application processor enabled by 28nm process technology and expenses related to our Dutch auction tender offer contributed to the loss for the quarter," stated Dr. Zhenyu Zhou, CEO of Actions Semiconductor.
"Shipments of dual-core solutions accounted for the majority of tablet shipments during the quarter, and we saw a twofold increase in shipments of quad-core solutions, indicative of the accelerated migration from dual-core to quad-core solutions in the overseas tablet market. We expect another sequential increase in shipments in the fourth quarter, although challenging conditions in the tablet market will persist for the next few quarters.
"As we approach the end of 2014, we believe we are through the most challenging period in our tablet business and are preparing to harvest our investments in 28nm process technology and 64-bit architecture in the year ahead. We recently launched our first 28nm OWL series chipset, the ATM7059, which will target the branded and whitebox tablet market and Over-the-top ("OTT") set-top box market, with a 64-bit solution to be launched before year end. We also see strong potential in the Bluetooth boombox market, especially our Bluetooth 4.0 solutions, which we expect to be a major revenue driver in 2015 following the launch of our RF and audio processing integrated single chip SoC for Bluetooth boomboxes and headphones," Dr. Zhou concluded.
Business Outlook
The following statements are based upon management's current expectations. These statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements.
Based on current market trends, the Company expects revenue in the fourth quarter of 2014 to be in the range of $14.0 to $16.0 million. The Company expects a sequential improvement in shipments in the fourth quarter of 2014, although challenging conditions in the tablet market will continue to impact revenue and margins in the near term.
Conference Call Details
Actions Semiconductor's third quarter of fiscal year 2014 teleconference and webcast is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, on Tuesday, November 4, 2014. To participate in the live call, analysts and investors should dial 1-888-427-9419 (within U.S.) or 1-719-325-2463 (outside U.S.) at least ten minutes prior to the call. The conference ID number is 2795511. Actions Semiconductor will also offer a live and archived webcast of the conference call, accessible from the "Investor Relations" section of the Company's website at www.actions-semi.com. An audio replay of the call will be available to investors through November 14, 2014 by dialing 1-888-203-1112 (within U.S.) or 1-719-457-0820 (outside U.S.) and entering access code 2795511.
About Actions Semiconductor
Actions Semiconductor is one of China's leading fabless semiconductor companies that provides comprehensive portable multimedia and mobile internet system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions for portable consumer electronics. Actions Semiconductor products include SoCs, firmware, software, solution development kits, as well as detailed specifications of other required components. Actions Semiconductor also provides total product and technology solutions that allow customers to quickly introduce new portable consumer electronics to the mass market in a cost effective way. The Company is headquartered in Zhuhai, China, with offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Taipei. For more information, please visit the Actions Semiconductor website at http://www.actions-semi.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995
Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements include statements concerning the outlook for its new products enabled by 28nm process technology and 64-bit CPU for tablets and high-end OTT set-top boxes and new RF and audio processing integrated single chip SoC for Bluetooth boomboxes, customer acceptance of the Actions Semiconductor¡¯s new products and corresponding increases in market share, Actions Semiconductor's belief that it is through the most challenging period in its tablet business and is positioned to capture some upside from its new products and Actions Semiconductor's future expectations with respect to revenue. Actions Semiconductor uses words like "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "project" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These forward-looking statements are estimates reflecting current assumptions, expectations and projections about future events and involve significant risks, both known and unknown, uncertainties and other factors that may cause Actions Semiconductor's actual performance, financial condition or results of operations to be materially different from those suggested by the forward-looking statements including, among others, customers' cancellation or modification of their orders; our failure to accurately forecast demand for our products; the loss of, or a significant reduction in orders from, any of our significant customers; fluctuations in our operating results; our inability to develop and sell new products; defects in or failures of our products; the expense and uncertainty involved in our customer design-win efforts; the financial viability of the distributors of our products; consumer demand; worldwide economic and political conditions; fluctuations in our costs to manufacture our products; our reliance on third parties to manufacture, test, assemble and ship our products; our ability to retain and attract key personnel; our ability to compete with our competitors; and our ability to protect our intellectual property rights and not infringe the intellectual property rights of others. Other factors that may cause our actual results to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements contained in this press release and that may affect our prospects in general are described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our most recently filed Forms F-1, 20-F and 6-Ks. Other unknown or unpredictable factors also could have material adverse effects on Actions Semiconductor's future results, performance or achievements. In light of these risks, uncertainties, assumptions and factors, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date stated, or if no date is stated, as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, Actions Semiconductor undertakes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or changed assumptions or circumstances.
