All financial results are reported on a U.S. GAAP basis.
Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $13.9 million, as compared to revenue of $13.1 million for the third quarter of 2014, and $17.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2013.
Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $50.3 million, compared to $69.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2013.
Net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders for the fourth quarter of 2014 was $12.2 million or $0.206 per basic and diluted American Depositary Share ("ADS"). This compares to net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders of $9.2 million or $0.137 per basic and diluted ADS, for the third quarter of 2014, and net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders of $0.8 million or $0.012 per basic and diluted ADS, for the fourth quarter of 2013.
Net loss attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders for the year ended December 31, 2014 was $30.4 million or $0.461 per basic and diluted ADS. This compares to a net income attributable to Actions Semiconductor's shareholders of $0.1 million or $0.002 per basic and diluted ADS, for the year ended December 31, 2013.
Actions Semiconductor reported gross margin of negative 19.2% for the fourth quarter of 2014, compared to gross margin of 14.6% for the third quarter of 2014, and 22.2% for the fourth quarter of 2013. Gross margin was impacted by fierce competition in the tablet market and a significant inventory write-down that reduced margin by nearly 30%. The Company ended the fourth quarter with $168.2 million in cash and cash equivalents, together with time deposits, trading securities and marketable securities.
Since the share repurchase program commenced in 2007, the Company has invested approximately $79.4 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 December 31, 2014, the equivalent of approximately 33.9 million ADSs were repurchased.
"In the fourth quarter of 2014, revenue came in toward the low end of our expectations, primarily due to the lingering effects of a supply shortage of wafers for multimedia products from our foundry, along with relatively flat demand and persistent, intense competition in the worldwide tablet market. Negative gross margin, along with a non-cash impairment charge of intangibles related to the reorganization of our corporate structure contributed to the loss for the quarter," stated Dr. Zhenyu Zhou, CEO of Actions Semiconductor.
"As our financial performance demonstrates, 2014 was a challenging year for Actions. Despite these challenges, we were steadfast in our commitment to invest in our future and expect to generate strong results in the year ahead. We are optimistic the recent launches of two new chipsets based on 28 nm process technology, including our ultra-high performance 64-bit, quad-core solution, the ATM9009, will allow us to compete more effectively in the application processor market including the tablet market, the OTT set-top box market and other cloud connected device market. These value-added application processor markets will move Actions beyond tablets into new and profitable growth markets. In our multimedia business, Bluetooth will be the driving force in 2015 and beyond. We expect our newly launched single-chip Bluetooth 4.0 solution for boomboxes, speakers, headphones and related products will establish Actions as a significant player in the rapidly growing Bluetooth voice and music market."
"Supported by these recent product launches, we are targeting revenue growth of 20% to 25% and a good margin improvement in 2015. We will also focus on cost control, with the goal of reducing operating expenses from 2014 levels," 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 first quarter of 2015 to be in the range of $9.5 to $11.5 million. The Company's newly launched products are not expected to contribute to first quarter results, as sales volumes will begin to ramp in the second quarter of 2015. In addition, the first quarter of the year is traditionally the seasonally slowest quarter due to the Chinese New Year holiday, which causes a slowdown in production by consumer electronics manufacturers in China for approximately three to four weeks.
Conference Call Details
Actions Semiconductor's fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014 teleconference and webcast is scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, on Tuesday, February 3, 2015. To participate in the live call, analysts and investors should dial 1-888-299-7209 (within U.S.) or 1-719-325-2464 (outside U.S.) at least ten minutes prior to the call. The conference ID number is 9195995. 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 February 13, 2015 by dialing 1-888-203-1112 (within U.S.) or 1-719-457-0820 (outside U.S.) and entering access code 9195995.
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 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 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.
