Non-GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2015 totaled $45.1 million or $0.11 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $49.2 million or $0.12 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2014, and $29.1 million or $0.07 per diluted share for the year-ago quarter. Refer to the non-GAAP reconciliation table included in this release for more details.

"We are well positioned in attractive markets for long-term growth and profitability, with a renewed emphasis on our core businesses, sharper focus on our traditional end markets, and a substantially improved operating model generating consistent positive cash flow," said Steve Laub, Atmel's President and Chief Executive Officer.  "Our lower cost structure should allow us to deliver significantly improved profitability throughout the remainder of 2015." 

Cash provided by operations totaled $40.1 million for the first quarter of 2015, compared to $37.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2014 and $46.2 million for the first quarter of 2014.  Combined cash balances (cash and cash equivalents plus short-term investments) totaled $200.8 million at the end of the first quarter of 2015, a decrease of $6.1 million from the immediately preceding quarter resulting principally from improved operating performance offset by the $16.7 million common stock dividend, repurchase of $9.1 million in common stock during the first quarter and a $10.0 million repayment of debt.

Company Highlights

• Sampling  Atmel® | SMART SAM L21 family, breaking ultra-low-power performance barriers with world's lowest power ARM® Cortex® M based solution for IoT, portable, wearable and battery powered applications
• Launched SAM DA1 family of automotive-qualified  ARM® Cortex® -M0+ microcontrollers featuring capacitive touch hardware support for HMI and LIN applications
• Shipping low-cost, easy-to-use Xplained extension board featuring Bosch intelligent 9-axis sensor ideal for prototyping projects for IoT and wearable applications
• First company to achieve PRIME v1.4 Profile 2 certification for Atmel | SMART SAM4CP16B and ATPL230A platforms for smart metering applications
• Launched next-generation CryptoAuthentication™ product featuring advanced elliptic curve cryptography capabilities for the IoT market, delivering extremely low power and compatibility with any microcontroller or microprocessor
• Xiaomi awards Atmel with "Best Technology Award" for our maXTouch solutions
• Announced sale of XSense touch sensor assets
• Paid first cash dividend in Atmel's 30-year history

Stock Repurchase

During the first quarter of 2015, Atmel repurchased 1.1 million shares of its common stock in the open market at an average price of $8.24 per share.

Outlook – Q2 2015

• Revenue between $310 and $326 million
• Non-GAAP gross margin 48.0% plus or minus 100 basis points
• Non-GAAP operating expenses $108 million, plus or minus $2 million

Non-GAAP Metrics

Non-GAAP net income excludes share-based compensation expense, acquisition-related charges, restructuring charges (credits), loss from the impairment of manufacturing assets related to the XSense business and operating results of the XSense business for the first quarter 2015, loss from manufacturing facility damage and shutdown, French building underutilization and other (credits), loss (gain) related to foundry arrangements, recovery of receivables from foundry suppliers, gain on sale of assets, fair value adjustments to inventory from businesses acquired, interest income from sale of assets, non-GAAP income tax adjustment and other non-recurring income tax items, as well as net income attributable to noncontrolling interest.  A reconciliation of GAAP results to non-GAAP results is included following the financial statements below.

Conference Call

Atmel will hold a teleconference at 2 p.m. PT today to discuss the first quarter 2015 financial results. The conference call will be webcast live and can also be monitored by dialing 1-706-758-4519.  The conference ID number is 5515713 and participants are encouraged to initiate their calls 10 minutes prior to the 2 p.m. PT start time to ensure a timely connection. The webcast and earnings release will be accessible at http://ir.atmel.com/ and will be archived for 12 months.

A replay of the May 6, 2015 conference call will be available the same day at approximately 5 p.m. PT and will be archived for 48 hours. The replay access number is 1-404-537-3406. The access code is 5515713.

About Atmel

Atmel is a worldwide leader in the design and manufacture of microcontrollers, capacitive touch solutions, advanced logic, mixed-signal, nonvolatile memory and radio frequency (RF) components. Leveraging one of the industry's broadest intellectual property (IP) technology portfolios, Atmel is able to provide the electronics industry with intelligent and connected solutions focused on the industrial, automotive, consumer, communications, and computing  markets.

©2015 Atmel Corporation. Atmel®, Atmel logo and combinations thereof, Enabling Unlimited Possibilities®, and others are registered trademarks or trademarks of Atmel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other terms and product names may be trademarks of others.

Safe Harbor for Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this release, including those regarding Atmel's financial outlook for the second quarter of 2015, long-term forecasts, business outlook, expectations, new product launches, and beliefs, among others, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may include comments about our future operating and financial performance, including our outlook for 2015 and beyond, our expectations regarding market share and product revenue growth, and Atmel's strategies. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to Atmel as of the date of this release, including our second quarter 2015 outlook, which may change. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, without limitation, general global macroeconomic and geo-political conditions; the cyclical nature of the semiconductor industry; the inability to realize the anticipated benefits of transactions related to acquisitions, restructuring activities or other initiatives in a timely manner or at all; consolidation occurring within the semiconductor industry through mergers and acquisitions; the impact of competitive products and pricing; disruption to our business caused by our increased dependence on outside foundries, financial instability or insolvency proceedings affecting some of those foundries, and associated litigation involving us in some cases; industry and/or company overcapacity or undercapacity, including capacity constraints of our independent assembly contractors; the success of our customers' end products and timely design acceptance by our customers; timely introduction of new products and technologies (including, for example, our new maXTouch® products) and implementation of new manufacturing technologies; our ability to ramp new products into volume production; our reliance on non-binding customer forecasts and the absence of long-term supply contracts with most of our customers; financial stability in foreign markets and the impact or volatility of foreign exchange rates and significant devaluation beginning at the end of 2014 of the Euro against the U.S. dollar; unanticipated changes in environmental, health and safety regulations; our dependence on selling through independent distributors; the complexity of our revenue recognition policies; information technology system failures; business interruptions, natural disasters or terrorist acts; unanticipated costs and expenses or the inability to identify expenses which can be eliminated; the market price or increased volatility of our common stock; disruptions in the availability of raw materials; compliance with U.S. and international laws and regulations by us and our distributors; our dependence on key personnel; our ability to protect our intellectual property rights; litigation (including intellectual property litigation in which we may be involved or in which our customers may be involved, especially in the mobile device sector), and the possible unfavorable results of legal proceedings; and other risks detailed from time to time in Atmel's SEC reports and filings, including our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014, filed on February 26, 2015. Atmel assumes no obligation and does not intend to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Contact:   
Peter Schuman
Senior Director, Investor Relations
(408) 437-2026