UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES
AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington,
D.C. 20549
FORM
20-F
(Mark
One)
|
o
|
REGISTRATION
STATEMENT PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OR (g) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT
OF 1934
|
OR
|
x |
ANNUAL
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
|
|
For
the fiscal year ended December 31,
2008
|
OR
|
o |
TRANSITION
REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF
1934
|
|
For
the transition period from ________________ to
________________
|
OR
|
o
|
SHELL
COMPANY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ACT OF 1934
|
|
Date
of event requiring this shell company report
________________
|
Commission
file number: 000-51847
HIMAX TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
(Exact
name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
Not
Applicable
(Translation
of Registrant’s name into English)
CAYMAN
ISLANDS
(Jurisdiction
of incorporation or organization)
NO. 26, ZIH LIAN ROAD, TREE VALLEY PARK
SINSHIH TOWNSHIP, TAINAN COUNTY 74148
TAIWAN, REPUBLIC OF
CHINA
(Address
of principal executive offices)
Max Chan
Chief Financial
Officer
Telephone:
+886-2-2370-3999
E-mail:
max_chan@himax.com.tw
Facsimile:
+886-2-2314-0877
10F, No. 1, Xiangyang Road
Taipei 10046
Taiwan, Republic of China
(Name,
Telephone, E-mail and/or Facsimile number and Address of Company Contact
Person)
Securities
registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the
Act:
Title
of each class
|
Name
of each exchange on which registered
|
|
|
Ordinary
Shares, par value $0.0001 per ordinary share
|
The
Nasdaq Global Select Market Inc.*
|
|
|
*
|
Not
for trading, but only in connection with the listing on the Nasdaq Global
Select Market, Inc. of American Depositary Shares representing such
Ordinary Shares
|
Securities
registered or to be registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the
Act: None
Securities
for which there is a reporting obligation pursuant to Section 15(d) of the
Act: None
Indicate
the number of outstanding shares of each of the issuer’s classes of capital or
common stock as of the close of the period covered by the annual report.
190,119,594 Ordinary Shares.
Indicate
by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in
Rule 405 of the Securities Act. o Yes x No
If this
report is an annual or transition report, indicate by check mark if the
registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. o
Yes x No
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be
filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the
preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required
to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for
the past 90 days. x Yes o No
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of
“accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange
Act. (Check one):
Large
accelerated filer o |
Accelerated
filer x |
Non-accelerated
filer o
|
Indicate
by check mark which basis of accounting the registrant has used to prepare the
financial statements included in this filing:
U.S. GAAP
x International
Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting
Standards Board o
Other o
If
“Other” has been checked in response to the previous question, indicate by check
mark which financial statement item the registrant has elected to
follow. o Item
17 o Item
18
If this
is an annual report, indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell
company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). o Yes x No
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This
annual report on Form 20-F contains “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.
Although these forward-looking statements, which may include statements
regarding our future results of operations, financial condition, or business
prospects, are based on our own information and information from other sources
we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this annual
report. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,”
“estimate” and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to
identify a number of these forward-looking statements. Our actual results of
operations, financial condition or business prospects may differ materially from
those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of
reasons, including, among other things and not limited to, our anticipated
growth strategies, our future business developments, results of operations and
financial condition, our ability to develop new products, the expected growth of
the display driver markets, the expected growth of end-use applications that use
flat panel displays, particularly TFT-LCD panels, development of alternative
flat panel display technologies, our ability to collect accounts receivable and
manage inventory, changes in economic and financial market conditions, and other
factors. For a discussion of these risks and other factors, please see “Item
3.D. Key Information—Risk Factors.”
Unless
otherwise indicated, all translations from U.S. dollars to NT dollars in this
annual report were made at a rate of $1.00 to NT$32.76, the noon buying rate in
The City of New York for cable transfers in NT dollars per U.S. dollar as
certified for customs purposes by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on
December 31, 2008. No representation is made that the NT dollar amounts referred
to herein could have been or could be converted into U.S. dollars at any
particular rate or at all. On May 8, 2009, the noon buying rate was $1.00 to
NT$33.01. Any discrepancies in any table between totals and sums of the amounts
listed are due to rounding.
Unless
otherwise indicated, in this annual report,
|
·
|
the
terms “we,” “us,” “our company,” “our,” and “Himax” refer to Himax
Technologies, Inc., its predecessor entities and
subsidiaries;
|
|
·
|
the
term “Himax Taiwan” refers to Himax Technologies Limited, our wholly owned
subsidiary in Taiwan and our
predecessor;
|
|
·
|
“shares”
or “ordinary shares” refers to our ordinary shares, par value $0.0001 per
share;
|
|
·
|
“RSUs”
refers to restricted share units;
|
|
·
|
“ADSs”
refers to our American depositary shares, each of which represents one
ordinary share;
|
|
·
|
“ADRs”
refers to the American depositary receipts that evidence our
ADSs;
|
|
·
|
“ROC”
or “Taiwan” refers to the island of Taiwan and other areas under the
effective control of the Republic of
China;
|
|
·
|
“PRC”
or “China” for purposes of this annual report refers to the People’s
Republic of China, excluding Taiwan and the special administrative regions
of Hong Kong and Macau;
|
|
·
|
“AMOLED”
refers to active matrix organic light-emitting
diode;
|
|
·
|
“CMOS”
refers to complementary metal oxide
semiconductor;
|
|
·
|
“IC”
refers to integrated circuit;
|
|
·
|
“LCOS”
refers to liquid crystal on
silicon;
|
|
·
|
“LTPS”
refers to low temperature poly
silicon;
|
|
·
|
“OLED”
refers to organic light-emitting
diode;
|
|
·
|
“TFT-LCD”
refers to amorphous silicon thin film transistor liquid crystal display,
or “a-Si TFT-LCD;”
|
|
·
|
“processed
tape” refers to polyimide tape plated with copper foil that has a circuit
formed within it, which is used in tape-automated bonding
packaging;
|
|
·
|
“semiconductor
manufacturing service providers” refers to third-party wafer fabrication
foundries, gold bumping houses and assembly and testing
houses;
|
|
·
|
“large-sized
panels” refers to panels that are typically above ten inches in diagonal
measurement;
|
|
·
|
“small-
and medium-sized panels” refers to panels that are typically around ten
inches or less in diagonal
measurement;
|
|
·
|
all
references to “New Taiwan dollars,” “NT dollars” and “NT$” are to the
legal currency of the ROC; and
|
|
·
|
all
references to “dollars,” “U.S. dollars” and “$” are to the legal currency
of the United States.
|
Not
applicable.
Not
applicable.
The
selected consolidated statement of income data and selected consolidated cash
flow data for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008 and the selected
consolidated balance sheet data as of December 31, 2007 and 2008 are derived
from our audited consolidated financial statements included herein, which were
prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. The selected consolidated statement of
income data and selected consolidated cash flow data for the years ended
December 31, 2004 and 2005 and the selected consolidated balance sheet data as
of December 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006 are derived from our audited consolidated
financial statements that have not been included herein and were prepared in
accordance with U.S. GAAP. Our consolidated financial statements include the
accounts of Himax Technologies, Inc. and its subsidiaries as if we had been in
existence for all years presented. As a result of our reorganization, 100% of
our outstanding ordinary shares immediately prior to our initial public offering
were owned by former shareholders of Himax Taiwan. See “Item 4.A. Information on
the Company—History and Development of the Company.” In presenting our
consolidated financial statements, the assets and liabilities, revenues and
expenses of Himax Taiwan and its subsidiaries are included in our consolidated
financial statements at their historical amounts for all periods presented. Our
historical results do not necessarily indicate results expected for any future
periods. The selected financial data set forth below should be read in
conjunction with “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects” and the
consolidated financial statements and the notes to those statements included
herein.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands, except per share data)
|
|
Consolidated
Statement of Income Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
from third parties, net
|
|
$ |
109,514 |
|
|
$ |
217,420 |
|
|
$ |
329,886 |
|
|
$ |
371,267 |
|
|
$ |
312,336 |
|
Revenues
from related parties, net
|
|
|
190,759 |
|
|
|
322,784 |
|
|
|
414,632 |
|
|
|
546,944 |
|
|
|
520,463 |
|
Costs
and expenses(1):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenues
|
|
|
235,973 |
|
|
|
419,380 |
|
|
|
601,565 |
|
|
|
716,163 |
|
|
|
628,693 |
|
Research
and development
|
|
|
24,021 |
|
|
|
41,278 |
|
|
|
60,655 |
|
|
|
73,906 |
|
|
|
87,574 |
|
General
and administrative
|
|
|
4,654 |
|
|
|
6,784 |
|
|
|
9,762 |
|
|
|
14,903 |
|
|
|
19,353 |
|
Bad
debt expense
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
187 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
25,305 |
|
Sales
and marketing
|
|
|
2,742 |
|
|
|
4,762 |
|
|
|
6,783 |
|
|
|
9,334 |
|
|
|
11,692 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
income
|
|
$ |
32,883 |
|
|
$ |
68,000 |
|
|
$ |
65,566 |
|
|
$ |
103,905 |
|
|
$ |
60,182 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income(2)
|
|
$ |
36,000 |
|
|
$ |
61,558 |
|
|
$ |
75,190 |
|
|
$ |
112,596 |
|
|
$ |
76,381 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Earnings
per ordinary share(2)
and per ADS:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
|
$ |
0.21 |
|
|
$ |
0.35 |
|
|
$ |
0.39 |
|
|
$ |
0.57 |
|
|
$ |
0.40 |
|
Diluted
|
|
$ |
0.21 |
|
|
$ |
0.34 |
|
|
$ |
0.39 |
|
|
$ |
0.57 |
|
|
$ |
0.40 |
|
Weighted-average
number of shares used in earnings per share computation:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
|
|
|
169,320 |
|
|
|
176,105 |
|
|
|
192,475 |
|
|
|
196,862 |
|
|
|
191,615 |
|
Diluted
|
|
|
173,298 |
|
|
|
180,659 |
|
|
|
195,090 |
|
|
|
197,522 |
|
|
|
191,877 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
dividends declared per ordinary share(3)
|
|
$ |
0.00 |
|
|
$ |
0.08 |
|
|
$ |
0.00 |
|
|
$ |
0.20 |
|
|
$ |
0.35 |
|
Note: |
(1)
|
The
amount of share-based compensation included in applicable costs and
expenses categories is summarized as
follows:
|
|
|
|
Year
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2004
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenues
|
|
$ |
291 |
|
|
$ |
188 |
|
|
$ |
275 |
|
|
$ |
422 |
|
|
$ |
435 |
|
Research
and development
|
|
|
4,288 |
|
|
|
6,336 |
|
|
|
11,806 |
|
|
|
15,393 |
|
|
|
15,861 |
|
General
and administrative
|
|
|
721 |
|
|
|
848 |
|
|
|
1,444 |
|
|
|
2,182 |
|
|
|
2,813 |
|
Sales
and marketing
|
|
|
537 |
|
|
|
1,241 |
|
|
|
1,625 |
|
|
|
2,324 |
|
|
|
2,691 |
|
Total
|
|
$ |
5,837 |
|
|
$ |
8,613 |
|
|
$ |
15,150 |
|
|
$ |
20,321 |
|
|
$ |
21,800 |
|
Of the
$20.3 million and $21.8 million in share-based compensation in 2007 and 2008,
$14.4 million and $12.7 million were settled in cash,
respectively.
|
(2)
|
Under
the ROC Statute for Upgrading Industries, we are exempt from income taxes
for income attributable to expanded production capacity or newly developed
technologies. Based on the ROC statutory income tax rate of 25%, the
effect of such tax exemption on net income and basic and diluted earnings
per share had been an increase of $16.7 million, $0.09 and $0.09,
respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2006, $27.1 million, $0.14
and $0.14, respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2007, and $25.2
million, $0.13 and $0.13, respectively, for the year ended December 31,
2008. A portion of these tax exemptions expired or will expire on March
31, 2009, December 31, 2010, December 31, 2012 and December 31,
2013.
|
|
(3)
|
In
November 2005, we distributed a special cash dividend of approximately
$0.075 per share in respect of our performance prior to our initial public
offering. This special cash dividend should not be considered
representative of the dividends that would be paid in any future periods
or our dividend policy. See “Item 8.A.8. Financial Information—Dividends
and Dividend Policy” for a description of dividends declared in 2007 and
2008.
|
|
|
As
of December 31,
|
|
|
|
2004
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Consolidated
Balance Sheet Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents(1)
|
|
$ |
5,577 |
|
|
$ |
7,086 |
|
|
$ |
109,753 |
|
|
$ |
94,780 |
|
|
$ |
135,200 |
|
Accounts
receivable, net
|
|
|
27,016 |
|
|
|
80,259 |
|
|
|
112,767 |
|
|
|
88,682 |
|
|
|
51,029 |
|
Accounts
receivable from related parties, net
|
|
|
39,129 |
|
|
|
69,587 |
|
|
|
116,850 |
|
|
|
194,902 |
|
|
|
104,477 |
|
Inventories
|
|
|
54,092 |
|
|
|
105,004 |
|
|
|
101,341 |
|
|
|
116,550 |
|
|
|
96,921 |
|
Total
current assets
|
|
|
144,414 |
|
|
|
300,056 |
|
|
|
466,715 |
|
|
|
538,272 |
|
|
|
434,650 |
|
Total
assets
|
|
|
157,770 |
|
|
|
327,239 |
|
|
|
518,794 |
|
|
|
652,762 |
|
|
|
565,548 |
|
Accounts
payable
|
|
|
38,649 |
|
|
|
105,801 |
|
|
|
120,407 |
|
|
|
147,221 |
|
|
|
53,720 |
|
Total
current liabilities(2)
|
|
|
52,157 |
|
|
|
160,784 |
|
|
|
153,279 |
|
|
|
185,048 |
|
|
|
91,630 |
|
Total
liabilities
|
|
|
52,246 |
|
|
|
160,784 |
|
|
|
153,471 |
|
|
|
190,364 |
|
|
|
95,542 |
|
Ordinary
shares
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
18 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
Total
stockholders’ equity(1)
|
|
|
104,860 |
|
|
|
165,831 |
|
|
|
363,927 |
|
|
|
451,309 |
|
|
|
463,171 |
|
Note:
|
(1)
|
Cash
and cash equivalents as of December 31, 2006 increased significantly as
compared to December 31, 2005. This increase was due primarily to net
proceeds of $147.4 million received from our initial public offering in
April 2006, which also caused the increase in our stockholders’ equity by
the same amount.
|
|
(2)
|
Total
current liabilities as of December 31, 2007 were previously stated at
$185,599 thousand and has been revised due to the reclassification of $551
thousand as non-current income tax
payable.
|
|
|
Year
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2004
|
|
|
2005
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Consolidated
Cash Flow Data:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
cash provided by (used in) operating activities
|
|
$ |
(8,688 |
) |
|
$ |
12,464 |
|
|
$ |
29,696 |
|
|
$ |
77,162 |
|
|
$ |
136,500 |
|
Net
cash provided by (used in) investing activities
|
|
|
11,001 |
|
|
|
(25,363 |
) |
|
|
(8,927 |
) |
|
|
(25,019 |
) |
|
|
(21,764 |
) |
Net
cash provided by (used in) financing activities
|
|
|
735 |
|
|
|
14,404 |
|
|
|
81,886 |
|
|
|
(67,241 |
) |
|
|
(74,350 |
) |
Exchange
Rate Information
The
following table sets forth the average, high, low and period-end noon buying
rates between NT dollars and U.S. dollars for the periods
indicated:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(NT
dollars per U.S. dollar)
|
|
Period
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2004
|
|
|
33.37 |
|
|
|
34.16 |
|
|
|
31.74 |
|
|
|
31.74 |
|
2005
|
|
|
32.13 |
|
|
|
33.77 |
|
|
|
30.65 |
|
|
|
32.80 |
|
2006
|
|
|
32.51 |
|
|
|
33.31 |
|
|
|
31.28 |
|
|
|
32.59 |
|
2007
|
|
|
32.85 |
|
|
|
33.41 |
|
|
|
32.26 |
|
|
|
32.43 |
|
2008
|
|
|
31.52 |
|
|
|
33.55 |
|
|
|
29.99 |
|
|
|
32.76 |
|
First
quarter
|
|
|
31.51 |
|
|
|
32.49 |
|
|
|
29.99 |
|
|
|
30.37 |
|
Second
quarter
|
|
|
30.44 |
|
|
|
30.99 |
|
|
|
30.15 |
|
|
|
30.36 |
|
Third
quarter
|
|
|
31.20 |
|
|
|
32.23 |
|
|
|
30.32 |
|
|
|
32.23 |
|
Fourth
quarter
|
|
|
32.96 |
|
|
|
33.55 |
|
|
|
32.14 |
|
|
|
32.76 |
|
October
|
|
|
32.70 |
|
|
|
33.50 |
|
|
|
32.14 |
|
|
|
32.97 |
|
November
|
|
|
33.10 |
|
|
|
33.42 |
|
|
|
32.77 |
|
|
|
33.29 |
|
December
|
|
|
33.11 |
|
|
|
33.55 |
|
|
|
32.45 |
|
|
|
32.76 |
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First
quarter
|
|
|
33.98 |
|
|
|
35.21 |
|
|
|
32.82 |
|
|
|
33.87 |
|
January
|
|
|
33.37 |
|
|
|
33.70 |
|
|
|
32.82 |
|
|
|
33.70 |
|
February
|
|
|
34.24 |
|
|
|
35.00 |
|
|
|
33.61 |
|
|
|
35.00 |
|
March
|
|
|
34.30 |
|
|
|
35.21 |
|
|
|
33.75 |
|
|
|
33.87 |
|
April
|
|
|
33.64 |
|
|
|
33.88 |
|
|
|
33.05 |
|
|
|
33.06 |
|
May
(through May 8)
|
|
|
33.07 |
|
|
|
33.14 |
|
|
|
32.99 |
|
|
|
33.01 |
|
Source:
Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Note: |
(1)
|
Determined
by averaging the rates on each business
day.
|
Not
applicable.
Not
applicable.
Risks
Relating to Our Financial Condition and Business
The
recent global economic downturn and financial crisis could negatively affect our
business, results of operations and financial condition.
The
recent global economic downturn and financial crisis that have been affecting
global business, banking and financial sectors have also been affecting the
semiconductor market. Our customers have reduced or delayed purchases of our
products and may continue to alter their purchasing activities in response to
economic uncertainty, weak consumer spending, concern about the stability of
markets and lack of credit, among other factors. In addition, there could be a
number of knock-on effects from such turmoil on our business, including
insolvency of key suppliers resulting in product delays, inability of customers
to obtain credit to finance purchases of our products or customer insolvencies,
and other counterparty failures. Current uncertainty in global economic
conditions also poses a risk to the overall economy that could impact our
ability to manage commercial relationships with our customers and suppliers. Our
revenues are susceptible to unexpected changes in global market conditions. If
the severe global economic conditions continue or worsen, our results of
operations and financial condition may be materially and adversely
affected.
We do not expect
to sustain our growth rates in revenues or net income, so you should not rely on
the results of recent years as
an indication of future revenues or net income growth.
Our
revenues and net income, until recently, had grown significantly since our
inception in 2001. In 2007, our annual revenues increased by 23.3% to $918.2
million and our annual net income increased by 49.7% to $112.6 million. However,
as a result of the recent global financial crisis and adverse economic
conditions, TFT-LCD panel manufacturers have experienced weak product demand and
severe pricing pressure starting from the middle of 2008. Our customers began to
reduce capacity utilization and enhance inventory control and as a result we
experienced downward pricing pressure on our products as well as a decrease in
product demand. Consequently, in the second half of 2008, especially in the
fourth quarter, we experienced a severe decline in revenues and net income, both
over the same period in 2007 and over the preceding quarter. Our annual revenues
and net income in 2008 decreased by 9.3% to $832.8 million and 32.2% to $76.4
million, respectively. Our future growth is dependent in large part on factors
beyond our control, such as the worldwide economic condition and the recovery of
the TFT-LCD industry. We do not expect our future revenues and net income to
grow at similar rates as they have in the past. Accordingly, you should not rely
on the results of any prior quarterly or annual periods as indicative of our
future revenues or net income growth or financial results.
We
derive substantially all of our net revenues from sales to the TFT-LCD panel
industry, which is highly cyclical and subject to price fluctuations. Such
cyclicality and price fluctuations could negatively impact our business or
results of operations.
In 2007
and 2008, 97.4% and 94.9% of our revenues, respectively, were attributable to
display drivers that were incorporated into TFT-LCD panels. We expect to
continue to substantially depend on sales to the TFT-LCD panel industry for the
foreseeable future. The TFT-LCD panel industry is intensely competitive and is
vulnerable to cyclical market conditions. The average selling prices of TFT-LCD
panels generally decline with time as a result of, among other factors, capacity
ramp-up, technological advancements and cost reduction. The average selling
prices of TFT-LCD panels could further decline for numerous reasons, including
but not limited to the following:
|
·
|
lower-than-expected
demand for end-use products that incorporate TFT-LCD
panels;
|
|
·
|
a
surge in manufacturing capacity due to the ramping up of new fabrication
facilities and/or improvements in production yields;
and
|
|
·
|
manufacturers
operating at high levels of capacity utilization in order to reduce fixed
costs per panel.
|
In 2008,
the average selling prices of TFT-LCD panels experienced significant
fluctuations. In the first half of the year, demand for TFT-LCD panels was
strong, which led to an increase in the average selling prices of TFT-LCD panels
and an increase in production of TFT-LCD panels. However, as a result of the
severe economic
downturn
and the weakening of consumer spending, there was an over-supply of TFT-LCD
panels beginning in the third quarter of 2008, which drove down the average
selling prices of TFT-LCD panels. Many TFT-LCD panel manufacturers therefore
reduced capacity utilization and enhanced inventory control, which in turn
resulted in weakening product demand and downward pricing pressure on our
products. We cannot assure you that in such periods in which we experience
significant downward pricing pressure, we could sufficiently reduce costs to
completely offset the loss of revenues. In addition, a severe and prolonged
industry downturn could also result in higher risks in relation to the
collectibility of our accounts receivable, the marketability and valuation of
our inventories, the impairment of our tangible and intangible assets, and the
stability of our supply chain. As a result, the cyclicality of the TFT-LCD panel
industry could adversely affect our revenues, cost of revenues and results of
operations.
We
depend on a few key customers for a substantial majority of our revenues and the
loss of, or a significant reduction in orders from, any of them would
significantly reduce our revenues and adversely impact our operating
results.
Our key
customers include Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., or CMO, Samsung Electronics
Taiwan Co., Ltd., or Samsung, and Shanghai SVA-NEC Liquid Crystal Display Co.
Ltd., or SVA-NEC. In 2008, CMO and its affiliates, Samsung and its affiliates,
and SVA-NEC accounted for approximately 62.5%, 6.5% and 6.3%, respectively, of
our revenues. In particular, as over 50% of our revenues have historically been
generated from CMO, a trend which we expect to continue, our results of
operations and financial condition will continue to be significantly linked to
the success of CMO. Our key customers, including CMO, have been adversely
affected by the impact of the recent global economic downturn. In particular,
our sales to SVA-NEC have decreased significantly since the fourth quarter of
2008 and are expected to decrease significantly in 2009 as compared to prior
years because of its substantial reduction in fab utilization and its weak
financial condition. The loss of any of our key customers or a sharp reduction
in sales to any of them would have a significant negative impact on our business
and results of operations. Moreover, the financial health of our key customers
will continue to materially impact our results of operations and financial
condition. Our sales to these key customers are made pursuant to standard
purchase orders rather than long-term contracts. Therefore, these customers may
cancel or reduce orders more readily than if we had long-term purchase
commitments from them. In the event of a cancellation, postponement, or
reduction of an order, we would likely not be able to reduce operating expenses
sufficiently so as to minimize the impact of the lost revenues. Alternatively,
we may have excess inventory that we cannot sell, which would harm our operating
results. We expect our reliance on sales to CMO and Samsung and their respective
affiliates, among other large customers, to continue in the foreseeable future.
Therefore, our operating results will likely continue to depend on sales to a
relatively small number of customers, as well as on the ability of such
customers to sell products that incorporate our products.
The
concentration of our accounts receivable and the extension of payment terms for
certain of our customers exposes us to increased credit risk and could harm our
operating results and cash flows.
As of
December 31, 2008, we had two customers that represented more than 10% of our
total accounts receivable, namely CMO, together with its affiliates, and
SVA-NEC, which had gross accounts receivable outstanding of $104.6 million and
$27.9 million, respectively. In particular, as of December 31, 2008, CMO,
together with its affiliates, represented approximately 67.2% of our accounts
receivable less allowance for doubtful accounts, sales returns and discounts.
The concentration of our accounts receivable exposes us to increased credit
risk. For example, since around September 2008, SVA-NEC has delayed paying a
large portion of our accounts receivable outstanding from them. Subsequently, in
late February 2009, it was reported that the ultimate parent company of SVA-NEC,
SVA (Group) Co., Ltd., or SVA
Group, was in financial distress, and in late March 2009, the Shanghai
municipal government set up a conservatorship committee to assist in SVA Group’s
restructuring. Two other group companies of SVA Group, SVA Electron Co., Ltd.
and SVA Information Industry Co., Ltd., are indirect shareholders of SVA-NEC and
are listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Since the end of March 2009, the
stocks of these two companies have also suspended trading for extended periods
of time. Although we have collected certain partial payments from SVA-NEC in
2009 to date, we believe it is probable that we will not be able to collect any
of our remaining accounts receivable outstanding from SVA-NEC. In view of this
latest development and our increasing concern about SVA-NEC’s financial
condition, we concluded that our accounts receivable from SVA-NEC was impaired
and we recognized a valuation allowance of $25.3 million for this probable
credit loss as of December 31, 2008. This resulted in a bad debt expense of
$25.3 million, which adversely and materially affected our results of
operations
for the year ended December 31, 2008. Accordingly, we revised our previously
announced year end results for 2008 and our net income for the year ended
December 31, 2008 was revised to $76.4 million, down from $93.5 million as
previously announced, due primarily to the increase in bad debt expense which
was partially offset by an increase in income tax benefit. In addition, we have
at times agreed to extend the payment terms for certain of our third-party and
related party customers. We may also grant requests for the extension of payment
terms in the future. As a result, a default by any such customer, a prolonged
delay in the payment of accounts receivable or the extension of payment terms
for our customers could adversely affect our cash flow, liquidity and our
operating results.
Our
customers may experience a decline in profitability or may not be profitable at
all, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial
condition.
The
TFT-LCD panel industry is highly competitive. TFT-LCD panel manufacturers,
including our customers, experience significant pressure on prices and profit
margins, due largely to growing industry capacity and fluctuations in demand for
TFT-LCD panels. Some TFT-LCD panel manufacturers have greater access to capital
or greater production, research and development, intellectual property,
marketing or other resources than our customers, who may not be able to compete
successfully and sustain their market positions. In addition, our customers’
business performance may fluctuate significantly due to a number of factors,
many of which are beyond their control, including:
|
·
|
consumer
demand and the general economic
conditions;
|
|
·
|
the
cyclical nature of both the TFT-LCD industry, including fluctuations in
average selling prices, and its downstream
industries;
|
|
·
|
the
speed at which TFT-LCD panel manufacturers expand production
capacity;
|
|
·
|
brand
companies’ continued need for original equipment manufacturing services
provided by TFT-LCD panel
manufacturers;
|
|
·
|
access
to raw materials, components, equipment and utilities on a timely and
economical basis;
|
|
·
|
the
rescheduling and cancellation of large
orders;
|
|
·
|
access
to funding on satisfactory terms;
and
|
|
·
|
fluctuations
in the currencies of TFT-LCD panels exporting countries against the U.S.
dollar.
|
Unfavorable
changes in any of the above factors may seriously harm our customers’ business,
financial condition and results of operations. In such cases, our customers may
seek to cut down their cost of components, including our products, since
components generally account for a significant portion of the cost of TFT-LCD
panels. Therefore, changes in our customers’ profitability would likely affect
their demand for our products and our ability to sell our products at desirable
prices. For example, starting from the middle of 2008, our customers generally
experienced significant pressure on or a significant decline in prices and
profit margins and therefore exerted strong downward pricing pressure on us as
their supplier. Our customers may continue to operate in a challenging business
environment in 2009 and may experience a further decline in profitability or may
not be profitable at all. This could adversely affect our profit margin,
significantly reduce our profits and materially affect our results of operations
and financial condition.
We
depend on sales of display drivers used in TFT-LCD panels, and the limited
potential for further growth in the market share of our display drivers or the
absence of continued market acceptance of our display drivers could limit our
growth in revenues or harm our business.
In 2007
and 2008, we derived 97.4% and 94.9% of our revenues from the sale of display
drivers used for large-sized applications, mobile handset applications and
consumer electronics applications, and we expect to continue to derive a
substantial portion of our revenues from these or related products. According to
iSuppli Corporation, we
were the
world’s second largest supplier of display drivers and the world’s largest
supplier of display drivers for large-sized TFT-LCD panel applications in terms
of revenues in 2008. As our display drivers business is mature, there may be
limited potential for us to further grow our share of the display drivers
market, which could limit our future growth in revenues. Failure to grow our
market share for display drivers, coupled with a general decline in the average
selling prices, could adversely and materially affect our results of operations.
See also “—Risks Relating to Our Industry— The average selling prices of our
products could decrease rapidly, which may negatively impact our revenues and
operating results.” We expect to continue to derive a substantial portion of our
revenues from the sale of display drivers. Therefore, the continued market
acceptance of our display drivers is critical to our future success. Failure to
grow or maintain our revenues generated from the sales of display drivers could
adversely and materially affect our results of operations and financial
condition.
Our
strategy of expanding our product offerings to non-driver products may not be
successful.
We have
devoted, and intend to continue to devote, financial and management resources to
the development, manufacturing and marketing of non-driver products, including,
among others, timing controllers, TFT-LCD television and monitor chipsets, LCOS
projector solutions, power management ICs and CMOS imaging sensors. For example,
in January 2008 we announced a strategic alliance with 3M to commercialize LCOS
mobile projectors, of which our LCOS microdisplays are a key component, and in
November 2008 we announced a strategic alliance with Wingtech Group to develop
LCOS mobile projectors for the China market. We believe end products utilizing
LCOS technology could potentially be a large market. LCOS technology, however,
is at a relatively early stage of commercialization and has a relatively
immature supply chain. Furthermore, producing LCOS products at acceptable yields
has proven difficult. Therefore we cannot assure you that there will be market
acceptance of these LCOS products, or that our strategic alliance with 3M or
Wingtech Group will be successful.
Developing
and commercializing each of our non-driver products requires a significant
amount of management, engineering and monetary resources. Numerous uncertainties
exist in developing new products and we cannot assure you that we will be able
to develop our non-driver products successfully. The failure or delay in the
development or commercialization of any of our non-driver products, the
occurrence of any product defects or design flaws, or the low market acceptance
of or demand for either our products or the end devices using our products may
adversely affect our results of operations and growth prospects.
Technological
innovation may reduce the number of display drivers typically required for each
panel, thereby reducing the number of display drivers we are able to sell per
panel. If such a reduction in demand is not offset by the general growth of the
industry, growth in our market share or an increase in our average selling
prices, our revenues may decline.
Except
for certain small-sized panels, multiple display drivers are typically required
for each panel to function. In order to reduce costs, TFT-LCD panel
manufacturers generally seek to have display drivers with higher channel counts
and new panel designs to reduce the number of display drivers required for each
panel. We have been developing such innovative and cost-effective display driver
solutions in order to grow our market share, attract additional customers,
increase our average selling prices and capture new design wins. However, we
cannot assure you that we will successfully achieve these goals. If we fail to
do so and the number of display drivers typically required per panel decreases
thereby reducing our unit shipments, our revenues may decline. Recently, TFT-LCD
panel manufacturers have developed several panel designs to reduce the usage of
display drivers, including gate in panel, or GIP, amorphous silicon gate, or
ASG, or simply gateless designs, which integrate the gate driver function onto
the glass and eliminate the need for gate drivers, as well as dual gate and
triple gate panel designs, which would largely reduce the usage of source
drivers. If such designs or technologies become widely adopted, demand for our
display drivers may decrease significantly, which would adversely and materially
affect our results of operations.
We
face numerous challenges relating to our growth.
The scope
and complexity of our business has grown significantly since our inception. Our
growth has placed, and will continue to place, a strain on our management,
personnel, systems and resources. If we are unable to manage our growth
effectively, we may not be able to take advantage of market opportunities,
execute our business plan or respond to competitive pressures. To successfully
manage our growth, we believe we must effectively:
|
·
|
hire,
train, integrate, retain and manage additional qualified engineers, senior
managers, sales and marketing personnel and information technology
personnel;
|
|
·
|
implement
additional, and improve existing, administrative and operations systems,
procedures and controls;
|
|
·
|
expand
our accounting and internal audit team, including hiring additional
personnel with U.S. GAAP and internal control
expertise;
|
|
·
|
continue
to expand and upgrade our design and product development
capabilities;
|
|
·
|
manage
multiple relationships with semiconductor manufacturing service providers,
customers, suppliers and certain other third parties;
and
|
|
·
|
continue
to develop and commercialize non-driver products, including, among others,
timing controllers, TFT-LCD television and monitor chipsets, LCOS
projector solutions, power management ICs and CMOS image sensors.
|
Moreover,
if our allocation of resources does not correspond with future demand for
particular products, we could miss market opportunities, and our business and
financial results could be materially and adversely affected. Therefore, we
cannot assure you that we will be able to manage our growth effectively in the
future.
Our
quarterly revenues and operating results are difficult to predict, and if we do
not meet quarterly financial expectations, our ADS price will likely
decline.
Our
quarterly revenues and operating results are difficult to predict. They have
fluctuated in the past from quarter to quarter and may continue to do so in the
future. Our operating results may in some quarters fall below market
expectations, likely causing our ADS price to decline. Our quarterly revenues
and operating results may fluctuate because of many factors,
including:
|
·
|
our
ability to accurately forecast shipments, average selling prices, cost of
revenues, operating expenses, non-operating income/loss, foreign currency
exchange rates, and tax rates;
|
|
·
|
our
ability to accurately perform various tests, estimations and projections,
including with respect to the write-down on slow or obsolete inventories,
the impairment of long-lived assets, the collectibility of accounts
receivable, and the realizability of deferred tax
assets;
|
|
·
|
our
ability to successfully design, develop and introduce in a timely manner
new or enhanced products acceptable to our
customers;
|
|
·
|
changes
in the relative mix in the unit shipments of our products, which may have
significantly different average selling prices and cost of revenues as a
percentage of revenues;
|
|
·
|
changes
in share-based compensation;
|
|
·
|
the
loss of one or more of our key
customers;
|
|
·
|
decreases
in the average selling prices of our
products;
|
|
·
|
our
accumulation and write-down of
inventory;
|
|
·
|
the
relative unpredictability in the volume and timing of customer
orders;
|
|
·
|
shortages
of other components used in the manufacture of TFT-LCD
panels;
|
|
·
|
the
risk of cancellation or deferral of customer orders in anticipation of our
new products or product enhancements, or due to a reduction in demand of
our customers’ end product;
|
|
·
|
changes
in our payment terms with our customers and our
suppliers;
|
|
·
|
our
ability to negotiate favorable prices with customers and
suppliers;
|
|
·
|
our
ability to hedge foreign exchange
risks;
|
|
·
|
changes
in the available capacity of semiconductor manufacturing service
providers;
|
|
·
|
the
rate at which new markets emerge for new products under
development;
|
|
·
|
the
evolution of industry standards and
technologies;
|
|
·
|
product
obsolescence and our ability to manage product
transitions;
|
|
·
|
increase
in cost of revenues due to
inflation;
|
|
·
|
our
involvement in litigation or other types of
disputes;
|
|
·
|
changes
in general economic conditions, especially the impact of the global
financial crisis on economic growth and consumer
spending;
|
|
·
|
changes
in our tax exemptions and applicable income tax regulations;
and
|
|
·
|
natural
disasters, particularly earthquakes and typhoons, or outbreaks of disease
affecting countries where we conduct our business or where our products
are manufactured, assembled or
tested.
|
The
factors listed above are difficult to foresee, and along with other factors,
could seriously harm our business. We anticipate the rate of new orders may vary
significantly from quarter to quarter. Our operating expenses and inventory
levels are based on our expectations of future revenues, and our operating
expenses are relatively fixed in the short term. Consequently, if anticipated
sales and shipments in any quarter do not occur as expected, operating expenses
and inventory levels could be disproportionately high, and our operating results
for that quarter and, potentially, future quarters may be negatively impacted.
Any shortfall in our revenues would directly impact our business. Our operating
results are volatile and difficult to predict; therefore, you should not rely on
the operating results of any one quarter as indicative of our future
performance. Our operating results in future quarters may fall below the
expectations of securities analysts and investors. In this event, our ADS price
may decline significantly.
Our
close relationship with CMO could limit our potential to do business with CMO’s
competitors, which may cause us to lose opportunities to grow our business and
expand our customer base.
CMO is
one of our largest shareholders and has been our largest customer since our
inception. We expect to continue to maintain various contractual and other
relationships with CMO and its affiliates. Our close relationship with CMO could
limit our potential to do business with CMO’s competitors or other TFT-LCD panel
manufacturers, who may perceive that granting business to us could benefit CMO.
Our close relationship with CMO may result in lost business opportunities or may
prevent us from taking advantage of opportunities to grow our business and
expand our customer base.
An
adverse change to our relationship with CMO could have a material adverse effect
on our business.
CMO is
one of our largest shareholders, beneficially owning approximately 13.4% of our
outstanding shares as of April 30, 2009, and is also our largest customer,
accounting (together with its affiliates) for approximately 62.5% of our
revenues in 2008. Our engineers work closely with CMO’s engineers to design
display drivers and other semiconductors used by CMO and its affiliates or their
customers. We have entered into various transactions with CMO and its affiliates
in the past, and we expect to continue to do so in the future. See “Item 7.
Major Shareholders and Related Party Transactions.” If our relationship with CMO
deteriorates for any reason, our business could be materially and adversely
affected.
The
strategic relationships between certain of our competitors and their customers
and the development of in-house capabilities by TFT-LCD panel manufacturers may
limit our ability to expand our customer base and our growth
prospects.
Certain
of our competitors have established or may establish strategic or strong
relationships with TFT-LCD panel manufacturers that are also our existing or
potential customers. Marketing our display drivers to such TFT-LCD panel
manufacturers that have established relationships with our competitors may be
difficult. Moreover, several TFT-LCD panel manufacturers have in-house design
capabilities and therefore may not need to source semiconductor products from
us. If our customers successfully develop in-house capabilities to design and
develop semiconductors that can substitute our products, they would likely
reduce or stop purchasing our products. In addition, we also face challenges in
attracting new customers for our new products. To sell new products, we will
likely need to target new market segments and new customers with whom we do not
have current relationships, which may require different strategies and may
present difficulties that we have not encountered before. Therefore, failure to
broaden our customer base and attract new customers may limit our growth
prospects.
We
depend primarily on nine foundries to manufacture our wafers, and any failure to
obtain sufficient foundry capacity or loss of any of the foundries we use could
significantly delay our ability to ship our products, causing us to lose
revenues and damage our customer relationships.
Access to
foundry capacity is crucial to our business because we do not manufacture our
own wafers, instead relying primarily on nine third-party foundries. The ability of a foundry
to manufacture our semiconductor products is limited by its available capacity.
Access to capacity is especially important due to the limited availability of
the high-voltage CMOS process technology required for the manufacture of wafers
used in display drivers. We have entered into long-term supply arrangements with
only one of the third-party foundries which would guarantee us access to a
certain level of foundry capacity. As a result, if the primary third-party
foundries that we rely upon were not able to meet our required capacity, or if
our business relationships with these foundries were adversely affected, we
would not be able to obtain the required capacity from these foundries and would
have to seek alternative foundries, which may not be available on commercially
reasonable terms, or at all, or which may expose us to risks associated with
qualifying new foundries, as further discussed below. Our results of operations
and business prospects could be adversely affected as a result of the
foregoing.
We place
wafer orders on the basis of our customers’ purchase orders and sales forecasts;
however, any of the foundries we use can allocate capacity to other foundry
customers and reduce deliveries to us on short notice. It could be that other
foundry customers are larger and better financed than we are, or have supply
agreements or better relationships with the foundries we use, and could induce
these foundries to reallocate our capacity to them. The loss of any of the
foundries we use or any shortfall in available foundry capacity could impair our
ability to secure our inputs, which could significantly delay our ability to
ship our products, causing a loss of revenues and damages in our customer
relationships.
The
recent fluctuations in the prices of certain metals, chemicals and gasoline and
the recent volatility of foreign exchange rates may have increased costs for
foundries and semiconductor service providers. This increase in costs could
limit their ability to continue to make the research and development investments
needed to keep up with technological advances. Any increase in costs for
foundries and semiconductor service providers we use could lead to an increase
in our cost of revenues and could limit our ability to lower our costs of
revenues. We cannot assure you that we will be able to continue to reduce our
costs and maintain our profit margins.
Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, and Vanguard International
Semiconductor Corporation, or Vanguard, have historically manufactured
substantially all of our wafers. In order to diversify our foundry sources, we
have begun to use Macronix International Co., Ltd., or Macronix, Lite-on
Semiconductor Corp., or Lite-on, Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd., or
Chartered, United Microelectronics Corporation, or UMC, Maxchip Electronics
Corp., or Maxchip (which was spun off from Powerchip Semiconductor Corp. on
April 1, 2008), Silicon Manufacturing Partners Pte Ltd., or Silicon, and
Shanghai Hua Hon NEC Electronics Company, Ltd., or HHNEC, to manufacture a
portion of our products. As a result of outsourcing the manufacturing of our
wafers, we face several significant risks, including:
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failure
to secure necessary manufacturing capacity, or being able to obtain
required capacity only at higher
costs;
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risks
of our proprietary information leaking to our competitors through the
foundries we use;
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limited
control over delivery schedules, quality assurance and control,
manufacturing yields and production
costs;
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the
unavailability of, or potential delays in obtaining access to, key process
technologies; and
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financial
risks of certain of our foundry suppliers, including those that are owned
by ailing dynamic random access memory, or DRAM,
companies.
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In
addition, in order to manufacture our display drivers used in TFT-LCD panels, we
require foundries with high-voltage manufacturing process capacity. Of the
limited number of foundries that offer this capability, some are owned by
integrated device manufacturers which are also our competitors. As a result, our
dependence on high-voltage foundries presents the following additional
risks:
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potential
capacity constraints faced by the limited number of high-voltage foundries
and the lack of investment in new and existing high-voltage
foundries;
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difficulty
in attaining consistently high manufacturing yields from high-voltage
foundries;
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delay
and time required (approximately one year) to qualify and ramp up
production at new high voltage foundries;
and
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As a
result of these risks, we may be required to use foundries with which we have no
established relationships, which could expose us to potentially unfavorable
pricing, unsatisfactory quality or insufficient capacity allocation. Moreover,
the scarcity and importance of high-voltage foundry capacity could necessitate
us making investments in foundries in order to secure capacity, which would
require us to substantially increase our capital outlays and possibly raise
additional capital, which may not be available to us on satisfactory terms, if
at all.
Shortages
of processed tape used in the manufacturing of our products, increased costs of
manufacturing such tape, or the loss of one of our suppliers of such tape may
increase our costs or limit our revenues and impair our ability to ship our
products on time.
There are
a limited number of companies which supply the processed tape used to
manufacture our semiconductor products, and we do not have binding long-term
supply arrangements with processed tape suppliers that would guarantee us access
to processed tape. Therefore, from time to time, shortages of such processed
tape may occur. If any of the processed tape suppliers we rely upon experience
difficulties in delivering processed tape or are unable to meet the prices,
quality or services that we require, or if our business relationships with these
suppliers weaken or deteriorate, we may not be able to locate alternative
sources in a timely manner. Therefore, if shortages of processed tape were to
occur, or if the costs of manufacturing such tape increases, we would incur
additional costs or be unable to ship our products to our customers in a timely
fashion, all of which could harm our business and our customer relationships and
negatively impact our earnings. As a result of these risks, we may also be
required to use processed tape suppliers with which we have no established
relationships, which could expose us to potentially unfavorable pricing,
unsatisfactory quality or insufficient capacity allocation. Moreover, the
scarcity and importance of processed tape could necessitate us making
investments in processed tape suppliers in order to secure adequate supply,
which would require us to substantially increase our capital outlays and
possibly raise additional capital, which may not be available to us on
satisfactory terms, if at all.
The
loss of, or our inability to secure sufficient capacity from, any of our
third-party assembly and testing houses at reasonable and competitive prices
could disrupt our shipments, harm our customer relationships and reduce our
sales.
Access to
third-party assembly and testing capacity is critical to our business because we
do not have in-house assembly and testing capabilities and instead rely on
third-party service providers. Access to these services is especially important
to our business because display drivers require specialized assembly and testing
services. A limited number of third-party assembly and testing houses assemble
and test substantially all of our current
products.
We do not have binding long-term supply arrangements with assembly and testing
service providers that guarantee us access to our required capacity. If the
primary assembly and testing service providers that we rely upon are not able to
meet our requirements in price, quality, and service, or if our business
relationships with these service providers were adversely affected, we would not
be able to obtain the required capacity from such providers and would have to
seek alternative providers, which may not be available on commercially
reasonable terms, or at all. As a result, we do not directly control our product
delivery schedules, assembly and testing costs and quality assurance and
control. If any of these third-party assembly and testing houses experiences
capacity constraints, financial difficulties, suffers any damage to its
facilities or if there is any disruption of its assembly and testing capacity,
we may not be able to obtain alternative assembly and testing services in a
timely manner. Because of the amount of time we usually take to qualify assembly
and testing houses, we may experience significant delays in product shipments if
we are required to find alternative sources. Any problems that we may encounter
with the delivery, quality or cost of our products could damage our reputation
and result in a loss of customers and orders.
As a
result of these risks, we may be required to use assembly and testing service
providers with which we have no established relationships, which could expose us
to potentially unfavorable pricing, unsatisfactory quality or insufficient
capacity allocation. Moreover, the scarcity and importance of assembly and
testing services could necessitate us making investments in assembly and testing
service providers in order to secure capacity, which would require us to
substantially increase our capital outlays and possibly raise additional
capital, which may not be available to us on satisfactory terms, if at
all.
Shortages
of other key components for our customers’ products could decrease demand for
our products.
Shortages
of components and other materials that are critical to the design and
manufacture of our customers’ products may limit our sales. These components
include, but are not limited to, color filters, backlight modules, polarizers,
printed circuit boards and glass substrates. In the past, companies that use our
products in their production have experienced delays in the availability of key
components from other suppliers. For example, some TFT-LCD panel manufacturers
experienced a shortage of glass substrates in 2001, 2003 and 2004, as well as
color filters in 2003, 2004 and 2007. In addition, as the visibility of demand
is likely to be poor in 2009 due to the economic downturn, our customers may
hesitate to build inventory on hand and tend to release orders on short notice.
Some component manufacturers have shut down certain of their capacity because of
the weak demand, which may increase the instability of timely delivery and the
risk of shortage of components. Such shortages of components and other materials
critical to the design and manufacture of our customers’ products may cause a
slowdown in demand for our products, resulting in a decrease in our sales and
adversely affecting our results of operations.
We
rely on the services of our key personnel, and if we are unable to retain our
current key personnel and hire additional personnel, our ability to design,
develop and successfully market our products could be harmed.
We rely
upon the continued service and performance of a relatively small number of key
personnel, including certain engineering, technical and senior management
personnel. In particular, our engineers and other key technical personnel are
critical to our future technological and product innovations. Competition for
highly skilled engineers and other key technical personnel is intense in the
semiconductor industry in general and in Taiwan’s flat panel semiconductor
industry in particular. Moreover, our future success depends on the expansion of
our senior management team and the retention of key employees such as Jordan Wu,
our president and chief executive officer; Dr. Biing-Seng Wu, our chairman;
Chih-Chung Tsai, our chief technology officer; and Max Chan, our chief financial
officer. We rely on these individuals to manage our company, develop and execute
our business strategies and manage our relationships with key suppliers and
customers. Any of these employees could leave our company with little or no
prior notice and would be free to work with a competitor. We do not have “key
person” life insurance policies covering any of our employees. The loss of any
of our key personnel or our inability to attract or retain qualified personnel,
whether engineers and others, could delay the development and introduction of
new products and would have an adverse effect on our ability to sell our
products as well as on our overall business and growth prospects. We may also
incur increased operating expenses and be required to divert the attention of
other senior executives away from their original duties to recruiting
replacements for key personnel.
If
we fail to forecast customer demand accurately, we may have excess or
insufficient inventory, which may increase our operating costs and harm our
business.
The lead
time required by the semiconductor manufacturing service providers that we use
to manufacture our products is typically longer than the lead time that our
customers provide for delivery of our products to them. Therefore, to ensure
availability of our products for our customers, we will typically ask our
semiconductor manufacturing service providers to start manufacturing our
products based on forecasts provided by our customers in advance of receiving
their purchase orders. However, these forecasts are not binding purchase
commitments, and we do not recognize revenues from these products until they are
shipped to customers. Moreover, for the convenience of our customers, we may
agree to ship our inventory to warehouses located near our customers, so that
our products can be delivered to these customers more quickly. We may from time
to time agree that title and risk of loss do not pass to our customer until the
customer requests delivery of our products from such warehouses. In such cases,
we will not recognize revenues from these products until the title and risk of
loss have passed to our customers based on the shipping terms, which is
generally when they are delivered to our customers from these warehouses. As a
result, we incur inventory and manufacturing costs in advance of anticipated
revenues.
The
anticipated demand for our products may not materialize; therefore,
manufacturing based on customer forecasts exposes us to risks of high inventory
carrying costs, increased product obsolescence, and erosion of the products’
market value. For example, starting from the middle of 2008, due to the
weakening consumer demand and strong pricing pressure, our customers began to
reduce capacity utilization and enhance inventory control. Our customer orders
had declined significantly toward the end of 2008 and demand for our products
remained weak in the beginning of 2009. Starting from February 2009, we saw some
improvement in demand for TFT-LCD panels and an increase in inventory
replenishment among TFT-LCD panel manufacturers’ customers,
which resulted in an increase in rush orders to TFT-LCD panel manufacturers and
to semiconductor companies, including us. However, some of our customers might
overstate their forecasts because of concerns that their semiconductor suppliers
cannot deliver on their rush orders. If we overestimate demand for our display
drivers or if purchase orders are cancelled or shipments delayed, we may incur
excess inventory that we cannot sell, or may have to sell at low profit margins
or even at a loss, which would harm our financial results. Conversely, if we
underestimate demand, we may not have sufficient inventory and may lose market
share and damage customer relationships, which also could harm our business.
Obtaining additional supply in the face of product shortages may be costly or
impossible, particularly in the short term, which could prevent us from
fulfilling orders. These inventory risks are exacerbated by the high level of
customization of our products, which limits our ability to sell excess inventory
to other customers.
If
we do not achieve additional design wins in the future, our ability to grow will
be limited.
Our
future success depends on our current and prospective customers designing our
products into their products. To achieve design wins, we must design and deliver
cost-effective, innovative and integrated products that are customized for our
customers’ needs. Once a supplier’s products have been designed into a system,
the panel manufacturer may be reluctant to change its source of components due
to the significant costs and time associated with qualifying a new supplier.
Accordingly, our failure to obtain additional design wins with panel
manufacturers and to successfully design, develop and introduce new products and
product enhancements could harm our business, financial condition and results of
operations.
A design
win is not a binding commitment by a customer to purchase our products and may
not result in large volume orders of our products. Rather, it is a decision by a
customer to use our products in the design process of that customer’s products.
Customers can choose at any time to stop using our products in their designs or
product development efforts. Moreover, even if our products were chosen to be
incorporated into a customer’s products, our ability to generate significant
revenues from that customer would depend on the commercial success of those
products. Thus, a design win may not necessarily generate significant revenues
if our customers’ products are not commercially successful.
Some
of our semiconductor products are manufactured at only one foundry. If any
foundry is unable to provide the capacity we need, does not deliver in a timely
manner or the quality or pricing terms are not acceptable to us, we may
experience delays in shipping our products or have to incur additional costs,
which could damage our customer relationships and result in reduced revenues and
higher expenses.
Although
we use several foundries for different semiconductor products, certain of our
products are manufactured at only one of these foundries. If any one of the
foundries that we use for a specific product is unable to provide us with our
required capacity, does not deliver in a timely manner or the quality or pricing
terms are not acceptable to us, we could experience significant delays in
receiving the product being manufactured for us by that foundry or incur
additional costs to obtain substitutes. Also, if any of the foundries that we
use experience financial difficulties or insolvency risks due to the impact of
the global economic turmoil or any company-specific reasons or otherwise, if
their operations are damaged or if there is any other disruption of their
foundry operations, we may not be able to qualify an alternative foundry in a
timely manner. If we choose to use a new foundry or process technology for a
particular semiconductor product, we believe that it will take us several
quarters to qualify the new foundry or process before we can begin shipping such
products. If we cannot qualify a new foundry in a timely manner, we may
experience a significant interruption in our supply of the affected products,
which could reduce our revenues, increase our expenses and damage our customer
relationships.
Our
products are complex and may require modifications to resolve undetected errors
or failures in order for them to function with panels at the desired
specifications, which could lead to higher costs, a loss of customers or a delay
in market acceptance of our products.
Our
products are highly complex and may contain undetected errors or failures when
first introduced or as new versions are released. If our products are delivered
with errors or defects, we could incur additional development, repair or
replacement costs, and our credibility and the market acceptance of our products
could be harmed. Defects could also lead to liability for defective products and
lawsuits against us or our customers. We have agreed to indemnify some of our
customers under some circumstances against liability from defects in our
products. A successful product liability claim could require us to make
significant damage payments.
Our
display drivers comprise part of a complex panel manufactured by our customers.
Our display drivers must operate according to specifications with the other
components used by our customers in the panel manufacturing process. For
example, during the panel manufacturing process, our display drivers are
attached to the panel glass and must interoperate with the glass efficiently. If
other components fail to operate efficiently with our display drivers, we may be
required to incur additional development time and costs to improve the
interoperability of our display drivers with the other components.
Our
highly integrated products are difficult to manufacture without defects. The
existence of defects in our products could increase our costs, decrease our
sales and damage our customer relationships and our reputation.
The
manufacture of our products is a complex process, and it is often difficult for
semiconductor foundries to manufacture our products completely without defects.
Minor deviations in the manufacturing process can cause substantial decreases in
yield and quality. In particular, some of our products are highly integrated and
incorporate mixed analog and digital signal processing and embedded memory
technology, and this complexity makes it even more difficult to manufacture
without defects.
The
ability to manufacture products of acceptable quality depends on both product
design and manufacturing process technology. Defective products can be caused by
design, defective materials or component parts, or manufacturing difficulties.
Thus, quality problems can be identified only by analyzing and testing our
display drivers in a system after they have been manufactured. The difficulty in
identifying defects is compounded by the uniqueness of the process technology
used in each of the semiconductor foundries with which we have subcontracted to
manufacture our products. Failure to achieve defect-free products due to the
increasing complexity of display drivers and the panel system surrounding them
may result in an increase in our costs and delays in the availability of our
products. In addition, if the foundries that we use fail to deliver products of
satisfactory quality in the volume and at the price required, we will be unable
to meet our customers’ demand for our products or to sell those products at an
acceptable profit margin, which could adversely affect our sales and margins and
damage our customer relationships and our reputation.
We
do not have long-term purchase commitments from our customers, which may result
in significant uncertainty and volatility with respect to our revenues and could
materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial
condition.
We do not
have long-term purchase commitments from our customers; our sales are made on
the basis of individual purchase orders. Our customers may also cancel or defer
purchase orders. Our customers’ purchase orders may vary significantly from
period to period, and it is difficult to forecast future order quantities. In
addition, changes in our customers’ business may adversely affect the quantity
of purchase orders that we receive. For example, in 2006, one of our customers
merged with another company, and as a result of the merger, certain design-win
projects were discontinued, which forced us to write off the corresponding
inventory prepared based on forecasts provided by this customer. Since the
second half of 2008, the worldwide financial crisis has adversely impacted the
level of consumer spending and the TFT-LCD industry, and as a result of an
over-supply of their products, our customers have significantly lowered their
capacity utilization rates, reduced or canceled their orders of our products,
and requested higher-than-usual price concession from us. We cannot assure you
that any of our customers will continue to place orders with us in the future at
the same level as in prior periods. We also cannot assure you that the volume of
our customers’ orders will be consistent with our expectations when we plan our
expenditures. Our results of operations and financial condition may thus be
materially and adversely affected.
Potential
conflicts of interest with CMO may affect our sales decisions and allocations.
Our chairman also holds key management positions at CMO and may not be able to
allocate sufficient time and resources to both companies.
We have a
close relationship with CMO, which is one of our largest shareholders and has
been our largest customer since our inception. In addition, certain of our
directors hold key management positions at CMO. Jung-Chun Lin, our director,
serves on our board and also serves as senior vice president of finance and
administration at CMO. Dr. Biing-Seng Wu, our chairman, is also the vice
chairman of the board of directors of CMO. We cannot assure you that our close
relationship with CMO and the resulting potential conflicts of interest will not
affect our sales decisions or allocations or that potential conflicts of
interest with respect to representatives of CMO will be resolved in our favor.
Moreover, Dr. Biing-Seng Wu, who holds key positions with both CMO and us, may
not be able to allocate sufficient time and resources to both
companies.
Our
corporate actions are substantially controlled by officers, directors, principal
shareholders and affiliated entities who may take actions that are not in, or
may conflict with, our or our public shareholders’ interests.
As of
April 30, 2009, Jordan Wu and Dr. Biing-Seng Wu (who are brothers) beneficially
owned approximately 6.6% and 17.9% of our ordinary shares, respectively, and CMO
beneficially owned approximately 13.4% of our ordinary shares. For information
relating to the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares, see “Item 7. Major
Shareholders and Related Party Transactions.” These shareholders, acting
together, could exert substantial influence over matters requiring approval by
our shareholders, including electing directors and approving mergers or other
business combination transactions. This concentration of ownership may also
discourage, delay or prevent a change in control of our company, which could
deprive our shareholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their shares
as part of a sale of our company and might reduce the price of our ADSs. Actions
may be taken even if they were opposed by our other shareholders.
Assertions
against us by third parties for infringement of their intellectual property
rights could result in significant costs and cause our operating results to
suffer.
The
semiconductor industry is characterized by vigorous protection and pursuit of
intellectual property rights and positions, which results in protracted and
expensive litigation for many companies. We have received, and expect to
continue to receive, notices of infringement of third-party intellectual
property rights. We may receive claims from various industry participants
alleging infringement of their patents, trade secrets or other intellectual
property rights in the future. Any lawsuit resulting from such allegations could
subject us to significant liability for damages and invalidate our proprietary
rights. These lawsuits, regardless of their success, would likely be
time-consuming and expensive to resolve and would divert management time and
attention. Any potential intellectual property litigation also could force us to
do one or more of the following:
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stop
selling products or using technology or manufacturing processes that
contain the allegedly infringing intellectual
property;
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pay
damages to the party claiming
infringement;
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attempt
to obtain a license for the relevant intellectual property, which may not
be available on commercially reasonable terms or at all;
and
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attempt
to redesign those products that contain the allegedly infringing
intellectual property with non-infringing intellectual property, which may
not be possible.
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The
outcome of a dispute may result in our need to develop non-infringing technology
or enter into royalty or licensing agreements. We have agreed to indemnify
certain customers for certain claims of infringement arising out of the sale of
our products. Any intellectual property litigation could have a material adverse
effect on our business, operating results or financial condition.
Our
ability to compete will be harmed if we are unable to protect our intellectual
property rights adequately.
We believe that the protection of our
intellectual property rights is, and will continue to be, important to the
success of our business. We
rely primarily on a combination of patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright
laws and contractual restrictions to protect our intellectual property. These
afford only limited protection. Despite our efforts to protect our proprietary
rights, unauthorized parties may attempt
to obtain, copy or use information that we regard as proprietary, such as
product design and manufacturing process expertise. As of April 30, 2009, we and our subsidiaries had
553 U.S. patent applications pending,
646 Taiwan patent applications pending and
526 patent applications
pending in other jurisdictions, including the PRC, Japan, Korea and Europe. Our pending patent applications and any
future applications may not result in issued patents or may not be
sufficiently broad to
protect our proprietary technologies. Moreover, policing any unauthorized use
of our products is difficult and costly, and we cannot be certain that the
measures which we have implemented will prevent
misappropriation or unauthorized use of our technologies, particularly in foreign
jurisdictions where the laws may not protect our proprietary rights as fully
as the laws of the United States do. Others may independently develop
substantially equivalent intellectual property or otherwise gain
access to our trade secrets
or intellectual property. Our failure to protect our intellectual property
effectively could harm our business.
We
have entered into a formal stipulation of settlement to settle a class action
complaint alleging that we failed to disclose certain information in our initial
public offering registration statement. If the court does not approve the
settlement, the class action or any future class action suit against us may have
an adverse effect on our financial condition and operating results.
We are subject to a class action
complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of
California, for alleged violations of U.S. federal securities laws. The lawsuit
asserts claims against us, our Chief Executive Officer Jordan Wu, our Chief Financial Officer
Max Chan, certain of our directors, as well as CMO, for allegedly failing to
disclose in our initial public offering registration statement and prospectus
certain information concerning CMO’s inventory level prior to our initial public offering. The
complaint seeks unspecified damages on behalf of purchasers of our stock
pursuant and/or traceable to our initial public offering in March 2006.
On January 22, 2009, we entered into a settlement agreement, which must
be approved by the court, following notice to members of the settlement class.
The court issued an order on April 23, 2009 granting preliminary approval of the
settlement agreement and will hold a hearing on July 27, 2009 to determine
whether to approve the proposed settlement. If approved, the settlement will
result in a dismissal of all claims against us and the other defendants. In
entering into the settlement agreement, the defendants explicitly denied any
liability or wrongdoing of any kind. The amount of the settlement is $1.2
million, which was fully covered by our insurance carrier. There can be no
assurance that the court will approve the proposed settlement. In the event that
the court does not grant its approval, we may continue to vigorously defend ourselves against the claims. In addition, we may be subject to
other legal actions,
including potential future
class action suits. The
outcome of this class action and any future class
actions, like other
litigation proceedings, is uncertain. Regardless of its merit, litigation and other
preparations undertaken to defend the class action can be costly, and we may incur substantial costs and
expenses in doing so. It may also divert the attention of our management. If the
class action against us or
any future class action
suits against us are
successful, we may incur substantial monetary liabilities, which
may have an adverse effect on our financial condition and operating
results.
We
may undertake acquisitions or investments to expand our business that may pose
risks to our business and dilute the ownership of our existing shareholders, and
we may not realize the anticipated benefits of these acquisitions or
investments.
As part
of our growth and product diversification strategy, we will continue to evaluate
opportunities to acquire or invest in other businesses, intellectual property or
technologies that would complement our current offerings, expand the breadth of
markets we can address or enhance our technical capabilities. For example, on
February 1, 2007, we acquired Wisepal Technologies, Inc., or Wisepal, a fabless
design company located in Taiwan that specializes in LTPS TFT-LCD drivers for
small and medium-sized panels. Under the terms of the acquisition, we issued one
share in exchange for 5.26 shares of Wisepal, and we assumed all of the assets,
liabilities and personnel of Wisepal. Acquisitions or investments that we
potentially may make in the future, including our acquisition of Wisepal, entail
a number of risks that could materially and adversely affect our business,
operating and financial results, including:
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problems
integrating the acquired operations, technologies or products into our
existing business and products;
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diversion
of management’s time and attention from our core
business;
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adverse
effects on existing business relationships with
customers;
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the
need for financial resources above our planned investment
levels;
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failures
in realizing anticipated synergies;
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difficulties
in retaining business relationships with suppliers and customers of the
acquired company;
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risks
associated with entering markets in which we lack
experience;
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potential
loss of key employees of the acquired
company;
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potential
write-offs of acquired assets;
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potential
expenses related to the depreciation of tangible assets and amortization
of intangible assets; and
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potential
impairment charges related to the goodwill
acquired.
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Our
failure to address these risks successfully may have a material adverse effect
on our financial condition and results of operations. Any such acquisition or
investment may require a significant amount of capital investment, which would
decrease the amount of cash available for working capital or capital
expenditures. In addition, if we use our equity securities to pay for
acquisitions, the value of our ADSs and the underlying ordinary shares may be
diluted. If we borrow funds to finance acquisitions, such debt instruments may
contain restrictive covenants that can, among other things, restrict us from
distributing dividends.
Risks
Relating to Our Industry
The
average selling prices of our products could decrease rapidly, which may
negatively impact our revenues and operating results.
The price
of each semiconductor product typically declines over its product life cycle,
reflecting product obsolescence, decreased demand as customers shift to more
advanced products, decreased unit costs due to advanced designs or improved
manufacturing yields, and increased competition as more semiconductor producers
are able to produce similar products. We may experience substantial
period-to-period fluctuations in future operating results if our average selling
prices decline. We may reduce the average unit price of our products in response
to competitive pricing pressures, new product introductions by us or our
competitors and other factors. The TFT-LCD
panel
market is highly cost sensitive, which may result in declining average selling
prices of the components comprising TFT-LCD panels. We expect that these factors
will create downward pressure on our average selling prices and operating
results. To maintain acceptable operating results, we will need to develop and
introduce new products and product enhancements on a timely basis and continue
to reduce our costs. If we are unable to offset any reductions in our average
selling prices by increasing our sales volumes and corresponding production cost
reductions, or if we fail to develop and introduce new products and enhancements
on a timely basis, our revenues and operating results will suffer.
The
semiconductor industry, in particular semiconductors used in flat panel
displays, is highly competitive, and we cannot assure you that we will be able
to compete successfully against our competitors.
The
semiconductor industry, in particular semiconductors used in flat panel
displays, is highly competitive. Increased competition may result in price
pressure, reduced profitability and loss of market share, any of which could
seriously harm our revenues and results of operations. Competition principally
occurs at the design stage, where a customer evaluates alternative design
solutions that require display drivers. We continually face intense competition
from fabless display driver companies as well as from integrated device
manufacturers. Some of our competitors have substantially greater financial and
other resources than we do with which to pursue engineering, manufacturing,
marketing and distribution of their products. As a result, they may be able to
respond more quickly to changing customer demands or devote greater resources to
the development, promotion and sales of their products than we can. Some of our
competitors have manufacturing capabilities as well as in-house design
operations that may give them significant advantages such as more research and
development resources and the ability to attract highly skilled engineers.
Furthermore, some of our
competitors are affiliated with, or are subsidiaries of, our panel manufacturer
customers. These relationships may also give our competitors significant
advantages such as early access to product roadmaps and design-in
priorities, which would allow them to respond more quickly to changing customer
demands and achieve more design-wins than we can. In addition, even competitors
with no such strategic associations with panel manufacturers may resort to price competition to
maintain their market share, which may impose pricing pressures on us, reduce
our profitability or decrease our market share. We cannot assure you that
we will be able to increase or maintain our revenues and market share, or
compete successfully against our current or future competitors in the
semiconductor industry.
We
may be adversely affected by the cyclicality of the semiconductor
industry.
The
semiconductor industry is highly cyclical and is characterized by constant and
rapid technological change, product obsolescence and price erosion, evolving
standards, short product life cycles and wide fluctuations in product supply and
demand. The semiconductor industry has, from time to time, experienced
significant downturns, often connected with, or in anticipation of, maturing
product cycles of both semiconductor companies’ and their customers’ products
and declines in general economic conditions. These downturns have been
characterized by diminished product demand, production overcapacity, high
inventory levels and accelerated erosion of average selling prices. Any future
downturn may reduce our revenues and result in our having excess inventory.
Furthermore, any upturn in the semiconductor industry could result in increased
competition for access to limited third-party foundry, assembly and testing
capacity. Failure to gain access to foundry, assembly and testing capacity could
impair our ability to secure the supply of products that we need, which could
significantly delay our ability to ship our products, cause a loss of revenues
and damage our customer relationships.
We
have a lengthy and expensive design-to-mass production cycle.
The cycle
time from the design stage to mass production for display drivers is long and
requires the investment of significant resources with each potential customer
without any guarantee of sales. Our design-to-mass production cycle typically
begins with a three- to twelve-month semiconductor development stage and test
period followed by a three- to twelve-month end product development period by
customers. This fairly lengthy cycle creates the risk that we may incur
significant expenses but will be unable to realize meaningful sales. Moreover,
prior to mass production, customers may decide to cancel the projects or change
production specifications, resulting in sudden changes in our product
specifications, further causing increased production time and costs. Failure to
meet such specifications may delay the launch of our products.
Our
business could be materially and adversely affected if we fail to anticipate
changes in evolving industry standards, fail to achieve and maintain
technological leadership in our industry or fail to develop and introduce new
and enhanced products.
Our
products are generally based on industry standards, which are continually
evolving. The emergence of new industry standards could render our products or
those of our customers unmarketable or obsolete and may require us to incur
substantial unanticipated costs to comply with any such new standards. Likewise,
the components used in the TFT-LCD panel industry are constantly changing with
increased demand for improved features. Moreover, our past sales and
profitability have resulted, to a significant extent, from our ability to
anticipate changes in technology and industry standards and to develop and
introduce new and enhanced products in a timely fashion. If we do not anticipate
these changes in technologies and rapidly develop and introduce new and
innovative technologies, we may not be able to provide advanced display
semiconductors on competitive terms, and some of our customers may buy products
from our competitors instead of from us. Our continued ability to adapt to such
changes and anticipate future standards will be a significant factor in
maintaining or improving our competitive position and our growth prospects. We
cannot assure you that we will be able to anticipate evolving industry
standards, successfully complete the design of our new products, have these
products manufactured at acceptable manufacturing yields, or obtain significant
purchase orders for these products to meet new standards or technologies. If we
fail to anticipate changes in technology and to introduce new products that
achieve market acceptance, our business and results of operations could be
materially and adversely affected.
Risks
Relating to Our Holding Company Structure
Our
ability to receive dividends and other payments or funds from our subsidiaries
may be restricted by commercial, statutory and legal restrictions, and thereby
materially and adversely affect our ability to grow, fund investments, make
acquisitions, pay dividends and otherwise fund and conduct our
business.
We are a
holding company and our assets consist mainly of our 100% ownership interest in
Himax Taiwan. We receive cash from Himax Taiwan through intercompany borrowings.
Himax Taiwan has not paid us cash dividends in the past. Nonetheless, dividends
and interest on shareholder loans that we receive from our subsidiaries in
Taiwan, if any, will be subject to withholding tax under ROC law. The ability of
our subsidiaries to provide us with loans, pay dividends, repay any shareholder
loans from us or make other distributions to us is restricted by, among other
things, the availability of funds, the terms of various credit arrangements
entered into by our subsidiaries, as well as statutory and other legal
restrictions. In addition, although there are currently no foreign exchange
control regulations that restrict the ability of our subsidiaries located in
Taiwan to provide us with loans, pay dividends, repay any shareholder loans from
us or make other distributions to us, we cannot assure you that the relevant
regulations will not be changed and that the ability of our subsidiaries to do
so will not be restricted in the future. A Taiwan company is generally not
permitted to distribute dividends or to make any other distributions to
shareholders for any year in which it did not have either earnings or retained
earnings (excluding reserves). In addition, before distributing a dividend to
shareholders following the end of a fiscal year, the company must recover any
past losses, pay all outstanding taxes and set aside 10% of its annual net
income (less prior years’ losses and outstanding taxes) as a legal reserve until
the accumulated legal reserve equals its paid-in capital, and may set aside a
special reserve.
Any
limitation on dividend payments by our subsidiaries could materially and
adversely affect our ability to grow, finance capital expenditures, make
acquisitions, pay dividends, and otherwise fund and conduct our
business.
Our
ability to make further investments in Himax Taiwan may be dependent on
regulatory approvals. If Himax Taiwan is unable to receive the equity financing
that it requires, its ability to grow and fund its operations may be materially
and adversely affected.
Since
Himax Taiwan is not a listed company, it generally depends on us to meet its
equity financing requirements. Any capital contribution by us to Himax Taiwan
may require the approval of the relevant ROC authorities such as the Investment
Commission of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of the ROC, or the ROC Investment
Commission. We may not be able to obtain any such approval in the future in a
timely manner, or at all. If Himax Taiwan is unable to receive the equity
financing that it requires, its ability to grow and fund its operations may be
materially and adversely affected.
Political,
Geographical and Economic Risks
Due
to the location of our operations in Taiwan, we and many of our semiconductor
manufacturing service providers, suppliers and customers are vulnerable to
natural disasters and other events outside of our control, which may seriously
disrupt our operations.
Most of
our operations, and the operations of many of our semiconductor manufacturing
service providers, suppliers and customers are located in Taiwan, which is
vulnerable to natural disasters, in particular, earthquakes and typhoons. Our
principal foundries and assembly and testing houses upon which we have relied to
manufacture substantially all of our display drivers are located in Taiwan. In
2008, 77.6% of our revenues were derived from customers headquartered in Taiwan.
As a result of this geographic concentration, disruption of operations at our
facilities or the facilities of our semiconductor manufacturing service
providers, suppliers and customers for any reason, including work stoppages,
power outages, water supply shortages, fire, typhoons, earthquakes, contagious
diseases or other natural disasters, could cause delays in production and
shipments of our products. Any delays or disruptions could result in our
customers seeking to source products from our competitors. Shortages or
suspension of power supplies have occasionally occurred and have disrupted our
operations. The occurrence of a power outage in the future could seriously hurt
our business.
The
manufacturing processes of TFT-LCD panels require a substantial amount of water
and, as a result, the production operations of TFT-LCD panels may be seriously
disrupted by water shortages. Our customers may encounter droughts in areas
where most of their current or future manufacturing sites are located. If a
drought were to occur and our customers or the authorities were unable to source
water from alternative sources in sufficient quantities, our customers may be
required to shut down temporarily or to substantially reduce the operations of
their fabs, which would seriously affect demand for our products. The occurrence
of any of these events in the future could adversely affect our
business.
Disruptions
in Taiwan’s political environment could negatively affect our business and the
market price of our ADSs.
Our
principal executive offices and a substantial amount of our assets are located
in Taiwan, and a substantial portion of our revenues is derived from our
operations in Taiwan. Accordingly, our business, financial condition and results
of operations and the market price of our ADSs may be affected by changes in ROC
governmental policies, taxation, inflation or interest rates, and by social
instability and diplomatic and social developments in or affecting Taiwan that
are outside of our control.
Taiwan
has a unique international political status. Since 1949, Taiwan and the PRC have
been separately governed. The government of the PRC claims that it is the sole
government in China and that Taiwan is part of China. Although significant
economic and cultural relations have been established during recent years
between Taiwan and the PRC, the PRC government has refused to renounce the
possibility that it may at some point use force to gain control over Taiwan.
Furthermore, the PRC government adopted an anti-secession law relating to
Taiwan. Relations between the ROC and the PRC governments have been strained in
recent years for a variety of reasons, including the PRC government’s position
on the “One China” policy and tensions concerning arms sales to Taiwan by the
United States government. Any tension between the ROC and the PRC, or between
the United States and the PRC, could materially and adversely affect the market
prices of our ADSs.
Fluctuations
in exchange rates could result in foreign exchange losses and affect our results
of operations.
Our functional and reporting currency is
U.S. dollars. In 2008, more
than 98.0% of our revenues and cost of revenues were denominated in U.S.
dollars. However, we have foreign currency exposure and are primarily affected
by fluctuations in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the NT dollar.
This is because a significant portion of our
operating expenses (including for research and development, general and
administrative, and sales and marketing expenses) are denominated in NT dollars
and we maintain a portion of our cash in NT dollars for local working capital purposes. For example, in
December 2008, approximately 36.9% of our operating expenses were
denominated in NT dollars, with a small percentage denominated in Japanese Yen,
Korean Won and Chinese Renminbi, and the majority of the remainder in
U.S. dollars. Moreover,
there are tax-related assets and liabilities on our balance sheet which are
denominated in NT dollars. The current global economic crisis may cause
increased volatility in exchange rates. From time to time, we enter into forward
contracts to hedge our foreign
currency
exposure, but we cannot assure you that
this will adequately protect us against the risk of exchange rate fluctuations
and reduce the impact of potential foreign exchange losses. Any significant
fluctuation to our disadvantage in exchange rates would have an
adverse effect on our results of operations and financial
condition.
A
decrease in the support of the ROC government may increase our tax expenditures
and decrease our net income.
The ROC
government has been very supportive of Taiwan-incorporated technology companies
such as Himax Taiwan. In particular, Himax Taiwan, like many Taiwan technology
companies, has benefited from substantial tax incentives provided by the ROC
government. The ROC Statute for Upgrading Industries entitles companies to tax
credits for expenses relating to qualifying research and development, personnel
training and purchases of qualifying machinery. This tax credit may be applied
within a five-year period. The amount from the tax credit that may be applied in
any year is limited to 50% of the income tax payable for that year (with the
exception of the final year when the remainder of the tax credit may be applied
without limitation to the total amount of the income tax). Under the ROC Statute
for Upgrading Industries, Himax Taiwan was granted tax credits by the ROC
Ministry of Finance at rates set at a certain percentage of the amount utilized
in qualifying research and development and personnel training expenses. The
balance of unused investment tax credits totaled $19.4 million, $32.7 million
and $46.8 million as of December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. In
addition, the ROC Statute for Upgrading Industries provides to companies deemed
to be operating in important or strategic industries a five-year tax exemption
for income attributable to expanded production capacity or newly developed
technologies. Such expanded production capacity or newly developed technologies
must be funded in whole or in part from either an initial capital investment
made by a company’s shareholders, a subsequent capital increase or a
capitalizing of a company’s retained earnings. Beginning April 1, 2004, January
1, 2006 and January 1, 2008, Himax Taiwan has been entitled to three
preferential tax treatments, each for a period of five years, which expired or
will expire on March 31, 2009, December 31, 2010 and December 31, 2012,
respectively. In addition, beginning January 1, 2009, Wisepal has become
entitled to one preferential tax treatment for a period of five years, which
will expire on December 31, 2013. As a result of these preferential tax
treatments, income attributable to certain of our expanded production capacity
or newly developed technologies is tax exempt for the duration of these
five-year periods. While the ROC Statute for Upgrading Industries is due to
expire at the end of 2009, under a grandfather clause we can continue to enjoy
the five-year tax holiday provided that the relevant investment plans are
approved by the ROC tax authority before the expiration of the Statute. If the
ROC government changed the laws to terminate, decrease or otherwise adversely
change such tax incentives, our tax expenditures could increase, resulting in a
decrease in our net income. For instance, if we had not had these tax
exemptions, net income and basic and diluted earnings per ordinary share would
have been $51.2 million, $0.27 and $0.27 for the year ended December 31, 2008,
respectively.
We
face risks related to health epidemics and outbreaks of contagious diseases,
including H1N1 influenza, H5N1 influenza and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome,
or SARS.
There
have been recent reports of outbreaks of a highly pathogenic influenza caused by
the H1N1 virus, as well as an influenza caused by the H5N1 virus, in certain
regions of Asia and other parts of the world. An outbreak of such contagious
diseases in the human population could result in a widespread health crisis that
could adversely affect the economies and financial markets of many countries,
particularly in Asia. Additionally, a recurrence of SARS, a highly contagious
form of atypical pneumonia, similar to the occurrence in 2003 which affected the
PRC, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Vietnam and certain other countries, would
also have similar adverse effects. Since all of our operations and substantially
all of our customers and suppliers are based in Asia (mainly Taiwan), an
outbreak of H1N1 influenza, H5N1 influenza, SARS or other contagious diseases in
Asia or elsewhere, or the perception that such an outbreak could occur, and the
measures taken by the governments of countries affected, including the ROC and
the PRC, could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of
operations.
Risks
Relating to Our ADSs and Our Trading Market
The
market price for our ADSs is volatile.
The
market price for our ADSs is volatile and has ranged from a low of $1.00 to a
high of $6.29 on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in 2008. The market price is
subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors, including the
following:
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actual
or anticipated fluctuations in our quarterly operating
results;
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changes
in financial estimates by securities research
analysts;
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conditions
in the TFT-LCD panel market;
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changes
in the economic performance or market valuations of other display
semiconductor companies;
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announcements
by us or our competitors of new products, acquisitions, strategic
partnerships, joint ventures or capital
commitments;
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the
addition or departure of key
personnel;
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fluctuations
in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the NT
dollar;
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litigation
related to our intellectual property and shareholders’ lawsuit;
and
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the
release of lock-up or other transfer restrictions on our outstanding ADSs
or sales of additional ADSs.
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In
addition, as a result of the worldwide financial crisis, global stock markets
have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations. This volatility has had
a significant effect on the market prices of securities issued by many companies
for reasons which may not be directly related to their operating performance,
including but not limited to events such as tax-loss selling, mutual fund
redemptions, hedge fund redemptions and margin calls. These market fluctuations
may also materially and adversely affect the market price of our
ADSs.
Future
sales or perceived sales of securities by us, our executive officers, directors
or major shareholders may hurt the price of our ADSs.
The market price of our ADSs could
decline as a result of sales of ADSs or shares or the perception that these
sales could
occur. As of April 30, 2009, we had 185,722,661 outstanding shares, all of which are
freely tradable. If we, our
executive officers, directors or our shareholders sell ADSs or shares, the
market price for our shares or ADSs could decline. Future sales, or the
perception of future sales,
of ADSs or shares by us, our executive officers, directors or existing
shareholders could cause the market price of our ADSs to
decline.
The
level of investor interest and trading in our ADSs could be affected by the lack
of coverage by securities research analysts and the lack of investor materials
in the Chinese language.
Investor
interest in us may not be as strong as in U.S. companies or Taiwan companies
that are listed in Taiwan both because we may not be adequately covered by
securities research analyst reports and because of the lack of investor
materials in the Chinese language. The lack of coverage could negatively impact
investor interest and the level of trading in our ADSs. The interest of both
existing and prospective Taiwan-based investors to hold and trade in our ADSs
may be impacted by the lack of investor materials in the Chinese language and
the time difference between New York and Taiwan. As a result, the liquidity of
our ADSs and the valuation multiples may be lower than if we were listed on a
Taiwan stock exchange.
Although
publicly traded, the trading market in our ADSs has been substantially less
liquid than the average stock quoted on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, and
this low trading volume may adversely affect the price of our ADSs.
Although
our ADSs are traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market, the trading volume of
our ADSs has generally been very low. Reported average daily trading volume in
our ADSs for the three months ended March 31, 2009 was approximately 328,398
ADSs. In addition, during the periods between November 8, 2007 and July 31, 2008
and between November 17, 2008 and May 6, 2009, we repurchased a total of
approximately $33.1 million of our ADSs (equivalent to approximately 7.7 million
ADSs) and a total of approximately $13.0 million of our ADSs (equivalent to
approximately 6.9 million ADSs), respectively, from the open market pursuant to
two authorized share buyback programs. The repurchased ADSs and their underlying
ordinary shares with respect to these two periods reduced the number of ADSs
otherwise outstanding by approximately 7.9% for the first program and
approximately 7.0% for the current program. Such share buyback programs or
future share repurchases could
negatively
impact the average trading volume of our ADSs. Limited trading volume
will subject our ADSs to greater price volatility and may make it difficult for
you to buy or sell your ADSs at a price that is attractive to you.
You
may not have the same voting rights as the holders of our ordinary shares and
may not receive voting materials sufficiently in advance to be able to exercise
your right to vote.
Except as
described in the deposit agreement, holders of our ADSs will not be able to
exercise voting rights attaching to the shares evidenced by our ADSs on an
individual basis. Holders of our ADSs will appoint the depositary or its nominee
as their representative to exercise the voting rights attaching to the shares
represented by the ADSs. In certain circumstances, however, the depositary shall
refrain from voting and any voting instructions received from ADS holders shall
lapse. Furthermore, in certain other circumstances, the depositary will give us
a discretionary proxy to vote shares evidenced by ADSs. You may not receive
voting materials sufficiently in advance to instruct the depositary to vote, and
it is possible that you, or persons who hold their ADSs through brokers, dealers
or other third parties, will not have the opportunity to exercise a right to
vote.
You
may not be able to participate in rights offerings and may experience dilution
of your holdings as a result.
We may
from time to time distribute rights to our shareholders, including rights to
acquire our securities. Under the deposit agreement for the ADSs, the depositary
will not offer those rights to ADS holders unless both the rights and the
underlying securities to be distributed to ADS holders are either registered
under the Securities Act, or exempt from registration under the Securities Act
with respect to all holders of ADSs. We are under no obligation to file a
registration statement with respect to any such rights or underlying securities
or to endeavor to cause such a registration statement to be declared effective.
In addition, we may not be able to take advantage of any exemptions from
registration under the Securities Act. Accordingly, holders of our ADSs may be
unable to participate in our rights offerings and may experience dilution in
their holdings as a result.
You
may be subject to limitations on transfer of your ADSs.
Your ADSs
represented by the ADRs are transferable on the books of the depositary.
However, the depositary may close its transfer books at any time or from time to
time whenever it deems expedient in connection with the performance of its
duties. In addition, the depositary may refuse to deliver, transfer or register
transfers of ADSs generally when our books or the books of the depositary are
closed, or at any time if we or the depositary deem it necessary or advisable to
do so because of any requirement of law, any government, governmental body,
commission, or any securities exchange on which our ADSs or our ordinary shares
are listed, or under any provision of the deposit agreement or provisions of, or
governing, the deposited securities or any meeting of our shareholders, or for
any other reason.
We
currently follow home country
practice in lieu of complying with certain requirements of the Nasdaq
Stock Market LLC. This may afford less protection to holders of our ordinary
shares and ADSs.
Rule 5605
of the Marketplace Rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, or the Nasdaq Rules,
requires listed companies to have, among others, a board of directors comprised
of a majority of independent directors, the holding of regularly scheduled
meetings at which only independent directors are present, an audit committee
comprised of a minimum of three independent directors, a compensation committee,
if any, comprised solely of independent directors, and a nominations committee,
if any, comprised solely of independent directors. As a foreign private issuer,
however, we are permitted to, and we do, follow home country practice in lieu of
the above requirements. See “Item 6.C. Directors, Senior Management and
Employees—Board Practices” and “Item 16G. Corporate Governance” for more
information on the significant
differences between our corporate governance practices and those followed by
U.S. companies under the Nasdaq
Rules. As a result, we have fewer board members exercising independent
judgment and the level of board oversight on the management of our company may
therefore decrease. The board members who are not independent may also cause a
merger, consolidation, change of control or other transactions or actions
without the consent of the independent directors, which may lead to a conflict
with the interest of holders of our ordinary shares and ADSs. Holders of our
ordinary shares and ADSs may therefore be afforded less protection.
Your
ability to protect your rights through the United States federal courts may be
limited, because we are incorporated under Cayman Islands law, conduct a
substantial portion of our operations in Taiwan, and all of our directors and
officers reside outside the United States.
We are incorporated in the Cayman Islands. A substantial portion of our operations is
conducted in Taiwan through Himax Taiwan, our wholly owned subsidiary, and
substantially all of our assets are located in Taiwan. All of our directors and officers
reside outside the United
States, and a substantial
portion of the assets of those persons
is located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult or
impossible for you to bring an action against us or against these individuals in
the United
States in the event that
you believe that your rights have been infringed under the securities laws
or otherwise. Even if you are successful in bringing an action of this kind, the
laws of the Cayman Islands and of Taiwan may render you unable to enforce a
United States judgment against our assets or the
assets of our directors and officers. There is no
statutory recognition in the Cayman Islands of judgments obtained in the United
States, although a final and conclusive judgment in the federal or state
courts of the United States under which a sum of money is payable, other than a
sum payable in respect of multiple damages, taxes, or other charges of a like
nature or in respect of a fine or other penalty, may be subject to enforcement
proceedings as debt in the courts
of the Cayman Islands under the common law doctrine of obligation,
provided that (a) such federal or state courts of the United States had proper
jurisdiction over the parties subject to such judgment; (b) such federal or
state courts of the United States did not contravene the rules of natural
justice of the Cayman Islands; (c) such judgment was not obtained by fraud; (d)
the enforcement of the judgment would not be contrary to the public policy of
the Cayman Islands; (e) no new admissible evidence relevant to the action is
submitted prior to the rendering of the judgment by the courts of the Cayman
Islands; and (f) there is due compliance with the correct procedures under the
laws of the Cayman Islands.
As a
result of all of the above, our public shareholders may have more difficulty in
protecting their interests through actions against our management, directors or
major shareholders than shareholders of a corporation incorporated in a
jurisdiction in the United States would.
You
may face difficulties in protecting your interests as a shareholder because
judicial precedents regarding shareholders’ rights are more limited under Cayman
Islands law than under U.S. law, and because Cayman Islands law generally
provides less protection to shareholders than U.S. law.
Our
corporate affairs are governed by our memorandum and articles of association,
the Cayman Islands Companies Law (2007 Revision) and the common law of the
Cayman Islands. The rights of shareholders to take action against directors,
actions by minority shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our
directors to us under Cayman Islands law are to a large extent governed by the
common law of the Cayman Islands. The common law of the Cayman Islands is
derived in part from comparatively limited judicial precedent in the Cayman
Islands as well as from English common law, which has persuasive, but not
binding, authority on a court in the Cayman Islands. The rights of our
shareholders and the fiduciary responsibilities of our directors under Cayman
Islands law are not as clearly established as they would be under statutes or
judicial precedent in some jurisdictions in the United States. In particular,
the Cayman Islands have a less developed body of securities law than the United
States. In addition, some U.S. states, such as Delaware, have more fully
developed and judicially interpreted bodies of corporate law than the Cayman
Islands.
For
example, the Cayman Islands Companies Law (2007 Revision) differs from laws
applicable to United States corporations and their shareholders in certain
material respects which may affect shareholders’ rights and shareholders’ access
to information. These differences under Cayman Islands Companies Law (2007
Revision) (as compared to Delaware law) include, though are not limited to, the
following:
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directors who are interested in a transaction do not
have a statutory duty to disclose such interest and there are no
provisions under Cayman Islands Companies Law (2007
Revision) which render such
director liable to the company for any profit realized pursuant to such
transaction.
Our articles of association, however, contain provisions that require our
directors to disclose their interest in a transaction;
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dissenting
shareholders do not have comparable appraisal rights if a scheme of
arrangement is approved by the Grand Court of the Cayman
Islands;
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shareholders may not be able to
bring class action or derivative action suits before a Cayman Islands court except in certain
exceptional circumstances;
and
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unless
otherwise provided under the memorandum and articles of association of the
company, shareholders do not have the right to bring business before a
meeting or call a meeting.
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Moreover,
certain of these differences in corporate law, including, for example, the fact
that shareholders do not have the right to call a meeting or bring business to a
meeting, may have anti-takeover effects, which could discourage, delay, or
prevent the merger or acquisition of our company by means of a tender offer, a
proxy contest or otherwise, which a shareholder may have considered in its best
interest, and prevent the removal of incumbent officers and
directors.
As a
result of all of the above, public shareholders may have more difficulty in
protecting their interests in the face of actions taken by management, members
of the board of directors or controlling shareholders than they would have as
public shareholders of a U.S. company.
Investor
confidence and the market price of our ADSs may be adversely impacted if we or
our independent registered public accountants conclude that our internal
controls over financial reporting are not effective.
The SEC,
as directed by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, adopted rules
requiring public companies to include in their Annual Report on Form 10-K or
Form 20-F, as the case may be, a report of management on the company’s internal
controls over financial reporting that contains an assessment by management of
the effectiveness of the company’s internal controls over financial reporting.
In addition, the company’s independent registered public accounting firm must
report on the company’s internal control over financial reporting. Our
management may conclude that our internal controls over financial reporting are
not effective. Moreover, even if our management does conclude that our internal
controls over financial reporting are effective, if our independent registered
public accounting firm is not satisfied with our internal controls, the level at
which our controls are documented, designed, operated or reviewed, or if our
independent registered public accounting firm interprets the requirements, rules
or regulations differently from us, then it may conclude that our internal
controls over financial reporting are not effective. Furthermore, during the
course of the evaluation, documentation and attestation, we may identify
deficiencies that we may not be able to remedy in a timely manner. If we fail to
achieve and maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, we may not be able
to conclude that we have effective internal controls, on an ongoing basis, over
financial reporting in accordance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Furthermore,
effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to
produce reliable financial reports and are important to help prevent fraud. As a
result, our failure to achieve and maintain effective internal controls over
financial reporting could result in the loss of investor confidence in the
reliability of our financial statements, which in turn could harm our business
and negatively impact the trading price of our ADSs. In addition, we have
incurred considerable costs and used significant management time and other
resources in our effort to comply with Section 404 and other requirements of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Himax
Taiwan, our predecessor, was incorporated on June 12, 2001 as a limited
liability company under the laws of the ROC. On April 26, 2005, we established
Himax Technologies Limited, an exempted company with limited liability under the
Companies Law, Cap. 22, as revised, of the Cayman Islands as a holding company
to hold the shares of Himax Taiwan in connection with our reorganization and
share exchange. On October 14, 2005, Himax Taiwan became our wholly owned
subsidiary through a share exchange consummated pursuant to the ROC Business
Mergers and Acquisitions Law through which we acquired all of the issued and
outstanding shares of Himax Taiwan, and we issued ordinary shares to the
shareholders of Himax Taiwan. Shareholders of Himax Taiwan received one of our
ordinary shares in exchange for one Himax Taiwan common share. The share
exchange was unanimously approved by shareholders of Himax Taiwan on June 10,
2005 with no dissenting shareholders and by the ROC Investment Commission on
August 30, 2005 for our inbound investment in Taiwan, and on September 7, 2005
for our outbound investment outside of Taiwan. We effected this reorganization
and share exchange to comply with ROC laws, which prohibit a Taiwan incorporated
company not otherwise publicly listed in Taiwan from listing its shares on an
overseas stock exchange. Our reorganization enables us to maintain our
operations through our
Taiwan
subsidiary, Himax Taiwan, while allowing us to list our shares overseas through
our holding company structure.
The
common shares of Himax Taiwan were traded on the Emerging Stock Board from
December 26, 2003 to August 10, 2005, under the stock code “3222.” Himax
Taiwan’s common shares were delisted from the Emerging Stock Board on August 11,
2005. As a result of our reorganization, Himax Taiwan is no longer a Taiwan
public company, and its common shares are no longer listed or traded on any
trading markets.
On
September 26, 2005, we changed our name to “Himax Technologies, Inc.,” and on
October 17, 2005, Himax Taiwan changed its name to “Himax Technologies Limited”
upon the approval of shareholders of both companies and amendments to the
respective constitutive documents. We effected the name exchange in order to
maintain continuity of operations and marketing under the trade name “Himax
Technologies, Inc.,” which had been previously used by Himax
Taiwan.
In
February 2007, we completed the acquisition of Wisepal, a fabless semiconductor
company focusing on the development of LTPS TFT-LCD drivers for small and
medium-sized applications. This transaction strengthened our competitive
position in the small and medium-sized product areas and further diversified our
technology and product offerings. From time to time, we have also made minority
investments in various companies for strategic purposes in the ordinary course
of business.
In March
2007, we established Himax Imaging, Inc., or Himax Imaging, which develops and
markets CMOS imaging sensors with an initial focus on camera applications used
in cell phones and notebook computers.
In
October 2007, we formed Himax Media Solutions, Inc., or Himax Media Solutions,
which oversees our TFT-LCD television and monitor chipset business with a focus
on expanding market share in the global TFT-LCD television and monitor chipset
market. In January 2008, Himax Media Solutions issued shares representing an
interest of 19.9% in total to CMO, TPV Technology Limited, the world’s largest
LCD monitor manufacturer and LCD TV ODM, and individuals including certain
employees of CMO, TPV Technology Limited, Himax Media Solutions and Himax
Taiwan.
Our
principal executive offices are located at No. 26, Zih Lian Road, Tree Valley
Park, Sinshih Township, Tainan County 74148, Taiwan, Republic of China. Our
telephone number at this address is +886-6-505-0880. Our registered office in
the Cayman Islands is located at Cricket Square, Hutchins Drive, P.O. Box 2681,
Grand Cayman KY1-1111, Cayman Islands. Our telephone number at this address is
+1-345-945-3901. In addition, we have regional offices in Hsinchu and Taipei,
Taiwan; Foshan, Fuqing, Ningbo, Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Suzhou, China;
Yokohama and Matsusaka, Japan; Anyang-si, Kyungki-do and Cheonan-si,
Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea; and Irvine, California, USA.
Investor
inquiries should be directed to
our Investor Relations department, at +886-2-2370-3999 ext. 22618 or by email to jessie_wang@himax.com.tw. Our website is
www.himax.com.tw. The information contained on our website is not part of this
annual report. Our agent for service of process in the United States is Puglisi
& Associates located at 850 Library Avenue, Suite 204, Newark, Delaware
19711.
Our ADSs
have been listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market since March 31, 2006. Our
ordinary shares are not listed or publicly traded on any trading
markets.
We
design, develop and market semiconductors that are critical components of flat
panel displays. Our principal products are display drivers for large-sized
TFT-LCD panels, which are primarily used in desktop monitors, notebook computers
and televisions, and display drivers for small and medium-sized TFT-LCD panels,
which are primarily used in mobile handsets and consumer electronics products
such as netbook computers (typically ten inches or below in diagonal
measurement), digital cameras, mobile gaming devices, portable DVD players,
digital photo frame and car navigation displays. We also offer display drivers
for panels using OLED technology and LTPS technology. In addition, we are
expanding our product offerings to include non-driver products such as timing
controllers, TFT-LCD television and monitor chipsets, LCOS projector solutions,
power management ICs and CMOS image sensors. Our customers are panel, television
and module makers. We believe that our leading design
and
engineering expertise, combined with our focus on customer service and close
relationships with semiconductor manufacturing service providers, has
contributed to our success.
We
operate in the flat panel display semiconductor industry. As our semiconductors
are critical components of flat panel displays, our industry is closely linked
to the trends and developments of the flat panel display industry.
Flat
Panel Display Semiconductors
Flat
panel displays require different semiconductors depending upon the display
technologies and the application. Some of the most important ones include the
following:
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Display Driver. The
display driver receives image data from the timing controller and delivers
precise analog voltages or currents to create images on the display. The
two main types of display drivers for a TFT-LCD panel are gate drivers and
source drivers. Gate drivers turn on the transistor within each pixel cell
on the horizontal line on the panel for data input at each row. Source
drivers receive image data from the timing controller and generate voltage
that is applied to the liquid crystal within each pixel cell on the
vertical line on the panel for data input at each column. The combination
determines the colors generated by each pixel. Typically multiple gate
drivers and source drivers are installed separately on the panel. However,
for certain small and medium-sized applications, gate drivers and source
drivers are integrated into a single chip due to space and cost
considerations. Large-sized panels typically have higher resolution and
require more display drivers than small and medium-sized
panels.
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Timing Controller. The
timing controller receives image data and converts the format for the
source drivers’ input. The timing controller also generates controlling
signals for gate and source drivers. Typically, the timing controller is a
discrete semiconductor in large-sized TFT-LCD panels. For certain small
and medium-sized applications, however, the timing controller may be
integrated with display drivers.
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Scaler. For certain
displays, a scaler is installed to magnify or shrink image data in order
for the image to fill the panel.
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Operational Amplifier.
An operational amplifier supplies the reference voltage to source
drivers in order to make their output voltage
uniform.
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Television Chipset.
Television flat panel displays require chipsets that typically contain all
or some of the following components: an audio processor, analog
interfaces, digital interfaces, a video processor, a channel receiver and
a digital television decoder. See “—Products—TFT-LCD Television and
Monitor Semiconductor Solutions—TFT-LCD Television and Monitor Chipsets”
for a description of these
components.
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LCOS microdisplay. LCOS
is a microprojection technology which can be applied in mobile projection
devices.
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Power Management IC.
The power management ICs include certain drivers, amplifiers, DC to
DC converters and other semiconductors designed to enhance power
management, such as voltage regulation, voltage boosting and battery
management.
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CMOS Image Sensor. The
CMOS image sensor converts an optical image to an electric signal and is
used mostly in camera-equipped
applications.
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Others. Flat panel
displays also require multiple general purpose semiconductors such as
memory, power converters and
inverters.
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Characteristics
of the Display Driver Market
Although
we operate in several distinct segments of the flat panel display semiconductor
industry, our principal products are display drivers. Display drivers are
critical components of flat panel displays. The display driver market has
specific characteristics, including those discussed below.
Concentration
of Panel Manufacturers
The
global TFT-LCD panel industry consists of a small number of manufacturers,
substantially all of which are based in Asia. In recent years, TFT-LCD panel
manufacturers, in particular Taiwan- and Korea-based manufacturers, have
invested heavily to establish, construct and ramp up additional fab capacity.
The capital intensive nature of the industry often results in TFT-LCD panel
manufacturers operating at a high level of capacity utilization in order to
reduce unit costs. This tends to create a temporary oversupply of panels, which
reduces the average selling price of panels and puts pricing pressure on display
driver companies. Moreover, the concentration of panel manufacturers permits
major panel manufacturers to exert pricing pressure on display driver companies
such as us. The small number of panel manufacturers intensifies this as display
driver companies, in addition to seeking to expand their customer base, must
also focus on winning a larger percentage of such customers’ display driver
requirements.
Customization
Requirements
Each
panel display has a unique pixel design to meet its particular requirements. To
optimize the panel’s performance, display drivers have to be customized for each
panel design. The most common customization requirement is for the display
driver company to optimize the gamma curve of each display driver for each panel
design. Display driver companies must work closely with their customers to
develop semiconductors that meet their customers’ specific needs in order to
optimize the performance of their products.
Mixed-Signal
Design and High-Voltage CMOS Process Technology
Display
drivers have specific design and manufacturing requirements that are not
standard in the semiconductor industry. Some display drivers require
mixed-signal design since they combine both analog and digital devices on a
single semiconductor to process both analog signals and digital data.
Manufacturing display drivers requires high-voltage CMOS process technology
operating typically at 4.5 to 24 volts for source drivers and 10 to 50 volts for
gate drivers, levels of voltage which are not standard in the semiconductor
industry. For display drivers, the driving voltage must be maintained under a
very high degree of uniformity, which can be difficult to achieve using standard
CMOS process technology. However, manufacturing display drivers does not require
very small-geometry semiconductor processes. Typically, the manufacturing
process for large panel display drivers requires geometries between 0.13 micron
and 1 micron because the physical dimensions of a high-voltage device do not
allow for the economical reduction in geometries below this range. We believe
that there are a limited number of fabs with high-voltage CMOS process
technology that are capable of high-volume manufacturing of display
drivers.
Special
Assembly and Testing Requirements
Manufacturing
display drivers requires certain assembly and testing technologies and equipment
that are not standard for other semiconductors and are offered by a limited
number of providers. The assembly of display drivers typically uses either tape
automated bonding, also known as TAB, or chip-on-glass, also known as COG,
technologies. Display drivers also require gold bumping, which is a process in
which gold bumps are plated onto each wafer to connect the die and the processed
tape, in the case of TAB packages, and the glass, in the case of COG packages.
TAB may utilize tape carrier package, also known as TCP, or chip on film, also
known as COF. The type of assembly used depends on the panel manufacturer’s
design, which is influenced by panel size and application and is typically
determined by the panel manufacturers. Display drivers for large-sized
applications typically require TAB package types and, to a lesser extent COG
package types, whereas display drivers for mobile handsets and consumer
electronics products typically require COG packages. The testing of display
drivers also requires special testers that can support high-channel and
high-voltage output semiconductors. Such testers are not standard in the
semiconductor industry.
Supply
Chain Management
The
manufacturing of display drivers is a complex process and requires several
manufacturing stages such as wafer fabrication, gold bumping and assembly and
testing, and the availability of materials such as the processed tape used in
TAB packaging. We refer to these manufacturing stages and material requirements
collectively as the “supply chain.” Panel manufacturers typically operate at
high levels of capacity utilization and require a reliable supply of display
drivers. A shortage of display drivers, or a disruption to this supply, may
disrupt panel manufacturers’ operations since replacement supplies may not be
available on a timely basis or at all, given the customization of display
drivers. As a result, a display driver company’s ability to deliver its products
on a timely basis at the quality and quantity required is critical to satisfying
its existing customers and winning new ones. Such supply chain management is
particularly crucial to fabless display driver companies that do not have their
own in-house manufacturing capacity. In the case of display drivers, supply
chain management is further complicated by the high-voltage CMOS process
technology and the special assembly and testing requirements that are not
standard in the semiconductor industry. Access to this capacity also depends in
part on display driver companies having received assurances of demand for their
products since semiconductor manufacturing service providers require credible
demand forecasts before allocating capacity among customers and investing to
expand their capacity to support growth.
Need
for Higher Level of Integration
The small
form factor of mobile handsets and certain consumer electronics products
restricts the space for components. Small and medium-sized panel applications
typically require one or more source drivers, one or more gate drivers and one
timing controller, which can be installed as separate semiconductors or as an
integrated single-chip driver. Customers are increasingly demanding higher
levels of integration in order to manufacture more compact panels, simplify the
module assembly process and reduce unit costs. Display driver companies must be
able to offer highly integrated chips that combine the source driver, gate
driver and timing controller, as well as semiconductors such as memory, power
circuit and image processors, into a single chip. Due to the size restrictions
and stringent power consumption constraints of such display drivers, single-chip
drivers are complex to design. For large-sized panel applications, integration
is both more difficult to achieve and less important since size and weight are
less of a priority.
Products
We have
five principal product lines:
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display
drivers and timing controllers;
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TFT-LCD
television and monitor semiconductor
solutions;
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power
management ICs; and
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We
commenced volume shipments of our first source and gate drivers for large-sized
panels in July 2001 and have developed a broad product portfolio of display
drivers and timing controllers for use in large-sized TFT-LCD panels. We
commenced volume shipments of our first display drivers for use in consumer
electronics applications in April 2002, volume shipments of two-chip display
drivers for mobile handsets in August 2003 and volume shipments of single-chip
display drivers for mobile handsets in August 2004. In September 2004, we
commenced volume shipments of our first television semiconductor solutions. We
commenced shipping engineering samples of LCOS products in December 2003 and
started volume shipment in June 2006. We commenced shipping engineering
samples of power management ICs in October 2006 and started volume shipments in
January 2007. We commenced small quantity commercial shipment of our CMOS
image sensor products in April 2009.
Display
Drivers and Timing Controllers
Display
Driver Characteristics
Display
drivers deliver precise analog voltages and currents that activate the pixels on
panels. The following is a summary of certain display driver characteristics and
their relationship to panel performance.
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Resolution and Number of
Channels. Resolution refers to the number of pixels per line
multiplied by the number of lines, which determines the level of fine
detail within an image displayed on a panel. For example, a color display
screen with 1,024 x 768 pixels has 1,024 red columns, 1,024 green columns
and 1,024 blue columns for a total of 3,072 columns and 768 rows. The red,
green and blue columns are commonly referred to as “RGB.” Therefore, the
display drivers need to drive 3,072 column outputs and 768 row outputs.
The number of display drivers required for each panel depends on the
resolution of the panel and the number of channels per display driver. For
example, an XGA (1,024 x 768 pixels) panel requires eight 384 channel
source drivers (1,024 x 3 = 384 x 8) and three 256 channel gate drivers
(768 = 256 x 3), while a full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels) panel requires
eight 720 channel source drivers and four 270 channel gate drivers. The
number of display drivers required can be reduced by using drivers with a
higher number of channels. For example, a full HD panel can have six 960
channel source drivers instead of eight 720 channel source drivers. Thus,
using display drivers with a higher number of channels can reduce the
number of display drivers required for each panel, although display
drivers with a higher number of channels typically have higher unit
costs.
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Color Depth. Color
depth is the number of colors that can be displayed on a screen, which is
determined by the number of shades of a color, also known as grayscale,
that can be shown by the panel. For example, a 6-bit source driver is
capable of generating 26 x
26 x
26 =
218,
or 262K colors, and similarly, an 8-bit source driver is capable of
generating 16 million colors. Typically, for TFT-LCD panels currently in
commercial production, 262K, 16 million and 1 billion colors are supported
by 6-bit, 8-bit and 10-bit source drivers,
respectively.
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Operational Voltage. A
display driver operates with two voltages: the input voltage (which
enables it to receive signals from the timing controller) and the output
voltage (which, in the case of source drivers, is applied to liquid
crystals and, in the case of gate drivers, is used to switch on the TFT
device). Source drivers typically operate at input voltages from 3.3 to
1.5 volts and output voltages between 4.5 to 24 volts. Gate drivers
typically operate at input voltages from 3.3 to 1.5 volts and output
voltages from 10 to 50 volts. Lower input voltage saves power and lowers
electromagnetic interference, or EMI. Output voltage may be higher or
lower depending on the characteristics of the liquid crystal (or diode),
in the case of source drivers, or TFT device, in the case of gate
drivers.
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Gamma Curve. The
relationship between the light passing through a pixel and the voltage
applied to it by the source driver is nonlinear and is referred to as the
“gamma curve” of the source driver. Different panel designs and
manufacturing processes require source drivers with different gamma
curves. Display drivers need to adjust the gamma curve to fit the pixel
design. Due to the materials and processes used in manufacturing, panels
may contain certain imperfections which can be corrected by the gamma
curve of the source driver, a process which is generally known as “gamma
correction.” For certain types of liquid crystal, the gamma curves for RGB
cells are significantly different and thus need to be independently
corrected. Some advanced display drivers feature three independent gamma
curves for RGB cells.
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Driver Interface.
Driver interface refers to the connection between the timing
controller and display drivers. Display drivers increasingly require
higher bandwidth interface technology to address the larger data volume
necessary for video images. Panels used for higher data transmission
applications such as televisions require more advanced interface
technology. The principal types of interface technologies are
transistor-to-transistor logic, or TTL, reduced swing differential
signaling, or RSDS, and mini-low voltage differential signaling, or
mini-LVDS. Among these, RSDS and mini-LVDS were developed as low power,
low noise and low amplitude methods for high-speed data transmission using
fewer copper wires and resulting in lower
EMI.
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Package Type. The
assembly of display drivers typically uses TAB and COG package types. COF
and TCP are two types of TAB packages, of which COF packages have become
predominantly used in recent years. Customers typically determine the
package type required according to their specific mechanical and
electrical considerations. In general, display drivers for small-sized
panels use COG package type whereas display drivers for large-sized panels
primarily use TAB package types and, to a lesser extent, COG package
types.
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Large-Sized
Applications
We
provide source drivers, gate drivers and timing controllers for large-sized
panels principally used in desktop monitors, notebook computers and televisions.
Display drivers used in large-sized applications feature different key
characteristics, depending on the end-use application. For example, the industry
trend for large-sized applications is generally toward super high channel, low
power consumption, low cost, thin and light form factor, touch function, higher
data transmission rate and higher driving capabilities. Higher speed interface
technologies are also key for notebook computers. Greater color depth, enhanced
color through RGB independent gamma and 3D display are particularly important
for advanced televisions and certain monitors.
In
December 2007, we introduced the cascade modulated driver interface, or CDMI,
technology, a patented technology for LED notebook panels, benefits of which
include a thin and light form factor, lower material costs and lower power
consumption and supports a resolution of up to 1,920 x 1,200
pixels.
In
February 2009, we introduced timing controllers with the content adaptive
brightness control, or CABC, technology. CABC technology controls backlight
brightness intelligently by analyzing the content displayed to save power and
enhance the contrast level while maintaining vivid display quality. Our
algorithm enables a smooth adjustment in backlight brightness even when the
content changes swiftly.
The table
below sets forth the features of our products for large-sized
applications:
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TFT-LCD
Source Drivers
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· 384
to 1,032 output channels
· 6-bit
(262K colors), 8-bit (16 million colors) or 10-bit (1 billion
colors)
· one
gamma-type driver
· three
gamma-type drivers (RGB independent gamma curve to enhance color
image)
· output
driver voltage ranging from 4.5V to 24V and supports half
VDDA
· input
logic voltage ranging from standard 3.3V to low power 1.5V
· low
power consumption and low EMI
· supports
TCP, COF and COG package types
· supports
TTL, RSDS, mini-LVDS (up to 330MHz), DETTL, turbo RSDS, CMDI and
customized interface technologies
· supports
dual gate and triple gate panel designs
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TFT-LCD
Gate Drivers
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· 192
to 540 output channels
· output
driving voltage ranging from 10 to 50V
· input
logic voltage ranging from standard 3.3V to low power 1.5V
· low
power consumption
· supports
TCP, COF and COG package types
· supports
dual gate and triple gate panel designs
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Timing
Controllers
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· product
portfolio supports a wide range of resolutions, from VGA (640 x 480
pixels) to full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels and 1,920 x 1,200
pixels)
· supports
TTL, RSDS, mini-LVDS, DETTL, turbo RSDS, CMDI and customized output
interface technologies
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· input
logic voltage ranging from standard 3.3V to low power 1.5V
· embedded
overdrive function for television applications to improve response
time
· supports
CABC to save power and color engine to enhance color and
sharpness
· supports
TTL, LVDS and mini-LVDS input interface
technologies
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Mobile
Handset Applications
We offer
display drivers for mobile handset displays that combine source driver, gate
driver, timing controller, frame buffer and DC to DC circuits into a single chip
in various display technologies, such as TFT-LCD, LTPS and AMOLED. As mobile handset prices remain competitive, mobile display module manufacturers continue to reduce cost
and seek to source cost-effective display
drivers. By designing a finer channel pitch that features cost efficient
processes, we have offered a smaller chip size and endeavor to provide handset
display driver products with fewer external components to reduce the cost of
materials for our customers.
The
industry trend for mobile handset display drivers is generally toward display
drivers that can support high-speed interfaces and have greater color depth and
enhanced image quality as multimedia functions are increasingly incorporated
into mobile handsets. In addition, the ability for mobile handsets to operate
for long durations without
recharging the battery is
of high value. Thus,
display drivers with lower power consumption are desired. We integrated our proprietary low power driving
circuits and CABC technology into display drivers in order to extend the battery
life.
The
following table summarizes the features of our products for mobile
handsets:
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TFT-LCD
Drivers
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· highly
integrated single chip embedded with the source driver, gate driver, power
circuit, timing controller and memory
· product
portfolio suitable for a wide range of resolutions, including QQVGA (128 x
160 pixels), QCIF+ (176 x 220 pixels), QVGA (240 x 320 pixels), WQVGA (240
x 400~480 pixels), HVGA (320 x 480 pixels), nHD (360 x 640 pixels), WVGA
(480 x 864 pixels) and a range of panel sizes from 1.5 to 4 inches in
diagonal measurement
· supports
262K colors to 16 million colors
· supports
RGB separated gamma adjustment
· supports
CABC
· supports
mobile display digital interface, or MDDI, and mobile industry processor
interface, or MIPI
· input
logic voltage ranging from standard 3.3V to low power 1.65V
· low
power consumption and low EMI
· utilizes
die shrink technology to reduce die size and cost
· fewer
external components to reduce costs
· slimmer
die for compact module to fit smaller mobile handset designs
· application
specific integrated circuits, or ASIC, can be designed to meet customized
requirements (e.g., drivers without memory or drivers without gate driver
embedded on the chip)
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LTPS
Drivers
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· highly
integrated single chip embedded with the source driver, power circuit,
timing controller and memory
· suitable
for a wide range of resolutions from QQVGA (128 x 160) to WVGA (864 x 480)
and suitable for a range of panel sizes from 1.5 to 4 inches
diagonally
· supports
262K colors to 16 million colors
· supports
RGB separated gamma adjustment
· supports
CABC
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LTPS
Drivers
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· supports
compact display port, or CDP, MDDI, and MIPI
· input
logic voltage ranging from standard 3.3V to low power 1.65V
· utilizes
die shrink technology to reduce die size and cost
· slimmer
die for compact module
· ASIC
can be designed to meet customized requirements
(e.g.,
gateless or multi-bank output
driver)
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Consumer
Electronics Products
We offer
source drivers, gate drivers, timing controllers and integrated drivers for
consumer electronics products such as netbook computers, digital cameras,
digital video recorders, personal digital assistants, mobile gaming devices,
portable DVD players, digital photo frames and car navigation displays. We offer
an extensive line of display drivers covering different applications, interfaces
and channel output and levels of integration. Similar to mobile handsets,
consumer electronics products are typically compact, battery-operated devices.
Customers are increasingly demanding display drivers with smaller and more
compact die sizes and higher levels of integration with the source driver, gate
driver, timing controller, as well as more functional semiconductors such as
memory, power circuit and image processors, into a single chip.
The
industry trend for display drivers used in medium-sized consumer electronics
products is toward higher channels and the integration of timing controllers
with display drivers. The trend of display drivers used in small-sized consumer
electronics products is toward single-chip solutions combining the source
driver, gate driver, timing controller and power circuit into a single
chip.
In May
2008, we introduced our new generation single chip display driver, the HX8257,
for use in global positioning system and portable multimedia player devices.
Moreover, display drivers with lower power consumption are desired in order to
extend battery life.
The
following table summarizes the features of our products used in consumer
electronics products:
|
|
TFT-LCD
Source Drivers
|
· 240
to 1200 output channels
· products
for analog and digital interfaces
· supports
262K colors to 16.7 million colors
· input
logic voltage ranging from standard 3.3V to low power 2.3V
· low
power consumption and low EMI
|
TFT-LCD
Gate Drivers
|
· 96
to 800 output channels
· input
logic voltage ranging from standard 3.3V to low power 2.3V
· output
driving voltage ranging from 10 to 40V
|
TFT-LCD
Integrated Drivers
|
· highly
integrated single chip embedded with source driver, gate driver, timing
controller and power circuit
· resolutions
include 480 x 240, 320RGB x 240, 480RGB x 272
· products
for analog or digital interfaces
· low
power consumption
· CABC
function integrated for backlight power saving
|
Timing
Controllers
|
· products
for analog or digital interfaces
· supports
various resolutions from 280 x 220 pixels to 1024 x 600
pixels
|
TFT-LCD
Television and Monitor Semiconductor Solutions
Himax
Media Solutions, our subsidiary, provides TFT-LCD television and monitor
semiconductor solutions. Set forth below are the various semiconductor
components that may be utilized in flat-panel digital and analog
televisions:
TFT-LCD
Television and Monitor Chipsets
Television
chipsets contain numerous components that process video and audio signals and
thus enhance the image and audio qualities of televisions. Digital and analog
televisions typically require some or all of these components:
|
·
|
Audio Processor/Amplifier.
Demodulates, processes and amplifies sound from television
signals.
|
|
·
|
Analog Interfaces.
Convert analog video signals into digital video signals. Video
decoder and analog-to-digital converter, or ADC, are
included.
|
|
·
|
Digital Interfaces.
Receive digital signals via digital receivers. Digital visual
interfaces, or DVI, and high-definition multimedia interfaces, or HDMI,
are included.
|
|
·
|
Channel Receiver.
Demodulates input signals so that the output becomes compressed bit
stream data.
|
|
·
|
DTV Decoder. Converts
video and audio signals from compressed bit stream data into regular video
and audio signals.
|
|
·
|
Video Processor.
Performs the scaling function that magnifies or shrinks the image
data in order to fit the panel’s resolution; provides real-time processing
for improved color and image quality; converts output video from an
interlaced format to a progressive format in order to eliminate
jaggedness; and supports on-screen display and real-time video format
transformation.
|
We are developing all of the above
components and have shipped our analog TV single-chip solutions in volume. Our
analog TV single-chip solutions are designed for use in televisions
as well as LCOS
applications and
our product portfolio includes
high-performance chips that target high-end segments as well as cost-effective
chips which target entry-level segments.
The
following table summarizes the features of our video processors:
|
|
Analog
TV Single-Chip Solutions
|
· ideal
for LCD TV, multi-function monitor TV and LCOS applications
· integrated
with high performance ADC, scaler and de-interlacer
· built-in
HDMI and DVI receiver
· integrated
with video decoder and 3D comb filter to support worldwide National
Television System Committee, or NTSC, phase alternating line, or PAL, and
sequential color with memory, or SECAM, standards
· integrated
with vertical blanking interval slicer for closed caption, viewer-control
chip and teletext functions
· built-in
Himax 4th generation video engine which supports variable dynamic video
enhancement features
· built-in
analog audio demodulator, audio processor and surround integrated high
speed microprocessor control unit, or MCU
· integrated
with timing control for additional cost-down
· output
resolutions range from 640 x 480 pixels up to 1,920 x 1,080
pixels
|
Digital
TV Integrated Solutions
|
· ideal
for both Advanced Television Systems Committee, or ATSC, and digital video
broadcasting – terrestrial, or DVB-T, solutions
· embedded
digital demodulators: ATSC and DVB-T
· embedded
analog demodulator: picture intermediate frequency for NTSC, PAL and
SECAM
· embedded
video stream decoder: MPEG2 (main profile at high level) and H.264 (main
profile at level 4)
· embedded
audio stream decoder: MPEG1 layer1 and layer2, and MPEG2 layer 2, audio
coding 3 (Dolby digital), high efficiency advanced audio coding
v1
· embedded
audio processor: sound retrieval system
· embedded
common interface
· input
resolution up to full HD (1,920 x 1,080 pixels)
· output
resolution up to full HD (1,920 x 1,080
pixels)
|
The
following table summarizes the features of our monitor scaler
solutions:
|
|
Monitor
Scaler Integrated Solutions
|
· ideal
for monitor applications
· integrated
with high performance ADC, scaler and de-interlancer
· built-in
HDMI and DVI receiver
· built-in
audio digital-to-analog converter
· built-in
high performance color engine
· integrated
high speed MCU
· integrated
with timing control for additional cost-down
· input/output
resolutions range from 640 x 480 pixels up to 1,920 x 1,080
pixels
|
LCOS
Products
Himax
LCOS microdisplays and the associated projector technologies are beginning mass
production for, in particular, palm-size mobile projectors. Our design and
manufacturing capabilities for LCOS microdisplays are
conducted
through our subsidiary, Himax Display, Inc., or Himax Display. In January 2008,
we announced a strategic alliance with 3M, one of the world’s leading companies
in optics technology, to commercialize the applications of LCOS mobile
projectors. 3M developed proprietary projection optics which were incorporated
with our proprietary color-filter LCOS microdisplays for a series of miniature
projector modules. These projector modules have been adopted by many customers
in various applications, and some of them have been in commercial production. In
particular, the Aiptek Pocket Cinema projector has won a number of awards,
including the recent 2009 International CES Innovations Design and Engineering
Award and the iF product design award 2009. In November 2008, we announced
another strategic alliance with Wingtech, one of the leading handset solution
providers in China, to develop LCOS mobile phone projectors for the China
market.
In
addition to color-filter LCOS microdisplays, we have also developed
color-sequential LCOS microdisplays. The color-filter type has a simpler
projection architecture with a white LED, while the color-sequential type can
offer better colors. We designed the two types of microdisplays in a way that
most of their optical components can be shared. With the production of these two
types of LCOS microdisplays and the leverage of optical components, we are
building up a broad supply chain of a variety of LCOS projector modules for
various applications. The following table shows certain details of our LCOS
microdisplays:
|
|
|
Color-Filter
LCOS Microdisplays
|
· 0.28”
(320x240 pixels)
· 0.38”
(640x360 pixels)
· 0.44”
(640x480 pixels)
· 0.59”
(800x600 pixels)
|
· toy
projectors
· entry-level
video projectors
· versatile
projectors
· multimedia
projectors
|
Color-Sequential
LCOS Microdisplays
|
· 0.28”
(852x480 pixels)
· 0.38”
(640x480 pixels)
· 0.45”
(1024x768 pixels)
|
· embedded
projectors
· versatile
projectors
· multimedia
projectors
|
In
addition to LCOS microdisplays, we have also developed a series of low-power
video processors for accessory and embedded projector applications. These
low-power video processors are essential for battery-operated mobile projectors,
such as mobile phone projectors, camera projectors and notebook projectors. Some
of them are available in the market now, and we expect more to
come.
Power
Management ICs
Himax
Analogic, Inc., or Himax Analogic, our subsidiary, has three major products:
class-D audio amplifiers, step-up DC-to-DC switching regulators, and white light
LED drivers.
Class-D
Audio Amplifier
A class-D
audio amplifier receives audio signals from the audio processor and delivers the
amplified audio signals to the speakers. The input audio signal is converted
into a sequence of pulses with fixed voltage. By means of a modulated pulse
width and an external low-pass filter, the output audio signal will be
“reproduced” with larger amplitude. Unlike traditional audio amplifiers which
operate in a linear mode, a class-D audio amplifier only switches between on and
off and consumes less power. Therefore, high power efficiency is a major
advantage of class-D audio amplifiers, which can be an appropriate choice for
applications for which power dissipation is a concern.
|
|
2W
Mono Class-D Audio Amp for Portable Devices
|
· 3.3V
to 5.5V input voltage range
· gain
setting by external resistors
· over
current protection, or OCP, over temperature protection, or OTP, and/or
under voltage lockout, or UVL, features
|
9W
Stereo Class-D Audio Amp for TVs and Monitors
|
· 8.5V
to 12.6V input voltage range
· 4
fixed gain selections
· OCP,
OT and/or UVL features
|
Step-up
DC-to-DC Switching Regulator.
A step-up
DC-to-DC converter performs with high efficiency and fast transient response in
order to supply a higher voltage from a lower input voltage. Electronic devices
require various specific working voltages on different applications. However,
there is normally one or two common power sources available. A step-up DC-to-DC
converter plays an important role in supplying higher voltage from lower input
voltage to make an electronic device work normally. In other words, most
electronic devices need a step-up DC-to-DC converter as a stable working power
supplier in various applications.
|
|
TFT-LCD
Step-up DC-to-DC Converters
|
· 2.6V
to 5.5V input voltage range
· max
boost voltage: 24V
· programmable
switching frequency
· programmable
soft-start
|
TFT-LCD
DC-to-DC Converters with Operational Amplifiers
|
· 2.6V
to 6.5V input voltage range
· linear
regulator controllers for gate driver power supply
· built-in 14V, 2.4A,
160 mΩ metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect
transistor
· 5
high-performance operational
amplifiers
|
White
Light LED Driver
The LED
driver provides sufficient voltage and current to light up LED diodes. Moreover,
in addition to turning LEDs on, the driver has to keep the brightness of LEDs
uniform and stable. Therefore, voltage boosting and current sensing are the core
functional blocks of a white light LED driver.
|
|
WLED
Drivers for Netbook Panels
|
· 2.5V
to 5.5V input voltage range
· built-in
1MHz step-up pulse width modulation, or PWM, converter
· capable
of driving up to 40 LEDs (4 strings of 10 serial-connected
LEDs)
· support
100~200 KHz PWM dimming control
|
WLED
Drivers for Notebook Panels
|
· 4.5V
to 24V input voltage range
· built-in
1.3MHz step-up PWM converter (max. boost voltage: 40V)
· 8
constant current source channels
· capable
of driving up to 11 LEDs in serial for each channel
|
CMOS
Image Sensor Products
Our CMOS
image sensor products are designed primarily for camera-equipped mobile devices
such as mobile phones and notebook computers with a focus on lowlight image and
video quality. The CMOS image sensor product line is developed by our
subsidiary, Himax Imaging. Within two years, our experienced team of sensor
designers developed new pixel and circuit designs with the successful product
launch of 3 mega pixel, 2 mega pixel and VGA sensors and system-on-chip products
with performance comparable to leading CMOS image sensor suppliers. All of our
CMOS image sensors feature the UltraBrightTM
technology to achieve a better signal-to-noise ratio in the low-light or video
mode without a decreasing frame rate or increasing power consumption. We are
committed to being a key player in this business with investments in experienced
human resources, an efficient supply chain, and strategic technology
developments and partnerships to further increase the performance and features
of small pixel sensors.
The
following table sets forth the features of our CMOS image sensor
products:
|
|
3.4MP
UltraBrightTM
Color Image Sensor
|
· 1/4”
format color type
· QXGA
resolution at 15 frames per second, support for 720p30 HD and D1 video
format
· 80dB
enhanced dynamic range mode compatible with standard color
processing
· on-chip
4-channel lens correction, defect removal
|
2.0MP
UltraBrightTM
Color Image Sensor
|
· 1/5”
format color type
· UXGA
resolution at 18 frames per second, 720p HD resolution at 30 frames per
second
· on-chip
4-channel lens correction, defect removal
· low
noise, low power consumption
|
VGA
UltraBrightTM
System on Chip
|
· 1/11”
format color type
· VGA
YUV output at 30 frames per second, QVGA at 60 frames per
second
· color
processing pipeline including lens correction, defect correction, color
de-mosaic, color correction, gamma control, saturation/hue adjustment,
edge enhancement
· automatic
lowlight and frame rate control
· multiple
video formats including YUV422, RGB565, and ITU656
|
Core
Technologies and Know-How
Driving System
Technology. Through our collaboration with panel manufacturers, we have
developed extensive knowledge of circuit design, TFT-LCD driving systems,
high-voltage processes and display systems, all of which are important to the
design of high-performance TFT-LCD display drivers. Our engineers have in-depth
knowledge of the driving system technology, which is the architecture for the
interaction between the source driver, gate driver, timing controller and power
systems as well as other passive components. We believe that our understanding
of the entire driving system has strengthened our design capabilities. Our
engineers are highly skilled in designing power efficient and compact display
drivers that enhance the performance of TFT-LCD. We are leveraging our know-how
of display drivers and driving system technology to develop display drivers for
panels utilizing other technologies such as OLED.
High-Voltage CMOS
Circuit Design. Unlike most other semiconductors, TFT-LCD display drivers
require a high output voltage of 4.5 to 50 volts. We have developed circuit
design technologies using a high-voltage CMOS process that enables us to produce
high-yield, reliable and compact drivers for high-volume applications. Moreover,
our technologies enable us to keep the driving voltage at very high uniformity,
which can be difficult to achieve when using standard CMOS process
technology.
High-Bandwidth
Interfaces. In addition to high-voltage circuit design, TFT-LCD display
drivers require high bandwidth transmission for video signals. We have applied
several high-speed interfaces, including TTL, RSDS, mini-LVDS, DETTL, turbo RSDS
and customized interfaces, in our display drivers. Moreover, we are developing
additional driver interfaces for special applications with optimized speed,
lower EMI and higher system stability.
Die Shrink and
Low Power Technologies. Our engineers are highly skilled in employing
their knowledge of driving technology and high-voltage CMOS circuit design to
shrink the die size of our display drivers while leveraging their understanding
of driving technology and panel characteristics to design display drivers with
low power consumption. Die size is an important consideration for applications
with size constraints. Smaller die size also reduces the cost of the chip. Lower
power consumption is important for many portable devices such as notebook
computers, mobile handsets and consumer electronics products.
Customers
Our customers for display
drivers are primarily panel manufacturers and mobile device module
manufacturers, who in turn
design and market their products to manufacturers of end-use products such as
notebook computers, desktop monitors, televisions, mobile handsets and consumer
electronics products. As of December 31, 2008, we sold our products to more than 100 customers. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, CMO and its affiliates accounted for
55.0%, 58.8% and 62.5% of our revenues, respectively;
Samsung and its affiliates accounted for 6.1%, 3.7% and 6.5% of our revenues,
respectively; and SVA-NEC accounted for 7.3%, 8.4% and 6.3% of our revenues,
respectively. We expect that sales to CMO and Samsung and their respective
affiliates, among other large customers, will continue to account for a
substantial majority of our revenues in the near term.
Set forth below (in alphabetical order) are our ten largest
customers (and their affiliates) based on revenues for the year ended
December 31, 2008:
Centron
Electronics (Kunshan) Co., Ltd.
Chi Mei
Optoelectronics Corp.
Chunghwa
Picture Tubes, Ltd.
Funai
Electric Co. Ltd.
HannStar
Display Corporation
InnoLux
Display Corporation
Perfect
Display Limited
Samsung
Electronics Taiwan Co., Ltd.
Shanghai
SVA-NEC Liquid Crystal Display
TPO
Displays Corporation
Certain
of our customers provide us with a long-term (twelve-month) forecast plus
three-month rolling non-binding forecasts and confirm orders with us one month
ahead of scheduled delivery. In general, purchase orders are not cancellable by
either party, although from time to time we and our customers have agreed to
amend the terms of such orders.
Sales
and Marketing
We focus
our sales and marketing strategy on establishing business and technology
relationships principally with TFT-LCD panel manufacturers and also with panel
manufacturers using LTPS or OLED technologies and also with mobile display
module and mobile handset manufacturers in order to work closely with them on
future semiconductor solutions that align with their product road maps. Our
engineers collaborate with our customers’ engineers to create products that
comply with their specifications and provide a high level of performance at
competitive prices. Our end market for large-sized panels is concentrated around
a limited number of major panel manufacturers. We have also commenced marketing
our products directly to monitor, notebook and mobile device manufacturers so
that our products can be qualified for their specifications and designed into
their products.
We primarily sell our products through
our direct sales teams located in Taiwan, China, South Korea and Japan. We also have dedicated sales teams for
certain of our most important current or prospective customers. We have sales
and technical support offices in Tainan, Taiwan. We have regional
offices in Hsinchu and Taipei, Taiwan; Foshan, Fuqing, Ningbo, Beijing,
Shanghai, Shenzhen and Suzhou, China; Yokohama and Matsusaka, Japan; Anyang-si,
Kyungki-do and Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea; and Irvine,
California, USA, all in close proximity to our customers. For certain products
or regions we may from time to time sell our products through agents or distributors.
Our sales
and marketing team possesses a high level of technical expertise and industry
knowledge used to support a lengthy and complex sales process. This includes a
highly trained team of field applications engineers that provides technical
support and assistance to potential and existing customers in designing, testing
and qualifying display modules that incorporate our products. We believe that
the depth and quality of this design support are key to improving customers’
time-to-market and maintaining a high level of customer
satisfaction.
Manufacturing
We
operate primarily in a fabless business model that utilizes substantially
third-party foundry and assembly and testing capabilities. We leverage our
experience and engineering expertise to design high-performance semiconductors
and rely on semiconductor manufacturing service providers for wafer fabrication,
gold bumping, assembly and testing. We also rely largely on third-party
suppliers of processed tape used in TAB packaging. We engage foundries with
high-voltage CMOS process technology for our display drivers and engage assembly
and testing houses that specialize in TAB and COG packages, thereby taking
advantage of the economies of scale and the specialization of such semiconductor
manufacturing service providers. Our primarily fabless model enables us to
capture certain financial and operational benefits, including reduced
manufacturing personnel, capital expenditures, fixed assets and fixed costs. It
also gives us the flexibility to use the technology and service providers that
are the most suitable for any given product.
We
operate a small fab under Himax Display primarily for performing certain
manufacturing processes for our LCOS microdisplays. In order to further meet
customers’ demand for higher quality, lower cost, and faster time-to-market, we
established an in-house color filter facility and completed the installation of
equipment at the end of 2008. The color filter line is a critical and unique
process for our proprietary single-panel color LCOS microdisplays. An in-house
color filter facility enhances the competitiveness of our LCOS products and
creates value for our customers. The total capital expenditure for the color
filter facility, including the equipment, was approximately $10.0
million.
Manufacturing
Stages
The
diagram below sets forth the various stages in manufacturing display drivers
according to the two different types of assembly utilized: TAB or COG. The
assembly type depends primarily on the application and design of the panel and
is determined by our customers.
Wafer
Fabrication: Based on our design, the foundry provides us with
fabricated wafers. Each fabricated wafer contains many chips, each known as a
die.
Gold
Bumping: After the wafers are fabricated, they are delivered
to gold bumping houses where gold bumps are plated on each wafer. The gold
bumping process uses thin film metal deposition, photolithography and electrical
plating technologies. The gold bumps are plated onto each wafer to connect the
die to the processed tape, in the case of TAB package, or the glass, in the case
of COG package.
Chip Probe
Testing: Each individual die is electrically tested, or
probed, for defects. Dies that fail this test are discarded.
Assembly and
Testing: Our display drivers use two types of assembly
technology: TAB or COG. Display drivers for large-sized applications typically
require TAB package types and to a lesser extent COG package types, whereas
display drivers for mobile handsets and consumer electronics products typically
require COG package types.
TAB
Assembly
We use
two types of TAB technologies: TCP and COF. TCP and COF packages are both made
of processed tape that is typically 35mm or 48mm wide, plated with copper foil
and has a circuit formed within it. TCP and COF packages differ, however, in
terms of their chip connections. With TCP packages, a hole is punched through
the processed tape in the area of the chip, which is connected to a flying lead
made of copper. In contrast, with COF packages, the lead is mounted directly on
the processed tape and there is no flying lead. In recent years, COF packages
have become predominantly used in TAB technology.
|
·
|
Inner-Lead
Bonding: The TCP and COF assembly process involves
grinding the bumped wafers into their required thickness and cutting the
wafers into individual dies, or chips. An inner lead bonder machine
connects the chip to the printed circuit processed tape and the package is
sealed with resin at high
temperatures.
|
|
·
|
Final
Testing: The assembled display drivers are tested to
ensure that they meet performance specifications. Testing takes place on
specialized equipment using software customized for each
product.
|
COG
Assembly
COG
assembly connects display drivers directly to LCD panels without the need for
processed tape. COG assembly involves grinding the tested wafers into their
required thickness and cutting the wafers into individual dies, or chips. Each
individual die is picked and placed into a chip tray and is then visually or
auto-inspected for defects. The dies are packed within a tray in an aluminum bag
after completion of the inspection process.
Quality
Assurance
We
maintain a comprehensive quality assurance system. Using a variety of methods
from conducting rigorous simulations during the circuit design process to
evaluating supplier performance at various stages of our products’ manufacturing
process, we seek to bring about improvements and achieve customer satisfaction.
In addition to monitoring customer satisfaction through regular reviews, we
implement extensive supplier quality controls so that the products we outsource
achieve our high standards. Prior to engaging a third party as our supplier, we
perform a series of audits on their operations, and upon engagement, we hold
frequent quality assurance meetings with our suppliers to evaluate such factors
as product quality, production costs, technological sophistication and timely
delivery.
In
November 2002, we received ISO 9001:2000 certification which was renewed in
February 2008 and will expire in February 2011. In February 2006, we received
ISO 14001:2004 certification which was renewed in February 2009 and will expire
in February 2012. In addition, in March 2007, we received IECQ QC 080000 and
OHSAS 18001 certifications which will expire in 2010.
Semiconductor
Manufacturing Service Providers and Suppliers
Through
our relationships with leading foundries, assembly, gold bumping and testing
houses and processed tape suppliers, we believe we have established a supply
chain that enables us to deliver high-quality products to our customers in a
timely manner.
Access to
semiconductor manufacturing service providers is critical as display drivers
require high-voltage CMOS process technology and specialized assembly and
testing services, all of which are different from industry standards. We have
obtained our foundry services from TSMC, Vanguard, Macronix, Lite-on, Chartered
and Maxchip in the past few years and have also recently established
relationships with UMC and HHNEC. These are among a select number of
semiconductor manufacturers that provide high-voltage CMOS process technology
required for manufacturing display drivers. We engage assembly and testing
houses that specialize in TAB and COG packages such as Chipbond Technology
Corporation, ChipMOS Technologies Inc., International Semiconductor Technology
Ltd., and Siliconware Precision Industries Co., Ltd.
We plan
to strengthen our relationships with our existing semiconductor manufacturing
service providers and diversify our network of such service providers in order
to ensure access to sufficient cost-competitive and high-quality manufacturing
capacity. We are selective in our choice of semiconductor manufacturing service
providers. It takes a substantial amount of time to qualify alternative
foundries, gold bumping, assembly and testing houses for production. As a
result, we expect that we will continue to rely on limited number of
semiconductor manufacturing service providers for a substantial portion of our
manufacturing requirements in the near future.
The table
below sets forth (in alphabetical order) our principal semiconductor
manufacturing service providers and suppliers:
|
|
|
Chartered
Semiconductor Manufacturing Ltd.
|
|
Chipbond
Technology Corporation
|
Lite-on
Semiconductor Corp.
|
|
Chipmore
Technology Co., Ltd.
|
Macronix
International Co., Ltd.
|
|
ChipMOS
Technologies Inc.
|
Maxchip
Electronics Corp. (which was spun off from Powerchip Semiconductor Corp.
on April 1, 2008)
|
|
International
Semiconductor Technology Ltd.
Siliconware
Precision Industries Co., Ltd.
|
Shanghai
Hua Hong NEC Electronics Company, Ltd.
|
|
|
Silicon
Manufacturing Partners Pte Ltd.
|
|
|
Taiwan
Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Ltd.
|
|
|
United
Microelectronics Corporation
|
|
|
Vanguard
International Semiconductor Corporation
|
|
|
Processed
Tape for TAB Packaging
|
|
|
Hitachi
Cable Asia, Ltd. Taipei Branch
|
|
Ardentec
Corporation
|
Mitsui
Micro Circuits Taiwan Co., Ltd.
|
|
Chipbond
Technology Corporation
|
Samsung
Techwin Co., Ltd.
|
|
Chipmore
Technology Co., Ltd.
|
Simpal
Electronics Co., Ltd.
|
|
ChipMOS
Technologies Inc.
|
Sumitomo
Metal Mining Package Material Co., Ltd.
|
|
Global
Testing Corportation
|
|
|
Greatek
Electronics Inc.
|
|
|
International
Semiconductor Technology Ltd.
|
|
|
King
Yuan Electronics Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
Siliconware
Precision Industries Co., Ltd.
|
|
|
Taiwan
IC Packaging Corporation
|
|
|
Ardentec
Corporation
|
|
Chipbond
Technology Corporation
|
|
Chipmore
Technology Co., Ltd.
|
|
ChipMOS
Technologies Inc.
|
|
Global
Testing Corporation
|
|
Greatek
Electronics Inc.
|
|
International
Semiconductor Technology Ltd.
|
|
King
Yuan Electronics Co., Ltd.
|
|
Siliconware
Precision Industries Co., Ltd.
|
|
Intellectual
Property
As of April 30, 2009, we held a total of 382 patents, including 185 in Taiwan, 132 in the United States, 49 in China, 12 in Korea and 4 in Japan. The expiration dates
of our patents range from 2019 to 2027. We also have a total of 646 pending patent applications
in Taiwan, 553 in the
United States and 526 in
other jurisdictions, including the PRC, Japan, Korea and Europe. In addition, we
have registered “Himax” and our logo as a trademark and service mark in
Taiwan, China and Japan and the United States.
Competition
The
markets for our products are, in general, intensely competitive, characterized
by continuous technological change, evolving industry standards, and declining
average selling prices. We believe key factors that differentiate among the
competition in our industry include:
·
|
supply
chain management;
|
·
|
economies
of scale; and
|
·
|
broad
product portfolio.
|
We continually face intense competition
from fabless display driver
companies, including DenMOS Technology Inc., Fitipower Integrated
Technology, Inc., Ili Technology Corp., Leadis Technology, Inc., Novatek
Microelectronics Corp., Ltd., Orise Technology Co., Ltd., Raydium Semiconductor
Corporation, Sitronix Technology Co., Ltd., SmartASIC Technology, Inc. and
Solomon Systech Limited. We also face competition from integrated device
manufacturers, such as MagnaChip Semiconductor Ltd., Matsushita Electric Works,
Ltd., NEC Electronics Corporation, Renesas Technology Corp., Seiko Epson
Corporation, Toshiba Corporation, Sanyo Electric Co., Ltd. and Rohm Co., Ltd. and panel manufacturers with in-house
semiconductor design capabilities, such as Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. and
Sharp Corporation. The latter are both our competitors and
customers.
Many of
our competitors, some of which are affiliated or have established relationships
with other panel manufacturers, have longer operating histories, greater brand
recognition and significantly greater financial, manufacturing, technological,
sales and marketing, human and other resources than we do. Additionally, we
expect that as the flat panel semiconductor industry expands, more companies may
enter and compete in our markets.
Our
television semiconductor solutions compete against solutions offered by a
significant number of semiconductor companies including Advanced Micro Devices,
Inc., Broadcom Corporation, Huaya Microelecronics Inc., Mediatek Corp., Micronas
Semiconductor Holding AG, MStar Semiconductor, Inc., Novatek Microelectronics
Corp., NXP Semiconductor, Pixelworks Inc., Realtek Semiconductor Corp.,
STMicroelectronics, Sunplus Technology Co., Trident Microsystems, Inc. and Zoran
Corporation, among others, some of which focus solely on video processors or
digital TV solutions and others that offer a more diversified
portfolio.
For LCOS
products, we face competition primarily from digital lighting processing, or
DLP, projectors incorporating Texas Instruments Incorporated’s digital light
processing technology. We also face competition from a few other mobile
projector technologies, including Microvision, Inc.’s laser-scanning projectors
and Displaytech Inc.’s color-sequential ferroelectric liquid crystal on silicon,
or FLCOS, projectors.
For power management ICs, we face competition from
Taiwan companies including Richtek Technology Corporation, Global Mixed-mode Technology
Inc., and Advanced Analog Technology,
Inc. We also compete with
worldwide suppliers such as Maxim Integrated Products,
Inc., Texas
Instruments Incorporated and
Rohm Co.,
Ltd.
For CMOS image sensor products, we face competition primarily
from Aptina Imaging
Corporation, Omnivision Technologies Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sony
Corporation, and STMicroelectronics.
Insurance
We
maintain insurance policies on our buildings, equipment and inventories covering
property damage and damage due to, among other events, fires, typhoons,
earthquakes and floods. We maintain these insurance policies on our facilities
and on transit of inventories. Additionally, we maintain director and officer
liability insurance. We do not have insurance for business interruptions, nor do
we have key person insurance.
Environmental
Matters
The
business of semiconductor design does not cause any significant pollution. Himax
Display maintains a facility for our LCOS products where we have taken the
necessary steps to obtain the appropriate permits and believe that we are in
compliance with the existing environmental laws and regulations in the ROC. We
have entered into various agreements with certain customers whereby we have
agreed to indemnify them, and in certain
cases,
their customers, for any claims made against them for hazardous material
violations that are found in our products.
The following chart sets forth our
corporate structure and ownership interest in each of our principal operating
subsidiaries and affiliates as of April 30, 2009.
The
following table sets forth summary information for our subsidiaries as of April
30, 2009.
|
|
|
|
Jurisdiction
of
Incorporation
|
|
|
|
Percentage
of
Our
Ownership
Interest
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
$
(in millions)
|
|
|
|
Himax
Technologies Limited
|
|
IC
design and sales
|
|
ROC
|
|
81.9
|
|
|
100.0%
|
|
Himax
Technologies Anyang Limited
|
|
Sales
|
|
South
Korea
|
|
0.5
|
|
|
100.0%
|
|
Wisepal
Technologies, Inc.
|
|
IC
design and sales
|
|
ROC
|
|
9.9
|
|
|
100.0%
|
|
Himax
Technologies (Samoa), Inc.
|
|
Investments
|
|
Samoa
|
|
2.5
|
|
|
100.0%
|
(1) |
Himax
Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd.
|
|
Sales
|
|
PRC
|
|
1.0
|
|
|
100.0%
|
(1) |
Himax
Technologies (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.
|
|
Sales
|
|
PRC
|
|
1.5
|
|
|
100.0%
|
(1) |
Himax
Display, Inc.
|
|
IC
design, manufacturing and sales
|
|
ROC
|
|
35.2
|
|
|
89.3%
|
|
Integrated
Microdisplays Limited
|
|
IC
design and sales
|
|
Hong
Kong
|
|
1.1
|
|
|
100.0%
|
(2) |
Himax
Analogic, Inc.
|
|
IC
design and sales
|
|
ROC
|
|
11.2
|
|
|
75.8%
|
|
Himax
Imaging, Inc.
|
|
Investments
|
|
Cayman
Islands
|
|
13.5
|
|
|
95.3%
|
|
Himax
Imaging Ltd.
|
|
IC
design and sales
|
|
ROC
|
|
7.1
|
|
|
100.0%
|
|
Himax
Imaging Corp.
|
|
IC
design and sales
|
|
California,
USA
|
|
6.7
|
|
|
100.0%
|
|
Argo
Limited
|
|
Investments
|
|
Cayman
Islands
|
|
9.0
|
|
|
100.0%
|
|
Tellus
Limited
|
|
Investments
|
|
Cayman
Islands
|
|
9.0
|
|
|
100.0%
|
|
Himax
Media Solutions, Inc.
|
|
TFT-LCD
television and monitor chipset operations
|
|
ROC
|
|
34.2
|
|
|
79.3%
|
(3) |
Himax
Media Solutions (Hong Kong) Limited
|
|
Investments
|
|
Hong
Kong
|
|
0.0
|
(4) |
|
100.0%
|
|
(1)
|
Indirectly,
through our 100.0% ownership of Himax Technologies
Limited.
|
(2)
|
Indirectly,
through our 89.3% ownership of Himax Display,
Inc.
|
(3)
|
Directly
and indirectly, through our 100.0% ownership of Himax Technologies Limited
which holds 35.3%.
|
(4)
|
Total
paid-in capital is HK$10,000.
|
In October 2006, we completed
construction on and relocated our corporate headquarters to a 22,172 square
meter facility within the Tree Valley Industrial Park in Tainan, Taiwan. The facility houses our research and
development, engineering,
sales and marketing, operations and general administrative staff. Construction
for our new headquarters commenced in the fourth quarter of 2005 and was
completed in the fourth quarter of 2006. The total costs amounted to
approximately $25.8 million, of which approximately $10.2 million was for the land and
approximately $15.6 million was for the construction of the
building and related facilities (which included architect
fees, general contractor fees, building
materials, the purchase and installation of network, clean room, and office
equipment and other fixtures). We also lease office space in Taipei and
Hsinchu, Taiwan; Suzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Fuqing, Beijing, Shanghai and
Ningbo, China; Yokohama and Matsusaka, Japan; Anyang-si, Kyungki-do and
Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do, South Korea; and Irvine, California, USA. In June
2008, we completed the relocation of the Taipei offices of our company, Himax
Media Solutions and Himax Analogic. The lease contracts may be renewed upon
expiration.
Himax
Display owns and operates a fab with 3,040 square meters of floor space in a
building leased from
CMO. In addition, Himax
Taiwan owns and operates a fab
with 1,431 square meters of floor space in a building leased from CMO in Tainan, where during the fourth quarter
of 2008, it established an in-house color filter facility and completed the
installation of equipment. The color filter line is a critical and unique
process for our proprietary single-panel color LCOS microdisplays. An in-house
color filter facility enhances the competitiveness of our LCOS products and
creates value for our customers. The total capital expenditure for the color
filter facility, including the equipment, was approximately $10.0
million.
Not
applicable.
Overview
We
design, develop and market semiconductors that are critical components of flat
panel displays. Our principal products are display drivers for large-sized
TFT-LCD panels, which are used in desktop monitors, notebook computers and
televisions, and display drivers for small and medium-sized TFT-LCD panels,
which are used in mobile handsets and consumer electronics products such as
netbook computers, digital cameras, mobile gaming devices, portable DVD players,
digital photo frame and car navigation displays. We also offer display drivers
for panels using OLED technology and LTPS technology. In addition, we are
expanding our product offerings to include non-driver products such as timing
controllers, TFT-LCD television and monitor chipsets, LCOS projector solutions,
power management ICs and CMOS image sensors. We primarily sell our display
drivers to TFT-LCD panel manufacturers and mobile device module manufacturers,
and we sell our television semiconductor solutions to television
makers.
We
commenced operations through our predecessor, Himax Taiwan, in June 2001. We
must, among other things, continue to expand and diversify our customer base,
broaden our product portfolio, achieve additional design wins and manage our
costs to partially mitigate declining average selling prices in order to
maintain our profitability. Moreover, we must continue to address the challenges
of being a growing technology company, including hiring and retaining
managerial, engineering, operational and financial personnel and implementing
and improving our existing administrative, financial and operations
systems.
We
operate primarily in a fabless business model that utilizes substantially
third-party foundry and assembly and testing capabilities. We leverage our
experience and engineering expertise to design high-performance semiconductors
and rely largely on third-party semiconductor manufacturing service providers
for wafer fabrication, gold bumping, assembly and testing. We are able to take
advantage of the economies of scale and the specialization of such semiconductor
manufacturing service providers. Our primarily fabless model enables us to
capture certain financial and operational benefits, including reduced
manufacturing personnel, capital expenditures, fixed assets and fixed costs. It
also gives us the flexibility to use the technology and service providers that
are the most suitable for any given product.
As our
semiconductors are critical components of flat panel displays, our industry is
closely linked to the trends and developments of the flat panel display
industry, in particular, the TFT-LCD panel segment. Substantially all of our
revenues in 2008 were derived from sales of display drivers that were eventually
incorporated into TFT-LCD panels. We expect display drivers for TFT-LCD panels
to continue to be our primary products. The TFT-LCD panel industry is intensely
competitive and is vulnerable to cyclical market conditions. The average selling
prices of TFT-
LCD
panels could decline for numerous reasons, which could in turn result in
downward pricing pressure on our products. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk
Factors—Risks Relating to Our Financial Condition and Business—We derive
substantially all of our net revenues from sales to the TFT-LCD panel industry,
which is highly cyclical and subject to price fluctuations. Such cyclicality and
price fluctuations could negatively impact our business or results of
operations.”
Factors
Affecting Our Performance
Our
business, financial position and results of operations, as well as the
period-to-period comparability of our financial results, are significantly
affected by a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control,
including:
·
|
average
selling prices;
|
·
|
cost
of revenues and cost reductions;
|
·
|
supply
chain management;
|
·
|
share-based
compensation expenses;
|
Average
Selling Prices
Our performance is affected by the
selling prices of each of
our products. We price our products based on several factors, including
manufacturing costs, life cycle stage of the product, competition, technical
complexity of the product, size of the purchase order and our relationship with
the customer. We typically are able to
charge the highest price for a product when it is first introduced. Although
from time to time we are able to raise our selling prices during times of supply
constraints, our average selling prices typically decline over a product’s life cycle, which may be offset by
changes in conditions in the semiconductor industry such as constraints in
foundry capacity. The general trend in the semiconductor industry is for the
average selling prices of semiconductors to decline over a product’s life cycle due to competition,
production efficiencies, emergence of substitutes and technological
obsolescence. Our cost reduction efforts also contribute to this decline in
average selling prices. See “—Cost of Revenues and Cost
Reductions.” Our average selling prices are also affected by the cyclicality of the
TFT-LCD panel industry.
In 2008, the average selling prices of TFT-LCD panels experienced
significant fluctuations. In the first half of the year, demand for large-sized
TFT-LCD panels remained strong, which led to in an increase in the average
selling prices of large-sized TFT-LCD panels and an increase in production
levels as manufacturers remained positive about the market outlook. However, as
a result of the severe economic downturn and the weakening of consumer spending
beginning in the third quarter of 2008, there was an over-supply of large-sized
TFT-LCD panels, which drove down the average selling prices of large-sized
TFT-LCD panels in the second half of 2008. Many TFT-LCD panel manufacturers
reduced capacity utilization significantly, which in turn resulted in strong
downward pricing pressure on and a decrease in demand for our products. We expect 2009 will continue to be a challenging year for our customers and
us. Any downward pricing pressure on TFT-LCD panel manufacturers could
result in similar downward pricing pressure on us. During periods of
declining average selling prices for TFT-LCD panels, TFT-LCD panel manufacturers
may also decrease capacity utilization and sell fewer panels, which could
depress demand for our display drivers. Our average selling prices are also
affected by the packaging type our customers choose as well as the level of product
integration. However, the impact of declining average selling prices on
our profitability
might be offset or mitigated to a certain
extent by increased volume, as lower prices may then stimulate demand and thereby drive
sales.
Unit
Shipments
Our
performance is also affected by the number of semiconductors we ship, or unit
shipments. As our display drivers are critical components of flat panel
displays, our unit shipments depend primarily on our customers’ panel shipments
among other factors. Our unit shipments have grown since our inception primarily
as a result of our increased market share with certain major customers and their
increased shipments of panels. We have also continued to expand our customer
base. Our growth in unit shipments also reflected the demand for higher
resolution panels which typically require more display drivers. However, the
development of higher channel display drivers or new technologies, if
successful, could potentially reduce the number of display drivers required for
each panel while achieving the same resolution. If such technologies become
commercially available, the market for our display drivers will be reduced and
we could experience a decline in revenue and profit.
Product
Mix
The
proportion of our revenues that is generated from the sale of different product
types, also referred to as product mix, also affects our average selling prices,
revenues and profitability. Our products vary depending on, among other things,
the number of output channels, the level of integration and the package type.
Variations in each of these specifications could affect the average selling
prices of such products. For example, the trend for display drivers for use in
large-sized panels is toward products with a higher number of channels, which
typically command higher average selling prices than traditional products with a
lower number of channels. However, panels that use higher-channel display
drivers typically require fewer display drivers per panel. As a result, our
profitability will be affected adversely to the extent that the decrease in the
number of display drivers required for each panel is not offset by increased
total unit shipments and/or higher average selling prices for display drivers
with a higher number of channels. The level of integration of our display
drivers also affects average selling prices, as more highly integrated chips
typically have higher selling prices. Additionally, average selling prices are
affected by changes in the package types used by our customers. For example, the
chip-on-glass package type typically has lower material costs because no
processed tape is required.
Design
Wins
Achieving
design wins is important to our business, and it affects our unit shipments.
Design wins occur when a customer incorporates our products into their product
designs. There are numerous opportunities for design wins, including when panel
manufacturers:
·
|
introduce
new models to improve the cost and/or performance of their existing
products or to expand their product
portfolio;
|
·
|
establish
new fabs and seek to qualify existing or new components suppliers;
and
|
·
|
replace
existing display driver companies due to cost or performance
reasons.
|
Design
wins are not binding commitments by customers to purchase our products. However,
we believe that achieving design wins is an important performance indicator. Our
customers typically devote substantial time and resources to designing their
products as well as qualifying their component suppliers and their products.
Once our products have been designed into a system, the customer may be
reluctant to change its component suppliers due to the significant costs and
time associated with qualifying a new supplier or a replacement component.
Therefore, we strive to work closely with current and prospective customers in
order to anticipate their requirements and product road maps and achieve
additional design wins.
Cost
of Revenues and Cost Reductions
We strive
to control our cost of revenues. Our cost of revenues as a percentage of total
revenues in 2006, 2007 and 2008 was 80.8%, 78.0% and 75.5%, respectively. In
2008, as a percentage of Himax Taiwan’s total manufacturing costs, the cost of
wafer fabrication was 52.9%, the cost of processed tape was 16.2%, and the cost
of assembly and testing was 30.2%. As a result, our ability to manage our wafer
fabrication costs, costs for processed tape and assembly and testing costs is
critical to our performance. In addition, to mitigate declining average selling
prices, we aim to reduce unit costs by, among other things:
·
|
improving
product design (e.g., having smaller die size allows for a larger number
of dies on each wafer, thereby reducing the cost of each
die);
|
·
|
improving
manufacturing yields through our close collaboration with our
semiconductor manufacturing service providers;
and
|
·
|
achieving
better pricing from a diversified pool of semiconductor manufacturing
service providers and suppliers, reflecting our ability to leverage our
scale, volume requirements and close relationships as well as our strategy
of sourcing from multiple service providers and
suppliers.
|
Supply
Chain Management
Due to
the competitive nature of the flat panel display industry and our customers’
need to maintain high capacity utilization in order to reduce unit costs per
panel, any delays in the delivery of our products could significantly disrupt
our customers’ operations. To deliver our products on a timely basis and meet
the quality standards and technical specifications our customers require, we
must have assurances of high-quality capacity from our semiconductor
manufacturing service providers. We therefore strive to manage our supply chain
by maintaining close relationships with our key semiconductor manufacturing
service providers and strive to provide credible forecasts of capacity demand.
Any disruption to our supply chain could adversely affect our performance and
could result in a loss of customers as well as potentially damage our
reputation.
Share-Based
Compensation Expenses
Our
results of operations have been affected by, and we expect our results of
operations to continue to be affected by, our share-based compensation expenses.
Our share-based compensation expenses include charges taken relating to grants
of (i) nonvested shares to employees, (ii) treasury shares to employees and
(iii) shares to non-employees. We have since discontinued our practice of the
above-mentioned share-based compensation.
We
adopted a long-term incentive plan in October 2005 which permits the grant of
options or RSUs to our employees and non-employees where each unit represents
one ordinary share. The actual awards will be determined by our compensation
committee. We recorded share-based compensation expenses under the long-term
incentive plan totaling $14.5 million, $20.1 million and $20.8 million in 2006,
2007 and 2008, respectively. See “—Critical Accounting Policies and
Estimates—Share-Based Compensation Expenses.” Of the total share-based
compensation expenses recognized, $0, $14.4 million and $12.7 million in 2006,
2007 and 2008, respectively, were settled in cash. We have applied SFAS No. 123
(revised 2004), Share-Based Payment, or SFAS No. 123R, to account for our
share-based compensation plans. SFAS No. 123R requires companies to measure and
recognize compensation expense for all share-based payments at fair
value.
Set forth
below is a summary of our historical share-based compensation plans for the
years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008 as reflected in our consolidated
financial statements.
Restricted Share Units (RSUs).
We adopted a long-term incentive plan in October 2005. We made a grant of
1,297,564 RSUs to our employees on December 30, 2005. The vesting schedule for
this RSU grant is as follows: 25% of the RSU grant vested immediately on the
grant date, and a subsequent 25% vested on each of September 30, 2006 and
September 28, 2007, with the remainder vesting on September 30, 2008, subject to
certain forfeiture events. We also made a grant of 20,000 RSUs to our
independent directors on December 30, 2005. The vesting schedule for this RSU
grant is as follows: 25% of the RSU grant vested immediately on the grant date,
and a subsequent 25% vested on each of June 30, 2006 and 2007, with the
remainder vesting on June 30, 2008, subject to certain forfeiture events. No
RSUs were granted to our independent directors in 2006, 2007 or
2008.
We made a grant of 3,798,808 RSUs to
our employees on September
29, 2006. The vesting schedule for this RSU grant is as follows: 47.29% of the
RSU grant vested immediately on the grant date, and a subsequent 17.57% vested
on September 28, 2007, with the remainder vesting
equally on each of September 30, 2008 and 2009, subject to
certain forfeiture events.
We made a grant of 6,694,411 RSUs to our employees on September
26, 2007. The vesting schedule for this
RSU grant is as follows: 54.55% of the RSU grant vested immediately and was settled by cash in the amount of
$14.4 million on the grant date, with the remainder
vesting equally on each of September 30, 2008, 2009 and 2010, which will be settled by our ordinary
shares, subject to certain
forfeiture events.
We made a grant of 7,108,675 RSUs to our employees on September 29, 2008. The vesting schedule for this RSU
grant is as follows: 60.64% of the RSU grant vested
immediately and was settled by cash in the amount
of $12.7
million on the grant date,
with the remainder vesting equally on each of September 30, 2009, 2010 and 2011, which will be settled by our ordinary
shares, subject to certain
forfeiture events.
The
amount of share-based compensation expense with regard to the RSUs granted to
our directors and employees on December 30, 2005 was determined based on an
estimated fair value of $8.62 per ordinary share of the ordinary shares
underlying the RSUs. The fair value of our ordinary shares was determined based
on a third-party valuation conducted by an independent third-party appraiser.
The amount of share-based compensation expense with regard to the RSUs granted
to our employees on September 29, 2006, September 26, 2007 and September 29,
2008 was $5.71, $3.95 and $2.95 per ordinary share, respectively, which was
based on the trading price of our ADSs on that day.
RSUs issued in connection with the
acquisition of Wisepal. We made a grant of 418,440 RSUs to former Wisepal
employees in exchange for the unvested stock options held by such employees in
Wisepal. The vesting schedule for this RSU grant is as follows: 30% of the RSUs
granted vested immediately, and a subsequent 10% vested on September 28, 2007;
however, the remaining unvested RSUs were forfeited as a result of certain
employees’ forfeiture events. The vested portion of the RSUs granted was
included in the purchase cost of Wisepal while the unvested portion is treated
as post-combination compensation expense, the value of which amounted to $0.9
million
Determining
the fair value of our ordinary shares prior to our initial public offering
requires making complex and subjective judgments regarding projected financial
and operating results, our business risks, the liquidity of our shares and our
operating history and prospects. We used the discounted cash flow approach in
conjunction with the market value approach by assigning a different weight to
each of the approaches to estimate the value of our company when the RSUs were
granted. The discounted cash flow approach involves applying appropriate
discount rates to estimated cash flows that are based on earnings forecasts. The
market value approach incorporates certain assumptions including the market
performance of comparable companies as well as our financial results and growth
trends to derive our total equity value. The assumptions used in deriving the
fair value are consistent with our business plan. These assumptions include: no
material changes in the existing political, legal, fiscal and economic
conditions in Taiwan; our ability to retain competent management, key personnel
and technical staff to support our ongoing operation; and no material deviation
in industry trends and market conditions from economic forecasts. These
assumptions are inherently uncertain. The risks associated with achieving our
forecasts were assessed in selecting the appropriate discount rate. If a
different discount rate were used, the valuation and the amount of share-based
compensation would have been different because the fair value of the underlying
ordinary shares for the RSUs granted would be different.
Signing
Bonuses
To
complement our share-based compensation scheme, Himax Taiwan adopted a signing
bonus system for newly recruited employees in the second half of
2006.
Employees
are entitled to receive signing bonuses upon (i) the expiration of their
probationary period and a satisfactory review by their supervisor, and (ii)
execution of a formal “retention and signing bonus agreement.” If an employee
leaves within 18 months (for any reason at all) of having commenced employment
with Himax Taiwan, 100% of the signing bonus will be returned. If an employee
leaves after 18 months but prior to 36 months after commencing employment with
Himax Taiwan, 50% of the signing bonus will be returned.
In 2006, 2007 and 2008, Himax Taiwan paid $3.4 million, $2.6 million
and $2.7 million, respectively, in signing bonuses which were charged to
earnings. Besides Himax Taiwan, signing bonuses were adopted by four and six
subsidiaries in 2007 and 2008, respectively, and a total of $0.6 million and
$1.0 million, respectively, were paid to certain employees of our
subsidiaries.
Tax
Exemptions
Our results of operations have been affected
by, and we expect our
results of operations to continue to be affected by, tax exemptions. The ROC Statute for Upgrading Industries
provides to companies
deemed to be operating in important or strategic industries a five-year tax
exemption for income attributable to expanded production capacity or newly
developed technologies. Such expanded production capacity or newly developed
technologies must be funded in whole or in part from either
the initial capital investment made by a company’s shareholders, a subsequent capital
increase or a capitalization of a company’s retained earnings. As a result of this
statute, income attributable to certain of Himax Taiwan’s expanded production capacity is tax
exempt for a period of five years, effective on April 1, 2004, January 1,
2006 and January 1, 2008 and expiring on March 31, 2009, December 31, 2010 and
December 31, 2012, respectively.
In addition, beginning
January 1, 2009, Wisepal
has also become entitled to a five-year tax exemption expiring on December 31, 2013.
While the ROC Statute for Upgrading Industries is due to expire at the
end of 2009, under a grandfather clause we can continue to enjoy the five-year
tax holiday provided that the relevant investment plans are approved by the ROC
tax authority before the expiration of the Statute. Based on the ROC statutory income tax
rate of 25%, the effect of such tax exemption on net income and basic and
diluted earnings per share
had been an increase of $16.7 million, $0.09 and $0.09, respectively, for the year ended
December 31, 2006, $27.1 million, $0.14 and $0.14,
respectively, for the year ended December 31, 2007, and $25.2 million, $0.13 and $0.13, respectively, for the year ended December 31,
2008. As a result of
the expiration of one of
Himax Taiwan’s tax exemptions on March 31, 2009, we expect
our effective income tax rate to increase and our results of operations for the year ended
December 31, 2009 would be affected.
Description
of Certain Statements of Income Line Items
Revenues
We
generate revenues primarily from sales of our display drivers. We have achieved
significant revenue growth since our inception, due primarily to a significant
increase in unit shipments, partially offset by the general trend of declining
average selling prices of our products. Historically, we have generated revenues
from sales of display drivers for large-sized applications, display drivers for
mobile handsets and display drivers for consumer electronics products. In
addition, our product portfolio includes operational amplifiers, timing
controllers, TFT-LCD, television and monitor chipsets, LCOS projector solutions,
and power management ICs.
The
following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, our revenues by amount
and our revenues as a percentage of revenues by each product line:
|
|
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands, except percentages)
|
|
Display
drivers for large-sized applications
|
|
|
$645,513 |
|
|
|
86.7 |
% |
|
|
$752,196 |
|
|
|
81.9 |
% |
|
|
$651,504 |
|
|
|
78.2 |
% |
Display
drivers for mobile handsets applications
|
|
|
52,160 |
|
|
|
7.0 |
|
|
|
75,704 |
|
|
|
8.2 |
|
|
|
57,274 |
|
|
|
6.9 |
|
Display
drivers for consumer electronics applications
|
|
|
28,616 |
|
|
|
3.8 |
|
|
|
66,634 |
|
|
|
7.3 |
|
|
|
81,866 |
|
|
|
9.8 |
|
Others(1)
|
|
|
18,229 |
|
|
|
2.5 |
|
|
|
23,677 |
|
|
|
2.6 |
|
|
|
42,155 |
|
|
|
5.1 |
|
Total
|
|
|
$744,518 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
$918,211 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
$832,799 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
Note:
|
(1)
|
Includes,
among other things, timing controllers, TFT-LCD television and monitor
chipsets, LCOS projector solutions and power management
ICs.
|
A limited
number of customers account for substantially all our revenues. We are seeking
to diversify our customer base and to reduce our reliance on any one customer.
Nonetheless, the percentage of our total revenues
generated
from sales to CMO and its affiliates increased in 2007 and 2008 as a result of
its significant capacity expansion in 2007 and the first half of 2008. The table
below sets forth, for the periods indicated, our revenues generated from our
most significant customers (including their respective affiliates) and such
revenues as a percentage of our total revenues:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands, except percentages)
|
CMO
and its affiliates
|
|
$ |
409,697 |
|
|
|
55.0 |
% |
|
$ |
539,737 |
|
|
|
58.8 |
% |
|
$ |
520,461 |
|
|
|
62.5 |
% |
Samsung
and its affiliates
|
|
|
45,097 |
|
|
|
6.1 |
|
|
|
34,375 |
|
|
|
3.7 |
|
|
|
54,138 |
|
|
|
6.5 |
|
SVA-NEC
|
|
|
54,272 |
|
|
|
7.3 |
|
|
|
76,774 |
|
|
|
8.4 |
|
|
|
52,101 |
|
|
|
6.3 |
|
CPT
and its affiliates
|
|
|
92,561 |
|
|
|
12.4 |
|
|
|
66,694 |
|
|
|
7.3 |
|
|
|
32,673 |
|
|
|
3.9 |
|
Others
|
|
|
142,891 |
|
|
|
19.2 |
|
|
|
200,631 |
|
|
|
21.8 |
|
|
|
173,426 |
|
|
|
20.8 |
|
Total
|
|
$ |
744,518 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
$ |
918,211 |
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
$ |
832,799 |
|
|
|
100 |
% |
SVA-NEC
accounted for approximately 7.3%, 8.4% and 6.3% of our revenues in 2006, 2007
and 2008, respectively. As a result of its substantial reduction in fab
utilization and its weak financial condition, our sales to SVA-NEC have
decreased significantly since the fourth quarter of 2008 and are expected to
decrease significantly in 2009 as compared to prior years. The sharp reduction
in sales to SVA-NEC has had and is expected to continue to have a negative and
material impact on our business, results of operations, and financial condition.
Beginning in March 2009, we have also required SVA-NEC to obtain guarantees by
banks or third party customers in favor of us for the majority of new purchase
orders.
The
global TFT-LCD panel market is highly concentrated, with only a limited number
of TFT-LCD panel manufacturers producing large-sized TFT-LCD panels in high
volumes. We sell large-sized panel display drivers to many of these TFT-LCD
panel manufacturers. Our revenues, therefore, will depend on our ability to
capture an increasingly larger percentage of each panel manufacturer’s display
driver requirements.
We derive
substantially all of our revenues from sales to Asia-based customers whose end
products are sold worldwide. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, approximately 81.4%, 85.5%
and 77.6% of our revenues, respectively, were from customers headquartered in
Taiwan. We believe that substantially all of our revenues will continue to be
from customers located in Asia, where almost all of the TFT-LCD panel
manufacturers and mobile device module manufacturers are located. As a result of
the regional customer concentration, we expect to continue to be particularly
subject to economic and political events and other developments that affect our
customers in Asia. A substantial majority of our sales invoices are denominated
in U.S. dollars.
Costs
and Expenses
Our costs
and expenses consist of cost of revenues, research and development expenses,
general and administrative expenses, bad debt expense, sales and marketing
expenses and share-based compensation expenses.
Cost
of Revenues
The
principal items of our cost of revenues are:
·
|
cost
of wafer fabrication;
|
·
|
cost
of processed tape used in TAB
packaging;
|
·
|
cost
of gold bumping, assembly and testing;
and
|
·
|
other
costs and expenses.
|
We
outsource the manufacturing of our semiconductors and semiconductor solutions to
semiconductor manufacturing service providers. The costs of wafer fabrication,
gold bumping, assembly and testing depend on the availability of capacity and
demand for such services. The wafer fabrication industry, in particular, is
highly
cyclical,
resulting in fluctuations in the price of processed wafers depending on the
available foundry capacity and the demand for foundry services.
Research
and Development Expenses
Research
and development expenses consist primarily of research and development employee
salaries, including signing bonuses and related employee welfare costs, costs
associated with prototype wafers, processed tape, mask and tooling sets,
depreciation on research and development equipment and acquisition-related
charges. We believe that we will need to continue to spend a significant amount
on research and development in order to remain competitive. We expect to
continue increasing our spending on research and development in absolute dollar
amounts in the future as we continue to increase our research and development
headcount and associated costs to pursue additional product development
opportunities.
General
and Administrative Expenses
General
and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries of general and
administrative employees, including signing bonuses and related employee welfare
costs, depreciation on buildings, office furniture and equipment, rent and
professional fees. We anticipate that our general and administrative expenses
will increase in absolute dollar amounts as we expand our operations, hire
additional administrative personnel, incur depreciation expenses in connection
with our headquarters at the Tree Valley Industrial Park, incur professional
fees for filing patent applications and incur additional compliance costs
required of a publicly listed company in the United States.
Bad
Debt Expense
We
recognized bad debt expense of $0.2 million, nil, and $25.3 million in 2006,
2007 and 2008, respectively. We evaluate our outstanding accounts receivable on
a monthly basis for collectibility purposes. In establishing the required
allowance, we consider our historical collection experience, current receivable
aging and the current trend in the credit quality of our customers. Our bad debt
expense in 2008 related mainly to the uncollected accounts receivable
outstanding from SVA-NEC.
Sales
and Marketing Expenses
Our sales
and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries of sales and marketing
employees, including signing bonuses and related employee welfare costs,
amortization expenses for the acquired intangible assets related to the Wisepal
acquisition in 2007, travel expenses and product sample costs. We expect that
our sales and marketing expenses will increase in absolute dollar amounts over
the next several years. However, we believe that as we continue to achieve
greater economies of scale and operating efficiencies, our sales and marketing
expenses may decline over time as a percentage of our revenues.
Share-Based
Compensation Expenses
Our
share-based compensation expenses consist of various forms of share-based
compensation that we have historically issued to our employees and consultants,
as well as share-based compensation issued to employees, directors and service
providers under our 2005 long-term incentive plan. We allocate such share-based
compensation expenses to the applicable cost of revenues and expense categories
as related services are performed. See note 15 to our consolidated financial
statements. Historically our share-based compensation practice comprised grants
of (i) bonus shares to employees, (ii) nonvested shares to employees, (iii)
treasury shares to employees and (iv) shares to non-employees. Under the
long-term incentive plan, we granted RSUs on December 30, 2005 to our employees
and directors and again on September 29, 2006, September 26, 2007 and September
29, 2008 to our employees. Share-based compensation expenses recorded under the
long-term incentive plan totaled $14.5 million, $20.1 million and $20.8 million
in 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively. See “—Critical Accounting Policies and
Estimates—Share-Based Compensation” for further discussion of the accounting of
such expenses.
Income
Taxes
Since we
and our direct and indirect subsidiaries are incorporated in different
jurisdictions, we file separate income tax returns. Under the current laws of
the Cayman Islands, we are not subject to income or capital gains tax.
Additionally, dividend payments made by us are not subject to withholding tax in
the Cayman Islands. We
recognize
income taxes at the applicable statutory rates in accordance with the
jurisdictions where our subsidiaries are located and as adjusted for certain
items including accumulated losses carried forward, non-deductible expenses,
research and development tax credits, certain tax holidays, as well as changes
in our deferred tax assets and liabilities.
ROC tax
regulations require our ROC subsidiaries to pay an additional 10% tax on
unappropriated earnings. ROC law offers preferential tax treatments to
industries that are encouraged by the ROC government. The ROC Statute for
Upgrading Industries entitles companies to tax credits for expenses relating to
qualifying research and development and personnel training expenses and
purchases of qualifying machinery. This tax credit may be applied within a
five-year period. The amount from the tax credit that may be applied in any year
(with the exception of the final year when the remainder of the tax credit may
be applied without limitation to the total amount of the income tax payable) is
limited to 50% of the income tax payable for that year. Under the ROC Statute
for Upgrading Industries, Himax Taiwan, Wisepal, Himax Display, Himax Analogic,
Himax Media Solutions and Himax Imaging Ltd.
were granted tax credits by the ROC Ministry of Finance at rates set at a
certain percentage of the amount utilized in qualifying research and development
and personnel training expenses. The balance of unused investment tax credits
totaled $19.4 million, $32.7 million and $46.8 million as of December 31, 2006,
2007 and 2008, respectively. In addition, under the ROC Statute for Upgrading
Industries, income attributable to certain of Himax Taiwan’s expanded production
capacity is tax exempt for a period of five years, effective on April 1, 2004,
January 1, 2006 and January 1, 2008 and expiring on March 31, 2009, December 31,
2010 and December 31, 2012, respectively. In addition, beginning January 1,
2009, Wisepal has also become entitled to a five-year tax exemption expiring on
December 31, 2013. Based on the ROC statutory income tax rate of 25%, the effect
of these tax exemptions on net income and basic and diluted earnings per
ordinary share for the year ended December 31, 2008 had been an increase of
$25.2 million, $0.13 and $0.13, respectively.
Critical
Accounting Policies and Estimates
We
believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant
judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial
statements.
Share-Based
Compensation
Share-based compensation primarily
consists of grants of nonvested or restricted shares of common stock, stock options and RSUs issued to employees. We have
applied SFAS No. 123R for our share-based compensation plans for all periods
since the incorporation of Himax Taiwan in 2001. The cost of employee services
received in exchange for share-based compensation is measured based on
the grant-date fair value of the share-based instruments issued. The cost of
employee services is equal to the grant-date fair value of shares issued to
employees and is recognized in earnings over the service period. Share-based compensation expense
estimates also take into account the number of shares awarded that management
believes will eventually vest. We adjust our estimate for each period to reflect the current estimate
of forfeitures. As of December 31, 2008, we based our share-based compensation
cost on an assumed forfeiture rate of 13.85% per annum for RSUs issued in 2006 and
6.55% per annum for RSUs issued in 2007 and
2008 under our long-term incentive plan. If actual forfeitures occur at a lower
rate, share-based
compensation costs will increase in future periods.
When
estimating the fair value of our ordinary shares prior to our initial public
offering, we reviewed both internal and external sources of information. The
sources we used to determine the fair value of the underlying shares at the date
of measurement have been subjective in nature and based on, among other
factors:
·
|
our
financial condition as of the date of
grant;
|
·
|
our
financial and operating prospects at that
time;
|
·
|
for
certain issuances in 2001 and early 2002, the price of new shares issued
to unrelated third parties;
|
·
|
for
certain issuances in 2002, 2003 and 2004, an independent third-party
retrospective analysis of the historical value of our common shares, which
utilized both a net asset-based methodology and market and peer group
comparables (including average price/earnings, enterprise value/sales,
enterprise value/earnings
|
|
before
interest and tax, and enterprise value/earnings before interest, tax,
depreciation and amortization); and
|
·
|
for
our issuance of RSUs in 2005, an independent third-party analysis of the
current and future value of our ordinary shares, which utilized both
discounted cash flow and market value approaches, using multiples such as
price/earnings, forward price/earnings, enterprise value/earnings before
interest and tax, and forward enterprise value/earnings before interest
and tax.
|
Changes
in any of these factors or assumptions could have resulted in different
estimates of the fair value of our common shares and the related amounts of
share-based compensation.
We
estimated the fair value of the ordinary shares underlying the RSUs granted to
our directors and employees at $8.62 per share in 2005. For our issuance of RSUs
in 2006, 2007 and 2008, the fair value of the ordinary shares underlying the
RSUs granted to our employees was $5.71, $3.95 and $2.95 per share,
respectively, which was the closing price of our ADSs on September 29, 2006,
September 26, 2007 and September 29, 2008, respectively.
We record
a reduction to revenues and accounts receivable by establishing a sales discount
and return allowance for estimated sales discounts and product returns at the
time revenues are recognized based primarily on historical discount and return
rates. However, if sales discount and product returns for a particular fiscal
period exceed historical rates, we may determine that additional sales discount
and return allowances are required to properly reflect our estimated remaining
exposure for sales discounts and product returns.
We
evaluate our outstanding accounts receivable on a monthly basis for
collectibility purposes. In establishing the required allowance, we consider our
historical collection experience, current receivable aging and the current trend
in the credit quality of our customers. Since around September 2008, SVA-NEC has
delayed paying a large portion of our accounts receivable outstanding from them.
Subsequently, in late February 2009, it was reported that SVA Group, the ultimate parent company of
SVA-NEC, was in financial distress, and in late March 2009, the Shanghai
municipal government set up a conservatorship committee to assist in SVA Group’s
restructuring. We collected certain partial payments from SVA-NEC in 2009 to
date, but we believe it is probable that we will not be able to collect any of
our remaining accounts receivable outstanding from SVA-NEC. In view of this
latest development and our increasing concern about SVA-NEC’s financial
condition, we concluded that our accounts receivable from SVA-NEC was impaired
and we recognized a valuation allowance of $25.3 million for this probable
credit loss as of December 31, 2008. See “Item 3.D. Key Information—Risk
Factors—Risks Relating to Our Financial Condition and Business— The
concentration of our accounts receivable and the extension of payment terms for
certain of our customers exposes us to increased credit risk and could harm our
operating results and cash flows.”
The
movement in the allowance for doubtful accounts, sales returns and discounts for
the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008 are as follows:
Allowance
for doubtful accounts
|
|
Balance
at
Beginning
of
Year
|
|
|
Additions
Charged to Expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
December
31, 2006
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
187 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
187 |
|
December
31, 2007
|
|
$ |
187 |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
(187 |
) |
|
$ |
- |
|
December
31, 2008
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
$ |
25,305 |
|
|
$ |
(8 |
) |
|
$ |
25,297 |
|
Allowance
for sales returns and discounts
|
|
Balance
at
Beginning
of
Year
|
|
|
Additions
Charged to Expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
December
31, 2006
|
|
$ |
181 |
|
|
$ |
2,656 |
|
|
$ |
(2,156 |
) |
|
$ |
681 |
|
December
31, 2007
|
|
$ |
681 |
|
|
$ |
1,705 |
|
|
$ |
(1,893 |
) |
|
$ |
493 |
|
December
31, 2008
|
|
$ |
493 |
|
|
$ |
1,657 |
|
|
$ |
(1,988 |
) |
|
$ |
162 |
|
Inventory
Inventories are stated at the lower of
cost or market value. Cost
is determined using the weighted-average method. For work-in-process and
manufactured inventories, cost consists of the cost of raw materials (primarily
fabricated wafers and processed tape), direct labor and an appropriate
proportion of production overheads. We also write down excess and
obsolete inventory to its estimated market value based upon estimations about
future demand and market conditions. If actual market conditions are less
favorable than those projected by management, additional future inventory write-downs may be required which could adversely affect our operating
results. Once written down, inventories are carried at this lower amount until
sold or scrapped. If actual market conditions are more favorable, we may have
higher operating income
when such products are sold. Sales to date of such products have not had a
significant impact on our operating income. The inventory write-downs in 2006, 2007 and 2008 were approximately $5.2 million, $14.8 million and $18.0 million, respectively, and were included in cost of revenues in our
consolidated statements of income. The inventory write-down increased significantly in 2007 due primarily to the excess inventory issues related to
shorter-than-expected product life cycle for certain products and the revision of certain customer
forecasts, which also partially contributed to decreased demand as customers
shifted to more advanced products. The increase in 2008 was generally
attributable to the
shorter-than-expected product life cycle,
overestimated market demand
and significant changes in customers’ forecasts.
Impairment
of Long-Lived Assets, Excluding Goodwill
We routinely review our long-lived
assets that are held and used for impairment
whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be
recoverable. The determination of recoverability is based on an estimate of
undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset and its
eventual disposition. The estimate of cash flows is based upon, among
other things, certain assumptions about
expected future operating performance, average selling prices, utilization rates
and other factors. If the sum of the undiscounted cash flows (excluding
interest) is less than the carrying value, an impairment charge is recognized for the amount that the
carrying value of the asset exceeds its fair value, based on the best
information available, including discounted cash flow analysis. However, due to
the cyclical nature of our industry and changes in our business
strategy, market requirements, or the needs of
our customers, we may not always be in a position to accurately anticipate
declines in the utility of our equipment or acquired technology until they
occur. We have not had any
impairment charges on long-lived assets during the period from December 31,
2006 to December 31, 2008.
Business
Combinations
When we
acquire businesses, we allocate the purchase price to tangible assets and
liabilities and identifiable intangible assets acquired. Any residual purchase
price is recorded as goodwill. The allocation of the purchase price requires
management to make significant estimates in determining the fair values of
assets acquired and liabilities assumed, especially with respect to intangible
assets. These estimates are based on historical experience and information
obtained from the management of the acquired companies. These estimates can
include, but are not limited to, the cash flows that an asset is expected to
generate in the future, the appropriate weighted-average cost of capital, and
the synergistic benefits expected to be derived from the acquired business.
These estimates are inherently uncertain and unpredictable. In addition,
unanticipated events and circumstances may occur which may affect the accuracy
or validity of such estimates.
Goodwill
We
evaluate goodwill for impairment at least annually, and test for impairment
between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would
indicate that the carrying amount may be impaired. We consider the enterprise as
a whole to be a single reporting unit for purposes of evaluating goodwill
impairment. Consequently, we
determine
the fair value of the reporting unit based on our market capitalization adjusted
for a control premium and also use a discounted cash flow valuation to validate
our adjusted market capitalization approach.
On
December 31, 2008, the quoted market price of our shares was $1.61 per share
while our net book value per share was $2.44. In determining an appropriate
control premium, we referenced the MergerStat database and Standard Industrial
Classification (SIC) number to identify comparable merger and acquisition
transactions effected during 2008 and to compare the targets’ businesses and sizes with ours. Applying the
comparable targets’ control premium to us, we derived an indicative control
premium of between 60% and 68%. Consequently, we estimated the fair value of our
company as of December 31, 2008 to be between $489.7 million and $514.2 million,
which was greater than our company’s net book value of $463.2 million as of
December 31, 2008.
To
validate our adjusted market capitalization valuation, we engaged an independent
external service provider to assist us in estimating our fair value based on the
discounted cash flow approach. The estimated fair value of our company derived
under this approach was $517.1 million. We believe this analysis provides
further validation of the estimated control premium to be derived mainly from
synergies and potential savings that a buyer would benefit in acquiring a
controlling interest in our company. In conducting the discounted cash flow
valuation, we
made assumptions about future operating cash flows, the discount rate used to
determine present value of future cash flows, and capital expenditures. Future
operating cash flows assumptions include sales growth assumptions, which are
based on our historical trends and industry trends, and gross margin and
operating expense growth assumptions, which are based on the historical
relationship of those measures compared to sales and certain cost cutting
initiatives which management began to undertake in the fourth quarter of 2008.
We used a discount rate based on our weighted average cost of capital, which was
18.68% as of December 31, 2008.
Based on
the results of evaluation of our fair value using an adjusted market
capitalization approach, and as validated by our evaluation using the discounted
cash flow approach, we believe that our estimated fair value exceeded our
stockholders’ equity and therefore concluded that goodwill was not impaired as
of December 31, 2008. However, our conclusion could change in the future if our
quoted market price falls further below our net book value per share or if
market conditions change with respect to control premiums paid for companies of
our size and business nature.
Product
Warranty
Under our
standard terms and conditions of sale, products sold are subject to a limited
product quality warranty. We may receive warranty claims outside the scope of
the standard terms and conditions. We provide for the estimated cost of product
warranties at the time revenue is recognized based primarily on historical
experience and any specifically identified quality issues. The movement in
accrued warranty costs for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008 is
as follows:
Year
|
|
Balance
at Beginning
of
Year
|
|
|
Additions
Charged to Expense
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
December
31, 2006
|
|
$ |
545 |
|
|
$ |
2,101 |
|
|
$ |
(2,016 |
) |
|
$ |
630 |
|
December
31, 2007
|
|
$ |
630 |
|
|
$ |
799 |
|
|
$ |
(1,094 |
) |
|
$ |
335 |
|
December
31, 2008
|
|
$ |
335 |
|
|
$ |
1,526 |
|
|
$ |
(1,612 |
) |
|
$ |
249 |
|
Income
Taxes
As part
of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, our
management is required to estimate income taxes and tax bases of assets and
liabilities for us and our subsidiaries. This process involves estimating
current tax exposure together with assessing temporary differences resulting
from differing treatment of items for tax and accounting purposes and the amount
of tax credits and tax loss carryforwards. These differences result in deferred
tax assets and liabilities, which are included in the consolidated balance
sheets. Management must then assess the likelihood that the deferred tax assets
will be recovered from future taxable income, and, to the extent it believes
that recovery is not more likely than not, a valuation allowance is
provided.
In
assessing the ability to realize deferred tax assets, our management considers
whether it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax
assets will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets and
therefore the determination of the valuation allowance is dependent upon the
generation of future taxable income by the taxable entity during the periods in
which those temporary differences become deductible. Management considers the
scheduled reversal of different liabilities, projected future taxable income,
and tax planning strategies in determining the valuation allowance.
Upon
initial adoption of FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income
Taxes, or FIN 48, on January 1, 2007, we recognize the effect of income
tax positions only if those positions are more likely than not to be sustained.
We have to recognize income tax expenses when the possibility of tax adjustments
made by the tax authority are greater than 50% in the future period. Changes in
income tax recognition or measurement of previous periods are reflected in the
period in which the change in judgment occurs.
Prior to
the adoption of FIN 48, we recognized the effect of income tax positions only if
such positions were probable of being sustained. We recognize interest and
penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense.
We have accrued tax liabilities or reduced deferred tax assets to address
potential exposures involving positions that are not considered to be more
likely than not of being sustained based on the technical merits of the tax
position as filed. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amounts of
uncertain tax positions is as follows:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Balance
at beginning of
year
|
|
$ |
1,276 |
|
|
$ |
3,968 |
|
Increase
related to prior year tax
positions
|
|
|
503 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Decrease
related to prior year tax positions
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1,780 |
) |
Increase
related to current year tax
positions
|
|
|
2,189 |
|
|
|
3,555 |
|
Effect
of exchange rate
change
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(25 |
) |
Balance
at end of
year
|
|
$ |
3,968 |
|
|
$ |
5,718 |
|
Except
for Himax Taiwan, Wisepal, Himax Technologies Anyang Limited (based in South
Korea), or Himax Anyang, Himax Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., Himax
Technologies (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., and Himax Imaging, Corp., all other
subsidiaries have generated tax losses since their inception and are not
included in the consolidated tax filing with Himax Taiwan or other subsidiaries
with taxable income. Valuation allowance of $6.3 million, $12.3 million and
$21.0 million as of December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively, was provided
to reduce their deferred tax assets (consisting primarily of operating loss
carryforwards and unused investment tax credits) to zero because management
believes it is unlikely that these tax benefits will be realized. The additional
provision of valuation allowance recognized for the years ended December 31,
2006, 2007 and 2008 was $3.0 million, $6.0 million and $8.7 million,
respectively, as a result of increases in deferred tax assets originating in
these years which we did not expect to realize.
Results
of Operations
Our
business has evolved rapidly and significantly since we commenced operations in
2001. Our limited operating history makes the prediction of future operating
results very difficult. We believe that period-to-period comparisons of
operating results should not be relied upon as indicative of future performance.
On February 1, 2007, we acquired 100% of the outstanding ordinary shares of
Wisepal. The results of Wisepal’s operations has been included in our
consolidated financial statements since that date. The following table sets
forth a summary of our consolidated statements of income as a percentage of
revenues:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
100.0 |
% |
|
|
100.0 |
% |
Costs
and expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenues
|
|
|
80.8 |
|
|
|
78.0 |
|
|
|
75.5 |
|
Research
and development
|
|
|
8.1 |
|
|
|
8.0 |
|
|
|
10.5 |
|
General
and administrative
|
|
|
1.3 |
|
|
|
1.6 |
|
|
|
2.3 |
|
Bad
debt expense
|
|
|
0.0 |
|
|
|
0.0 |
|
|
|
3.0 |
|
Sales
and marketing
|
|
|
0.9 |
|
|
|
1.0 |
|
|
|
1.4 |
|
Total
costs and expenses
|
|
|
91.2 |
|
|
|
88.7 |
|
|
|
92.8 |
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
8.8 |
|
|
|
11.3 |
|
|
|
7.2 |
|
Non-operating
income
|
|
|
0.5 |
|
|
|
0.6 |
|
|
|
0.5 |
|
Income
tax benefit
|
|
|
(0.7 |
) |
|
|
(0.2 |
) |
|
|
(1.0 |
) |
Minority
interest
|
|
|
0.0 |
|
|
|
0.1 |
|
|
|
0.4 |
|
Net
income
|
|
|
10.1 |
|
|
|
12.3 |
|
|
|
9.2 |
|
Year
Ended December 31, 2008 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2007
Revenues. Our revenues
decreased 9.3% to $832.8 million in 2008 from $918.2 million in 2007. This
decrease was attributable mainly to a decrease in revenues from display drivers
for large-sized applications, coupled with a decrease in revenues from display
drivers for mobile handsets and partially offset by the increases in revenues
from display drivers for consumer electronics products and non-driver products.
The decrease in revenues was due primarily to a 17.2% decrease in our average
selling prices, partially offset by a 9.6% increase in our unit shipments in
2008. The selling prices of our display drivers declined significantly in 2008,
which was due primarily to the pricing pressure from TFT-LCD panel manufacturers
as a result of the decline in the average selling prices of TFT-LCD panels in
the second half of 2008. The increase in unit shipments was mainly attributable
to the rapid capacity expansion and increased panel shipments for our customers
in general primarily in the first half of 2008.
Costs and Expenses. Costs and
expenses decreased 5.1% to $772.6 million in 2008 from $814.3 million in 2007.
As a percentage of revenues, costs and expenses increased to 92.8% in 2008
compared to 88.7% in 2007.
·
|
Cost of Revenues. Cost
of revenues decreased 12.2% to $628.7 million in 2008 from $716.2 million
in 2007. The decrease in cost of revenues was due primarily to a 19.9%
decrease in average unit cost, partially offset by a 9.6% increase in unit
shipments. The decrease in average unit cost was attributable primarily to
our change in product mix and our efforts to control cost though
optimizing our supplier mix, improving design processes, increasing
manufacturing yields and leveraging our scale and close relationship with
semiconductor manufacturing service providers and suppliers. Inventory
write-downs, which were included in cost of revenues, were $18.0 million
in 2008 compared to $14.8 million in 2007. The increase in inventory
write-downs was generally attributable to the shorter-than-expected product life cycle,
overestimated market demand and significant changes in
customers’ forecasts. As a percentage of
revenues, cost of revenues decreased to 75.5% in 2008 from 78.0% in
2007.
|
·
|
Research and Development.
Research and development expenses increased 18.5% to $87.6 million
in 2008 from $73.9 million in 2007. This increase was primarily
attributable to the increases in salary expenses, including share-based
compensation, mask and mold expenses and depreciation. The increase in
salary expenses was due to an increase in headcount and higher average
salaries. The increase in mask and mold expenses resulted primarily from
our increased effort to undertake research and development projects and
our migration of certain manufacturing processes. The increase in
depreciation consisted primarily of the increased depreciation expense
relating to our research and development equipment and software. Such
increases were partially offset by a decrease in amortization because of
the large write-off of in-process research and development assets in the
amount of $1.6 million related to the Wisepal acquisition in 2007, which
we did not have in 2008.
|
·
|
General and Administrative.
General and administrative expenses increased 29.9% to $19.4
million in 2008 from $14.9 million in 2007, primarily as a result of an
increase in salary expenses, including share-based compensation,
professional fees and depreciation. The increase in salary expenses was
due to an increase in headcount and higher average salaries. The increase
in professional fees was mainly attributable to an increase in patent
filing fees. The increase in depreciation consisted primarily of the
increased depreciation expense relating to our office equipment and
software.
|
·
|
Bad Debt Expense. In
2008, we recognized bad debt expense of $25.3 million compared to nil in
2007. This bad debt expense related mainly to the uncollected accounts
receivable outstanding from
SVA-NEC.
|
·
|
Sales and Marketing.
Sales and marketing expenses increased 25.3% to $11.7 million in
2008 from $9.3 million in 2007, primarily as a result of an increase in
salary expenses, including share-based compensation, and expenses of
samples. The increase in salary expenses was due to an increase in
headcount and higher average salaries. The expenses of samples increased
primarily as a result of the increase in samples used for sales
promotion.
|
Non-Operating Income. We had
non-operating income of $3.9 million in 2008 compared to $5.7 million in 2007.
The primary component of our non-operating income was interest income amounting
to $3.3 million and $5.4 million in 2008 and 2007, respectively. The 39.0%
decrease in interest income was due primarily to lower interest rates in
2008.
Income Tax Benefit. We
recognized an income tax benefit of $8.7 million in 2008 compared to an income
tax benefit of $1.9 million in 2007. Our effective income tax rate changed from
(1.7)% in 2007 to (13.6)% in 2008. The increase in income tax benefit was mainly
attributable to the greater proportion of tax free income earned compared to
pre-tax income in 2008 as compared to 2007.
Net Income. As a result of
the foregoing, our net income decreased to $76.4 million in 2008 from $112.6
million in 2007.
Year
Ended December 31, 2007 Compared to Year Ended December 31, 2006
Revenues. Our revenues
increased 23.3% to $918.2 million in 2007 from $744.5 million in 2006. This
increase was due primarily to a 21.9% increase in unit shipments of display
drivers for large-sized applications, partially offset by a 3.9% decrease in
average selling prices of such products. This increase was also attributable to
an increase of unit shipments for display drivers for mobile handsets, but was
partially offset by a 33.6% decrease in the average selling prices of such
products. The increase in unit shipments was due primarily to increased demand
from our customers, especially CMO and its affiliates, because they expanded
their production capacity, as well as an increase in the demand of large panel
televisions in 2007. In general, the average selling prices of our display
drivers decline from year to year due to a combination of the pricing pressure
we face from our customers, the general industry trend of declining average
selling prices of semiconductors over a product’s life cycle, and the
introduction of newer, lower-cost display drivers. The relatively small decrease
in the average selling prices for display drivers for large-sized applications
was due primarily to product migration to higher channel display drivers, which
generally have higher average selling prices, and less downward pricing pressure
from TFT-LCD makers in 2007.
Costs and Expenses. Costs and
expenses increased 19.9% to $814.3 million in 2007 from $679.0 million in 2006.
As a percentage of revenues, costs and expenses decreased to 88.7% in 2007
compared to 91.2% in 2006.
·
|
Cost of Revenues. Cost
of revenues increased 19.0% to $716.2 million in 2007 from $601.6 million
in 2006. The increase in cost of revenues was due primarily to an increase
in unit shipments. The inventory write-downs in 2007 were due primarily to
excess inventory issues related to shorter-than-expected product life
cycle for certain products and the revision of certain customer forecasts,
which also partially contributed to decreased demand as customers shifted
to more advanced products. The inventory write-downs for the years ended
December 31, 2006 and 2007 were approximately $5.2 million and $14.8
million, respectively. As a percentage of revenues, cost of revenues
decreased to 78.0% in 2007 from 80.8% in 2006. The decrease in cost of
revenues as a percentage of revenues was due primarily to (1) a change in
product mix, as the percentage of revenues from sale of small and
medium-sized display drivers (which typically have higher gross margins)
increased, and (2) through cost reduction efforts achieved by improving
designs and processes, increasing manufacturing yields and leveraging our
scale, volume requirements and close relationships with semiconductor
manufacturing service providers and
suppliers.
|
·
|
Research and Development.
Research and development expenses increased 21.8% to $73.9 million
in 2007 from $60.7 million in 2006, due primarily to the increase in
share-based compensation expenses, salary expenses, and amortization. The
increase in salary expenses was due to a 11.7% increase in headcount and
|
|
higher
average salaries. The increase in share-based compensation expenses
resulted from our increase in headcount and our grant of RSUs to certain
employees in 2007. The increase was also a result of the increase in the
amortization of intangible assets related to the Wisepal acquisition, and
prepaid maintenance costs. The increase was partially offset by a decrease
in prototype wafer and processed tape
costs.
|
·
|
General and Administrative.
General and administrative expenses increased 52.7% to $14.9
million in 2007 from $9.8 million in 2006, due primarily to an increase in
depreciation, share-based compensation expenses, salary expenses and
professional fees. The increase in depreciation was mainly the result of
increased building and office equipment depreciation at our Tainan
headquarters; our new headquarters was completed in November 2006, and a
year’s worth of depreciation was provided in 2007, while in 2006
depreciation was provided for two months only. The increase in share-based
compensation expenses resulted from our increase in headcount and our
grant of RSUs to certain employees in 2007. The increase in salary
expenses was due to a 30.0% increase in headcount and higher average
salaries. The increase in general and administration expenses was also
partially attributable to the increase in patent filing
fees.
|
·
|
Bad Debt Expense. In
2007, we recognized bad debt expense of nil compared to $0.2 million in
2006.
|
·
|
Sales and Marketing.
Sales and marketing expenses increased 37.6% to $9.3 million from
$6.8 million in 2006, due primarily to an increase in salary, share-based
compensation and amortization expenses. The increase in salary expenses
was due to a 33.3% increase in headcount. The increase in share-based
compensation expenses resulted from our increase in headcount and our
grant of RSUs to certain employees in 2007. The increase in sales and
marketing expenses was also attributable to the amortization of acquired
intangible assets (customer relationships) related to the Wisepal
acquisition.
|
Non-Operating Income. We had
non-operating income of $5.7 million in 2007 compared to $3.9 million in 2006.
The primary component of our non-operating income was interest income amounting
to $5.4 million and $5.9 million in 2007 and 2006, respectively. The increase in
non-operating income in 2007 was primarily a result of a $1.5 million impairment
loss we recognized in 2006 for the write-off of our equity investment in
LightMaster Systems Inc., which filed for bankruptcy in 2006. We did not have
any impairment loss in 2007.
Income Tax Benefit. We
recognized an income tax benefit of $1.9 million in 2007 compared to an income
tax benefit of $5.4 million in 2006. Our effective income tax rate changed from
(7.8)% in 2006 to (1.7)% in 2007. The change in income tax benefit was due to
the additional accrual of tax expenses as a result of the most recent assessment
from the tax authority and an increase in valuation allowance provided for the
deferred tax assets, partially offset by an increase in tax-exempted income and
an increase in investment tax credits in 2007 as compared to 2006.
Net Income. As a result of
the foregoing, our net income increased to $112.6 million in 2007 from $75.2
million in 2006.
The
following table sets forth a summary of our cash flows for the periods
indicated:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Net
cash provided by operating activities
|
|
$ |
29,696 |
|
|
$ |
77,162 |
|
|
$ |
136,500 |
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
|
|
(8,927 |
) |
|
|
(25,019 |
) |
|
|
(21,764 |
) |
Net
cash provided by (used in) financing activities
|
|
|
81,886 |
|
|
|
(67,241 |
) |
|
|
(74,350 |
) |
Net
increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
102,667 |
|
|
|
(14,973 |
) |
|
|
40,420 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of period
|
|
|
7,086 |
|
|
|
109,753 |
|
|
|
94,780 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of period
|
|
|
109,753 |
|
|
|
94,780 |
|
|
|
135,200 |
|
Prior to
being a public company, we financed our operations primarily through the
issuance of shares in Himax Taiwan. As of December 31, 2008, we had $135.2
million in cash and cash equivalents.
Operating
Activities. Net cash
provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2008 was $136.5
million compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $77.2 million
for the year ended December 31, 2007. This increase was due primarily to the
increase in cash collected from customers in 2008 for our revenues and accounts
receivable generated in the second half of 2007 and was partially offset by the
increase in cash used in 2008 to pay for raw materials, assembly and testing
process fees purchased in the second half of 2007. Net cash provided by
operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2007 was $77.2 million
compared to net cash provided by operating activities of $29.7 million for the
year ended December 31, 2006. This increase was due primarily to the increase in
cash collected from customers, resulting from higher revenues and comparable
overall days sales outstanding in 2007 as in 2006. The increase in operating
cash inflows was partially offset by the increase in cash used to purchase raw
materials (primarily fabricated wafer and processed tape) and to pay assembly
and testing process fees, which resulted from the increase in production. The
increase in operating cash inflow was also partially offset by RSUs granted that
vested immediately on the grant date in September 2007 and settled in cash,
which amounted to $14.4 million, and by the net increase in operating
expenditures such as salaries and rent.
Investing
Activities. Net cash used in investing activities
for the year ended December 31,
2008 was $21.8 million compared to net cash used in
investing activities of $25.0 million for the year ended December 31,
2007. This decrease was due primarily to the net cash inflow from disposal of available-for-sale marketable
securities in 2008 as
compared to the net cash outflow for purchase of available-for-sale
marketable securities in 2007, partially offset by the fact that no cash was acquired in
any acquisition in 2008 as compared to the acquisition of $6.2 million
cash in the acquisition of Wisepal in 2007. Net cash used in investing activities
for the year ended December 31, 2007 was
$25.0 million compared to net cash used in investing activities of $8.9 million
for the year ended December 31, 2006. This change was
due primarily to the release of restricted cash
equivalents and marketable securities of $13.9 million in 2006, with no corresponding release
in 2007 and an increase in for available-for-sale marketable
securities.
Financing Activities. Net cash used in financing activities
for the year ended December 31,
2008 was $74.4 million compared to net cash
used in financing activities of $67.2 million for the year ended December 31,
2007. This change
was due primarily to an increase in distribution of cash dividends
in 2008 and a decrease in proceeds from the issuance of new shares by
subsidiaries, partially
offset by a decrease in
payments to acquire ordinary shares for
retirement. Net cash used in financing activities
for the year ended December 31, 2007 was $67.2
million compared to net cash provided by financing activities of $81.9 million
for the year ended December 31, 2006,
due primarily to the distribution of cash dividends
in 2007 and proceeds received in our initial
public offering in 2006, partially offset by an
increase in proceeds from
the issuance of new shares
by subsidiaries and an increase in net repayment of short-term
debt.
Our
liquidity could be negatively impacted by a decrease in demand for our products.
Our products are subject to rapid technological change, among other factors,
which could result in revenue variability in future periods. Further, we expect
to continue increasing our headcount, especially in engineering and sales, to
pursue growth opportunities and keep pace with changes in technology. Should
demand for our products slow down or fail to grow as expected, our increased
headcount would result in sustained losses and reductions in our cash balance.
We have at times agreed to extend the payment terms for certain of our
customers. Other customers have also requested extension of payment terms and we
may grant such requests for extensions in the future. The extension of payment
terms for our customers could adversely affect our cash flow, liquidity and our
operating results.
We
believe that our current cash and cash equivalents and cash flow from operations
will be sufficient to meet our anticipated cash needs, including our cash needs
for working capital and capital expenditures for the foreseeable future. We may,
however, require additional cash resources due to higher than expected growth in
our business or other changing business conditions or other future developments,
including any investments or acquisitions we may decide to pursue.
Our
research and development efforts focus on improving and enhancing our core
technologies and know-how relating to the semiconductor solutions we offer to
the flat panel display industry. In particular, we have committed a significant
portion of our resources to the research and development of non-driver products
because we believe in the long-term business prospects of such products and are
committed to continuing to diversify our product portfolio. Although a
significant portion of the resources at our integrated circuit design center are
invested in
advanced
research for future products, we continue to invest in improving the performance
and reducing the costs of our existing products. Our application engineers, who
provide on-system verification of semiconductors and product specifications, and
field application engineers, who provide on-site engineering support at our
customers’ offices, work closely with panel manufacturers to co-develop display
solutions for their electronic devices. In 2006, 2007 and 2008, we incurred
research and development expenses of $60.7 million, $73.9 million and $87.6
million, respectively, representing 8.1%, 8.0% and 10.5% of our revenues,
respectively.
The flat
panel display industry is highly cyclical and subject to price fluctuations and
seasonality. Beginning in the second half of 2008, the worldwide financial
crisis has adversely impacted the level of consumer spending. As a result, the
whole TFT-LCD industry has suffered from over-supply and has experienced
significant pricing pressure.
Certain
of our customers and we have suffered and may continue to suffer from this
industry downturn. For example, since around September 2008, SVA-NEC has delayed
paying a large portion of our accounts receivable outstanding from them, and in
late March 2009, the Shanghai municipal government set up a conservatorship
committee to assist in SVA Group’s restructuring. The financial distress of
SVA-NEC has had and is expected to continue to have a negative impact on our
business, results of operations, and financial condition. Our sales to SVA-NEC
have decreased significantly since the fourth quarter of 2008. As SVA-NEC is
still in financial difficulty, our expected revenue stream from SVA-NEC in 2009
is highly uncertain and sales to SVA-NEC in 2009 are likely to be significantly
lower than what they have been in prior years. We believe it is probable that we
will not be able to collect any of the accounts receivable outstanding from
SVA-NEC and we may not be able to recover the lost revenues and profits from
other customers or products. Beginning in March 2009, we have required SVA-NEC
to obtain guarantees by banks or third party customers in favor of us for the
majority of new purchase orders. As the visibility of demand is likely to be poor in 2009 due to the economic downturn, our customers may hesitate to build inventory on
hand and tend to release orders on short notice, which could
present more challenges and risks to our operations.
End
product designs have continued to trend toward lower cost, lower power
consumption and thin and light form factor, which may have an adverse impact on
our business. For example, there have been industry reports discussing the
development of new panel designs to reduce the number of display drivers
required per panel, such as GIP designs and dual gate and triple gate panel
designs. Such reduction in the number of display drivers used could adversely
impact our revenues.
For more
trend information, see “Item 5.A. Operating and Financial Review and
Prospects—Operating Results.”
As of December 31, 2008, we did not have any off-balance sheet
guarantees, interest rate swap transactions or foreign currency forwards. We do
not engage in trading
activities involving non-exchange traded contracts. Furthermore, as of December
31, 2008, we did not have any interests in
variable interest entities.
The
following table sets forth our contractual obligations as of December 31,
2008:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Operating
lease obligations
|
|
$ |
1,885 |
|
|
$ |
938 |
|
|
$ |
947 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Purchase
obligations(1)
|
|
|
32,731 |
|
|
|
32,731 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Other
obligations(2)
|
|
|
1,945 |
|
|
|
1,293 |
|
|
|
652 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Total
|
|
|
36,561 |
|
|
|
34,962 |
|
|
|
1,599 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Notes:
|
(1)
|
Includes
obligations for wafer fabrication, raw materials and
supplies.
|
|
(2)
|
Includes
obligations under license agreements and donations for laboratories
commitments.
|
We have,
from time to time, entered into contracts for the acquisition of equipment and
computer software. As of December 31, 2008, the remaining commitments under such
contracts were $3.7 million. These outstanding contracts had a total contract
value of $3.9 million.
In June
2007, we entered into a license agreement for the use of Analogix HDMI 1.3
receiver core relevant technology for product development. In accordance with
the agreement, we were required to pay an initial license fee based on the
progress of the project development and a royalty based on shipments. The
license fee paid and charged to research and development expense in 2007 was
$0.5 million. In 2007 and 2008, no royalty was paid.
We lease
office and building space pursuant to operating lease arrangements with
unrelated third parties. The lease arrangement will expire gradually from 2009
to 2011. As of December 31, 2007 and 2008, deposits paid amounted to $371,000
and $515,000, respectively, and were recorded as refundable deposits in the
accompanying consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2008, future
minimum lease payments under non-cancelable operating leases totaled $938,000 in
2009, $625,000 in 2010 and $322,000 in 2011. Rental expenses for operating
leases amounted to $1.8 million, $1.9 million and $1.2 million in 2006, 2007 and
2008, respectively.
Under the ROC Labor Standard Law, we
established a defined benefit plan and were required to make monthly
contributions to a pension fund in an amount equal to 2% of wages and salaries
of our employees. Under the ROC Labor Pension Act, beginning on July 1, 2005, we
were required to make a monthly contribution for employees that elect to
participate in the new defined contribution plan of no less than 6% of the
employee’s monthly wages, to the employee’s individual pension fund account.
Substantially all participants in the defined benefit plan have elected to
participate in the new defined contribution plan. Participants’ accumulated
benefits under the defined benefit plan are not impacted by their election to
change plans. We are required to make contributions to the defined benefit plan
until it is fully funded. As a result, our monthly contribution to the pension
fund increased to $68,211 in July 2005 compared to $15,646 in June 2005, and we
expect to contribute at this increased rate in the future. Total contributions
to the new defined contribution plan in 2008 were $1.4 million compared to
$967,000 and $855,000 in 2007 and 2006, respectively. Total contributions to the
defined benefit plan and the new defined contribution plan in 2008 were $1.8
million compared to $1.3 million and $1.1 million in 2007 and 2006,
respectively. This increase has not, and is not expected to have, a material
effect on our cash flows or results of operations.
Inflation
Inflation
in Taiwan has not had a material impact on our results of operations in recent
years. However, an increase in inflation can lead to increases in our costs and
lower our profit margins. According to the Directorate General of Budget,
Accounting and Statistics, Executive Yuan, ROC, the change of consumer price
index in Taiwan was 0.6%, 1.8% and 3.5% in 2006, 2007 and 2008,
respectively.
Recent
Accounting Pronouncements
In
December 2007, the FASB issued FASB Statement No. 141R, Business Combinations or SFAS
No. 141R and FASB Statement No. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in
Consolidated Financial Statements– an amendment to ARB No. 51 or
SFAS No. 160. SFAS No. 141R and
160 require most identifiable assets, liabilities, noncontrolling interests, and
goodwill acquired in a
business combination to be recorded at “full fair value” and require noncontrolling interests
(previously referred to as minority interests) to be reported as a component
of equity, which changes the accounting for transactions with noncontrolling interest holders. Both
Statements are effective for periods beginning on or after December 15, 2008, and earlier adoption
is prohibited. SFAS No. 141R will be applied to business combinations, if any, that occur after
the effective date. SFAS No. 160 will be applied prospectively to
all noncontrolling interests, including any
that arose before the effective date. The initial adoption of SFAS No. 160 is
expected to only result in the reclassification and presentation of minority interests as noncontrolling interests in our consolidated financial
statements.
In April
2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position FAS 142-3, “Determination of the
Useful Life of Intangible Assets.” FSP FAS 142-3 amends the factors that should
be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions used to determine
the useful life of a recognized intangible asset under Statement 142. FSP
FAS 142-3
is
effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008. Management is
currently evaluating the impact, if any, of adopting FSP FAS 142-3 on our
financial position and results of operations.
In
December 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position FAS 132(R)-1, “Employers’
Disclosures about Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets.” FSP FAS 132(R)-1 provides
guidance on an employer’s disclosures about plan assets of a defined benefit
pension or other postretirement plan. FSP FAS 132(R)-1 also includes a technical
amendment to FASB Statement No. 132(R), effective immediately, which requires
nonpublic entities to disclose net periodic benefit cost for each annual period
for which a statement of income is presented. We have disclosed net periodic
benefit cost in Note 14 to our consolidated financial statements. The
disclosures about plan assets required by FSP FAS 132(R)-1 must be provided for
fiscal years ending after December 15, 2009. Management is currently
evaluating the impact of the FSP on our disclosures about plan
assets.
Members
of our board of directors may be elected by our directors or our shareholders.
Our board of directors consists of five directors, two of whom will be
independent directors within the meaning of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules.
Other than Jordan Wu and Dr. Biing-Seng Wu, who are brothers, there are no
family relationships between any of our directors and executive officers. The
following table sets forth information regarding our directors and executive
officers as of April 30, 2009. Unless otherwise indicated, the positions or
titles indicated in the table below refer to Himax Technologies,
Inc.
Directors
and Executive Officers
|
|
|
|
|
Dr.
Biing-Seng Wu
|
|
51
|
|
Chairman
of the Board
|
Jordan
Wu
|
|
48
|
|
President,
Chief Executive Officer and Director
|
Jung-Chun
Lin
|
|
60
|
|
Director
|
Dr.
Chun-Yen Chang
|
|
71
|
|
Director
|
Yuan-Chuan
Horng
|
|
57
|
|
Director
|
Chih-Chung
Tsai
|
|
53
|
|
Chief
Technology Officer, Senior Vice President
|
Max
Chan
|
|
42
|
|
Chief
Financial Officer
|
John
Chou
|
|
50
|
|
Vice
President, Quality & Reliability Assurance & Support Design
Center
|
Norman
Hung
|
|
51
|
|
Vice
President, Sales and Marketing
|
Directors
Dr. Biing-Seng Wu is the
chairman of our board of directors. Dr. Wu is also the chairman of the board of
directors of Himax Taiwan, Himax Display, Himax Analogic and Himax Imaging.
Prior to our reorganization in October 2005, Dr. Wu served as president, chief
executive officer and a director of Himax Taiwan and chairman, president and
chief executive officer of Himax Display. Dr. Wu is also a director of Himax
Media Solutions and Himax Anyang and serves as the vice chairman of the board of
directors of CMO, a TFT-LCD panel manufacturer, and a director of Chi Lin
Technology Co., Ltd., an electronics manufacturing service provider, Chi Mei El
Corp., an OLED company, and Nexgen Mediatech Inc., a TFT-LCD television
manufacturer. Dr. Wu has been active in the TFT-LCD panel industry for over 20
years and is a member of the boards of the Taiwan TFT-LCD Association and the
Society for Information Display. Prior to joining CMO in 1998, Dr. Wu was senior
director and plant director of Prime View International Co., Ltd,. a TFT-LCD
panel manufacturer, from 1993 to 1997, and a manager of Thin Film Technology
Development at the Electronics Research & Service Organization/Industry
Technology Research Institute, or ERSO/ITRI, of Taiwan. Dr. Wu holds a B.S.
degree, an M.S. degree and a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from
National Cheng Kung University. Dr. Wu is the brother of Mr. Jordan Wu, our
president and chief executive officer.
Jordan Wu is our president,
chief executive officer and director. Prior to our reorganization in October
2005, Mr. Wu served as the chairman of the board of directors of Himax Taiwan, a
position that he held since April 2003. Mr. Wu is also the chairman of the board
of directors of Wisepal, Himax Imaging Ltd., Himax Media Solutions, and
Integrated Microdisplays and a director of Himax Taiwan, Himax Display, Himax
Analogic, Himax Technologies (Samoa), Inc., Himax Anyang, Himax Technologies
(Shenzhen) Co., Inc., Himax Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Inc.,
and Himax
Imaging. Prior to joining Himax Taiwan, Mr. Wu served as chief executive officer
of TV Plus Technologies, Inc. and chief financial officer and executive director
of DVN Holdings Ltd. in Hong Kong. Prior to that, he was an investment banker at
Merrill Lynch (Asia Pacific) Limited, Barclays de Zoete Wedd (Asia) Limited and
Baring Securities, based in Hong Kong and Taipei. Mr. Wu holds a B.S. degree in
mechanical engineering from National Taiwan University and an M.B.A. degree from
the University of Rochester. Mr. Wu is the brother of Dr. Biing-Seng Wu, our
chairman.
Jung-Chun Lin is our
director. He has also been a director of Himax Taiwan since June 2001, a
director of Himax Display since July 2004 and a director of Himax Analogic since
July 2007. Mr. Lin also serves as senior vice president of finance and
administration at CMO, chairman of the board of
directors of NingBo Chi Mei Optoelectronics Ltd., or CMO-Ningbo, and chairman of
the board of directors of NanHai Chi Mei Optoelectronics Ltd., or CMO-NanHai.
Prior to joining CMO in 2000, Mr. Lin was vice president of Chi Mei Corporation
and had been with Chi Mei Corporation since 1971. Mr. Lin holds a B.S. degree in
accounting from National ChengChi University.
Dr. Chun-Yen Chang is our
director. Prior to our reorganization in October 2005, he served as a supervisor
of Himax Taiwan since December 2003. He was president of the National Chiao Tung
University, or NCTU, of Taiwan from 1998 to 2006. Prior to that, he served as
the director of the Microelectronics and Information Systems Research Center of
NCTU from 1996 to 1998 and as the dean of both the College of Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science of NCTU and the College of Engineering of NCTU
from 1990 to 1994. Dr. Chang has been active in the semiconductor industry for
over 40 years. He is a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers, Inc., or IEEE, a foreign associate of the National Academy of
Engineering of the United States and a fellow of Academia Sinica of Taiwan. Dr.
Chang holds a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from National Cheng Kung
University and an M.S. degree and a Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from
NCTU.
Yuan-Chuan Horng is our
director. Prior to our reorganization in October 2005, Mr. Horng served as a
director of Himax Taiwan from August 2004 to October 2005. Mr. Horng is the
general manager of the Finance Department of China Steel Corporation, a position
he has held since April 2000. He has held various accounting and finance
positions at China Steel Corporation for over 30 years. Mr. Horng holds a B.A.
degree in economics from Soochow University.
Other
Executive Officers
Chih-Chung Tsai is our chief
technology officer and senior vice president. Mr. Tsai is also a director and
chief technology officer of Himax Taiwan, a director of Himax Display, Himax
Anyang, Wisepal, Himax Analogic, Himax Imaging Ltd. and Integrated
Microdisplays. Prior to joining Himax Taiwan, Mr. Tsai served as vice president
of IC Design of Utron Technology from 1998 to 2001, manager and director of the
IC Division of Sunplus Technology from 1994 to 1998, director of the IC Design
Division of Silicon Integrated Systems Corp. from 1987 to 1993 and project
leader at ERSO/ITRI from 1981 to 1987. Mr. Tsai holds a B.S. degree and an M.S.
degree in electrical engineering from National Chiao Tung
University.
Max Chan is our chief
financial officer. Mr. Chan is also the chief financial officer of Himax Taiwan.
Mr. Chan is also a supervisor of Wisepal, Himax Imaging and Himax Media
Solutions. Prior to our reorganization in October 2005, Mr. Chan served as
director of the planning division of Himax Taiwan from June 2004 to October
2005. Prior to joining Himax Taiwan, he was treasury manager of Intel Capital,
the strategic investment division of Intel Corporation in Taiwan from 2000 to
2004, senior associate of Credit Suisse First Boston Asia International (Cayman)
Limited, Taiwan Branch in 2000 and a manager of the Overseas Direct Investment
Department of China Development Industrial Bank from 1992 to 2000. Mr. Chan
holds a B.S. degree in civil engineering and an M.B.A. degree in finance from
National Taiwan University and an M.S. degree in business administration from
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
John Chou is our vice
president in charge of the Quality & Reliability Assurance & Support
Design Center and also serves as a president and director of Himax Media
Solutions and Himax Media Solutions (Hong Kong) Limited. Prior to joining Himax
in 2005, Mr. Chou served as the director of the Application and Marketing
Department at Pyramis Corp., a subsidiary and the semiconductor arm of Delta
Electronics Inc., from August 2002 to April 2005. Mr. Chou was application
manager at O2Micro, Inc., an integrated circuit design house, from 1997 to 2002
and design engineer and project manager at Philips Lighting Electronics from
1992 to 1996. Mr. Chou holds a B.S.
degree in
electrical engineering from National Cheng Kung University and an M.S. degree in
electrical engineering from California State University, Los
Angeles.
Norman Hung is our vice
president in charge of Sales and Marketing and also serves as a director of
Wisepal and a supervisor of Himax Analogic. From 2000 to 2006, Mr. Hung served
as president of ZyDAS Technology Corp., a fabless integrated circuit design
house. From 1999 to 2000, he served as vice president of Sales and Marketing for
HiMARK Technology Inc., another fabless integrated circuit design house. Prior
to that, from 1996 to 1998, Mr. Hung served as Director of Sales and Marketing
for Integrated Silicon Solution, Inc. He has also served in various Marketing
positions for Hewlett-Packard and Logitech. Mr. Hung holds a B.S. degree in
electrical engineering from National Cheng Kung University and an executive
M.B.A. degree from National Chiao Tung University.
For the year ended December 31,
2008, the aggregate cash compensation that
we paid to our executive officers was approximately $0.9 million. The aggregate share-based
compensation that we paid to our executive officers was approximately
$1.5 million. No executive officer is
entitled to any severance benefits upon termination of his or her employment with us.
For the
year ended December 31, 2008, the aggregate cash compensation that we paid to
our independent directors was approximately $30,000. The aggregate share-based
compensation that we paid to our independent directors was $43,100.
The
following table summarizes the RSUs that we granted in 2008 to our directors and
executive officers under our 2005 long-term incentive plan. See “Item 6.D.
Directors, Senior Management and Employees—Employees––Share-Based Compensation
Plans” for more details regarding our RSU grants.
|
|
|
|
|
Ordinary
Shares
Underlying
Vested
Portion
of RSUs
|
|
|
Ordinary
Shares
Underlying
Unvested
Portion
of
RSUs
|
|
Dr.
Biing-Seng Wu
|
|
|
113,117 |
|
|
|
28,280 |
|
|
|
84,837 |
|
Jordan
Wu
|
|
|
142,700 |
|
|
|
35,675 |
|
|
|
107,025 |
|
Jung-Chun
Lin
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
Dr.
Chun-Yen Chang
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
Yuan-Chuan
Horng
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
|
Chi-Chung
Tsai
|
|
|
142,700 |
|
|
|
35,675 |
|
|
|
107,025 |
|
Max
Chan
|
|
|
46,552 |
|
|
|
11,638 |
|
|
|
34,914 |
|
John
Chou
|
|
|
80,524 |
|
|
|
20,131 |
|
|
|
60,393 |
|
Norman
Hung
|
|
|
75,162 |
|
|
|
18,792 |
|
|
|
56,370 |
|
General
Our board of directors consists of five
directors, two of whom are
independent directors within the meaning of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules. We intend to follow home country
practice that permits our board of directors to have less than a majority of
independent directors in lieu of complying with Rule 5605(b)(1) of the Nasdaq Rules that require boards
of U.S. companies to have a board of directors which is comprised of a majority of independent
directors. Moreover, we intend to follow home country practice that permits our
independent directors not to hold regularly scheduled meetings at which only
independent directors are present in lieu of complying with Rule 5605(b)(2).
Committees
of the Board of Directors
To
enhance our corporate governance, we have established three committees under the
board of directors: the audit committee, the compensation committee and the
nominating and corporate governance committee. We have adopted a charter for
each of the three committees. Each committee’s members and functions are
described below.
Audit Committee.
Our audit committee currently consists of Yuan-Chuan Horng and Dr.
Chun-Yen Chang. Our board of directors has determined that all of our audit
committee members are “independent directors” within the meaning of Rule
5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules and meet the criteria for independence set forth
in Section 10A(m)(3)(B)(i) of the Exchange Act. We intend to follow home country
practice that permits an audit committee to contain two independent directors in
lieu of complying with Rule 5605(c)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules that
requires the audit committees of U.S. companies to have a minimum of three
independent directors. Our audit committee will oversee our accounting and
financial reporting processes and the audits of our financial statements. The
audit committee will be responsible for, among other things:
|
·
|
selecting
the independent auditors and pre-approving all auditing and non-auditing
services permitted to be performed by the independent
auditors;
|
|
·
|
reviewing
with the independent auditors any audit problems or difficulties and
management’s response;
|
|
·
|
reviewing
and approving all proposed related party transactions, as defined in Item
404 of Regulation SK under the Securities
Act;
|
|
·
|
discussing
the annual audited financial statements with management and the
independent auditors;
|
|
·
|
reviewing
major issues as to the adequacy of our internal controls and any special
audit steps adopted in light of material internal control
deficiencies;
|
|
·
|
annually
reviewing and reassessing the adequacy of our audit committee
charter;
|
|
·
|
meeting
separately and periodically with management and the independent
auditors;
|
|
·
|
reporting
regularly to the board of directors;
and
|
|
·
|
such
other matters that are specifically delegated to our audit committee by
our board of directors from time to
time.
|
Compensation
Committee. Our current compensation committee consists of Yuan-Chuan
Horng, Dr. Chun-Yen Chang and Jung-Chun Lin. Our compensation committee assists
our board of directors in reviewing and approving the compensation structure,
including all forms of compensation, relating to our directors and executive
officers. Our chief executive officer may not be present at any committee
meeting where his or her compensation is deliberated. We intend to follow home
country practice that permits a compensation committee to contain a director who
does not meet the definition of “independence” within the meaning of Rule
5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules. We intend to follow home country practice in
lieu of complying with Rule 5605(d)(1)(B) and (2)(B) of the Nasdaq Rules which
requires the compensation committees of U.S. companies to be comprised solely of
independent directors. The compensation committee will be responsible for, among
other things:
|
·
|
reviewing
and making recommendations to our board of directors regarding our
compensation policies and forms of compensation provided to our directors
and officers;
|
|
·
|
reviewing
and determining bonuses for our officers and other
employees;
|
|
·
|
reviewing
and determining share-based compensation for our directors, officers,
employees and consultants;
|
|
·
|
administering
our equity incentive plans in accordance with the terms thereof;
and
|
|
·
|
such
other matters that are specifically delegated to the compensation
committee by our board of directors from time to
time.
|
Nominating and
Corporate Governance Committee. Our nominating and corporate governance
committee assists the board of directors in identifying individuals qualified to
be members of our board of directors and in determining the composition of the
board and its committees. Our current nominating and corporate governance
committee consists of Yuan-Chuan Horng, Dr. Chun-Yen Chang and Jung-Chun Lin. We
intend to follow home country practice that permits a nominations committee to
contain a director who does not meet the definition of “independence” within the
meaning of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules. We intend to follow home country
practice in lieu of complying with Rule 5605(e)(1)(B) of the Nasdaq Rules that
requires the nominations committees of U.S. companies be comprised solely of
independent directors. Our nominating and corporate governance committee will be
responsible for, among other things:
|
·
|
identifying
and recommending to our board of directors nominees for election or
re-election, or for appointment to fill any
vacancy;
|
|
·
|
reviewing
annually with our board of directors the current composition of our board
of directors in light of the characteristics of independence, age, skills,
experience and availability of service to
us;
|
|
·
|
reviewing
the continued board membership of a director upon a significant change in
such director’s principal
occupation;
|
|
·
|
identifying
and recommending to our board of directors the names of directors to serve
as members of the audit committee and the compensation committee, as well
as the nominating and corporate governance committee
itself;
|
|
·
|
advising
the board periodically with respect to significant developments in the law
and practice of corporate governance as well as our compliance with
applicable laws and regulations, and making recommendations to our board
of directors on all matters of corporate governance and on any corrective
action to be taken; and
|
|
·
|
monitoring
compliance with our code of business conduct and ethics, including
reviewing the adequacy and effectiveness of our procedures to ensure
proper compliance.
|
Terms
of Directors and Officers
Under
Cayman Islands law and our articles of association, our directors hold office
until a successor has been duly elected and qualified unless the director was
appointed by the board of directors, in which case such director holds office
until the next annual meeting of shareholders at which time such director is
eligible for re-election. Our directors are subject to periodic retirement and
re-election by shareholders in accordance with our articles of association,
resulting in their retirement and re-election at staggered intervals. At each
annual general meeting, one-third of our directors who are subject to retirement
by rotation, or if their number is not a multiple of three, the nearest to
one-third but not exceeding one-third, retire from office. Any retiring director
is eligible for reappointment. The chairman of our board of directors will not
be subject to retirement by rotation or be taken into account in determining the
number of directors to retire in each year. Under this formula, assuming five
directors continue to serve on the board of directors, one director will retire
and be subject to re-election in each year beginning 2006, and until 2009, the
term that each director serves before he is subject to retirement by rotation
will vary from one year to four years. Under our articles of association, which
director will retire at each annual general meeting will be determined as
follows: (i) any director who wishes to retire and not offer himself for
re-election, (ii) if no director wishes to retire, the director who has been
longest in office since his last re-election or appointment, (iii) if two or
more directors have served on the board the longest, then as agreed among the
directors themselves or as determined by lot. Beginning in 2010, assuming that
our board of directors consists of five directors, each director will serve a
term of four years. All of our executive officers are appointed by and serve at
the discretion of our board of directors.
As of
December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008, we had 924, 1,050 and 1,214 employees, respectively.
The following is a breakdown of our employees by function as of December 31,
2008:
|
|
|
|
Research
and development(1)
|
|
|
776 |
|
Engineering
and manufacturing(2)
|
|
|
158 |
|
Sales
and marketing(3)
|
|
|
185 |
|
General
and administrative
|
|
|
95 |
|
Total
|
|
|
1,214 |
|
Notes:
|
(1)
|
Includes
semiconductor design engineers, application engineers, assembly and
testing engineers and
quality control engineers.
|
|
|
(2)
|
Includes
manufacturing personnel of Himax Display, our subsidiary focused on design
and manufacturing
of LCOS products and liquid crystal injection
services.
|
|
(3)
|
Includes
field application engineers.
|
Share-Based
Compensation Plans
Himax
Technologies, Inc. 2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan
We
adopted a long-term incentive plan in October 2005. The following description of
the plan is intended to be a summary and does not describe all provisions of the
plan.
Purpose of the Plan. The
purpose of the plan is to advance our interests and those of our shareholders
by:
|
·
|
providing
the opportunity for our employees, directors and service providers to
develop a sense of proprietorship and personal involvement in our
development and financial success and to devote their best efforts to our
business; and
|
|
·
|
providing
us with a means through which we may attract able individuals to become
our employees or to serve as our directors or service providers and
providing us a means whereby those individuals, upon whom the
responsibilities of our successful administration and management are of
importance, can acquire and maintain share ownership, thereby
strengthening their concern for our
welfare.
|
Type of Awards. The plan
provides for the grant of stock options and restricted share units.
Duration. Generally, the plan
will terminate five years from the effective date of the plan. After the plan is
terminated, no awards may be granted, but any award previously granted will
remain outstanding in accordance with the plan.
Administration. The plan is
administered by the compensation committee of our board of directors or any
other committee designated by our board to administer the plan. Committee
members will be appointed from time to time by, and will serve at the discretion
of, our board. The committee has full power and authority to interpret the terms
and intent of the plan or any agreement or document in connection with the plan,
determine eligibility for awards and adopt such rules, regulations, forms,
instruments and guidelines for administering the plan. The committee may
delegate its duties or powers.
Number of Authorized Shares.
We have authorized a maximum of 18,076,927 shares to be issued under the
plan. As of the date of this annual report, there were no stock options or
restricted share units outstanding under the plan except as described under
“—Restricted Share Units.”
Eligibility and Participation.
All of our employees, directors and service providers are eligible to
participate in the plan. The committee may select from all eligible individuals
those individuals to whom awards will be granted and will determine the nature
of any and all terms permissible by law and the amount of each
award.
Stock Options. The committee
may grant options to participants in such number, upon such terms and at any
time as it determines. Each option grant will be evidenced by an award document
that will specify the exercise price, the maximum duration of the option, the
number of shares to which the option pertains, conditions upon which the option
will become vested and exercisable and such other provisions which are not
inconsistent with the plan.
The
exercise price for each option will be:
|
·
|
based
on 100% of the fair market value of the shares on the date of
grant;
|
|
·
|
set
at a premium to the fair market value of the shares on the day of grant;
or
|
|
·
|
indexed
to the fair market value of the shares on the date of grant, with the
committee determining the index.
|
The
exercise price on the date of grant must be at least equal to 100% of the fair
market value of the shares on the date of grant.
Each
option will expire at such time as the committee determines at the time of its
grant; however, no option will be exercisable later than the 10th anniversary of
its grant date. Notwithstanding the foregoing, for options granted to
participants outside the United States, the committee can set options that have
terms greater than ten years.
Options
will be exercisable at such times and be subject to such terms and conditions as
the committee approves. A condition of the delivery of shares as to which an
option will be exercised will be the payment of the exercise price. Subject to
any governing rules or regulations, as soon as practicable after receipt of
written notification of exercise and full payment, we will deliver to the
participant evidence of book-entry shares or, upon his or her request, share
certificates in an appropriate amount based on the number of shares purchased
under the option(s). The committee may impose such restrictions on any shares
acquired pursuant to the exercise of an option as it may deem
advisable.
Each
participant’s award document will set forth the extent to which he or she will
have the right to exercise the options following termination of his or her
employment or services.
We have
not yet granted any stock options under the plan.
Restricted Share Units. The
committee may grant restricted share units to participants. Each grant will be
evidenced by an award document that will specify the period(s) of restriction,
the number of restricted share units granted and such other provisions as the
committee determines.
Generally,
restricted share units will become freely transferable after all conditions and
restrictions applicable to such shares have been satisfied or lapse and
restricted share units will be paid in cash, shares, or a combination, as
determined by the committee.
The
committee may impose such other conditions or restrictions on any restricted
share units as it may deem advisable, including a requirement that participants
pay a stipulated purchase price for each restricted share unit, restrictions
based upon the achievement of specific performance goals and time-based
restrictions on vesting.
A
participant will have no voting rights with respect to any restricted share
units.
Each
award document will set forth the extent to which the participant will have the
right to retain restricted share units following termination of his or her
employment or services.
We made a
grant of 1,297,564 RSUs to our employees on December 30, 2005. The vesting
schedule for this RSU grant is as follows: 25% of the RSU grant vested
immediately on the grant date, and a subsequent 25% vested on each of September
30, 2006 and September 28, 2007, and with the remainder vesting September 30,
2008, subject to certain forfeiture events.
We also
made a grant of 20,000 RSUs to our independent directors on December 30, 2005.
The vesting schedule for this RSU grant is as follows: 25% of the RSU grant
vested immediately on the grant date, and a subsequent 25% vested on each of
June 30, 2006 and 2007, and with the remainder vesting June 30, 2008, subject to
certain forfeiture events.
We made a
grant of 3,798,808 RSUs to our employees on September 29, 2006. The vesting
schedule for this RSU grant is as follows: 47.29% of the RSU grant vested
immediately on the grant date, and a subsequent 17.57% vested on September 28,
2007, with the remainder vesting equally on each of September 30, 2008 and 2009,
subject to certain forfeiture events.
We made a grant of 6,694,411 RSUs to our employees on September
26, 2007. The vesting schedule for this
RSU grant is as follows: 54.55% of the RSU grant vested immediately and was
settled by cash in the
amount of $14.4 million on the grant date, with the remainder vesting equally on
each of September 30, 2008, 2009 and 2010, subject to
certain forfeiture events.
We made a grant of 7,108,675 RSUs to our employees on September
29, 2008. The vesting schedule for this RSU grant is as
follows: 60.64% of the RSU grant vested
immediately and was settled by cash in the amount
of $12.7
million on the grant date,
with the remainder vesting equally on each of September 30, 2009, 2010 and 2011, which will be settled by our ordinary shares, subject to certain forfeiture
events.
Dividend Equivalents. Any
participant selected by the committee may be granted dividend equivalents based
on the dividends declared on shares that are subject to any award, to be
credited as of dividend payment dates, during the period between the date the
award is granted and the date the award is exercised, vests, or expires, as
determined by the committee, provided that unvested RSUs are currently not
entitled to dividend equivalents. Dividend equivalents will be converted to cash
or additional shares by such formula and at such time and subject to such
limitations as determined by the committee.
Transferability of Awards.
Generally, awards cannot be sold, transferred, pledged, assigned, or
otherwise alienated or hypothecated, other than by will or by the laws of
descent and distribution.
Adjustments in Authorized Shares.
In the event of any of the corporate events or transactions described in
the plan, to avoid any unintended enlargement or dilution of benefits, the
committee has the sole discretion to substitute or adjust the number and kind of
shares that can be issued or otherwise delivered.
Forfeiture Events. The
committee may specify in an award document that the participant’s rights,
payments and benefits with respect to an award will be subject to reduction,
cancellation, forfeiture or recoupment upon the occurrence of certain specified
events, in addition to any otherwise applicable vesting or performance
conditions of an award.
If we are
required to prepare an accounting restatement owing to our material
noncompliance, as a result of misconduct, with any financial reporting
requirement under the securities laws, then if the participant is one of the
individuals subject to automatic forfeiture under Section 304 of the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the participant will reimburse us the amount of any
payment in settlement of an award earned or accrued during the twelve-month
period following the first public issuance or filing with the SEC (whichever
first occurred) of the financial document embodying such financial reporting
requirement.
Amendment and Termination.
Subject to, and except as, provided in the plan, the committee has the
sole discretion to alter, amend, modify, suspend, or terminate the plan and any
award document in whole or in part. Amendments to the plan are subject to
shareholder approval, to the extent required by law, or by stock exchange rules
or regulations.
The
following table sets forth the beneficial ownership of our ordinary shares, as
of April 30, 2009, by each of our directors and executive officers.
|
|
|
|
Percentage
of Shares Owned
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dr.
Biing-Seng Wu
|
|
33,160,205
|
|
|
17.9%
|
Jordan
Wu
|
|
12,322,432
|
|
|
6.6%
|
Jung-Chun
Lin
|
|
-
|
|
|
-
|
Dr.
Chun-Yen Chang
|
|
799,807
|
|
|
*
|
Yuan-Chuan
Horng
|
|
458,052
|
|
|
*
|
Chih-Chung
Tsai
|
|
3,000,904
|
|
|
1.6%
|
Max
Chan
|
|
86,751
|
|
|
*
|
John
Chou
|
|
73,832
|
|
|
*
|
Norman
Hung
|
|
56,960
|
|
|
*
|
None of
our directors or executive officers has voting rights different from other
shareholders.
The
following table sets forth information known to us with respect to the
beneficial ownership of our shares as of April 30, 2009, the most recent
practicable date, by (1) each shareholder known by us to beneficially own more
than 5% of our shares and (2) all directors and executive officers as a
group.
|
|
Number
of Shares
Beneficially
Owned
|
|
Percentage
of Shares
Beneficially
Owned
|
Dr.
Biing-Seng Wu
|
|
33,160,205
|
|
17.9%
|
|
FMR
LLC(1)
|
|
25,889,996
|
|
13.9%
|
|
CMO(2)
|
|
24,822,529
|
|
13.4%
|
|
Jordan
Wu
|
|
12,322,432
|
|
6.6%
|
|
All
directors and executive officers as a group
|
|
49,958,943
|
|
26.9%
|
|
Note:
|
(1)
|
According
to the amendment to the Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 17,
2009, FMR LLC, together with its affiliates, beneficially owned 25,889,996
of our shares. We do not have further information with respect to any
changes in FMR LLC’s beneficial ownership of our shares subsequent to
February 17, 2009.
|
|
(2)
|
On January 4, 2008, CMO
also took a minority ownership stake of approximately 6.6% in our
subsidiary, Himax Media Solutions.
|
We have a close relationship with
CMO, one of our major shareholders and
a leading TFT-LCD panel manufacturer
based in Taiwan and listed on the Taiwan Stock
Exchange. CMO’s primary focus is the manufacture of large-sized TFT-LCD panels for
use in notebook computers, desktop monitors and LCD televisions. Several of
Himax Taiwan’s initial employees, including Dr.
Biing-Seng Wu, our
chairman, were employees of CMO. CMO was Himax Taiwan’s largest shareholder at the time of its
incorporation and remains one of our largest external shareholders. CMO has also been
our largest customer since
our inception. In 2008, sales to CMO (together with its affiliates) accounted for
62.5% of our revenues. Certain of our
directors also hold key management positions at CMO or its affiliates. Dr. Biing-Seng Wu, our chairman, is
the vice chairman of the board of directors of CMO. Jung-Chun Lin, our director, also holds the positions of senior vice president of
finance and administration at CMO, chairman of the board of directors of
CMO-NingBo and CMO-NanHai. We also
have entered into various
transactions with CMO and
its affiliates as further
described below.
None of
our major shareholders has voting rights different from other shareholders. We
are not aware of any arrangement that may, at a subsequent date, result in a
change of control of our company.
As of
April 30, 2009, 185,722,661
of our shares were outstanding. We believe that, of such shares, 92,043,049
shares in the form
of ADSs were held by approximately 11,295 holders in the United
States as of April 30,
2009.
CMO
and Related Companies
CMO
We sell
display drivers to CMO. We generated net sales to CMO in the amount of $143.1
million in 2008, and our receivables from the sales were $29.4 million as of
December 31, 2008.
We lease
office space and equipment from CMO. Rent and utility expenses paid to CMO
amounted to $0.8 million in 2006, $0.5 million in 2007 and $0.6 million in
2008.
In March
2008, our board approved a donation of approximately $150,000 to Chi Mei Culture
Foundation, a non-profit organization affiliated with CMO, which is dedicated to
the promotion of the arts and culture in Taiwan.
CMO-NingBo
CMO-NingBo
is a subsidiary of CMO. We sell display drivers to CMO-NingBo. We generated net
sales to CMO-NingBo in the amount of $292.2 million in 2008, and our receivables
from these sales were $56.2 million as of December 31, 2008.
CMO-NanHai
CMO-NanHai
is a subsidiary of CMO. We sell display drivers to CMO-NanHai. We generated net
sales to CMO-NanHai in the amount of $69.9 million in 2008, and our receivables
from these sales were $18.0 million as of December 31, 2008.
Chi
Hsin Electronics Corp.
Chi Hsin
Electronics Corp., or Chi Hsin, is a subsidiary of CMO. We sell display drivers
for certain audio and visual and mobile applications to Chi Hsin. We generated
net sales to Chi Hsin in the amount of $6.4 million in 2008, and our receivables
from these sales were approximately $32,000 as of December 31,
2008.
NingBo
Chi Hsin Electronics Ltd.
NingBo
Chi Hsin Electronics Ltd., or Chi Hsin-NingBo, is a subsidiary of CMO. We sell
display drivers for certain audio and visual and mobile applications to Chi
Hsin-NingBo. We generated net sales to Chi Hsin-NingBo in the amount of $4.4
million in 2008, and our receivables from these sales were approximately
$670,000 as of December 31, 2008.
Dongguan
Chi Hsin Electronics Co., Ltd.
Dongguan
Chi Hsin Electronics Co., Ltd., or Chi Hsin-Dongguan, is a subsidiary of CMO. We
sell display drivers for certain audio and visual and mobile applications to Chi
Hsin-Dongguan. We generated net sales to Chi Hsin-Dongguan in the amount of $2.4
million in 2008, and our receivables from these sales were approximately
$211,000 as of December 31, 2008.
NingBo
Chi Mei Electronics Ltd.
NingBo
Chi Mei Electronics Ltd., or CME-NingBo, is a subsidiary of CMO. We sell display
drivers for large-sized applications to CME-NingBo. We generated net sales to
CME-NingBo in the amount of $1.8 million in 2008, and our receivables from these
sales were approximately $1,000 as of December 31, 2008.
Not
applicable.
8.A.1. See
“Item 18. Financial Statements” for our audited consolidated financial
statements.
8.A.2. See
“Item 18. Financial Statements” for our audited consolidated financial
statements, which cover the last three financial years.
8.A.3. See
page F-2 for the report of our independent registered public accounting
firm.
8.A.4. Not
applicable.
8.A.5. Not
applicable.
8.A.6. See
Note 23 to our audited consolidated financial statements included in “Item 18.
Financial Statements.”
8.A.7.
Litigation
On July
30, 2007, a class action was filed in the United States District Court for the
Central District of California entitled Vivian Oh v. Max Chan, CV07-04891-DDP.
The suit was allegedly brought on behalf of purchasers of our ordinary shares
pursuant and/or traceable to our initial public offering on or about March 30,
2006. The complaint named our Chief Financial Officer, Max Chan, as the sole
defendant, alleging a breach of fiduciary duty and violations of Sections 11,
12(a)(2) and 15 of the Securities Act. The complaint sought damages in an
unspecified amount, rescission of the initial public offering, and attorney’s
fees and costs. On August 30, 2007, a similar class action was filed in the same
court entitled Michael Pfeiffer v. Himax Technologies, Inc., Max Chan, and
Jordan Wu, CV07-05468-JFW. The suit was allegedly brought on behalf of
purchasers of our ADSs issued in our initial public offering. The complaint
named us, our Chief Executive Officer, Jordan Wu, and our Chief Financial
Officer, Max Chan, as defendants, alleging violations of Sections 11 and 15 of
the Securities Act. The complaint sought damages in an unspecified amount and
attorney’s fees and costs.
On
October 3, 2007, the plaintiffs moved to consolidate the cases, appoint lead
plaintiffs and approve lead plaintiffs’ selection of counsel. That motion was
granted on February 5, 2008. Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on February
25, 2008. The amended complaint again names as defendants us, Jordan Wu, and Max
Chan, and adds Chairman Biing-Seng Wu, director Jung-Chun Lin and CMO as
defendants. The amended complaint alleges that defendants violated Sections 11
and 15 of the Securities Act by failing to disclose certain facts related to
CMO’s inventory. Plaintiffs seek unspecified damages, attorney’s fees and
expenses, and rescission of the initial public offering.
On
January 22, 2009, we entered into a settlement agreement to settle the class
action lawsuit, which must be approved by the court, following notice to members
of the settlement class. The court issued an order on April 23, 2009 granting
preliminary approval of the settlement agreement and will hold a hearing on July
27, 2009 to determine whether to approve the proposed settlement. If final
approval is granted, the settlement will result in a dismissal of all claims
against us and the other defendants. In entering into the settlement agreement,
the defendants explicitly denied any liability or wrongdoing of any kind. The
amount of the settlement is $1.2 million, which was fully covered by our
insurance carrier. There can be no assurance that the court will approve the
proposed settlement.
8.A.8.
Dividends and Dividend Policy
Our board
of directors has full discretion to determine whether we will distribute
dividends in the future. Such determination and the form, frequency and amount
of dividends, if any, will depend upon our future operations and earnings,
capital requirements and surplus, general financial condition, contractual
restrictions and other factors as the board of directors may deem
relevant.
In 2006,
we did not distribute any dividends. On October 30, 2007, we paid a cash
dividend to our shareholders in the amount of approximately $39.7 million, or
the equivalent of $0.20 per share based on our total shares outstanding as of
October 5, 2007, the record date. On June 27, 2008, we paid a cash dividend in
the amount of
$66.8
million, or the equivalent of $0.35 per share based on our total shares
outstanding as of June 16, 2008, the record date. The dividends distributed in
2007 and 2008 should not be considered representative of the dividends that
would be paid in any future periods or of our dividend policy.
Our
ability to pay cash or stock dividends will depend, at least partially, upon the
amount of funds received by us from our direct and indirect subsidiaries, which
must comply with the laws and regulations of their respective countries and
respective articles of association. We receive cash from Himax Taiwan through
intercompany borrowings. Himax Taiwan has not paid us cash dividends in the
past. In accordance with ROC laws and regulations and Himax Taiwan’s articles of
incorporation, Himax Taiwan is permitted to distribute dividends after
allowances have been made for:
|
·
|
recovery
of prior years’ deficits, if any;
|
|
·
|
legal
reserve (in an amount equal to 10% of annual net income after having
deducted the above items until such time as its legal reserve equals the
amount of its total paid-in
capital);
|
|
·
|
special
reserve based on relevant laws or regulations, or retained earnings, if
necessary;
|
|
·
|
dividends
for preferred shares, if any; and
|
|
·
|
cash
or stock bonus to employees (in an amount less than 10% of annual net
income) and remuneration for directors and supervisor(s) (in an amount
less than 2% of the annual net income); after having deducted the above
items, based on a resolution of the board of directors; if stock bonuses
are paid to employees, the bonus may also be appropriated to employees of
subsidiaries under the board of directors’
approval.
|
Furthermore,
if Himax Taiwan does not record any net income for any year as determined in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in Taiwan, it generally
may not distribute dividends for that year.
Any
dividend we declare will be paid to the holders of ADSs, subject to the terms of
the deposit agreement, to the same extent as holders of our ordinary shares, to
the extent permitted by applicable law and regulations, less the fees and
expenses payable under the deposit agreement. Any dividend we declare will be
distributed by the depositary bank to the holders of our ADSs. Cash dividends on
our ordinary shares, if any, will be paid in U.S. dollars.
Except as disclosed elsewhere in this annual report, we have not experienced any significant
changes since the date of the annual financial statements.
Our ADSs
have been quoted on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “HIMX”
since March 31, 2006. The table below sets forth, for the periods indicated, the
high and low market prices and the average daily volume of trading activity on
the Nasdaq Global Select Market for the shares represented by ADSs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Average
Daily Trading Volume
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousand of ADSs)
|
|
2006
(from March 31)
|
|
$ |
9.45 |
|
|
$ |
4.21 |
|
|
|
813.4 |
|
2007
|
|
|
6.15 |
|
|
|
3.53 |
|
|
|
741.1 |
|
First quarter
|
|
|
6.15 |
|
|
|
4.53 |
|
|
|
703.5 |
|
Second
quarter
|
|
|
6.07 |
|
|
|
4.90 |
|
|
|
509.7 |
|
Third
quarter
|
|
|
5.73 |
|
|
|
3.53 |
|
|
|
780.7 |
|
Fourth
quarter
|
|
|
4.56 |
|
|
|
3.70 |
|
|
|
965.7 |
|
2008
|
|
|
6.29 |
|
|
|
1.00 |
|
|
|
590.1 |
|
First quarter
|
|
|
5.75 |
|
|
|
3.18 |
|
|
|
758.4 |
|
Second
quarter
|
|
|
6.29 |
|
|
|
4.55 |
|
|
|
590.7 |
|
|
|
|
High
|
|
|
|
Low
|
|
|
|
Average
Daily Trading Volume
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousand of ADSs)
|
|
Third
quarter
|
|
|
5.45 |
|
|
|
2.62 |
|
|
|
620.1 |
|
Fourth
quarter
|
|
|
3.07 |
|
|
|
1.00 |
|
|
|
399.2 |
|
October
|
|
|
3.07 |
|
|
|
1.61 |
|
|
|
376.4 |
|
November
|
|
|
2.13 |
|
|
|
1.29 |
|
|
|
394.1 |
|
December
|
|
|
1.62 |
|
|
|
1.00 |
|
|
|
427.6 |
|
2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
First quarter
|
|
|
3.27 |
|
|
|
1.32 |
|
|
|
328.4 |
|
January
|
|
|
1.93 |
|
|
|
1.32 |
|
|
|
273.8 |
|
February
|
|
|
1.84 |
|
|
|
1.50 |
|
|
|
233.6 |
|
March
|
|
|
3.27 |
|
|
|
1.38 |
|
|
|
460.0 |
|
April
|
|
|
3.00 |
|
|
|
2.49 |
|
|
|
457.0 |
|
May
(through May 11)
|
|
|
2.95 |
|
|
|
2.57 |
|
|
|
381.5 |
|
Not
applicable.
The
principal trading market for our shares is the Nasdaq Global Select Market, on
which our shares are traded in the form of ADSs.
Not
applicable.
Not
applicable.
Not
applicable.
Not
applicable.
We
incorporate by reference into this annual report the description of our amended
and restated memorandum and articles of association contained in our F-1
registration statement (File No. 333-132372) filed with the Commission on March
13, 2006. Our shareholders adopted our amended and restated memorandum and
articles of association at an extraordinary shareholder meeting on October 25,
2005.
We are not currently, and have not been in the last two years,
party to any material contract, other than contracts entered into in the
ordinary course of business.
We
have extracted from publicly available documents the information presented in
this section. The information below may be applicable because our wholly owned
operating subsidiary, Himax Technologies Limited, is incorporated in the ROC.
Please note that citizens of the PRC and entities organized in the PRC are
subject to special ROC laws, rules and regulations, which are not discussed in
this section.
The ROC’s
Foreign Exchange Control Statute and regulations provide that all foreign
exchange transactions must be executed by banks designated to handle foreign
exchange transactions by the Central Bank of ROC. Current regulations favor
trade-related foreign exchange transactions. Consequently, foreign currency
earned from exports of merchandise and services may now be retained and used
freely by exporters. All foreign currency needed for the importation of
merchandise and services may be purchased freely from the designated foreign
exchange banks.
Unless
approved by the Central Bank of ROC, Taiwan companies and residents may not
remit to and from Taiwan foreign currencies of over $50 million and $5 million,
respectively, each calendar year. A requirement is also imposed on all private
enterprises to report all medium- and long-term foreign debt with the Central
Bank of ROC.
In
addition, a foreign person without an alien resident card or an unrecognized
foreign entity may remit to and from Taiwan foreign currencies of up to $100,000
per remittance if required documentation is provided to ROC authorities. This
limit applies only to remittances involving a conversion between NT dollars and
U.S. dollars or other foreign currencies.
Cayman
Islands Taxation
The
Cayman Islands currently levies no taxes on individuals or corporations based
upon profits, income, gains or appreciation, and there is no taxation in the
nature of inheritance tax or estate duty. There are no other taxes likely to be
material to us levied by the Government of the Cayman Islands except for stamp
duties which may be applicable on instruments executed in, or brought within the
jurisdiction of the Cayman Islands. The Cayman Islands is not party to any
double tax treaties. There are no exchange control regulations or currency
restrictions in the Cayman Islands.
We have,
pursuant to Section 6 of the Tax Concessions Law (1999 Revision) of the Cayman
Islands, obtained an undertaking from the Governor-in-Council that:
(a) no
law which is enacted in the Cayman Islands imposing any tax to be levied on
profits, income or gains or appreciations shall apply to us or our
operations;
(b) the
aforesaid tax or any tax in the nature of estate duty or inheritance tax shall
not be payable on our ordinary shares, debentures or other
obligations.
The
undertaking that we have obtained is for a period of 20 years from May 3,
2005.
United
States Federal Income Taxation
The
following is a discussion of material U.S. federal income tax consequences of
owning and disposing of our ordinary shares or ADSs to the U.S. Holders
described herein, but it does not purport to be a comprehensive description of
all of the tax considerations that may be relevant to a particular person’s
decision to hold such securities. The discussion applies only to U.S. Holders
that hold ordinary shares or ADSs as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax
purposes, and it does not describe all of the tax consequences that may be
relevant to holders subject to special rules, such as:
|
·
|
certain
financial institutions;
|
|
·
|
dealers
and certain traders in securities or foreign
currencies;
|
|
·
|
persons
holding ordinary shares or ADSs as part of a hedge, straddle, conversion,
integrated transaction or similar
transaction;
|
|
·
|
persons
whose functional currency for U.S. federal income tax purposes is not the
U.S. dollar;
|
|
·
|
partnerships
or other entities classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax
purposes;
|
|
·
|
persons
liable for the alternative minimum
tax;
|
|
·
|
tax-exempt
entities, including “individual retirement accounts” and “Roth
IRAs”;
|
|
·
|
persons
holding ordinary shares or ADSs that own or are deemed to own 10% or more
of our voting stock; or
|
|
·
|
persons
who acquired ordinary shares or ADSs pursuant to the exercise of any
employee stock option or otherwise as
compensation.
|
If an
entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes
holds ordinary shares or ADSs, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a
partner will generally depend on the status of the partner and upon the
activities of the partnership. Partnerships holding ordinary shares or ADSs and
partners in such partnerships should consult their tax advisers as to the
particular U.S. federal income tax consequences of holding and disposing of the
ordinary shares or ADSs.
This
discussion is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended,
administrative pronouncements, judicial decisions and final, temporary and
proposed Treasury regulations, all as of the date hereof. These laws are subject
to change, possibly on a retroactive basis. It is also based in part on
representations by the depositary and assumes that each obligation under the
deposit agreement and any related agreement will be performed in accordance with
its terms. Please consult your own tax adviser concerning the U.S. federal,
state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences of owning and disposing of ordinary
shares or ADSs in your particular circumstances.
As used
herein, a “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of ordinary shares or ADSs that
is, for U.S. federal tax purposes: (1) a citizen or resident of the United
States; (2) a corporation, or other entity taxable as a corporation, created or
organized in or under the laws of the United States or any political subdivision
thereof; or (3) an estate or trust the income of which is subject to U.S.
federal income taxation regardless of its source.
In
general, a U.S. Holder of ADSs will be treated for U.S. federal income tax
purposes as the owner of the underlying ordinary shares represented by those
ADSs. Accordingly, no gain or loss will be recognized if a U.S. Holder exchanges
ADSs for the underlying ordinary shares represented by those ADSs.
The U.S.
Treasury has expressed concerns that parties to whom American depositary shares
are released before delivery of shares to the depositary (“pre-release”) may be
taking actions that are inconsistent with the claiming of foreign tax credits
for U.S. holders of American depositary shares. Such actions would also be
inconsistent with the claiming of the reduced rate of tax, described below,
applicable to dividends received by certain non-corporate U.S. holders.
Accordingly, the availability of the reduced tax rate for dividends received by
certain non-corporate U.S. Holders, described below, could be affected by
actions taken by parties to whom ADSs are pre-released.
This
discussion assumes that we are not, and will not become, a passive foreign
investment company (as discussed below).
Taxation
of Distributions
Distributions
received by U.S. Holders with respect to the ordinary shares or ADSs, other than
certain pro rata distributions of ordinary shares, will constitute
foreign-source dividend income for U.S. federal income tax purposes to the
extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, as
determined in accordance with U.S. federal income tax principles. We do not
expect to maintain records of earnings and profits in accordance with U.S.
federal income tax principles, and therefore it is expected that distributions
will generally be reported to U.S.
Holders
as dividends. Subject to applicable limitations and the discussion above
regarding concerns expressed by the U.S. Treasury, dividends paid by qualified
foreign corporations to certain non-corporate U.S. Holders in taxable years
beginning before January 1, 2011 may be taxable at favorable rates, up to a
maximum rate of 15%. A foreign corporation is treated as a qualified foreign
corporation with respect to dividends paid on stock that is readily tradable on
a securities market in the United States, such as the Nasdaq Global Select
Market, where our ADSs are traded. Non-corporate U.S. Holders should consult
their own tax advisers to determine whether they are subject to any special
rules that limit their ability to be taxed at this favorable rate. Corporate
U.S. Holders will not be entitled to claim the dividends-received deduction with
respect to dividends paid by us.
Sale
and Other Disposition of Ordinary Shares or ADSs
A U.S.
Holder will generally recognize U.S.-source capital gain or loss for U.S.
federal income tax purposes on the sale or other disposition of ordinary shares
or ADSs, which will be long-term capital gain or loss if the ordinary shares or
ADSs were held for more than one year. The amount of gain or loss will be equal
to the difference between the amount realized on the sale or other disposition
and the U.S. Holder’s tax basis in the ordinary shares or ADSs.
Passive
Foreign Investment Company Rules
We
believe that we were not a passive foreign investment company (a “PFIC”) for
U.S. federal income tax purposes for our taxable year ended December 31, 2008.
However, our actual PFIC status for any taxable year will not be determinable
until after the end of the taxable year, and, accordingly, there can be no
assurance that we will not be a PFIC for our current or any future taxable
year.
In
general, a non-U.S. company will be a PFIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes
for any taxable year in which (i) 75% or more of its gross income consists of
passive income (such as dividends, interest, rents and royalties) or (ii) 50% or
more of the average quarterly value of its assets consists of assets that
produce, or are held for the production of, passive income. As PFIC status
depends upon the composition of our income and assets and the market value of
our assets (including, among other things, any equity investments in less than
25%-owned entities) from time to time, there can be no assurance that we will
not be a PFIC for any taxable year.
If we
were a PFIC for any taxable year during which a U.S. Holder held ordinary shares
or ADSs, certain adverse U.S. federal income tax rules would apply on a sale or
other disposition (including a pledge) of ordinary shares or ADSs by the U.S.
Holder. In general, under those rules, gain recognized by the U.S. Holder on a
sale or other disposition of ordinary shares or ADSs would be allocated ratably
over the U.S. Holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares or ADSs. The
amounts allocated to the taxable year of the sale or other disposition and to
any year before we became a PFIC would be taxed as ordinary income. The amount
allocated to each other taxable year would be subject to tax at the highest rate
in effect for individuals or corporations, as appropriate for that taxable year,
and an interest charge would be imposed on the amount allocated to each such
taxable year. Similar rules would apply to any distribution in respect of
ordinary shares or ADSs to the extent in excess of 125% of the average of the
annual distributions on ordinary shares or ADSs received by the U.S. Holder
during the preceding three years or the U.S. Holder’s holding period, whichever
is shorter. Certain elections may be available that would result in alternative
treatments (such as mark-to-market treatment) of the ordinary shares or ADSs.
U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisers to determine whether any of these
elections would be available and, if so, what the consequences of the
alternative treatments would be in their particular circumstances.
In
addition, if we were a PFIC in a taxable year in which we pay a dividend or in
the prior taxable year, the 15% dividend rate discussed above with respect to
dividends received by certain non-corporate U.S. Holders would not
apply.
Information
Reporting and Backup Withholding
Payments
of dividends and sales proceeds that are made within the United States or
through certain U.S.-related financial intermediaries generally are subject to
information reporting, and may be subject to backup withholding, unless the U.S.
Holder is a corporation or other exempt recipient or, in the case of backup
withholding, the U.S. Holder provides a correct taxpayer identification number
and certifies that it is not subject to backup withholding. The amount of any
backup withholding from a payment to a U.S. Holder will be allowed as a credit
against the U.S.
Holder’s
U.S. federal income tax liability and may entitle the U.S. Holder to a refund,
provided that the required information is timely furnished to the Internal
Revenue Service.
Not
applicable.
Not
applicable.
It is
possible to read and copy documents referred to in this annual report that have
been filed with the SEC at the SEC’s public reference rooms in Washington, D.C.,
New York and Chicago, Illinois. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for
further information on the reference rooms.
Not
applicable.
Interest Rate Risk. Our
exposure to interest rate risk for changes in interest rates is limited to the
interest income generated by our cash deposited with banks.
Foreign Exchange
Risk. The U.S. dollar is
our reporting currency. The
U.S. dollar is also the functional currency for the majority of our operations.
In 2008, more than 98.0% of our sales and cost of revenues were denominated in U.S. dollars. However,
in December 2008, approximately 36.9% of our operating expenses was denominated in NT
dollars, with a small percentage denominated in Japanese Yen, Korean Won and Chinese Renminbi, and
the majority of
the remainder denominated
in U.S. dollars. We anticipate that we will continue to
conduct substantially all
of our sales in U.S. dollars. We do not believe that we have a material currency
risk with regard to the NT dollar. We believe the majority of any potential adverse foreign currency
exchange impacts on our operating assets may be offset by a
potential favorable foreign
currency exchange impact on our operating liabilities. From time to time we have
engaged in, and may continue to engage in, forward contracts to hedge against
our foreign currency exposure.
As of December 31, 2008, no foreign currency exchange contracts are
outstanding.
Not
applicable.
Not
applicable.
Use
of Proceeds
The
following information regarding the use of proceeds relates to the registration
statement on Form F-1 (File No. 333-132372) for our initial public offering and
sale of 56,728,835 ADSs, each representing one of our ordinary shares, for an
aggregate offering price of $510,559,515. Our registration statement was
declared effective by the Commission on March 30, 2006.
We
received net proceeds of approximately $147.4 million from our initial public
offering (after deducting underwriting discounts and other expenses related to
the offering). None of the transaction expenses included payments to directors
or officers of our company, persons owning 10% or more of our equity securities
or our affiliates.
We have utilized $32.1 million of the net proceeds from our
initial public offering to repay our short-term loans and make overseas
investments. In addition, we utilized $83.5 million on stock
repurchases and $39.7 million on dividend
distribution.
Morgan
Stanley Services Limited, Credit Suisse Securities (USA) Inc., Banc of America
Securities LLC, Piper Jaffray & Co., ABN AMRO Bank N.V. and N M Rothschild
& Sons Limited and HSBC Securities (USA) Inc. were the underwriters for our
initial public offering.
Evaluation
of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our chief
executive officer and chief financial officer, after evaluating the
effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule
13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this
report, have concluded that based on the evaluation of these controls and
procedures required by Rule 13a-15(b) of the Exchange Act, our disclosure
controls and procedures were effective.
Management’s
Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting
Our
management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal
control over financial reporting. Our internal control over financial reporting
is designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of
financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external
purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP.
Our
internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures
that:
|
·
|
pertain
to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and
fairly reflect our transactions and dispositions of our
assets;
|
|
·
|
provide
reasonable assurance that our transactions are recorded as necessary to
permit preparation of our financial statements in accordance with U.S.
GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in
accordance with authorizations of our management and our directors;
and
|
|
·
|
provide
reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of
unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have
a material effect on the financial
statements.
|
Because
of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not
prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of internal
control effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls
may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of
compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Management,
with the participation of our chief executive and chief financial officers,
assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting (as
defined in Rule 13a-15(f) under the Exchange Act) as of December 31, 2008 based
on the criteria set forth in Internal Control – Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission. Based on the assessment,
our management believes that our internal control over financial reporting was
effective as of December 31, 2008.
KPMG, an
independent registered public accounting firm, has issued an audit report on the
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December
31, 2008, which is included below:
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board
of Directors and Stockholders
Himax
Technologies, Inc.:
We have
audited Himax Technologies, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as
of December 31, 2008, based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated
Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the
Treadway Commission (COSO). Himax Technologies, Inc.’s management is responsible
for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its
assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting,
included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over
Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the
Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our
audit.
We
conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan
and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective
internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material
respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over
financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and
testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal
control based on the assessed risk. Our audit also included performing such
other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe
that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
A
company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to
provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting
and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance
with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over
financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to
the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly
reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2)
provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to
permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are
being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of
the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely
detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s
assets that could have a material effect on the financial
statements.
Because
of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not
prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of
effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become
inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance
with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
In our
opinion, Himax Technologies, Inc. maintained, in all material respects,
effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008,
based on criteria established in Internal Control – Integrated
Framework issued by the COSO.
We also
have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of Himax
Technologies, Inc and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2008 and 2007, and the
related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income, stockholders’
equity and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended
December 31, 2008, and our report dated May 6, 2009 expressed an unqualified
opinion on those consolidated financial statements.
/s/
KPMG
Taipei,
Taiwan (the Republic of China)
May 6,
2009
Changes
in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
In 2008, no change in our internal control over
financial reporting has occurred during the period covered by this annual report
that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our
internal control over financial reporting.
Our board
of directors has determined that Yuan-Chuan Horng is an audit committee
financial expert, as that term is defined in Item 16A(b) of Form 20-F, and is
independent for the purposes of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules and Rule
10A-3 of the Exchange Act.
Our board
of directors has adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to
our directors, officers and employees, including our principal executive
officer, principal financial officer, principal accounting officer or controller
and any other persons who perform similar functions for us. We will provide a
copy of our code of business conduct and ethics without charge upon written
request to:
Himax
Technologies, Inc.
Human
Resources Department
No. 26,
Zih Lian Road, Tree Valley Park
Sinshih
Township, Tainan County 74148
Taiwan,
Republic of China
KPMG, our independent registered public
accounting firm, began serving as our auditor upon the formation of our
company in 2001.
Our audit
committee is responsible for the oversight of KPMG’s work. The policy of our
audit committee is to pre-approve all audit and non-audit services provided by
KPMG, including audit services, audit-related services, tax services and other
services.
We paid
the following fees for professional services to KPMG for the years ended
December 31, 2007 and 2008.
|
|
Year
ended December 31,
|
|
Services
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Audit
Fees(1)
|
|
$ |
795,000 |
|
|
$ |
720,000 |
|
All
Other Fees(2)
|
|
|
6,000 |
|
|
|
12,000 |
|
Total
|
|
$ |
801,000 |
|
|
$ |
732,000 |
|
Note:
|
(1) |
Audit
Fees. This category includes the audit of our annual financial statements
and internal control over financial reporting, review of quarterly
financial statements and services that are normally provided by the
independent auditors in connection with statutory and regulatory filings
or engagements for those fiscal years. This category also includes
statutory audits required by the Tax Bureau of the
ROC.
|
|
|
All
Other Fees. This category consists of fees for the preparation of transfer
pricing reports.
|
Not
applicable.
On
November 1, 2007, our board of directors authorized a share buyback program
allowing us to repurchase up to $40.0 million of our ADSs in the open market or
through privately negotiated transactions. We completed this
share
buyback program in the first quarter of 2008 and repurchased a total of
approximately $33.1 million of our ADSs (equivalent to approximately 7.7 million
ADSs) from the open market.
On
November 14, 2008, our board of directors authorized another share buyback
program allowing us to repurchase up to $50.0 million of our ADSs in the open
market or through privately negotiated transactions. As of May 6, 2009, we had
repurchased a total of approximately $13.0 million of our ADSs (equivalent to
approximately 6.9 million ADSs) from the open market.
The
following table sets forth information regarding transactions completed under
the two share buyback programs for each of the specified periods.
|
|
(a)
Total Number of Shares Purchased
|
|
|
(b)
Average Price Paid per Share
|
|
|
(c)
Total Number of Shares Purchased as Part of Publicly Announced Plans or
Programs
|
|
|
(d)
Approximate Dollar Value of Shares That May Yet Be Purchased Under the
Plans or Programs
|
|
2007
Share Buyback Program:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
November
8, 2007 to November 30, 2007
|
|
|
3,973,514 |
|
|
$ |
4.38 |
|
|
|
3,973,514 |
|
|
$ |
22,612,902 |
|
December
1, 2007 to December 31, 2007
|
|
|
2,595,594 |
|
|
$ |
4.23 |
|
|
|
6,569,108 |
|
|
$ |
11,633,090 |
|
January
1, 2008 to January 31, 2008
|
|
|
849,914 |
|
|
$ |
4.24 |
|
|
|
7,419,022 |
|
|
$ |
8,025,902 |
|
March
1, 2008 to March 18, 2008
|
|
|
224,128 |
|
|
$ |
4.67 |
|
|
|
7,643,150 |
|
|
$ |
6,980,313 |
|
July
1, 2008 to July 17, 2008
|
|
|
21,300 |
|
|
$ |
4.21 |
|
|
|
7,664,450 |
|
|
$ |
6,890,632 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2008
Share Buyback Program:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
November
17, 2008 to November 30, 2008
|
|
|
561,411 |
|
|
$ |
1.53 |
|
|
|
561,411 |
|
|
$ |
49,138,240 |
|
December
1, 2008 to December 31, 2008
|
|
|
1,807,680 |
|
|
$ |
1.36 |
|
|
|
2,369,091 |
|
|
$ |
46,671,098 |
|
January
1, 2009 to January 31, 2009
|
|
|
1,243,903 |
|
|
$ |
1.59 |
|
|
|
3,612,994 |
|
|
$ |
44,692,059 |
|
February
1, 2009 to February 28, 2009
|
|
|
928,621 |
|
|
$ |
1.71 |
|
|
|
4,541,615 |
|
|
$ |
43,107,021 |
|
March
1, 2009 to March 31, 2009
|
|
|
643,884 |
|
|
$ |
2.13 |
|
|
|
5,185,499 |
|
|
$ |
41,733,167 |
|
April
1, 2009 to April 30, 2009
|
|
|
1,580,525 |
|
|
$ |
2.74 |
|
|
|
6,766,024 |
|
|
$ |
37,398,066 |
|
May
1, 2009 to May 6, 2009
|
|
|
149,500 |
|
|
$ |
2.82 |
|
|
|
6,915,524 |
|
|
$ |
36,976,673 |
|
Not
applicable.
The Nasdaq Rules provide that foreign
private issuers may follow
home country practice in lieu of the corporate governance requirements
of the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC, subject to certain exceptions
and requirements
and except to the extent
that such exemptions would be contrary to U.S. federal securities laws and
regulations. The
significant differences between our corporate governance practices and those
followed by U.S. companies under the Nasdaq Rules are summarized as
follows:
|
·
|
We
follow home country practice that permits our board of directors to have
less than a majority of independent directors within the meaning of Rule
5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules, in lieu of complying with Rule 5605(b)(1)
of the Nasdaq Rules that require boards of U.S. companies to have a board
of directors which is comprised of a majority of independent
directors.
|
|
·
|
We
follow home country practice that permits our independent directors not to
hold regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are
present in lieu of complying with Rule 5605(b)(2).
|
|
·
|
We
follow home country practice that permits an audit committee to contain
two independent directors in lieu of complying with Rule 5605(c)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules
that requires the audit committees of U.S. companies to have a minimum of
three independent directors.
|
|
·
|
We
follow home country practice that permits a compensation committee to
contain a director who does not meet the definition of “independence”
within the meaning of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq
Rules, in lieu of complying with Rule 5605(d)(1)(B) and (2)(B) of the
Nasdaq Rules which requires the compensation committees of U.S. companies
to be comprised solely of independent
directors.
|
|
·
|
We
follow home country practice that permits a nominations committee to
contain a director who does not meet the definition of “independence”
within the meaning of Rule 5605(a)(2) of the Nasdaq Rules, in lieu of
complying with Rule 5605(e)(1)(B) of the Nasdaq Rules that requires the
nominations committees of U.S. companies be comprised solely of
independent directors.
|
We have
elected to provide financial statements for fiscal year 2008 and the related
information pursuant to Item 18.
Our
consolidated financial statements and the report thereon by the independent
auditors listed below are attached hereto as follows:
(a)
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm dated May 6,
2009.
(b)
Consolidated Balance Sheets of the Company and subsidiaries as of December 31,
2007 and 2008.
(c)
Consolidated Statements of Income of the Company and subsidiaries for the years
ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
(d)
Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income of the Company and subsidiaries
for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
(e)
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity of the Company and subsidiaries
for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
(f)
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows of the Company and subsidiaries for the
years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
(g) Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company and
subsidiaries.
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.1
|
|
Amended
and Restated Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Registrant, as
currently in effect. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 from our
Registration Statement on Form F-1 (file no. 333-132372) filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13, 2006.)
|
|
|
|
2.1
|
|
Registrant’s
Specimen American Depositary Receipt (included in Exhibit
2.3).
|
|
|
|
2.2
|
|
Registrant’s
Specimen Certificate for Ordinary Shares. (Incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4.2 from our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (file no.
333-132372) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13,
2006.)
|
|
|
|
2.3
|
|
Form
of Deposit Agreement among the Registrant, the depositary and holders of
the American depositary receipts. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit
(a) from our Registration Statement on Form F-6 (file no. 333-132383)
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13,
2006.)
|
|
|
|
2.4
|
|
Share
Exchange Agreement dated June 16, 2005 between Himax Technologies, Inc.
and Himax Technologies Limited. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.4
from our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (file no. 333-132372) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13,
2006.)
|
|
|
|
2.5
|
|
Letter
of the ROC Investment Commission, Ministry of Economic Affairs dated
August 30, 2005 relating to the approval of Himax Technologies, Inc.’s
inbound investment in Taiwan. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.5
from our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (file no. 333-132372) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13,
2006.)
|
|
|
|
2.6
|
|
Letter
of the ROC Investment Commission, Ministry of Economic Affairs dated
September 7, 2005 relating to the approval of Himax Technologies Limited’s
outbound investment outside of Taiwan. (Incorporated by reference to
Exhibit 4.6 from our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (file no.
333-132372) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13,
2006.)
|
|
|
|
4.1
|
|
Himax
Technologies, Inc. 2005 Long-Term Incentive Plan. (Incorporated by
reference to Exhibit 10.1 from our Registration Statement on Form F-1
(file no. 333-132372) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on
March 13, 2006.)
|
|
|
|
4.2
|
|
Plant
Facility Service Agreement dated July 20, 2004 between Himax Display, Inc.
and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit
10.2 from our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (file no. 333-132372)
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13,
2006.)
|
|
|
|
4.3
|
|
Lease
Agreement dated June 11, 2004 between Shin Kong Life Insurance Co., Ltd.
and Himax Technologies Limited. (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3
from our Registration Statement on Form F-1 (file no. 333-132372) filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 13,
2006.)
|
|
|
|
8.1
|
|
List
of Subsidiaries.
|
|
|
|
12.1
|
|
Certification
of Jordan Wu, President and Chief Executive Officer of Himax Technologies,
Inc., pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.
|
|
|
|
12.2
|
|
Certification
of Max Chan, Chief Financial Officer of Himax Technologies, Inc., pursuant
to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.
|
Exhibit
Number
|
|
Description
of Document
|
|
|
|
13.1
|
|
Certification
pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted pursuant to Section 906 of
the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
|
|
|
|
15.1
|
|
Consent
of KPMG, Independent Registered Public Accounting
Firm.
|
SIGNATURES
Pursuant
to the requirements of Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant certifies that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form
20-F and has duly caused this annual report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
|
|
By:
|
/s/
Jordan Wu
|
|
|
Name:
|
Jordan
Wu
|
|
|
Title:
|
President
and Chief Executive Officer
|
|
Date: May
15, 2009
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
INDEX
TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
|
Page
|
Report
of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
|
F-2
|
Consolidated
Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2007 and 2008
|
F-3
|
Consolidated
Statements of Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and
2008
|
F-5
|
Consolidated
Statements of Comprehensive Income for the Years Ended December 31, 2006,
2007 and 2008
|
F-6
|
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the Years Ended December 31, 2006,
2007 and 2008
|
F-7
|
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and
2008
|
F-9
|
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements
|
F-11
|
|
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Financial Statements
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
(With
Report of Independent Registered
Public
Accounting Firm Thereon)
The Board
of Directors and Stockholders
Himax
Technologies, Inc.:
We have
audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Himax Technologies, Inc.
(a Cayman Island Company) and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2007 and 2008, and
the related consolidated statements of income, comprehensive income,
stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year
period ended December 31, 2008. These consolidated financial
statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our
responsibility is to express an opinion on these consolidated financials
statements based on our audits.
We
conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require
that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether
the financial statements are free of material misstatements. An audit
includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and
disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes
assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by
management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statements
presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis
for our opinion.
In our
opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly,
in all material respects, the financial position of Himax Technologies, Inc. and
subsidiaries as of December 31, 2007 and 2008, and the results of their
operations and their cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period
ended December 31, 2008, in conformity with U. S. generally accepted accounting
principles.
As
described in the Notes 2 and 14 to the consolidated
financial statements, the Company adopted the recognition and disclosure
provisions and the measurement date provisions of Statement of Financial
Accounting Standards No. 158, Employers’ Accounting for Defined
Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans, as of December 31, 2006
and 2008, respectively.
We also
have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States), Himax Technologies, Inc.’s internal control
over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008, based on criteria established
in Internal Control –
Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations
of the Treadway Commission (COSO), and our report dated May 6, 2009 expressed an
unqualified opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over
financial reporting.
/s/ KPMG
Taipei,
Taiwan (the Republic of China)
May 6,
2009
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
December
31, 2007 and 2008
(in
thousands of US dollars)
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
Assets
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
assets:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
$ |
94,780 |
|
|
|
135,200 |
|
Marketable
securities available-for-sale
|
|
|
15,208 |
|
|
|
13,870 |
|
Restricted
marketable securities
|
|
|
97 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Accounts
receivable, less allowance for doubtful accounts, sales returns and
discounts of $190 and $25,364 at December 31, 2007 and 2008,
respectively
|
|
|
88,682 |
|
|
|
51,029 |
|
Accounts
receivable from related parties, less allowance for sales returns and
discounts of $303 and $95 at December 31, 2007 and 2008,
respectively
|
|
|
194,902 |
|
|
|
104,477 |
|
Inventories
|
|
|
116,550 |
|
|
|
96,921 |
|
Deferred
income taxes
|
|
|
12,684 |
|
|
|
21,446 |
|
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
|
|
15,369 |
|
|
|
11,707 |
|
Total
current assets
|
|
|
538,272 |
|
|
|
434,650 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Property, plant and equipment,
net
|
|
|
46,180 |
|
|
|
55,111 |
|
Deferred
income taxes
|
|
|
20,714 |
|
|
|
23,029 |
|
Goodwill
|
|
|
26,878 |
|
|
|
26,846 |
|
Intangible
assets, net
|
|
|
12,721 |
|
|
|
10,965 |
|
Investments
in non-marketable securities
|
|
|
7,138 |
|
|
|
11,619 |
|
Restricted
marketable securities
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2,160 |
|
Refundable
deposits and prepaid pension costs
|
|
|
859 |
|
|
|
1,168 |
|
|
|
|
114,490 |
|
|
|
130,898 |
|
Total
assets
|
|
$ |
652,762 |
|
|
|
565,548 |
|
See accompanying notes to consolidated
financial statements.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Balance Sheets (Continued)
December
31, 2007 and 2008
(in thousands of US
dollars, except share and per share data)
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
Liabilities,
Minority Interest and Stockholders’ Equity
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Current
liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts
payable
|
|
$ |
147,221 |
|
|
|
53,720 |
|
Income
tax payable
|
|
|
18,596 |
|
|
|
15,455 |
|
Other accrued expenses and other
current liabilities
|
|
|
19,231 |
|
|
|
22,455 |
|
Total
current liabilities
|
|
|
185,048 |
|
|
|
91,630 |
|
Accrued
pension liabilities
|
|
|
218 |
|
|
|
214 |
|
Deferred
income taxes
|
|
|
4,547 |
|
|
|
3,224 |
|
Income
tax payable
|
|
|
551 |
|
|
|
474 |
|
Total
liabilities
|
|
|
190,364 |
|
|
|
95,542 |
|
Minority
interest
|
|
|
11,089 |
|
|
|
6,835 |
|
Stockholders’
equity:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Ordinary shares, US$0.0001 par
value, 500,000,000 shares authorized; 191,979,691 and 190,119,594 shares issued and
outstanding at December 31, 2007 and 2008,
respectively
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
Additional
paid-in capital
|
|
|
235,894 |
|
|
|
238,499 |
|
Accumulated
other comprehensive loss
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
(314 |
) |
Unappropriated
retained earnings
|
|
|
215,403 |
|
|
|
224,967 |
|
Total
stockholders’ equity
|
|
|
451,309 |
|
|
|
463,171 |
|
Commitments
and contingencies
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Total
liabilities, minority interest and stockholders’ equity
|
|
$ |
652,762 |
|
|
|
565,548 |
|
See accompanying notes to consolidated
financial statements.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Years
ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
(in thousands of US dollars, except per
share data)
|
|
Year
Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
from third parties, net
|
|
$ |
329,886 |
|
|
|
371,267 |
|
|
|
312,336 |
|
Revenues
from related parties, net
|
|
|
414,632 |
|
|
|
546,944 |
|
|
|
520,463 |
|
|
|
|
744,518 |
|
|
|
918,211 |
|
|
|
832,799 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Costs
and expenses:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenues
|
|
|
601,565 |
|
|
|
716,163 |
|
|
|
628,693 |
|
Research
and development
|
|
|
60,655 |
|
|
|
73,906 |
|
|
|
87,574 |
|
General
and administrative
|
|
|
9,762 |
|
|
|
14,903 |
|
|
|
19,353 |
|
Bad
debt expense
|
|
|
187 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
25,305 |
|
Sales
and marketing
|
|
|
6,783 |
|
|
|
9,334 |
|
|
|
11,692 |
|
Total
costs and expenses
|
|
|
678,952 |
|
|
|
814,306 |
|
|
|
772,617 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Operating
income
|
|
|
65,566 |
|
|
|
103,905 |
|
|
|
60,182 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Non
operating income (loss):
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
income
|
|
|
5,860 |
|
|
|
5,433 |
|
|
|
3,315 |
|
Gain
on sale of marketable securities, net
|
|
|
60 |
|
|
|
112 |
|
|
|
913 |
|
Other
than temporary impairment loss on investments in non-marketable
securities
|
|
|
(1,500 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Foreign
currency exchange losses, net
|
|
|
(341 |
) |
|
|
(319 |
) |
|
|
(844 |
) |
Interest
expense
|
|
|
(311 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Other
income, net
|
|
|
173 |
|
|
|
464 |
|
|
|
469 |
|
|
|
|
3,941 |
|
|
|
5,690 |
|
|
|
3,853 |
|
Earnings
before income taxes and minority interest
|
|
|
69,507 |
|
|
|
109,595 |
|
|
|
64,035 |
|
Income
tax benefit
|
|
|
(5,446 |
) |
|
|
(1,860 |
) |
|
|
(8,689 |
) |
Income
before minority interest
|
|
|
74,953 |
|
|
|
111,455 |
|
|
|
72,724 |
|
Minority
interest
|
|
|
237 |
|
|
|
1,141 |
|
|
|
3,657 |
|
Net
income
|
|
$ |
75,190 |
|
|
|
112,596 |
|
|
|
76,381 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Basic
earnings per ordinary share
|
|
$ |
0.39 |
|
|
|
0.57 |
|
|
|
0.40 |
|
Diluted
earnings per ordinary share
|
|
$ |
0.39 |
|
|
|
0.57 |
|
|
|
0.40 |
|
See accompanying notes to consolidated
financial statements.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Years
ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
(in thousands of US
dollars)
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income
|
|
$ |
75,190 |
|
|
|
112,596 |
|
|
|
76,381 |
|
Other
comprehensive income:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized
gains on securities, not subject to income tax:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized
holding gains on available-for-sale marketable securities arising during
the period
|
|
|
56 |
|
|
|
198 |
|
|
|
949 |
|
Reclassification
adjustment for realized gains included in net income
|
|
|
(60 |
) |
|
|
(112 |
) |
|
|
(913 |
) |
Foreign
currency translation adjustments, net of tax of $6, $0 and $0 in 2006,
2007 and 2008, respectively
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
202 |
|
|
|
(294 |
) |
Net unrecognized actuarial loss,
net of tax of
$22 and $(20) in 2007 and 2008,
respectively
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(20 |
) |
|
|
(49 |
) |
Comprehensive
income
|
|
$ |
75,210 |
|
|
|
112,864 |
|
|
|
76,074 |
|
See accompanying notes to consolidated
financial statements.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Years
ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
(in thousands of US dollars and
shares)
|
|
Ordinary
share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares
|
|
|
Amount
|
|
|
capital
|
|
|
Treasury
shares
|
|
|
comprehensive income
(loss)
|
|
|
Unappropriated retained earnings
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2006
|
|
|
182,089 |
|
|
$ |
18 |
|
|
|
98,450 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
36 |
|
|
|
67,327 |
|
|
|
165,831 |
|
Issuance
of ordinary shares upon initial public offering, net of issuance costs of
$8,207
|
|
|
17,290 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
147,406 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
147,408 |
|
Shares
acquisition
|
|
|
(7,886 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(39,460 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(39,460 |
) |
Shares
retirement
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1 |
) |
|
|
(39,459 |
) |
|
|
39,460 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Restricted
stock granted
|
|
|
2,107 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Share-based
compensation expenses
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
15,091 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
15,091 |
|
Dilution
gain from issuance of new subsidiary shares
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
178 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
178 |
|
Adjustment
upon adoption of SFAS No. 158, net of tax of $98
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(331 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(331 |
) |
Unrealized
holding loss on available-for-sale marketable securities
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(4 |
) |
Foreign
currency translation adjustments
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
24 |
|
Net
income
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
75,190 |
|
|
|
75,190 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2006
|
|
|
193,600 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
221,666 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(275 |
) |
|
|
142,517 |
|
|
|
363,927 |
|
Issuance
of ordinary shares in connection with the acquisition of Wisepal
Technologies, Inc.
|
|
|
6,217 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
45,032 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
45,032 |
|
Ordinary
shares to be issued in connection with the acquisition of Wisepal
Technologies, Inc.
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,687 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,687 |
|
Shares
acquisition
|
|
|
(8,730 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(39,207 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(39,207 |
) |
Shares
retirement
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(39,207 |
) |
|
|
39,207 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Restricted
stock granted
|
|
|
893 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Share-based
compensation expenses
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
5,883 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
5,883 |
|
Dilution
gain from issuance of new subsidiary shares
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
833 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
833 |
|
Net
unrecognized actuarial loss, net of tax of $22
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(20 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(20 |
) |
See accompanying notes to consolidated
financial statements.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Continued)
Years
ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
(in thousands of US dollars and
shares)
|
|
Ordinary
share
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Shares
|
|
|
Amount
|
|
|
capital
|
|
|
Treasury
shares
|
|
|
comprehensive income
(loss)
|
|
|
Unappropriated retained earnings
|
|
|
Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized
holding gain on available-for-sale marketable securities
|
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
86 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
86 |
|
Foreign
currency translation adjustments
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
202 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
202 |
|
Declaration
of cash dividends, $0.2 per share
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(39,710 |
) |
|
|
(39,710 |
) |
Net
income
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
112,596 |
|
|
|
112,596 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
191,980 |
|
|
|
19 |
|
|
|
235,894 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
215,403 |
|
|
|
451,309 |
|
Shares
acquisition
|
|
|
(3,464 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(8,372 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(8,372 |
) |
Shares
retirement
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(8,372 |
) |
|
|
8,372 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Restricted
stock granted
|
|
|
1,604 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Share-based
compensation expenses
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
8,937 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
8,937 |
|
Dilution
gain from issuance of new subsidiary shares
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2,040 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2,040 |
|
Net
unrecognized actuarial loss, net of tax of $(20)
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(49 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(49 |
) |
Unrealized
holding gain on available-for-sale marketable securities
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
36 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
36 |
|
Foreign
currency translation adjustments
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(294 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(294 |
) |
Declaration
of cash dividends, $0.35 per share
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(66,817 |
) |
|
|
(66,817 |
) |
Net
income
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
76,381 |
|
|
|
76,381 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
190,120 |
|
|
$ |
19 |
|
|
|
238,499 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(314 |
) |
|
|
224,967 |
|
|
|
463,171 |
|
See accompanying notes to consolidated
financial statements.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Years
ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
(in
thousands of US dollars)
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income
|
|
$ |
75,190 |
|
|
|
112,596 |
|
|
|
76,381 |
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Depreciation
and amortization
|
|
|
5,221 |
|
|
|
10,260 |
|
|
|
12,318 |
|
Bad
debt expense
|
|
|
187 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
25,305 |
|
Write-off
of in-process research and development
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,600 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Share-based
compensation expenses
|
|
|
15,150 |
|
|
|
5,895 |
|
|
|
9,086 |
|
Minority
interest
|
|
|
(237 |
) |
|
|
(1,141 |
) |
|
|
(3,657 |
) |
Loss
on disposal of property and equipment
|
|
|
36 |
|
|
|
223 |
|
|
|
89 |
|
Gain
on disposal of subsidiary shares and investment in non-marketable
securities, net
|
|
|
(137 |
) |
|
|
(418 |
) |
|
|
(341 |
) |
Gain
on disposal of marketable securities, net
|
|
|
(60 |
) |
|
|
(112 |
) |
|
|
(913 |
) |
Impairment
loss on investments in non-marketable securities
|
|
|
1,500 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Deferred
income tax benefit
|
|
|
(8,938 |
) |
|
|
(14,618 |
) |
|
|
(12,348 |
) |
Inventories
write downs
|
|
|
5,165 |
|
|
|
14,824 |
|
|
|
18,028 |
|
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accounts
receivable
|
|
|
(32,424 |
) |
|
|
25,971 |
|
|
|
12,342 |
|
Accounts
receivable from related parties
|
|
|
(47,263 |
) |
|
|
(78,044 |
) |
|
|
89,850 |
|
Inventories
|
|
|
(1,502 |
) |
|
|
(29,602 |
) |
|
|
1,371 |
|
Prepaid
expenses and other current assets
|
|
|
749 |
|
|
|
(4,477 |
) |
|
|
8,012 |
|
Accounts
payable
|
|
|
14,606 |
|
|
|
26,232 |
|
|
|
(93,301 |
) |
Income
tax payable
|
|
|
(1,959 |
) |
|
|
7,481 |
|
|
|
(3,206 |
) |
Other
accrued expenses and other current liabilities
|
|
|
4,412 |
|
|
|
492 |
|
|
|
(2,516 |
) |
Net cash provided by operating
activities
|
|
|
29,696 |
|
|
|
77,162 |
|
|
|
136,500 |
|
Cash flows from investing
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Purchase of land, property and
equipment
|
|
|
(17,829 |
) |
|
|
(18,998 |
) |
|
|
(17,490 |
) |
Proceeds from disposal of property and
equipment
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
32 |
|
Purchase of available-for-sale
marketable securities
|
|
|
(31,911 |
) |
|
|
(52,476 |
) |
|
|
(68,892 |
) |
Disposal of available-for-sale marketable
securities
|
|
|
27,128 |
|
|
|
46,303 |
|
|
|
71,172 |
|
Cash acquired in acquisition, net
of cash paid
|
|
|
17 |
|
|
|
6,161 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Proceeds from disposal of subsidiary shares and
investment in non-marketable securities by Himax Technologies
Limited
|
|
|
1,142 |
|
|
|
562 |
|
|
|
719 |
|
Purchase of investment in non-marketable
securities
|
|
|
(817 |
) |
|
|
(6,321 |
) |
|
|
(4,481 |
) |
Purchase of subsidiary shares from
minority interest
|
|
|
(773 |
) |
|
|
(295 |
) |
|
|
(673 |
) |
Refund from (increase in) refundable
deposits
|
|
|
171 |
|
|
|
25 |
|
|
|
(86 |
) |
Release (pledge) of restricted
marketable securities
|
|
|
13,945 |
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
(2,065 |
) |
Net cash used in investing
activities
|
|
|
(8,927 |
) |
|
|
(25,019 |
) |
|
|
(21,764 |
) |
See accompanying notes to consolidated
financial statements.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Consolidated
Statements of Cash Flows (Continued)
Years
ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
(in thousands of US
dollars)
|
|
Year Ended December
31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distribution
of cash dividends
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
|
(39,710 |
) |
|
|
(66,817 |
) |
Proceeds
from initial public offering, net of
issuance costs
|
|
|
147,408 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Proceeds
from issuance of new shares by subsidiaries
|
|
|
676 |
|
|
|
11,814 |
|
|
|
1,123 |
|
Payments
to acquire ordinary shares for retirement
|
|
|
(38,835 |
) |
|
|
(39,345 |
) |
|
|
(8,656 |
) |
Proceeds
from borrowing of short-term debt
|
|
|
11,303 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Repayment
of short-term debt
|
|
|
(38,577 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Repayment
of long-term debt
|
|
|
(89 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Net cash provided by (used in) financing
activities
|
|
|
81,886 |
|
|
|
(67,241 |
) |
|
|
(74,350 |
) |
Effect
of foreign currency exchange rate changes on cash and cash
equivalents
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
125 |
|
|
|
34 |
|
Net
increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
102,667 |
|
|
|
(14,973 |
) |
|
|
40,420 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of year
|
|
|
7,086 |
|
|
|
109,753 |
|
|
|
94,780 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalents at end of year
|
|
$ |
109,753 |
|
|
|
94,780 |
|
|
|
135,200 |
|
Supplemental
disclosures of cash flow information:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
paid during the year for:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Interest
|
|
$ |
311 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Income taxes
|
|
$ |
5,695 |
|
|
|
4,779 |
|
|
|
7,175 |
|
Supplemental
disclosures of non-cash investing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fair
value of ordinary shares issued by Himax Display, Inc. in the acquisition
of Integrated Microdisplays Limited
|
|
$ |
538 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
See accompanying notes to consolidated
financial statements.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Note
1.
|
Background,
Principal Activities and Basis of
Presentation
|
Background
Himax
Technologies Limited (“Himax Taiwan”) was incorporated on June 12,
2001. On April 26, 2005, Himax Technologies, Inc. was established as
a new holding company in the Cayman Islands to hold the shares of Himax Taiwan
in connection with the reorganization and share exchange described
below.
On June
10, 2005, Himax Taiwan’s shareholders resolved the exchange of shares between
Himax Taiwan and Himax Technologies, Inc. (the “Company”) pursuant to Republic
of China (ROC) Business Mergers and Acquisitions Law. Upon obtaining
all necessary approvals from ROC authorities, the share exchange became
effective on October 14, 2005, whereby all issued and outstanding common shares
of Himax Taiwan were exchanged with Himax Technologies, Inc.’s new shares at a
1:1 ratio. The
approval of the ROC Investment Commission is conditioned upon the satisfaction
of certain undertakings the Company made to the ROC Investment Commission,
including undertakings relating to the Company’s plans to expand its investment
in the ROC as well as undertakings to submit certain documentation after the
effectiveness of the share exchange. As of December 31, 2007, the
Company had satisfied the undertakings set by the ROC Investment
Commission. Upon completion of the share exchange, Himax Taiwan
became Himax Technologies, Inc.’s directly and wholly-owned
subsidiary.
On April 4 and 13, 2006, the Company completed its
initial public offering and
sold 17,290,588 American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”), representing 17,290,588 new ordinary shares, at an
initial public offering
price of US$8.55 per ADS after deducting underwriting discounts
and commissions. The Company received net
proceeds, after deduction of the related offering costs, in the amount of $147,408 thousand.
Since
March 2006, the Company’s ordinary shares have been quoted on the NASDAQ Global
Market under the symbol “HIMX.” in the form of ADSs.
Principal
Activities
Himax
Technologies, Inc. and subsidiaries (collectively, the Company) designs,
develops and markets semiconductors that are critical components of flat panel
displays. The Company’s principal products are display drivers for
large-sized thin film transistor liquid crystal displays (TFT-LCD) panels, which
are used in desktop monitors, notebook computers and televisions, and
display
drivers for small- and medium-sized TFT-LCD panels which are used in mobile handsets, and consumer electronics products such as
netbook computers (with a display size of typically less than 10 inches),
digital cameras, mobile gaming devices, portable DVD players, digital photo
frame and car navigation displays. The Company also offers display
drivers for panels using OLED technology and LTPS technology. In
addition, the Company is expanding its product offerings to include non-driver
products such as timing controllers, TFT-LCD television and monitor chipsets,
LCOS projector solutions, power management ICs and CMOS image
sensors.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
Company’s customers are TFT-LCD panel manufacturers, mobile device module
manufacturers and television makers.
Basis
of Presentation
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Himax
Technologies, Inc. and its subsidiaries as if the Company had been in existence for all periods
presented.
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared
in conformity with US generally accepted accounting principles (“US
GAAP”).
Note
2.
|
Summary
of Significant Accounting Policies
|
|
(a)
|
Principles
of Consolidation
|
The
accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts and
operations of the Himax Technologies, Inc. and all of its majority owned
subsidiaries. All significant intercompany balances and transactions
have been eliminated in consolidation.
The
preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with US GAAP
requires management to make estimates and assumptions relating to the reported
amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and
liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the
reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting
period. Actual results could differ from those
estimates. Significant items subject to such estimates and
assumptions include the useful lives of property, plant and equipment and
intangible assets; allowances for doubtful accounts and sales returns; the
valuation of deferred income tax assets, property, plant and equipment,
inventory, share-based compensation and potential impairment of intangible
assets, goodwill, marketable securities and other equity investments; and
liabilities for employee benefit obligations, and income tax uncertainties and
other contingencies. The current economic environment has increased
the degree of uncertainty inherent in those estimates and
assumptions.
|
(c)
|
Cash
and Cash Equivalents
|
The
Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original
maturity of three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash
equivalents. As of December 31, 2007 and 2008, the Company had
$62,337 thousand and $115,120 thousand of cash equivalents, respectively,
consisting of New Taiwan dollar (NT$) and US dollar denominated time deposits
with an original maturity of less than three months.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
(d)
|
Marketable
Securities
|
As of
December 31, 2007 and 2008, all of the Company’s investments in debt and
marketable equity securities are classified as available-for-sale securities and
are reported at fair value. Unrealized holding gains and losses, net
of related taxes, are excluded from earnings and reported as a separate
component of stockholders’ equity in accumulated other comprehensive income
(loss) until realized. Available-for-sale securities, which mature or
are expected to be sold in one year, are classified as current
assets.
Declines
in market value are charged against earnings at the time that a decline has been
determined to be other than temporary, which is based primarily on the financial
condition of the issuer and the extent and length of time of the
decline.
The cost
of the securities sold is computed based on the moving average cost of each
security held at the time of sale.
As of
December 31, 2007 and 2008, the Company had $97 thousand and $2,160 thousand,
respectively, of restricted marketable securities, consisting of negotiable
certificate of deposits and NT$ and US dollar denominated time deposits with
original maturities of more than three months, which had been pledged as
collateral for purchase of raw materials or custom duties.
|
(e)
|
Allowance
for Doubtful Accounts
|
An
allowance for doubtful accounts is provided based on a review of collectiblility
of accounts receivable on a monthly basis. In establishing the
required allowance, the Company considers the historical collection experience,
current receivable aging and the current trend in the credit quality of its
customers.
Inventories
primarily consist of raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods awaiting
final assembly and test, and are stated at the lower of cost or market value.
Cost is determined using the weighted-average method. For
work-in-process and manufactured inventories, cost consists of the cost of raw
materials (primarily fabricated wafer and processed tape), direct labor and an
appropriate proportion of production overheads. The Company also
writes down excess and obsolete inventory to its estimated market value based
upon estimations about future demand and market conditions. If actual
market conditions are less favorable than those projected by management,
additional future inventory write-down may be required that could adversely
affect the Company’s operating results. Once written down, inventories are
carried at this lower amount until sold or scrapped. If actual market
conditions are more favorable, the Company may have higher operating income when
such products are sold. Sales to date of such products have not had a
significant impact on the Company’s operating income.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
(g)
|
Investments
in Non-Marketable Securities
|
Non-marketable
equity securities in which the Company does not have the ability to exercise
significant influence over the operating and financial policies of the investee
are stated at cost. Dividends, if any, are recognized into earnings
when received.
An
impairment of an investment in non-marketable securities that is deemed to be
other-than-temporary results in a reduction in its carrying amount to its
estimated fair value. The resulting impairment loss is charged to
earnings at that time. To determine whether impairment is
other-than-temporary, management primarily considers the financial condition of
the investee, reasons for the impairment, the severity and duration of the
impairment, changes in value subsequent to period end, forecasted performance of
the investee, and the general market condition in the geographic area or
industry the investee operates in.
|
(h)
|
Property,
Plant and Equipment
|
Property,
plant and equipment consists primarily of land purchased as the construction
site of the Company’s new headquarters which was completed in November 2006, and
machinery and equipment used in the design and development of products, and is
stated at cost. Depreciation on building and machinery and equipment
commences when the asset is ready for its intended use and is calculated on the
straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets which range
as follows: building 25 years, building improvements 6 to 16 years, machinery
and equipment 3 to 6 years. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a
straight line basis over the shorter of the lease term or the estimated useful
life of the asset. Software is amortized on a straight line basis
over the estimated useful lives ranging from 2 to 5 years.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Goodwill
represents the excess of the aggregate purchase price over the fair value of the
net assets acquired in connection with the Company’s acquisition of Wispal
Technologies, Inc. in 2007. Goodwill is reviewed for impairment at
least annually in accordance with the provisions of FASB Statement No. 142,
Goodwill and Other Intangible
Assets (SFAS No. 142). Impairment testing for goodwill is done
at a reporting unit level, which for the Company is the enterprise as a
whole. The goodwill impairment test is a two-step
test. Under the first step, the fair value of the reporting unit is
compared with its carrying value (including goodwill). If the fair
value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying value, an indication of
goodwill impairment exists for the reporting unit and the Company must perform
step two of the impairment test (measurement). Under step two, an
impairment loss is recognized for any excess of the carrying amount of the
reporting unit’s goodwill over the implied fair value of that
goodwill. The implied fair value of goodwill is determined by
allocating the fair value of the reporting unit in a manner similar to a
purchase price allocation, in accordance with FASB Statement No. 141, Business
Combinations. The residual fair value after this allocation is
the implied fair value of the reporting unit goodwill. If the fair
value of the reporting unit exceeds its carrying value, step two does not need
to be performed. Management considers the enterprise as a whole to be
the reporting unit for purpose of evaluating goodwill impairment and
consequently, the Company’s market capitalization based on the quoted market
price of the Company’s ordinary shares is a primary part of the fair value
measurement, and is adjusted by management’s estimate of an appropriate control
premium. In addition, other valuation techniques such the discounted
present value of future cash flows, maybe be considered by management as
necessary to validate in management’s estimation of the fair value of the
Company using the adjusted market capitalization approach.
The
Company performs its annual impairment review of goodwill at October 31, and
when a triggering event occurs between annual impairment tests. During 2007 and
2008, management performed its impairment testing of goodwill and concluded that
there was no impairment in either year.
Acquired intangible assets include
patents, developed technology and customer relationship assets at
December 31, 2007 and 2008. Intangible assets are amortized on a
straight-line basis over the following estimated useful lives: patents 5 years, technology 5 to 7 years and customer relationship
7 years.
|
(k)
|
Derivative
Financial Instruments
|
All
derivative financial instruments are recognized as either assets or liabilities
and are reported at fair value at each balance sheet date. As none of
the derivative financial instruments meet all the conditions for hedge
accounting, changes in the fair value of derivative financial instruments are
recognized in earnings and are included in other income
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
(expense)
in the accompanying consolidated statements of income.
|
(l)
|
Impairment
of Long-Lived Assets
|
The
Company’s long-lived assets,
which consist of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets subject to
amortization, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in
circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be
recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is assessed
by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to its estimated undiscounted
future cash flows expected to be generated. If the carrying amount of
an asset exceeds such estimated cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized
for the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds its estimated
fair value. Management generally determines fair value based on the
estimated discounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the
asset.
The
Company recognizes revenue from product sales when persuasive evidence of an
arrangement exists, the product has been delivered, the price is fixed and
determinable and collection is reasonably assured. The Company uses a
binding purchase order as evidence of an arrangement. The Company
considers delivery to occur upon shipment provided title and risk of loss has
passed to the customer based on the shipping terms, which is generally when the
product is shipped to the customer from the Company’s facilities or the
outsourced assembly and testing house. In some cases, title and risk
of loss does not pass to the customer when the product is received by
them. In these cases, the Company recognizes revenue at the time when
title and risk of loss is transferred, assuming all other revenue recognition
criteria have been satisfied. These cases include several inventory
locations where the Company manages inventory for its customers, some of which
inventory is at customer facilities. In such cases, revenue is not
recognized when products are received at these locations; rather, revenue is
recognized when customers take the inventory from the location for their
use.
The
Company records a reduction to revenue and accounts receivable by establishing a
sales discount and return allowance for estimated sales discounts and product
returns at the time revenue is recognized based primarily on historical discount
and return rates. However, if sales discount and product returns for
a particular fiscal period exceed historical rates, management may determine
that additional sales discount and return allowances are required to properly
reflect the Company’s estimated remaining exposure for sales discounts and
product returns.
Sales taxes collected from customers and remitted to
governmental authorities are accounted for on a net basis and therefore are
excluded from revenues in the consolidated statements of
income.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Under the
Company’s standard terms and conditions of sale, products sold are subject to a
limited product quality warranty. The Company may receive warranty
claims outside the scope of the standard terms and conditions. The
Company provides for the estimated cost of product warranties at the time
revenue is recognized based primarily on historical experience and any
specifically identified quality issues.
|
(o)
|
Research
and Development and Advertising
Costs
|
The
Company’s research and development and advertising expenditures are charged to
expense as incurred. Advertising expenses for the years ended
December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008, were $27 thousand, $8 thousand and $20
thousand, respectively.
The
Company recognizes government grants to fund research and development
expenditures as a reduction of research and development expense in the
accompanying consolidated statements of income based on the percentage of actual
qualifying expenditures incurred to date to the most recent estimate of total
expenditures for which they are intended to be compensated.
|
(p)
|
Employee
Retirement Plan
|
The
Company has established an employee noncontributory defined benefit retirement
plan (the “Defined Benefit Plan”) covering full-time employees in the
ROC.
The
Company records annual amounts relating to its pension and postretirement plans
based on calculations that incorporate various actuarial and other assumptions
including, discount rates, mortality, assumed rates of return, compensation
increases, and turnover rates. The Company reviews its assumptions on
an annual basis and makes modifications to the assumptions based on current
rates when it is appropriate to do so. The effect of modifications to
those assumptions is recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income
beginning from the end of 2006 and amortized to net periodic cost over future
periods using the corridor method. The Company believes that the
assumptions utilized in recording its obligations under its plans are reasonable
based on its experience and market conditions.
On
December 31, 2006, the Company adopted the recognition and disclosure provisions
of FASB Statement No. 158, Employers’ Accounting for Defined
Benefit Pension and Other Postretirement Plans, or SFAS No.
158. SFAS No. 158 requires companies to recognize the funded status
of defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans as a net asset or
liability and to recognize changes in that funded status in the year in which
the changes occur through other comprehensive income to the extent those changes
are not included in the net periodic cost. SFAS No. 158 also eliminates the requirement for
Additional Minimum Pension Liability required under SFAS No. 87. This statement does not change the existing criteria for
measurement of periodic benefit costs, plan assets or benefit
obligations.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
funded status reported on the balance sheet as of December 31, 2006 under SFAS No. 158 was measured as the difference
between the fair value of plan assets and the benefit obligation on a
plan-by-plan basis. The incremental effect of the initial adoption of SFAS No. 158 at December 31, 2006 was a reduction of
accumulated other comprehensive income of $331 thousand, which was applied
as
follows:
|
|
Before
application of SFAS No.
158
|
|
|
SFAS
No. 158 Adjustments
|
|
|
After application of SFAS No.
158
|
|
Refundable
deposits and prepaid pension costs
|
|
$ |
811 |
|
|
|
(242 |
) |
|
|
569
|
|
Deferred
income taxes-noncurrent
|
|
|
11,307 |
|
|
|
98 |
|
|
|
11,405 |
|
Total
assets
|
|
|
518,938 |
|
|
|
(144 |
) |
|
|
518,794 |
|
Accrued
pension liabilities
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
192 |
|
|
|
192 |
|
Minority
interest
|
|
|
1,401 |
|
|
|
(5 |
) |
|
|
1,396 |
|
Accumulated
other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax
|
|
|
56 |
|
|
|
(331 |
) |
|
|
(275 |
) |
Total
stockholders’ equity
|
|
|
364,258 |
|
|
|
(331 |
) |
|
|
363,927 |
|
Total
stockholders’ equity and liabilities
|
|
|
518,938 |
|
|
|
(144 |
) |
|
|
518,794 |
|
The recognition provisions of
SFAS No. 158 had no effect on the consolidated statements of income for the periods
presented. The measurement provisions of SFAS No. 158 requires
plan assets and benefit obligations be measured as of the date of the Company’s
fiscal year-end statement of financial position which are consistent with the
Company’s prior policies and the adoption of the measurement provisions of SFAS
No. 158 did not impact the
consolidated financial statements. The adoption of SFAS No. 158 did not impact the
Company’s cash position.
The
Company has adopted a defined contribution plan covering full-time employees in
the ROC (the “Defined Contribution Plan”) beginning July 1, 2005 pursuant to ROC
Labor Pension Act. Pension cost for a period is determined based on
the contribution called for
in that period. Substantially all participants in the Defined Benefit
Plan have been provided the option of continuing to participate in the Defined
Benefit Plan, or to participate in the Defined Contribution Plan on a
prospective basis from July 1, 2005. Accumulated benefits
attributed to participants that elect to change plans are not impacted by their
election.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Income
taxes are accounted for under the asset and liability
method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the
future tax consequences attributable to differences between the carrying amounts
of existing assets and liabilities in the financial statements and their
respective tax bases, and operating loss and tax credit
carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using
enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which
those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or
settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a
change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the
enactment date. A valuation allowance is recorded for deferred tax
assets when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred
tax assets will not be realized.
Beginning with the adoption of FASB Interpretation No.
48, Accounting for
Uncertainty in Income Taxes, or FIN 48, as of January 1, 2007, the Company
recognizes the effect of income tax positions only if those positions are more likely
than not of being sustained. Recognized income tax positions are measured at the largest amount that
is greater than 50% likely of being realized. Changes in recognition or measurement are reflected
in the period in which the change in judgment occurs. Prior to the adoption of FIN 48, the
Company recognized the
effect of income tax positions only if such positions were probable of being
sustained. Upon the adoption of FIN 48 on January
1, 2007, management conducted a comprehensive evaluation of its uncertain
tax positions and concluded that it was not necessary for the Company to
recognize any adjustments as a result of the initial adoption of FIN
48. The Company records interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits
as income tax expense in
the consolidated statement of income.
|
(r)
|
Foreign
Currency Translation
|
The
reporting currency of the Company is the United States dollar. The
functional currency for the Company’s major operations is the United States
dollar. Accordingly, the assets and liabilities of subsidiaries whose functional currency
is other than the United States dollar are included in the consolidation by
translating the assets and liabilities into the reporting currency (the United
States dollar) at the exchange rates applicable at the end of the reporting
period. Equity accounts are translated at historical
rates. The statements of income and cash flows are translated at the
average exchange rates during the year. Translation gains or losses
are accumulated as a separate component of stockholders’ equity in accumulated
other comprehensive income (loss). Foreign currency denominated
monetary assets and liabilities are remeasured into functional currency at
end-of-period exchange rates. Non-monetary assets and liabilities, including
inventories, prepaid expenses and other current assets, property and equipment,
other assets and equity, are remeasured at historical exchange rates. Revenue
and expenses are remeasured at average exchange rates in effect during each
period. Gains or losses from foreign currency remeasurement are included in
other income (loss) in the accompanying consolidated statements of
income.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Basic
earnings per share is computed using the weighted average number of ordinary
shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed
using the weighted average number of ordinary and diluted ordinary equivalent
shares outstanding during the period. Ordinary equivalent shares
consist of nonvested shares and unvested treasury stock issued to employees that
are contingently returnable until lapse of the requisite service period,
ordinary shares that are contingently issuable upon the vesting of unvested
restricted share units (RSUs) granted to employees and independent directors and
contingently issuable ordinary shares upon the achievement of specific
milestones as of December 31, 2007 related to the acquisition of Wisepal
Technologies, Inc.
Basic and
diluted earnings per ordinary share have been calculated as
follows:
|
|
Year December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income (in thousands)
|
|
$ |
75,190 |
|
|
|
112,596 |
|
|
|
76,381 |
|
Denominator
for basic earnings per share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
average number of ordinary shares outstanding (in
thousands)
|
|
|
192,475 |
|
|
|
196,862 |
|
|
|
191,615 |
|
Basic
earnings per share
|
|
$ |
0.39 |
|
|
|
0.57 |
|
|
|
0.40 |
|
Contingently
returnable nonvested shares and unvested treasury stock issued to employees,
contingently issuable ordinary shares underlying the unvested RSUs granted to
employees and independent directors and contingently issuable ordinary shares
related to acquisition are included in the calculation of diluted earnings per
share based on treasury stock method. In 2006, the unvested 590,401 RSUs
which will vest during 2007 and 2008 were excluded from the diluted
earnings per share computation as their effect would be anti-dilutive. In 2007, the unvested
1,272,600 RSUs which will vest during 2008 and 2009 were excluded as
their effect would be anti-dilutive. In 2008, the unvested
3,122,590 RSUs which will vest during 2009, 2010 and 2011 were excluded
as their effect would be anti-dilutive.
|
|
Year December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income (in thousands)
|
|
$ |
75,190 |
|
|
|
112,596 |
|
|
|
76,381 |
|
Denominator
for diluted earnings per share:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Weighted
average number of ordinary shares outstanding (in
thousands)
|
|
|
192,475 |
|
|
|
196,862 |
|
|
|
191,615 |
|
Nonvested
ordinary shares, unvested RSUs and contingent shares (in
thousands)
|
|
|
2,615 |
|
|
|
660 |
|
|
|
262 |
|
|
|
|
195,090 |
|
|
|
197,522 |
|
|
|
191,877 |
|
Diluted
earnings per share
|
|
$ |
0.39 |
|
|
|
0.57 |
|
|
|
0.40 |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
(t)
|
Share-Based
Compensation
|
The Company has applied SFAS No.123
(revised 2004), Share-Based
Payment, from its
incorporation in June 2001 for its share-based compensation plan. The
cost of employee services received in exchange for share-based compensation is
measured based on the grant-date fair value of the share-based
instruments issued. The cost of employee services is equal to the
grant-date fair value of shares issued to employees and is recognized in
earnings over the service period. Compensation cost also considers
the number of awards management believes will
eventually vest. As a result, compensation cost is reduced by the
estimated forfeitures. The estimate is adjusted each period to
reflect the current estimate of forfeitures, and finally, the actual number of
awards that vest.
|
(u)
|
Sale
of Newly Issued Subsidiary Shares
|
A gain
resulting from the issuance of shares by a subsidiary to a third-party that
reduces the Company’s percentage ownership (“dilution gain”) is recognized as
additional paid in capital in the Company’s consolidated statements of
stockholders’ equity. For the year ended December 31, 2006, the
Company recognized a dilution gain of $178 thousand, resulting from the issuance
to third parties of new shares (representing a 2.34 % interest) by Himax Display
Inc. (“Himax Display”, a consolidated subsidiary) for cash proceeds of $676
thousand. For the year ended December 31, 2007, the Company
recognized a dilution gain of $319 thousand and $514 thousand, resulting from
the issuance to third parties of new shares (representing a 1.45 % and 6.38 %
interest, respectively) by Himax Display and Himax Analogic for cash proceeds of
$1,217 thousand and $2,290 thousand, respectively. For the year ended
December 31, 2008, the Company recognized a dilution gain of $2,040 thousand,
resulting from the issuance to CMO, a related party and third parties of new
shares (representing a 19.88 % interest) by Himax Media Solutions for cash
proceeds of $8,402 thousand.
|
(v)
|
Fair
Value Measurements
|
On
January 1, 2008, the Company adopted the provisions FASB Statement No. 157,
Fair
Value Measurements, or SFAS No.157, for fair value measurements of
financial assets and financial liabilities and for fair value measurements of
nonfinancial items that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the
financial statements on a recurring basis. SFAS No.157 defines fair
value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a
liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the
measurement date. SFAS No.157 also establishes a framework for
measuring fair value and expands disclosures about fair value measurements (Note
19). FASB Staff Position FAS 157-2, “Effective
Date of FASB Statement No. 157,”
delays the effective date of SFAS No.157 until fiscal years beginning after
November 15, 2008 for all nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial liabilities that
are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a
nonrecurring basis.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Additionally,
the provisions of SFAS No.157 were not applied to fair value measurements of the
Company’s reporting units (Step 1 of goodwill impairment tests performed under
SFAS No. 142) and nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial liabilities measured at
fair value to determine the amount of goodwill impairment (Step 2 of goodwill
impairment tests performed under SFAS No. 142). See Note 8(b) for additional
information.
On
January 1, 2009, the Company will be required to apply the provisions of SFAS
No.157 to fair value measurements of nonfinancial assets and nonfinancial
liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial
statements on a nonrecurring basis. Management is in the process of evaluating the
impact, if any, of applying these provisions on its financial position and
results of
operations.
In
October 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position FAS 157-3, “Determining
the Fair Value of a Financial Asset When the Market for That Asset is Not
Active,” which was effective immediately. FSP FAS 157-3
clarifies the application of SFAS No.157 in cases where the market for a
financial instrument is not active and provides an example to illustrate key
considerations in determining fair value in those
circumstances. Management has considered the guidance provided by FSP
FAS 157-3 in its determination of estimated fair values during
2008.
|
(w)
|
Recently
Issued Accounting Pronouncements
|
In December 2007, the FASB issued FASB
Statement No. 141R, Business
Combinations or SFAS No.
141R and FASB Statement No.
160, Noncontrolling
Interests in Consolidated
Financial Statements– an amendment to ARB
No. 51 or SFAS No.
160. SFAS No. 141R and 160 require most identifiable
assets, liabilities, noncontrolling interests, and goodwill acquired in a
business combination to be recorded at “full fair value” and require noncontrolling interests
(previously referred to as minority interests) to be reported as a component
of equity, which changes the accounting for transactions with noncontrolling interest holders.
Both Statements are effective for
periods beginning on or
after December 15, 2008, and earlier adoption
is prohibited. SFAS No. 141R will be applied to by the Company to business combinations, if any, that occur after the effective date. SFAS No. 160 will be applied
prospectively to all noncontrolling interests, including any that
arose before the effective date. The initial adoption of SFAS No. 160 is
expected to only result in the reclassification and presentation of minority interest as noncontrolling interest in the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
In April 2008, the FASB issued FASB
Staff Position FAS 142-3, “Determination of the Useful Life of
Intangible Assets.” FSP FAS 142-3 amends the factors that
should be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions used to
determine the useful life
of a recognized intangible asset under Statement 142. FSP FAS 142-3 is effective for fiscal
years beginning after December 15, 2008. Management is currently evaluating the impact,
if any, of adopting FSP FAS
142-3 on its financial
position and results of operations.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
In December 2008, the FASB issued FASB
Staff Position FAS 132(R)-1, “Employers’ Disclosures about Postretirement
Benefit Plan Assets.” FSP FAS 132(R)-1 provides guidance on an
employer’s disclosures about plan
assets of a defined benefit
pension or other postretirement plan. FSP FAS 132(R)-1 also includes a technical
amendment to FASB Statement No. 132(R), effective immediately, which requires
nonpublic entities to disclose net periodic benefit cost for each annual
period for which a statement of income is
presented. The Company has disclosed net periodic
benefit cost in Note 14. The disclosures about plan assets
required by FSP FAS 132(R)-1 must be provided for fiscal years ending after
December 15, 2009. Management is currently evaluating the impact of
the FSP on its disclosures about plan assets.
Reclassifications
Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform with the
current year presentation.
On
February 1, 2007, the Company acquired 100 percent of the outstanding ordinary
shares of Wisepal Technologies, Inc. (“Wisepal”). The results of
Wisepal’s operations had been included in the Company’s consolidated financial
statements since that date. Wisepal is a display driver IC company
primarily focuses on small-and medium-sized applications. As a result
of the acquisition, the Company is expected to diversify its product portfolio
with more exposure towards small-and medium-sized products. It also
expects to further strengthen the Company’s competitiveness in the display
driver market with the addition of technology resources.
The
aggregate purchase price was $46,971 thousand, consisting of 6,090,114 shares of
the Company’s ordinary shares amounting to $43,021 thousand; 418,440 units of
the Company’s RSUs amounting to $2,011 thousand in exchange for Wisepal’s
unvested stock option of which 127,283 units vested immediately on the
acquisition date; other direct acquisition cost of $252 thousand and a
contingent consideration of 395,248 shares of the Company’s ordinary shares
amounting to $1,687 thousand to be issued to the former parent company of
Wisepal at US$0.001 per share based on the purchase agreement. The
value of the Company’s ordinary shares and the vested portion of the RSUs issued
were determined based on the average market price of the Company’s ordinary
shares over the 2-day period before and after the terms of the acquisition were
agreed to and announced. The value of the additional contingent
ordinary shares to be issued was determined based on the market price of the
Company’s ordinary shares as of December 31, 2007.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
following table summarizes the allocation of the purchase price to the estimated
fair values of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed at the date of
acquisition.
|
|
|
At February 1,
2007
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
|
|
$
|
6,413
|
|
Current
assets, other than cash
|
|
|
3,037
|
|
Property
and equipment
|
|
|
622
|
|
Intangible
assets
|
-
in-process R&D |
|
|
1,600
|
|
|
-
others |
|
|
14,300
|
|
Goodwill
|
|
|
26,878
|
|
Total
assets acquired
|
|
|
52,850
|
|
Current
liabilities
|
|
|
(1,332
|
) |
Deferred
income taxes
|
|
|
(4,547
|
)
|
Total
liabilities assumed
|
|
|
(5,879
|
)
|
Net
assets acquired
|
|
$
|
46,971
|
|
Acquired
tangible assets were valued at estimates of their current fair values. The
valuation of acquired intangible assets was determined based on management’s
estimates and consultation with an independent appraiser. Of the
$15,900 thousand of the acquired intangible assets, $1,600 thousand was assigned
to in-process R&D assets that
had not yet reached technological feasibility and had no alternative future use
and were written off at the date of acquisition in accordance with FASB
Interpretation No. 4, Applicability of FASB Statement No.
2 to Business Combinations Accounted for by the Purchase
Method. Those write-offs are included in research and
development expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of
income. The remaining acquired intangible assets, all of which will
be amortized, have a weighted-average useful life of approximately 7
years. The intangible assets that make up that amount include core
and developed technology of $6,200 thousand (7-year weighted-average useful
life) and customer relationships of $8,100 thousand (7-year weighted-average
useful life). Himax paid a premium for this acquisition because of
expected synergistic benefits, including the assembled workforce, and to broaden
the supplier base to secure foundry capacity and optimize its foundry mix and
further diversified its technology and product mix. Goodwill is not
deductible for tax purpose.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
following unaudited pro forma results of operations for the years end December
31, 2006 and 2007 are presented as though the acquisition occurred at the
beginning of the respective periods (dollars in thousand except per share
amounts):
|
|
For
the year end
December
31,
(unaudited)
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
revenues
|
|
$ |
770,595 |
|
|
|
919,105 |
|
Net
income
|
|
$ |
75,628 |
|
|
|
112,406 |
|
Diluted
earnings per share
|
|
$ |
0.38 |
|
|
|
0.57 |
|
Note
4.
|
Marketable
Securities
|
Following
is a summary of marketable securities as of December 31, 2007 and
2008:
|
|
December
31, 2007
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Time
deposit with original maturities more than three months
|
|
$ |
154 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
154 |
|
Open-ended
bond fund
|
|
|
14,929 |
|
|
|
125 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
15,054 |
|
Total
|
|
$ |
15,083 |
|
|
|
125 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
15,208 |
|
|
|
December
31, 2008
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Time
deposit with original maturities more than three months
|
|
$ |
151 |
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
153 |
|
Open-ended
bond fund
|
|
|
13,564 |
|
|
|
153 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
13,717 |
|
Total
|
|
$ |
13,715 |
|
|
|
155 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
13,870 |
|
The
Company’s portfolio of available for sale marketable securities by contractual
maturity or the expected holding period as of December 31, 2007 and 2008 is due
in one year or less.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Information
on sales of available for sale marketable securities for the years ended
December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008 is summarized below.
Period
|
|
Proceeds
from sales
|
|
|
Gross
realized gains
|
|
|
Gross
Realized
(losses)
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Year
ended December 31, 2006
|
|
$ |
27,128 |
|
|
|
60 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Year
ended December 31, 2007
|
|
$ |
46,303 |
|
|
|
112 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Year
ended December 31, 2008
|
|
$ |
71,172 |
|
|
|
1,060 |
|
|
|
(147 |
) |
Note
5.
|
Allowance
for Doubtful Accounts, Sales Returns and
Discounts
|
The
activity in the allowance for doubtful accounts, sales returns and discounts for
the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008 follows:
Allowance for doubtful
accounts
Period
|
|
Balance at beginning
of year
|
|
|
Addition
|
|
|
Amounts
utilized
|
|
|
Balance
at
end
of year
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For
the year ended December 31, 2006
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
|
187 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
187 |
|
For
the year ended December 31, 2007
|
|
$ |
187 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(187 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
For
the year ended December 31, 2008
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
|
25,305 |
|
|
|
(8 |
) |
|
|
25,297 |
|
Allowance for sales returns and
discounts
Period
|
|
Balance at beginning
of year
|
|
|
Addition
|
|
|
Amounts
utilized
|
|
|
Balance
at
end
of year
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
For
the year ended December 31, 2006
|
|
$ |
181 |
|
|
|
2,656 |
|
|
|
(2,156 |
) |
|
|
681 |
|
For
the year ended December 31, 2007
|
|
$ |
681 |
|
|
|
1,705 |
|
|
|
(1,893 |
) |
|
|
493 |
|
For
the year ended December 31, 2008
|
|
$ |
493 |
|
|
|
1,657 |
|
|
|
(1,988 |
) |
|
|
162 |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
As of
December 31, 2007 and 2008, inventories consisted of the following:
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Finished
goods
|
|
$ |
62,195 |
|
|
|
44,965 |
|
Work
in process
|
|
|
47,439 |
|
|
|
46,210 |
|
Raw
materials
|
|
|
6,905 |
|
|
|
5,730 |
|
Supplies
|
|
|
11 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
$ |
116,550 |
|
|
|
96,921 |
|
|
Inventory
write-downs (in thousand of US dollars) were $5,165, $14,824 and $18,028
for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008, respectively, and
are included in cost of revenues.
|
Note
7.
|
Prepaid
Expenses and Other Current Assets
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prepaid
software maintenance fee
|
|
$ |
1,501 |
|
|
|
4,282 |
|
Refundable
sales and income tax
|
|
|
10,461 |
|
|
|
2,466 |
|
Prepaid
and overpaid sales tax
|
|
|
1,237 |
|
|
|
1,398 |
|
Receivable
for insurance recoverable
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,236 |
|
Subsidy
receivables
|
|
|
757 |
|
|
|
696 |
|
Prepaid
rental and others
|
|
|
1,413 |
|
|
|
1,629 |
|
|
|
$ |
15,369 |
|
|
|
11,707 |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Note
8.
|
Goodwill
and Intangible Assets
|
|
|
December
31, 2007
|
|
|
|
Gross
carrying
amount
|
|
Weighted average
amortization period
|
|
Accumulated
amortization
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Technology
|
|
$ |
6,339 |
|
7
years
|
|
|
926 |
|
Customer
relationship
|
|
|
8,100 |
|
7
years
|
|
|
1,061 |
|
Patents
|
|
|
358 |
|
5
years
|
|
|
89 |
|
Total
|
|
$ |
14,797 |
|
|
|
|
2,076 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
December
31, 2008
|
|
|
|
Gross
carrying
amount
|
|
Weighted average
amortization period
|
|
Accumulated
amortization
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Technology
|
|
$ |
6,339 |
|
7
years
|
|
|
1,837 |
|
Customer
relationship
|
|
|
8,100 |
|
7
years
|
|
|
2,218 |
|
Patents
|
|
|
742 |
|
5
years
|
|
|
161 |
|
Total
|
|
$ |
15,181 |
|
|
|
|
4,216 |
|
Amortization
expense for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008, was $45 thousand,
$1,972 thousand and $2,140 thousand, respectively. Estimated
amortization expense for the next five years is $2,191 thousand in 2009 and
2010, $2,173 thousand in 2011, and $2,120 thousand in 2012 and
2013.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Goodwill
is tested for impairment annually or more frequently when events or
circumstances indicate that the carrying value of a reporting unit more likely
than not exceeds its fair value. The Company has a single reporting
unit for goodwill impairment testing purposes, which is the enterprise as a
whole. During the fourth quarter of 2008, the worldwide financial
crisis has adversely contributed
to the decline in the Company’s quoted share price. At December 31, 2008, the market capitalization of the Company was
lower than its equity book value. Consequently,
management performed an evaluation at the 2008 year-end to assess potential
impairment of the Company’s goodwill based on the Company’s
adjusted market capitalization at December 31,
2008. Specifically, management adjusted the Company’s market
capitalization by an appropriate control premium to derive at the estimated fair
value of the Company. Management believes that the control premium
represents the additional amount per share market
participants would
be willing to pay to obtain a controlling voting interest in the Company as a result of the ability to take
advantage of synergies and other benefits. To determine an appropriate
control premium, management referenced MergerStat database and Standard
Industrial Classification (SIC) to
identify comparable merger and acquisition
transactions in 2008 in the Company’s industry. Management further believes that the control premium has
increased under the current market conditions due to the significant volatility of the
Company’s share price that may have distorted the market capitalization as a measure
of fair value at 2008
year-end. Furthermore, management validated the results of adjusted market capitalization valuation
approach with the
results of an income approach of measuring the fair value of the
Company. Based on management’s assessment, the Company’s fair value
exceeded the net book value of the Company at December 31, 2008. Therefore, management concluded that goodwill
was not impaired and that step two of the goodwill impairment evaluation
under SFAS No. 142 was not necessary.
Note
9.
|
Property,
Plant and Equipment
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Land
|
|
$ |
10,154 |
|
|
|
10,154 |
|
Building
and improvements
|
|
|
16,413 |
|
|
|
16,828 |
|
Machinery
|
|
|
6,366 |
|
|
|
7,569 |
|
Research
and development equipment
|
|
|
12,144 |
|
|
|
14,640 |
|
Software
|
|
|
7,496 |
|
|
|
9,526 |
|
Office
furniture and equipment
|
|
|
4,575 |
|
|
|
5,972 |
|
Others
|
|
|
3,970 |
|
|
|
5,098 |
|
|
|
|
61,118 |
|
|
|
69,787 |
|
Accumulated
depreciation and amortization
|
|
|
(15,860 |
) |
|
|
(23,827 |
) |
Prepayment
for purchases of equipment
|
|
|
922 |
|
|
|
9,151 |
|
|
|
$ |
46,180 |
|
|
|
55,111 |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Depreciation
and amortization of these assets for 2006, 2007 and 2008, was $5,176 thousand,
$8,288 thousand and $10,178 thousand, respectively.
Note
10.
|
Investments
in Non-marketable Securities
|
Following
is a summary of such investments which are accounted for using the cost method
as of December 31, 2007 and 2008:
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chi
Lin Technology Co. Ltd.
|
|
$ |
1,057 |
|
|
|
1,057 |
|
Jetronics
International Corp.
|
|
|
1,600 |
|
|
|
1,600 |
|
C
Company
|
|
|
4,481 |
|
|
|
8,962 |
|
|
|
$ |
7,138 |
|
|
|
11,619 |
|
In 2006,
the Company considered its investment in equity of LightMaster Systems, Inc. to
be other than temporarily impaired due to the bankruptcy case concerning
LightMaster Systems, Inc. filed in July 2006. The carrying amount of
$1,500 thousand was fully written off with an impairment loss recognized in
other non-operating loss in the accompanying consolidated statements of
income.
As of
December 31, 2008, it was not practicable for the Company to estimate the fair
value of its investment in equity of Chi Lin Technology Co. Ltd. (on January 1, 2007,
TopSun Optronics, Inc. merged with Chi
Lin Technology Co. Ltd., Chi Lin
Technology Co. Ltd.
was the surviving company), Jetronics International Corp., and C
Company. However, despite the current global economic conditions,
management identified no events or changes in circumstance that may
significantly affect the Company’s ability to recoverability of the carrying
values of these investments.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Note
11.
|
Other
Accrued Expenses and Other Current
Liabilities
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Accrued
mask, mold fees and other expenses for RD
|
|
$ |
6,020 |
|
|
|
6,689 |
|
Payable
for purchases of equipment
|
|
|
1,257 |
|
|
|
3,225 |
|
Accrued
software maintenance
|
|
|
882 |
|
|
|
2,851 |
|
Accrued
payroll and related expenses
|
|
|
4,099 |
|
|
|
2,649 |
|
Accrued
litigation settlement and related costs
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,236 |
|
Accrued
professional service fee
|
|
|
1,179 |
|
|
|
1,037 |
|
Accrued
warranty costs
|
|
|
335 |
|
|
|
249 |
|
Accrued
insurance, welfare expenses, etc.
|
|
|
5,459 |
|
|
|
4,519 |
|
|
|
$ |
19,231 |
|
|
|
22,455 |
|
The
movement in accrued warranty costs for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007
and 2008 is as follows:
Period
|
|
Balance at
beginning
of
year
|
|
|
Additions
charged to expense
|
|
|
Amounts
utilized
|
|
|
Balance
at
end of year
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Year
ended December 31, 2006
|
|
$ |
545 |
|
|
|
2,101 |
|
|
|
(2,016 |
) |
|
|
630 |
|
Year
ended December 31, 2007
|
|
$ |
630 |
|
|
|
799 |
|
|
|
(1,094 |
) |
|
|
335 |
|
Year
ended December 31, 2008
|
|
$ |
335 |
|
|
|
1,526 |
|
|
|
(1,612 |
) |
|
|
249 |
|
All short
term debts had been fully paid off during 2006.
As of
December 31, 2008, unused credit lines amounted to $50,660 thousand, which will
expire between January 2009 and February 2010. Among which, $21,341
thousand expired in January 2009.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Note
13.
|
Government
Grant
|
The
Company entered into several contracts with Department of Industrial Technology of
Ministry of Economic Affairs (DOIT of MOEA) during 2005 and 2007 for the development of certain new
leading products or technologies. Details of these contracts are
summarized below:
Authority
|
|
|
Total Grant
|
|
Execution Period
|
|
Product Description
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
DOIT of
MOEA
|
|
NT$
|
7,000 (US$214)
|
|
September
2005 to December
2006
|
|
Mobile phone TFT single chip
SOC
|
DOIT of
MOEA
|
|
|
22,670
(US$703)
|
|
August
2007 to July 2009
|
|
Display Port
IC
|
Government
grants recognized by the Company as a reduction of research and development
expense in the accompanying consolidated statements of income in 2006, 2007 and
2008 were $466 thousand, $108 thousand and $595 thousand,
respectively.
The
Company has established the Defined Benefit Plan covering full-time employees in
the ROC. In accordance with the Defined Benefit Plan, employees are
eligible for retirement or are required to retire after meeting certain age or
service requirements. Retirement benefits are based on years of
service and the average salary for the six-month period before the employee’s
retirement. Each employee earns two months of salary for each of the
first fifteen years of service, and one month of salary for each year of service
thereafter. The maximum retirement benefit is 45 months of
salary. Retirement benefits are paid to eligible participants on a
lump-sum basis upon retirement.
Defined
Benefit Plan assets consist entirely of a Pension Fund (the “Fund”) denominated
solely in cash, as mandated by ROC Labor Standard Law. The Company
contributes an amount equal to 2% of wages and salaries paid every month to the
Fund (required by law). The Fund is administered by a pension fund
monitoring committee (the “Committee”) and is deposited in the Committee’s name
in the Bank of Taiwan (formerly Central Trust of China which was acquired by
Bank of Taiwan in 2007).
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
As
discussed in Note 2(p), the Company adopted the recognition and disclosure
provisions of SFAS No. 158 effective December 31, 2006 and the measurement date
provisions in 2008. SFAS No. 158 requires companies to recognize the
funded status of defined benefit pension and other postretirement plans as a net
asset or liability on its balance sheet. Actuarial gains and losses
are generally amortized subject to the corridor, over the average remaining
service life of the Company’s active employees.
Beginning
July 1, 2005, pursuant to the newly effective ROC Labor Pension Act, the Company
is required to make a monthly contribution for full-time employees in the ROC
that elected to participate in the Defined Contribution Plan at a rate no less
than 6% of the employee’s monthly wages to the employees’ individual pension
fund accounts at the ROC Bureau of Labor Insurance. Expense recognized in 2006,
2007 and 2008, based on the contribution called for was $883 thousand, $1,066
thousand and $1,362 thousand, respectively.
Substantially
all participants in the Defined Benefits Plan had elected to participate in the
Defined Contribution Plan. The transfer of participants to the
Defined Contribution Plan did not have a material effect on the Company’s
financial position or results of operations. Participants’
accumulated benefits under the Defined Benefit Plan are not impacted by their
election to change the plans and their seniority remains regulated by ROC Labor
Standard Law, such as the retirement criteria and the amount
payable. The Company is required to make contribution for the Defined
Benefit Plan until it is fully funded. Pursuant to relevant
regulatory requirements, the Company expects to make a cash contribution of $422
thousand to its pension fund maintained with the Bank of Taiwan and $1,315
thousand to the employees’ individual pension fund accounts at the ROC Bureau of
Labor Insurance in 2009.
The
Company uses a measurement date of December 31, for the Defined Benefit
Plan. The changes in projected benefit obligation, plan assets and
details of the funded status of the Plan are as follows:
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Change
in projected benefit obligation:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Benefit
obligation at beginning of year
|
|
$ |
885 |
|
|
|
1,090 |
|
Acquisition
from Wisepal
|
|
|
56 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Service
cost
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Interest
cost
|
|
|
26 |
|
|
|
34 |
|
Actuarial
loss
|
|
|
120 |
|
|
|
119 |
|
Benefit
obligation at end of year
|
|
|
1,090 |
|
|
|
1,243 |
|
Change
in plan assets:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Fair
value at beginning of year
|
|
|
712 |
|
|
|
1,129 |
|
Acquisition
from Wisepal
|
|
|
46 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Actual
return on plan assets
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
45 |
|
Employer
contribution
|
|
|
349 |
|
|
|
407 |
|
Fair
value at end of year
|
|
|
1,129 |
|
|
|
1,581 |
|
Funded
status
|
|
$ |
39 |
|
|
|
338 |
|
Amounts
recognized in the balance sheet consist of:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Prepaid
pension costs
|
|
$ |
257 |
|
|
|
552 |
|
Accrued
pension liabilities
|
|
|
(218 |
) |
|
|
(214 |
) |
Net
amount recognized
|
|
$ |
39 |
|
|
|
338 |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Amounts
recognized in accumulated other comprehensive income was net actuarial loss of
$331 thousand, $351 thousand and $400 thousand at December 31, 2006, 2007 and
2008, respectively.
The
accumulated benefit obligation for the Defined Benefit Plan was $407 thousand
and $416 thousand at December 31, 2007 and 2008, respectively. As of
December 31, 2007 and 2008, no employee was eligible for retirement or was
required to retire.
For the
years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008, the net periodic pension cost
consisted of the following:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Service
cost
|
|
$ |
9 |
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Interest
cost
|
|
|
22 |
|
|
|
26 |
|
|
|
34 |
|
Expected
return on plan assets
|
|
|
(18 |
) |
|
|
(20 |
) |
|
|
(35 |
) |
Net
amortization
|
|
|
6 |
|
|
|
96 |
|
|
|
34 |
|
Net
periodic pension cost
|
|
$ |
19 |
|
|
|
105 |
|
|
|
33 |
|
The net
actuarial loss for the defined benefit pension plan that will be amortized from
accumulated other comprehensive income into net periodic benefit cost in 2009 is
$25 thousand.
At
December 31, 2007 and 2008, the weighted-average assumptions used in computing
the benefit obligation are as follows:
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
Himax
Display
& Himax Analogic
|
|
|
Himax
Taiwan,
Wisepal
&
Himax
Media Solutions
|
|
|
Himax
Taiwan,
Himax
Media
Solutions,
Himax
Display & Himax
Analogic
|
|
|
Wisepal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discount
rate
|
|
|
3.00%
|
|
|
|
3.00%
|
|
|
|
2.50%
|
|
|
|
2.50%
|
|
Rate
of increase in compensation levels
|
|
|
4.00%
|
|
|
|
5.00%
|
|
|
|
4.00%
|
|
|
|
5.00%
|
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
For the
years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008, the weighted average assumptions
used in computing net periodic benefit cost are as follows:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
Himax
Taiwan, Himax Display & Himax Analogic
|
|
|
Himax
Display & Himax Analogic
|
|
|
HimaxTaiwan,
Wisepal
& Himax Media Solutions
|
|
|
Himax
Taiwan, Himax Media Solutions,
Himax
Display & Himax Analogic
|
|
|
Wisepal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discount
rate
|
|
|
2.75%
|
|
|
|
3.00%
|
|
|
|
3.00%
|
|
|
|
2.50%
|
|
|
|
2.50%
|
|
Rate
of increase in compensation levels
|
|
|
4.00%
|
|
|
|
4.00%
|
|
|
|
5.00%
|
|
|
|
4.00%
|
|
|
|
5.00%
|
|
Expected
long-term rate of return on pension assets
|
|
|
2.75%
|
|
|
|
3.00%
|
|
|
|
3.00%
|
|
|
|
2.50%
|
|
|
|
2.50%
|
|
The
Company determines the discount rate and expected long-term rate of return on
plan assets based on the yields of twenty year ROC central government bonds and
the historical long-term rate of return on the above mentioned Fund mandated by
the ROC Labor Standard Law.
Benefits
payments to be paid during the next ten years are estimated as
follows:
|
|
Amount
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2009
|
|
$ |
-
|
|
|
2010
|
|
|
- |
|
|
2011
|
|
|
- |
|
|
2012
|
|
|
- |
|
|
2013
|
|
|
- |
|
|
2014
~ 2018
|
|
|
123 |
|
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Note
15.
|
Share-Based
Compensation
|
The
amount of share-based compensation expenses included in applicable costs of
sales and expense categories is summarized as follows:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenues
|
|
$ |
275 |
|
|
|
422 |
|
|
|
435 |
|
Research
and development
|
|
|
11,806 |
|
|
|
15,393 |
|
|
|
15,861 |
|
General
and administrative
|
|
|
1,444 |
|
|
|
2,182 |
|
|
|
2,813 |
|
Sales
and marketing
|
|
|
1,625 |
|
|
|
2,324 |
|
|
|
2,691 |
|
|
|
$ |
15,150 |
|
|
|
20,321 |
|
|
|
21,800 |
|
|
(a)
|
Long-term
Incentive Plan
|
On
October 25, 2005, the Company’s shareholders approved a long-term incentive
plan. The plan permits the grants of options or RSUs to the Company’s
employees, directors and service providers where each unit of RSU represents one
ordinary share of the Company.
On
December 30, 2005, the Company’s compensation committee made grants of 1,297,564
RSUs and 20,000 RSUs to its employees and independent directors,
respectively. The vesting schedule for the RSUs granted to employees
is as follows: 25% of the RSU grant vested immediately on the grant date, and a
subsequent 25% will vest on each of September 30, 2006, 2007 and 2008, subject
to certain forfeiture events. The vesting schedule for the RSUs
granted to independent directors is as follows: 25% of the RSU grant vested
immediately on the grant date, and a subsequent 25% will vest on each of June
30, 2006, 2007 and 2008, subject to certain forfeiture events.
On
September 29, 2006, the Company’s compensation committee made grants of
3,798,808 RSUs to its employees. The vesting schedule for the RSUs is
as follows: 47.29% of the RSUs grant vested immediately on the grant date and a
subsequent 17.57% will vest on each of September 30, 2007, 2008 and 2009,
subject to certain forfeiture events.
On
September 26, 2007, the Company’s compensation committee made grants of
6,694,411 RSUs to its employees. The vesting schedule for the RSUs is
as follows: 54.55% of the RSUs grant vested immediately on the grant date which
were settled by cash amounting to $14,426 thousand, a subsequent 15.15% will
vest on each of September 30, 2008, 2009 and 2010 which will be settled by the
Company’s ordinary shares, subject to certain forfeiture events.
On
September 29, 2008, the Company’s compensation committee made grants of
7,108,675 RSUs to its employees. The vesting schedule for the RSUs is
as follows: 60.64% of the RSUs grant vested immediately on the grant date which
were settled by cash amounting to $12,714 thousand, a subsequent 13.12% will
vest on each of September 30, 2009, 2010 and 2011 which will be settled by the
Company’s ordinary shares, subject to certain forfeiture events.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
amount of compensation expense from the long-term incentive plan was determined
based on the estimated fair value and the market price of the ordinary shares
underlying the RSUs granted on the date of grant, which was $8.62 per share,
$5.71 per share, $3.95 per share and $2.95 per share on December 30, 2005,
September 29, 2006, September 26, 2007 and September 29, 2008,
respectively.
Management
is primarily responsible for estimating the fair value of the Company’s ordinary
shares underlying the RSUs granted on December 30, 2005. When
estimating fair value for such share prior to the Company’s IPO, management
considers a number of factors, including contemporaneous valuations from an
independent third-party appraiser. The share valuation methodologies
used include the discounted cash flow approach and the market value approach
where a different weight to each of the approaches is assigned to estimate the
value of the Company when the RSUs were granted. The discounted cash
flow approach involves applying appropriate discount rates to estimated cash
flows that are based on earnings forecasts. The market value approach
incorporates certain assumptions including the market performance of comparable
companies as well as the Company’s financial results and business
plan. These assumptions include: no material changes in the existing
political, legal, fiscal and economic conditions in Taiwan; the Company’s
ability to retain competent management, key personnel and technical staff to
support its ongoing operations; and no material deviation in industry trends and
market conditions from economic forecasts.
In
December 2007, due to the carve-out of television semiconductor solutions
business to incorporate Himax Media Solutions, Inc. (“Himax Media Solution”, a
consolidated subsidiary), 145 employees were transferred from Himax Taiwan to
Himax Media solutions. 361,046 units of these employees’ unvested
RSUs were cancelled in exchange for 3,416,714 nonvested shares of Himax Media
Solutions’ ordinary share. See Note 15 (b) (iv) for
further details of the modification of award.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
RSUs activity under the long-term
incentive plan during the periods indicated is as follows:
|
|
Number
of Underlying Shares for
RSUs
|
|
|
Weighted
Average Grant Date Fair
Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2006
|
|
|
988,169 |
|
|
$ |
8.62 |
|
Granted
|
|
|
3,798,808 |
|
|
|
5.71 |
|
Vested
|
|
|
(2,106,669 |
) |
|
|
6.14 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(172,165 |
) |
|
|
7.19 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2006
|
|
|
2,508,143 |
|
|
|
6.39 |
|
Granted
|
|
|
6,694,411 |
|
|
|
3.95 |
|
Vested
|
|
|
(4,507,170 |
) |
|
|
4.46 |
|
Cancelled
|
|
|
(361,046 |
) |
|
|
3.98 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(680,949 |
) |
|
|
5.27 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
3,653,389 |
|
|
|
4.75 |
|
Granted
|
|
|
7,108,675 |
|
|
|
2.95 |
|
Vested
|
|
|
(5,914,336 |
) |
|
|
3.55 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(311,433 |
) |
|
|
4.10 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
4,536,295 |
|
|
|
3.54 |
|
As of
December 31, 2008, the total compensation cost related to the unvested RSUs not
yet recognized was $14,163 thousand. The weighted-average period over
which it is expected to be recognized is 2.23 years.
The
allocation of compensation expenses from the RSUs granted to employees and
independent directors under the long-term incentive plan is summarized as
follows:
|
|
Year Ended December
31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost of
revenues
|
|
$ |
264 |
|
|
|
422 |
|
|
|
435 |
|
Research and
development
|
|
|
11,263 |
|
|
|
15,164 |
|
|
|
14,906 |
|
General and administrative
|
|
|
1,392 |
|
|
|
2,182 |
|
|
|
2,813 |
|
Sales and
marketing
|
|
|
1,554 |
|
|
|
2,323 |
|
|
|
2,671 |
|
|
|
$ |
14,473 |
|
|
|
20,091 |
|
|
|
20,825 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
(b)
|
Nonvested
Shares Issued to Employees
|
|
(i)
|
In
June 2001, November 2001 and January 2002, Himax Taiwan granted nonvested
shares of common stock to certain employees for their future
service. The shares will vest five years after the grant
date. If employees leave Himax Taiwan before completing the
five year service period, they must sell these shares back to Himax Taiwan
at NT$1.00 (US$0.03) per
share.
|
Because
the shares had not vested, the capital increase recorded when the shares were
issued was fully offset by an equal amount of deferred compensation expense.
Compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the five-year
service period with a corresponding reduction of deferred compensation expense,
resulting in a net increase in equity. The Company recognized
compensation expenses of $70 thousand in 2006. Such compensation
expense was recorded as research and development expenses in the accompanying
consolidated statements of income since the employees who received such
nonvested shares were assigned to the research and development
department. The fair value of shares on grant date was estimated
based on the then most recent price of new shares issued to unrelated third
parties, which was NT$4.02 (US$0.116) per share. Nonvested share
activity during the periods indicated is as follows:
|
|
Number
of Shares
|
|
|
Weighted
Average Grant Date Fair
Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2006
|
|
|
3,193,398 |
|
|
$ |
0.116 |
|
Vested
|
|
|
(3,193,398 |
) |
|
|
0.116 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2006
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
The
forfeiture of nonvested shares issued to employees is based on the original
number of shares granted, not including the shares issued pursuant to subsequent
stock splits or dividends.
As of
December 31, 2006, the total compensation cost related to the actual number of
nonvested shares that vest has been fully recognized.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
(ii)
|
In
September 2005, Himax Analogic granted nonvested shares of its common
stock to certain employees for their future service. The shares
will vest four years after the grant date. If employees leave
Himax Analogic before completing the four year service period, they must
sell these shares back to Himax Analogic at NT$1.00 (US$0.03) per share.
The Company recognized compensation expenses of $59 thousand, $59
thousand, and $45 thousand in 2006, 2007 and 2008,
respectively. Such compensation expense was recorded as
research and development expenses in the accompanying consolidated
statements of income with a corresponding increase to minority interest in
the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The fair value of
shares on grant date was estimated based on the then most recent price of
new shares issued to unrelated third parties, which was NT$10 (US$0.319)
per share.
|
Nonvested share activity of this award during the period indicated is as
follows:
|
|
Number
of Shares
|
|
|
Weighted
Average Grant Date Fair
Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2006
|
|
|
805,000 |
|
|
$ |
0.319 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(36,000 |
) |
|
|
0.319 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2006
|
|
|
769,000 |
|
|
|
0.319 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(66,000 |
) |
|
|
0.319 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
703,000 |
|
|
|
0.319 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(30,000 |
) |
|
|
0.319 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
673,000 |
|
|
|
0.319 |
|
As of
December 31, 2008, the total compensation cost related to this award not yet
recognized was $15 thousand. The weighted-average period over which
it is expected to be recognized is 0.54 years.
|
(iii)
|
During
September 2007 and December 2008, Himax Imaging Inc. (“Himax Imaging”, a
consolidated subsidiary) granted nonvested shares of its common stock to
certain employees for their future service, and the employees must pay
$0.15 per share. The shares will vest four
years after the grant date. If employees leave Himax
Imaging before completing the four year service period, they must sell
these shares back to Himax Imaging at $0.15 per share. The
Company recognized compensation expenses of $56 thousand and $261 thousand
in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Such compensation expense was
recorded as research and development expenses in the accompanying
consolidated statements of income with a corresponding increase to
minority interest in the accompanying consolidated balance
sheets. The fair value of shares on grant date was estimated
based on the then most recent price of new shares issued, which was
US$0.33 per share.
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Nonvested
share activity of this award during the period indicated is as
follows:
|
|
Number
of Shares
|
|
|
Weighted
Average Grant Date Fair
Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2007
|
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
Granted
|
|
|
5,559,000 |
|
|
|
0.33 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
5,559,000 |
|
|
|
0.33 |
|
Granted
|
|
|
1,258,000 |
|
|
|
0.33 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(250,000 |
) |
|
|
0.33 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
6,567,000 |
|
|
|
0.33 |
|
As of
December 31, 2008, the total compensation cost related to this award not yet
recognized was $864 thousand. The weighted-average period over which
it is expected to be recognized is 2.92 years.
|
(iv)
|
As
stated in Note 15 (a) above, in December 2007, Himax Media Solutions
granted 3,416,714 nonvested shares of its ordinary share to 145 employees
transferred from Himax Taiwan to exchange for 361,046 units of these
employees’ unvested RSUs. The modification of equity award
incurred an incremental compensation cost of $148 thousand for the excess
of the fair value of the modified award issued over the fair value of the
original unvested RSUs at the date of modification. The Company
then added incremental compensation cost to the remaining unrecognized
compensation cost of the original award at the date of modification and
the total compensation cost are recognized as compensation expenses
ratably over the requisite service period of the modified
award.
|
The fair
value of the original unvested RSUs was determined based on the average market
price of the Company’s ordinary shares underlying the RSU at the modification
dates occurred during the period from November 12, 2007 to November 16,
2007. The fair value of Himax Media Solutions’ nonvested shares at
the modification date was determined based on the then most recent price of
Himax Media Solutions’ new shares issued to unrelated third parties, which was
NT$15 (US$0.464) per share.
The
vesting schedule for the nonvested shares is as follows: 50% will vest on June
20, 2009 and the remaining 50% will vest on December 20, 2010. The
Company recognized compensation expenses of $14 thousand and $432 thousand in
2007 and 2008, respectively. Such compensation expense was recorded
as sales and marketing expense and research and development expenses in the
accompanying consolidated statements of income.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Nonvested
share activity of this award during the period indicated is as
follows:
|
|
Number
of Shares
|
|
|
Weighted
Average Grant Date Fair
Value
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2007
|
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
Granted
|
|
|
3,416,714 |
|
|
|
0.464 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(18,000 |
) |
|
|
0.464 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
3,398,714 |
|
|
|
0.464 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(376,189 |
) |
|
|
0.464 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
3,022,525 |
|
|
|
0.464 |
|
As of
December 31, 2008, the total compensation cost related to this award not yet
recognized was $849 thousand. The weighted-average period over which
it is expected to be recognized is 1.97 years.
|
(c)
|
Treasury
Stock Issued to Employees
|
In 2002
and 2003, treasury shares were issued to employees with a three year vesting
period. The excess of the fair value of these common shares over any
amount that an employee paid for treasury stock is recorded as deferred
compensation expense which is reflected as an offset to equity upon issuance of
the treasury shares. Deferred compensation expense is amortized to
compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the three-year service period
with a corresponding increase to equity.
Management
is primarily responsible for estimating the fair value of its
share. When estimating fair value, management considered a number of
factors, including retrospective valuations from an independent third-party
valuer. The estimated grant date fair value per share in 2002 and
2003 range from NT$15.32 (US$0.459) to NT$19.93 (US$0.577) and NT$20.17
(US$0.583) to NT$52.10 (US$1.538), respectively.
Treasury
stock activity during the periods indicated is as follows:
|
|
Number
of Shares
|
|
|
Weighted
Average of Excess of Grant Date
Fair
Value over
Employee Payment
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2006
|
|
|
4,479,075 |
|
|
$ |
0.743 |
|
Vested
|
|
|
(4,479,075 |
) |
|
|
0.743 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2006
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
forfeiture of treasury stock issued to employees is based on the original number
of shares granted, not including the shares issued pursuant to subsequent stock
splits or dividends.
As of
December 31, 2006, the total compensation cost has been fully recognized, and
the allocation of compensation expenses from the treasury stocks issued to
employees is summarized as follows:
|
|
Year Ended December
31,2006
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cost
of revenues
|
|
$ |
11 |
|
Research
and development
|
|
|
414 |
|
General
and administrative
|
|
|
52 |
|
Sales
and marketing
|
|
|
71 |
|
|
|
$ |
548 |
|
|
(d)
|
RSUs
issued in connection with the acquisition of
Wisepal
|
As stated
in Note 3, on February 1, 2007, the Company granted 418,440 units of RSUs in
exchange for Wisepal’s unvested stock option where each unit of RSU represents
one ordinary share of the Company. 127,283 RSUs grant vested
immediately on the acquisition date and a subsequent 10%, 33% and 27% of the RSU
grant will vest on each of September 30, 2007, 2008 and 2009, respectively,
subject to certain forfeiture events. Vested portion of the RSUs
grant was included in the purchase cost of Wisepal while the unvested portion is
treated as post-combination compensation expense. The value of the
unvested portion of the RSUs grant amounted to $945 thousand which was
determined based on the market price of the Company’s ordinary shares on the
acquisition date. Such post-combination compensation expense is
amortized to compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite
service period. The Company recognized compensation expenses of $94
thousand in 2007, which was recorded as research and development expenses in the
accompanying consolidated statements of income.
|
|
Number
of Underlying Shares for
RSUs
|
|
|
Weighted
Average Grant Date Fair
Value
|
|
Balance
at January 1, 2007
|
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
Granted
|
|
|
418,440 |
|
|
|
7.064 |
|
Vested
|
|
|
(165,114 |
) |
|
|
7.064 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(200,760 |
) |
|
|
7.064 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
52,566 |
|
|
|
7.064 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(52,566 |
) |
|
|
7.064 |
|
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
(e)
|
Employee
stock options
|
On
December 20, 2007, board of directors of Himax Media Solutions approved a plan
to grant stock options to certain employees. The plan authorizes
grants to purchase up to 6,800,000 shares of Himax Media Solutions’ authorized
but unissued ordinary shares. The exercise price is NT$15
(US$0.464). All options under the plan have four-year terms and 50%, 25% and 25% of each grant will become exercisable subsequent to the second, third and fourth anniversary of the grant
date,
respectively. The Company
recognized compensation expenses of $7 thousand and $237 thousand in 2007 and
2008, respectively. Such compensation expense was recorded as sales
and marketing expense and research and development expenses in the accompanying
consolidated statements of income.
At
December 31, 2007, there were 304,500 additional shares available for Himax
Media Solutions’ grant under the plan. The calculated value of each
option award is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes
option-pricing model that used the weighted average assumptions in the following
table. Himax Media Solutions uses the simplified method to estimate
the expected term of the options as it does not have any historical share option
exercise experience and the exercise data relating to employees of other
companies is not easily obtainable. Since Himax Media
Solutions’ shares are not publicly traded and its shares are rarely traded
privately, expected volatility is computed based on the average historical
volatility of similar entities with publicly traded shares. The
risk-free rate for the expected term of the option is based on the interest rate
of 10 years ROC central government bond at the time of grant.
|
|
2007
|
|
Valuation
assumptions:
|
|
|
|
Expected dividend
yield
|
|
|
0% |
|
Expected
volatility
|
|
|
39.94% |
|
Expected term
(years)
|
|
|
4.375% |
|
Risk-free interest
rate
|
|
|
2.4776% |
|
Stock
option activity during the periods indicated is as follows:
|
|
Number
of shares
|
|
|
Weighted average exercise
price
|
|
|
Weighted average remaining contractual term
|
|
Balance
at December 20, 2007
|
|
|
- |
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
|
|
Granted
|
|
|
6,495,500 |
|
|
|
0.464 |
|
|
|
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(5,000 |
) |
|
|
0.464 |
|
|
|
|
Balance
at December 31, 2007
|
|
|
6,490,500 |
|
|
|
0.464 |
|
|
|
4.375 |
|
Forfeited
|
|
|
(823,000 |
) |
|
|
0.464 |
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at December 31, 2008
|
|
|
5,667,500 |
|
|
|
0.464 |
|
|
|
3.375 |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
weighted average grant date calculated value of the options granted in 2007 was
NT$5.4152 (US$0.168). No options were exercisable as of December 31,
2008.
Note
16.
|
Stockholders'
Equity
|
In
accordance with the Company’s board of director’s resolution on November 2,
2006, the Company repurchased 7,885,835 ADSs and 2,161,636 ADSs in 2006 and
2007, respectively, from open market. On February 1, 2007, the
Company announced the completion of its share buyback program. In
total, the Company has repurchased $50 million or 10,047,471 ADSs in the open
market at an average price of US$4.98 per ADS.
In
accordance with the Company’s board of director’s resolution on November 1,
2007, the Company repurchased 6,569,108 ADSs and 1,095,342 ADSs in 2007 and
2008, respectively, from open market. In total, the Company has
repurchased $33.1 million or 7,664,450 ADSs in the open market at an average
price of US$4.32 per ADS.
In accordance with the
Company’s board of director’s resolution on November 14, 2008, the Company authorized another
new share buyback program. The program allows the Company to repurchase up to
$50 million of the Company’s ADSs for retirement. The Company repurchased 2,369,091 ADSs in 2008.
|
(b) Earnings
distribution
|
As a
holding company, the major asset of the Company is the 100% ownership interest
in Himax Taiwan. Dividends received from the Company’s subsidiaries
in Taiwan, if any, will be subjected to withholding tax under ROC
law. The ability of the Company’s subsidiaries to pay dividends,
repay intercompany loans from the Company or make other distributions to the
Company may be restricted by the availability of funds, the terms of various
credit arrangements entered into by the Company’s subsidiaries, as well as
statutory and other legal restrictions. The Company’s subsidiaries in
Taiwan are generally not permitted to distribute dividends or to make any other
distributions to shareholders for any year in which it did not have either
earnings or retained earnings (excluding reserve). In addition,
before distributing a dividend to shareholders following the end of a fiscal
year, a Taiwan company must recover any past losses, pay all outstanding taxes
and set aside 10% of its annual net income (less prior years’ losses and
outstanding taxes) as a legal reserve until the accumulated legal reserve equals
its paid-in capital, and may set aside a special reserve.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
accumulated legal and special reserve provided by Himax Taiwan as of December
31, 2007 and 2008 amounting to $21,001 thousand and $32,368 thousand,
respectively.
Majority
of the Company’s pre-tax income is derived from the operations in the ROC and
majority of the Company’s income tax expense (benefit) is incurred in the
ROC.
The
statutory income tax rate in the ROC is 25%. An additional 10%
corporate income tax is assessed on undistributed income for the entities in the
ROC, but only to the extent such income is not distributed or set aside as legal
reserve before the end of the following year. The 10% surtax is
recorded in the period the income is earned, and the reduction in the surtax
liability is recognized in the period the distribution to shareholders or the
setting aside of legal reserve is finalized in the following
year. Prior to 2006, the tax effects of temporary differences were
measured at the undistributed tax rate of 32.5%, which reflected the 25%
statutory income tax rate and the additional surtax on undistributed earnings at
an effective rate of 7.5%. Commencing from 2006, due to the enacted changes in ROC Income Tax Acts in May 2006 that revised the tax base of the undistributed income surtax from “assessed taxable income, net o
f current
tax” to “net income under ROC generally
accepted accounting principles (ROC GAAP)”, the tax effects of temporary
differences between ROC GAAP and tax base are initially measured at the
distributed tax rate of 25% and the tax effects of temporary differences that
arise from the difference between US GAAP and ROC GAAP are measured at the
revised undistributed tax rate of 31.8%.
In
accordance with the ROC Statute for Upgrading Industries, Himax Taiwan’s capital
increase in 2003 and 2004 and Wisepal’s newly incorporated investment in 2004
related to the manufacturing of newly designed TFT-LCD driver was approved by
the government authorities as a newly emerging, important and strategic
industry. The incremental income derived from selling the above new
product is tax exempt for a period of five years.
The
Company is entitled to the following tax exemptions:
Date of investment
|
|
Tax exemption period
|
|
|
|
|
|
Himax
Taiwan:
|
|
|
|
September
1, 2003
|
|
April
1, 2004-March 31,
2009
|
|
October
29, 2003
|
|
January
1, 2006-December 31, 2010
|
|
September
20, 2004
|
|
January
1, 2008-December 31, 2012
|
|
Wisepal:
|
|
|
|
August
26, 2004
|
|
January
1, 2009-December 31, 2013
|
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The components of income tax benefit are summarized as follows:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Current
income tax expense
|
|
$ |
3,492 |
|
|
|
12,770 |
|
|
|
3,659 |
|
Deferred
income tax benefit
|
|
|
(8,938 |
) |
|
|
(14,630 |
) |
|
|
(12,348 |
) |
Income
tax benefit
|
|
$ |
(5,446 |
) |
|
|
(1,860 |
) |
|
|
(8,689 |
) |
The
differences between expected income tax expense, computed based on the ROC
statutory income tax rate of 25% and the actual income tax benefit as reported
in the accompanying consolidated statements of income for the years ended
December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008 are summarized as follows:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Expected
income tax expense
|
|
$ |
17,377 |
|
|
|
27,399 |
|
|
|
16,009 |
|
Tax-exempted
income
|
|
|
(16,724 |
) |
|
|
(27,099 |
) |
|
|
(25,185 |
) |
Tax
on undistributed retained earnings
|
|
|
6,847 |
|
|
|
11,616 |
|
|
|
10,281 |
|
Tax
benefit resulting from setting aside legal reserve from prior year’s
income
|
|
|
(789 |
) |
|
|
(689 |
) |
|
|
(1,148 |
) |
Adjustment
for enacted change in tax laws
|
|
|
1,099 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(14 |
) |
Impairment
loss on investment in non-marketable securities
|
|
|
375 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Nontaxable
gains on sale of marketable securities
|
|
|
(53 |
) |
|
|
(133 |
) |
|
|
(313 |
) |
Increase
in investment tax credits
|
|
|
(15,128 |
) |
|
|
(20,597 |
) |
|
|
(16,801 |
) |
Increase
in deferred tax asset valuation allowance
|
|
|
2,798 |
|
|
|
5,366 |
|
|
|
8,754 |
|
Non-deductible
share-based compensation expenses
|
|
|
787 |
|
|
|
260 |
|
|
|
298 |
|
Provision
for uncertain tax position in connection with share-based compensation
expenses
|
|
|
413 |
|
|
|
217 |
|
|
|
367 |
|
Decrease in unrecognized tax
benefits related to
prior year uncertain tax positions, net
of its impact to tax-exempted income
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1,780 |
) |
Foreign
tax rate differential
|
|
|
(1,425 |
) |
|
|
(1,399 |
) |
|
|
537 |
|
Variance from audits of prior
years’ income tax
filings
|
|
|
(880 |
) |
|
|
3,000 |
|
|
|
441 |
|
Others
|
|
|
(143 |
) |
|
|
199 |
|
|
|
(135 |
) |
Actual
income tax benefit
|
|
$ |
(5,446 |
) |
|
|
(1,860 |
) |
|
|
(8,689 |
) |
The basic
and diluted earnings per share effect resulting from the income tax exemption
for the years ended December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008, is a $0.09, $0.14 and
$0.13, increase to earnings per share, respectively.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
adjustment for enacted change in tax laws includes adjustment to deferred tax
assets and liabilities and the undistributed income surtax of 2005 related to
this change amounting to $686 thousand and $413 thousand,
respectively. The enacted changes in ROC Income Tax Acts in May 2006
affect the determination of the undistributed income surtax commencing from 2005
and related deferred income tax assets and liabilities existed as of the
enactment date. The Company recognized the impact of the change in
2006, the year of enactment of the tax law.
The
amount of total income tax benefit allocated to continuing operations and the
amounts separately allocated to other items are summarized as
follows:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
Continuing
operations
|
|
$ |
(5,446 |
) |
|
|
(1,860 |
) |
|
|
(8,689 |
) |
Charged directly to
equity
|
|
|
(98 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Other comprehensive
income
(loss)
|
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
16 |
|
|
|
(20 |
) |
Tax benefit allocated to reduce
goodwill
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(32 |
) |
Total income tax
benefit
|
|
$ |
(5,541 |
) |
|
|
(1,844 |
) |
|
|
(8,741 |
) |
As of
December 31, 2007 and 2008, the components of deferred income tax assets
(liabilities) were as follows:
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Deferred
tax assets:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Inventory
|
|
$ |
5,430 |
|
|
|
6,735 |
|
Allowance
for doubtful accounts
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
5,917 |
|
Capitalized
expense for tax purposes
|
|
|
204 |
|
|
|
102 |
|
Accrued
compensated absences
|
|
|
121 |
|
|
|
114 |
|
Allowance
for sales return, discounts and warranty
|
|
|
207 |
|
|
|
102 |
|
Unused
investment tax credits
|
|
|
32,689 |
|
|
|
41,699 |
|
Unused
loss carry-forward
|
|
|
6,970 |
|
|
|
10,903 |
|
Accrued
pension cost
|
|
|
100 |
|
|
|
101 |
|
Other
|
|
|
203 |
|
|
|
282 |
|
Total
gross deferred tax assets
|
|
|
45,924 |
|
|
|
65,955 |
|
Less:
valuation allowance
|
|
|
(12,300 |
) |
|
|
(21,022 |
) |
Net
deferred tax assets
|
|
|
33,624 |
|
|
|
44,933 |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Deferred
tax liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unrealized
foreign exchange gain
|
|
|
(41 |
) |
|
|
(10 |
) |
Prepaid
pension cost
|
|
|
(169 |
) |
|
|
(314 |
) |
Acquired
intangible assets
|
|
|
(4,547 |
) |
|
|
(3,302 |
) |
Depreciation
|
|
|
(7 |
) |
|
|
(50 |
) |
Other
|
|
|
(9 |
) |
|
|
(6 |
) |
Total
gross deferred tax liabilities
|
|
|
(4,773 |
) |
|
|
(3,682 |
) |
Net
deferred tax assets
|
|
$ |
28,851 |
|
|
|
41,251 |
|
As of December 31, 2008, the Company has
not provided for income taxes on the undistributed earnings of approximately
$347,379
thousand of its foreign
subsidiaries since the
Company has specific plans to reinvest these earnings indefinitely. A deferred tax liability will be
recognized when the Company can no longer demonstrate that it plans to
indefinitely reinvest these undistributed earnings. It is not practicable to
estimate the amount of
additional taxes that might be payable on such undistributed
earnings.
The
valuation allowance for deferred tax assets as of January 1, 2006, 2007 and 2008
was $3,314 thousand, $6,278 thousand and $12,300 thousand, respectively.
The net change in the valuation allowance for the years ended December 31,
2006, 2007 and 2008, was an increase of $2,964 thousand, $6,022 thousand
and $8,722 thousand, respectively. The change in 2006 and 2007
includes an increase of valuation allowance of $166 thousand and $656 thousand,
which were provided for the deferred tax assets attributable to the acquisition
of Integrated Microdisplays Limited in October 2006 and Wisepal in February
2007. In 2008, the
Company allocated $32 thousand of tax benefit to reduce goodwill as a result of the
release of valuation allowance that was initially established at the acquisition
of Wisepal. Any subsequent recognition of tax benefit related to
valuation allowance for deferred tax assets will be recorded in the
consolidated statements of income under SFAS
No. 141R.
In
assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether
it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets
will not be realized. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets
is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in
which those temporary differences become deductible and tax loss carryforwards
utilizable. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred
tax liabilities, projected future taxable income, and tax planning strategies in
making this assessment. Based upon the level of historical taxable
income and projections for future taxable income over the periods in which the
deferred tax assets are deductible, management believes it is more likely than
not that the Company will realize the benefits of the deferred tax assets, net
of the valuation allowance at December 31, 2008. The amount of the
deferred tax asset considered realizable, however, could be reduced in the near
term if estimates of future taxable income during the carryforward period are
reduced.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Each
entity within the Company files separate standalone income tax
return. Except for Himax Taiwan, Wisepal, Himax Anyang (Korea), Himax
Technologies (Suzhou) Co., Ltd., Himax Technologies (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd., and
Himax Imaging Corp., all other subsidiaries of the Company have generated tax
losses since their inception, therefore, a valuation allowance of $12,300
thousand and $21,022 thousand as of December 31, 2007 and 2008, respectively,
was provided to reduce their deferred tax assets (consisting primarily of
operating loss carryforwards and unused investment tax credits) to zero because
management believes it is unlikely that these tax benefits will be
realized. The total tax loss carryforwards for these subsidiaries at
December 31, 2008 was $44,159 thousand, which will expire if unused by
2013. The total unused investment tax credits for these subsidiaries
at December 31, 2008 was $9,567 thousand, which will expire if unused by
2012.
According
to the ROC Statute for Upgrading Industries, the purchase of machinery for the
automation of production, expenditure for research and development and training
of professional personnel entitles the Company to tax credits. These
credits may be applied over a period of five years. The amount of the
credit that may be applied in any year, except the final year, is limited to 50%
of the income tax payable for that year. There is no limitation on
the utilization of the amount of investment tax credit to offset the income tax
payable in the final year.
As of
December 31, 2008, all of the Company’s unused investment tax credits of
NT$1,536,231 thousand (US$46,836 thousand) reported for tax return purposes will
expire if unused by 2012.
A
reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits
is as follows:
|
|
|
For
the year ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Balance
at beginning of year
|
|
$ |
1,276 |
|
|
|
3,968 |
|
Increase
related to prior year tax positions
|
|
|
503 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Decrease
related to prior year tax positions
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(1,780 |
) |
Increase
related to current year tax positions
|
|
|
2,189 |
|
|
|
3,555 |
|
Effect
of exchange rate change
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(25 |
) |
Balance
at end of year
|
|
|
3,968 |
|
|
|
5,718 |
|
Included
in the balance of total unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2007 and 2008,
are potential benefits of $3,968 thousand and $5,434 thousand, respectively,
that if recognized, would reduce the Company’s effective tax rate. No
interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits were recorded by the
Company as of January 1, 2007 and for the years ended December 31, 2007 and
2008. The Company’s major taxing jurisdiction is
Taiwan. All Taiwan subsidiaries’ income tax returns have been
examined and assessed by the ROC tax authorities through 2006. The tax years 2007
and 2008 remain open to examination by the Taiwan tax
authorities. Taiwanese entities are customarily examined by the tax
authorities and it
is possible that a future examination will result in a positive or negative
adjustment to the Company's unrecognized tax benefits within the next
12 months; however, the Company is unable to estimate a range of the tax
benefits or detriment as of December 31, 2007 and 2008.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Note
18.
|
Derivative
Financial Instruments
|
The
Company operates in Taiwan and internationally, giving rise to exposure to
changes in foreign currency exchanges rates. The Company enters into
foreign currency forward contracts to reduce such exposure. None of
the Company’s derivatives qualify for hedge accounting pursuant to SFAS No. 133,
Accounting for Derivative
Instruments and Hedging Activities. Accordingly, the derivative
instruments are recorded at fair value on the consolidated balance sheets with
the change in fair value being reflected immediately in earnings in the
consolidated statements of income.
The
Company did not hold any derivative financial instruments as of December 31,
2007 and 2008, respectively. The realized losses resulting from
foreign currency forward contracts were $611 thousand in 2006.
Note
19.
|
Fair
Value Measurement
|
|
(a)
|
Fair
Value of Financial Instruments
|
The fair
values of cash, cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and
accrued liabilities approximate their carrying values due to their relatively
short maturities. Marketable securities consisting of open-ended bond funds are
reported at fair value based on quoted market prices at the reporting
date. Marketable securities consisting of time deposits with original
maturities more than three months are determined using the discounted present
value of expected cash flows. The fair value of investments in non-marketable
securities has not been estimated as there are no identified events or changes
in circumstances that may have significant adverse effects on the carrying value
of these investments, and it is not practicable to estimate their fair
values.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
Company adopted SFAS No.157 on January 1, 2008 for fair value measurements of
financial assets and financial liabilities and for fair value measurements of
nonfinancial items that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the
financial statements on a recurring basis. SFAS No.157 establishes a
fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to
measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted
quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1
measurements) and the lowest priority to measurements involving significant
unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value
hierarchy are as follows:
|
(i)
|
Level
1 inputs are quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical
assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the
measurement date.
|
|
(ii)
|
Level
2 inputs are inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that
are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or
indirectly.
|
|
(iii)
|
Level
3 inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or
liability.
|
The level
in the fair value hierarchy within which a fair measurement in its entirety
falls is based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value
measurement in its entirety.
The
following table presents the Company’s financial assets and liabilities that are
measured at fair value on a recurring basis which were comprised of the
following types of instruments as of December 31, 2008:
|
|
Fair Value Measurements
at
Reporting Date Using
|
|
|
|
Level 1
|
|
|
Level 2
|
|
|
Level 3
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Cash and cash
equivalents:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Time deposits with original maturities less than three
months
|
|
$ |
115,120 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Marketable securities
available-for-sale:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Time deposit with original
maturities more than three
months
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
153 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Open-ended bond
fund
|
|
|
13,717 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Restricted marketable
securities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Time deposits with original
maturities of more than three months
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2,160 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Total
|
|
$ |
128,837 |
|
|
|
2,313 |
|
|
|
- |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Note
20.
|
Significant
Concentrations
|
Financial
instruments that currently subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk
consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and accounts
receivable. The Company places its cash primarily in checking and
saving accounts with reputable financial institutions. The Company
has not experienced any material losses on deposits of the Company’s cash and
cash equivalents. Marketable securities consist of time deposits with
original maturities of greater than three months and investments in open-ended
bond fund identified to fund current operations. All marketable
securities are classified as available-for-sale.
The
Company derived substantially all of its revenues from sales of display drivers
that are incorporated into TFT-LCD panels. The TFT-LCD panel industry
is intensely competitive and is vulnerable to cyclical market conditions and
subject to price fluctuations. The Company expects to be
substantially dependent on sales to the TFT-LCD panel industry for the
foreseeable future.
The
Company depends on two customers for a substantial majority of its revenues and
the loss of, or a significant reduction in orders from, either of them would
significantly reduce the Company’s revenues and adversely impact the Company’s
operating results. The largest customer (CMO and its affiliates), a
related party, accounted for approximately 55.0%, 58.8% and 62.5%, respectively,
of the Company’s revenues in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The other (Chunghwa
Picture Tubes and its affiliates) accounted for 12.4%, 7.3% and 3.9%,
respectively in 2006, 2007 and 2008. The largest customer represented
more than 10% of the Company’s accounts receivable balance at December 31, 2007
and 2008. CMO and its affiliates accounted for approximately 68.4%
and 67.2% of the Company’s accounts receivable balance at December 31, 2007 and
2008, respectively. In
addition, we had accounts receivable of
$27.9 million outstanding from SVA-NEC as of December 31, 2008. Since the second half of 2008,
SVA-NEC has delayed paying a large portion of its
outstanding accounts
receivable. Due to the increasing concern about
SVA-NEC’s financial condition, we made an allowance of $25.3 million to lower the amount of accounts receivable
otherwise outstanding as of December 31, 2008. Moreover, the Company has
at times agreed to extend the payment terms for certain of its
customers. Other customers have also requested extension of payment
terms, and the Company may grant such requests for extension in the
future. As a result, a default by any such customer, a prolonged
delay in the payment of accounts receivable, or the extension of payment terms
for the Company’s customers would adversely affect the Company’s cash flow,
liquidity and operating results. The Company performs ongoing credit
evaluations of each customer and adjusts credit policy based upon payment
history and the customer’s credit worthiness, as determined by the review of
their current credit information. See Notes 21 and 23 for additional
information.
The
Company focuses on design, development and marketing of its products and
outsources all its semiconductor fabrication, assembly and test. The
Company primarily depends on nine foundries to manufacture its wafer, and any
failure to obtain sufficient foundry capacity or loss of any of the foundries it
uses could significantly delay the Company’s ability to ship its products, cause
the Company to lose revenues and damage the Company’s customer
relationships.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
There are
a limited number of companies which supply processed tape used to manufacture
the Company’s semiconductor products and therefore, from time to time, shortage
of such processed tape may occur. If any of the Company’s suppliers
experience difficulties in delivering processed tape used in its products, the
Company may not be able to locate alternative sources in a timely
manner. Moreover, if shortages of processed tape were to occur, the
Company may incur additional costs or be unable to ship its products to
customers in a timely manner, which could harm the Company’s business customer
relationships and negatively impact its earnings.
A limited
number of third-party assembly and testing houses assemble and test
substantially all of the Company’s current products. As a result, the
Company does not directly control its product delivery schedule, assembly and
testing costs and quality assurance and control. If any of these
assembly and testing houses experiences capacity constraints or financial
difficulties, or suffers any damage to its facilities, or if there is any other
disruption of its assembly and testing capacity, the Company may not be able to
obtain alternative assembly and testing services in a timely
manner. Because the amount of time the Company usually takes to
qualify assembly and testing houses, the Company could experience significant
delays in product shipments if it is required to find alternative
sources. Any problems that the Company may encounter with the
delivery, quality or cost of its products could damage the Company’s reputation
and result in a loss of customers and orders.
Note
21.
|
Related-party
Transactions
|
|
(a)
|
Name
and relationship
|
Name
of related parties
|
|
Relationship
|
|
|
|
Chi
Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (CMO)
|
|
Shareholder
represented on the Company’s Board of Directors; the Company’s Chairman
represented on CMO’s Board of Directors
|
|
|
|
Chi
Mei Optoelectronics Japan, Co., Ltd . (CMO-Japan, formerly named
International Display Technology Ltd. or ID Tech)
|
|
Wholly
owned subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
Jemitek
Electronic Corp. (JEC)
|
|
The
Company’s CEO represented on JEC’s Board of Directors until November
2007. JEC was acquired by Innolux Display Incorporation on
March 1, 2007.
|
|
|
|
Contrel
Technology Co., Ltd.(Contrel)
|
|
Related
party in substance
|
|
|
|
Ampower
Technology Co., Ltd.(Ampower)
|
|
Related
party in substance
|
|
|
|
Chi
Mei Corporation (CMC)
|
|
Major
shareholder of CMO
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Name
of related parties
|
|
Relationship
|
|
|
|
NEXGEN
Mediatech Inc. (NEXGEN)
|
|
Related
party in substance
|
|
|
|
Chi
Lin Technology Co., Ltd.(Chi Lin Tech)
|
|
Related
party in substance
|
|
|
|
NingBo
Chi Mei Electronics Ltd. (CME-NingBo)
|
|
The
subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
NingBo
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Ltd. (CMO-NingBo)
|
|
The
subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
Chi
Mei EL Corporation (CMEL)
|
|
The
subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
TopSun
Optronics, Inc. (TopSun)
|
|
Chi
Lin Tech nominated more than half of the seats on TopSun’s Board of
Directors since September 2006. On January 1, 2007,
TopSun
merged with Chi Lin Tech, Chi Lin
Tech was the
surviving company
|
|
|
|
NanHai
Chi Mei Optoelectronics Ltd. (CMO- NanHai)
|
|
The
subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
Chi
Hsin Electronics Corp. (Chi Hsin)
|
|
The
subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
Chi
Mei Logistics Corp. (CMLC)
|
|
The
subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
NingBo
Chi Mei Logistics Corp. (CMLC-NingBo)
|
|
The
subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
Dongguan
Chi Hsin Electronics Co., Ltd. (Chi Hsin-Dongguan)
|
|
The
subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
NingBo
ChiHsin Electronics Ltd. (Chi Hsin-NingBo)
|
|
The
subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
Fulintec
Science Engineering Co., Ltd. (Fulintec)
|
|
The
subsidiary of CMO
|
|
|
|
Chi
Mei Energy Corp.
|
|
Related
party in substance
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
(b)
|
Significant
transactions with related
parties
|
|
(i)
|
Revenues
and accounts receivable
|
Revenues
from related parties are summarized as follows:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CMO-
NingBo
|
|
$ |
73,898 |
|
|
|
249,117 |
|
|
|
292,231 |
|
CMO
|
|
|
335,797 |
|
|
|
281,766 |
|
|
|
143,132 |
|
CMO-
NanHai
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
7,141 |
|
|
|
69,865 |
|
Chi
Hsin
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,499 |
|
|
|
6,359 |
|
Chi
Hsin- NingBo
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
4,382 |
|
Chi
Hsin- Dongguan
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2,397 |
|
CME-
NingBo
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1,804 |
|
CMEL
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
214 |
|
|
|
288 |
|
CMO-
Japan
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
3 |
|
Ampower
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
2 |
|
Chi
Lin Tech
|
|
|
2,985 |
|
|
|
7,162 |
|
|
|
- |
|
NEXGEN
|
|
|
805 |
|
|
|
45 |
|
|
|
- |
|
TopSun
|
|
|
1,136 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
JEC
|
|
|
9 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
$ |
414,632 |
|
|
|
546,944 |
|
|
|
520,463 |
|
A
breakdown by product type for sales to CMO and its affiliates is summarized as
follows:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Display
driver for large-size applications
|
|
$ |
408,075 |
|
|
|
536,610 |
|
|
|
498,771 |
|
Display
driver for consumer electronics applications
|
|
|
484 |
|
|
|
1,434 |
|
|
|
16,486 |
|
Display
driver for mobile handsets
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
771 |
|
|
|
4,029 |
|
Others
|
|
|
1,130 |
|
|
|
922 |
|
|
|
1,175 |
|
|
|
$ |
409,697 |
|
|
|
539,737 |
|
|
|
520,461 |
|
The sales
prices CMO and its affiliates receive are comparable to those offered to
unrelated third parties.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
related accounts receivable resulting from the above sales as of December 31,
2007 and 2008, were as follows:
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CMO- NingBo
|
|
$ |
92,779 |
|
|
|
56,241 |
|
CMO
|
|
|
94,069 |
|
|
|
29,385 |
|
CMO-
NanHai
|
|
|
5,732 |
|
|
|
18,029 |
|
Chi
Hsin- NingBo
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
670 |
|
Chi
Hsin- Dongguan
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
211 |
|
Chi
Hsin
|
|
|
1,574 |
|
|
|
32 |
|
CMEL
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
3 |
|
CME-
NingBo
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
1 |
|
Chi Lin
Tech
|
|
|
1,049 |
|
|
|
- |
|
NEXGEN
|
|
|
2 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
195,205 |
|
|
|
104,572 |
|
Allowance for sales returns and
discounts
|
|
|
(303 |
) |
|
|
(95 |
) |
|
|
$ |
194,902 |
|
|
|
104,477 |
|
The credit terms granted to CMO and its affiliates ranged form 60 days to 90 days, and the credit terms granted to other
related parties ranged from
45 days to 60 days. The credit terms offered to unrelated third
parties ranged from
30 days to 120 days.
|
(ii)
|
Purchases
and accounts payable
|
Purchases
from related parties are summarized as follows:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CMO
|
|
$ |
82 |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
- |
|
CMC
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
12 |
|
|
|
- |
|
Chi
Lin Tech
|
|
|
7 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
$ |
89 |
|
|
|
24 |
|
|
|
- |
|
The
purchases had been full paid as of December 31, 2006 and 2007.
The terms
of payment to related parties were approximately 30~60 days after receiving,
comparable to that from third parties.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
(iii)
|
Property
transactions
|
In 2008,
the Company purchased equipment amounting to $201 thousand from
Fulintec. As of December 31, 2008, the related prepayment and payable
resulting from the aforementioned transaction were $27 thousand and $66
thousand, respectively.
The
Company entered into a lease contract with CMO, CMLC, CMLC-NingBo and CMO-NanHai
for leasing office space and inventory locations. For the years ended
December 31, 2006, 2007 and 2008, the related rent and utility expenses
resulting from the aforementioned transactions amounted to $759 thousand, $465
thousand and $634 thousand, respectively, and were recorded as cost of revenue
and operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of
income. As of December 31, 2007 and 2008, the related payables
resulting from the aforementioned transactions amounted to $111 thousand and
$143 thousand, respectively, and were recorded as other accrued expenses in the
accompanying consolidated balance sheets.
In 2006,
2007 and 2008, the Company purchased consumable and miscellaneous items
amounting to $159 thousand, $63 thousand and $146 thousand, respectively, from
CMO, CMC, Chi Lin Tech, NEXGEN, CMEL, Chi Hsin, Contrel and Fulintec, which were
charged to cost of revenues and operating expenses. As of December
31, 2007 and 2008, the related payables resulting from the aforementioned
transactions were $1 and $12 thousand, respectively.
In 2006,
2007 and 2008, Chi Lin Tech provided IC bonding service on prototype panels for
the Company’s research activities for a fee of $128 thousand, $113 thousand and
$73 thousand, respectively, which was charged to research and development
expense. As of December 31, 2007 and 2008, the related process fee
payables resulting from the aforementioned transactions were both $11
thousand.
Note
22.
|
Commitments
and Contingencies
|
|
(a)
|
As
of December 31, 2007 and 2008, the Company entered into a license
agreement which is secured by standby Letter of Credit by bank amounting
to $150 thousand and $250 thousand,
respectively.
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
(b)
|
As
of December 31, 2007, and 2008 the Company had entered into several
contracts for the acquisition of equipment and computer software and the
construction of its new headquarters. Total contract prices
amounted to $877 thousand and $3,872 thousand, respectively. As
of December 31, 2007 and 2008, the remaining commitments were $100
thousand and $3,710 thousand,
respectively.
|
|
(c)
|
The
Company leases its office and buildings pursuant to operating lease
arrangements with unrelated third parties. The lease
arrangement will expire gradually from 2009 to 2011. As of
December 31, 2007 and 2008, deposits paid amounted to $371 thousand and
$515 thousand, respectively, and were recorded as refundable deposit in
the accompanying consolidated balance
sheets.
|
As of
December 31, 2008, future minimum lease payments under noncancelable operating
leases are as follows:
Duration
|
|
Amount
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
January
1, 2009~December 31, 2009
|
|
$ |
938 |
|
January
1, 2010~December 31, 2010
|
|
|
625 |
|
January
1, 2011~December 31, 2011
|
|
|
322 |
|
|
|
$ |
1,885 |
|
Rental
expense for operating leases with unrelated third parties amounted to $1,763
thousand, $1,852 thousand and $1,223 thousand in 2006, 2007 and 2008,
respectively.
|
(d)
|
The
Company entered into several sales agent agreements commencing from
2003. Based on these agreements, the Company shall pay
commissions at the rates ranging from 0.6% to 5% of the sales to customers
in the specific territory or referred by agents as stipulated in these
agreements. Total commissions incurred amounting to $3,788
thousand, $535 thousand and $42 thousand in 2006, 2007 and 2008,
respectively. The sales commission expenses were recorded as a
deduction from revenue in the accompanying consolidated statements of
income.
|
|
(e)
|
In
June 2007, the Company entered into a license agreement for the use of
Analogix HDMI 1.3 receiver core relevant technology for product
development. In accordance with the agreement, the Company was
required to pay an initial license fee based on the progress of the
project development and a royalty based on shipments. The
license fee paid and charged to research and development expense in 2007
was $500 thousand. In 2007 and 2008, no royalty was
paid.
|
|
(f)
|
The company has entered into two
agreements to provide donations for laboratories with two top local
universities in
Taiwan. Amended contributions amounted to
NT$48.9 million ($1.5 million). As of
December 31, 2008, the remaining commitments were NT$28.5 million ($0.9
million).
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
|
(g)
|
The
Company from time to time is subject to claims regarding the proprietary
use of certain technologies. Currently, the Company is not
aware of any such claims that it believes could have a material adverse
effect on its financial position or results of
operations.
|
|
(h)
|
Since
Himax Taiwan is not a listed company, it will depend on Himax
Technologies, Inc. to meet its equity financing requirements in the
future. Any capital contribution by Himax Technologies, Inc. to
Himax Taiwan may require the approval of the relevant ROC
authorities. The Company may not be able to obtain any such
approval in the future in a timely manner, or at all. If Himax
Taiwan is unable to receive the equity financing it requires, its ability
to grow and fund its operations may be materially and adversely
affected.
|
|
(i)
|
The Company has entered into
several wafer fabrication or assembly and testing
service arrangements with service providers. The Company may be
obligated to make payments for purchase orders entered into pursuant to
these arrangements.
|
|
(j)
|
On July 30, 2007, a purported
class action lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court
for the Central District of California against the Company’s Chief Financial
Officer alleging breach of fiduciary duty
and violations of Sections 11, 12(a) (2) and 15 of the Securities Act of
1933. On August 30, 2007, a
similar class action
lawsuit was filed in the same court against the Company, its Chief Executive Officer and its Chief Financial
Officer, alleging violations of Sections 11
and 15 of the Securities Act of 1933. On February 5, 2008, the court consolidated
the two actions.
The consolidated complaint
added as defendants
certain of the Company’s directors, as well as Chi Mei
Optoelectronics Corporation (“CMO”), seeking unspecified damages on behalf of
purchasers of the Company’s stock pursuant and/or
traceable
to the
Company’s initial public offering in March
2006. The Plaintiffs claim that defendants violated U.S. securities laws because
the registration
statement associated with
the IPO contained material misrepresentations
and/or omissions related
to
CMO’s
inventory level prior to the IPO. On
January 22,
2009, the
Company and
the other defendants entered into a formal stipulation of settlement to
settle the class action lawsuit, which must be approved by the court,
following notice to members of the settlement
class. The
court issued an order on April 23, 2009 granting preliminary approval of
the settlement agreement and will hold a hearing on July 27, 2009 to
determine whether to approve the proposed settlement. If
approved, the settlement will result in a
dismissal of all claims against the
Company and
the other defendants. In
entering into the stipulation, the
Company and
the
defendants explicitly denied any liability or wrongdoing of any kind.
The
amount of the settlement is $1.2 million, which is
covered by
the
Company’s
insurance carrier.
There can be no assurance that the court will approve the
settlement.
|
The
Company has
incurred costs with respect to the
litigation and the settlement, most of which are covered by the
Company’s insurance
carrier. As of December 31,
2008,
receivables and payables that pertain to the related cost and class
action settlement with different parties were presented respectively in the
consolidated balance sheet.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Note
23.
|
Segment
Information
|
The
Company is engaged in the design, development and marketing of semiconductors
for flat panel displays. Based on the Company’s internal organization
structure and its internal reporting, management has determined that the Company
does not have any operating segments as that term is defined in SFAS No. 131,
Disclosures about Segments of
an Enterprise and Related Information.
Revenues
from the Company’s major product lines are summarized as follow:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Display
drivers for large-size applications
|
|
$ |
645,513 |
|
|
|
752,196 |
|
|
|
651,504 |
|
Display
drivers for mobile handsets applications
|
|
|
52,160 |
|
|
|
75,704 |
|
|
|
57,274 |
|
Display
drivers for consumer electronics applications
|
|
|
28,616 |
|
|
|
66,634 |
|
|
|
81,866 |
|
Others
|
|
|
18,229 |
|
|
|
23,677 |
|
|
|
42,155 |
|
|
|
$ |
744,518 |
|
|
|
918,211 |
|
|
|
832,799 |
|
The
following tables summarize information pertaining to the Company’s revenues from
customers in different geographic region (based on customer’s headquarter
location):
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Taiwan
|
|
$ |
605,924 |
|
|
|
785,334 |
|
|
|
646,011 |
|
China
|
|
|
69,874 |
|
|
|
82,572 |
|
|
|
116,947 |
|
Other
Asia Pacific (Korea and Japan)
|
|
|
68,413 |
|
|
|
50,115 |
|
|
|
69,570 |
|
Europe
(Netherlands and France)
|
|
|
307 |
|
|
|
190 |
|
|
|
271 |
|
|
|
$ |
744,518 |
|
|
|
918,211 |
|
|
|
832,799 |
|
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
The
carrying value of the Company’s tangible long-lived assets are located in the
following countries:
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Taiwan
|
|
$ |
45,379 |
|
|
|
53,822 |
|
China
|
|
|
574 |
|
|
|
1,002 |
|
U.S.
|
|
|
219 |
|
|
|
282 |
|
Korea
|
|
|
8 |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
$ |
46,180 |
|
|
|
55,111 |
|
Revenues
from significant customers, those representing 10% or more of total revenue for
the respective periods, are summarized as follows:
|
|
Year Ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CMO
and its affiliates, a related party
|
|
$ |
409,697 |
|
|
|
539,737 |
|
|
|
520,461 |
|
Chunghwa
Picture Tubes and its affiliates
|
|
|
92,561 |
|
|
|
66,694 |
|
|
|
32,673 |
|
|
|
$ |
502,258 |
|
|
|
606,431 |
|
|
|
553,134 |
|
Accounts
receivable from significant customers, those representing 10% or more of total
accounts receivable for the respective periods, is summarized as
follows:
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CMO
and its affiliates, a related party
|
|
$ |
195,205 |
|
|
|
104,572 |
|
SVA-NEC
|
|
|
19,526 |
|
|
|
27,947 |
|
|
|
$ |
214,731 |
|
|
|
132,519 |
|
As of
December 31, 2007 and 2008, allowance for doubtful accounts, sales returns and
discounts for those accounts receivable was $303 thousand and $25,392 thousand,
respectively.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Note
24.
|
Subsequent
Events
|
From
January to April 2009, the Company repurchased 4,396,933 ADSs from the open
market for total cash consideration of $9,273 thousand. The Company
has repurchased $12.6 million or 6,766,024 ADSs in the open market at an average
price of US$1.86 per ADS as of April 30, 2009. The repurchased ADSs
and their underling ordinary shares were then cancelled, thereby reducing
approximately 6.8 million shares or 4% of the Company’s issued and outstanding
ordinary shares in 2009.
Note
25.
|
Himax
Technologies, Inc. (the Parent Company
only)
|
As a
holding company, dividends received from the Company’s subsidiaries in Taiwan,
if any, will be subjected to withholding tax under ROC law as well as statutory
and other legal restrictions.
The
condensed separate financial information of the Parent Company only, as if the
Parent Company had been in existence for all periods, are presented as
follows:
Condensed
Balance Sheets
|
|
|
December 31,
|
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cash
and cash equivalents
|
|
$ |
18,588 |
|
|
|
2,903 |
|
Other
current assets
|
|
|
1,109 |
|
|
|
2,015 |
|
Investment
in non-marketable securities
|
|
|
1,600 |
|
|
|
1,600 |
|
Investments
in subsidiaries
|
|
|
430,700 |
|
|
|
518,373 |
|
Total
assets
|
|
$ |
451,997 |
|
|
|
524,891 |
|
Current
liabilities
|
|
$ |
688 |
|
|
|
1,720 |
|
Long-term
debt from a subsidiary
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
60,000 |
|
Total
stockholders’ equity
|
|
|
451,309 |
|
|
|
463,171 |
|
Total
liabilities and stockholder’s equity
|
|
$ |
451,997 |
|
|
|
524,891 |
|
The
Parent Company had no guarantees as of December 31, 2007 and 2008.
HIMAX
TECHNOLOGIES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
Notes
to Consolidated Financial Statements (Continued)
December
31, 2006, 2007 and 2008
Condensed Statements of
Income
|
|
Year ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenues
|
|
$ |
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Costs
and expenses
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(683 |
) |
|
|
(1,162 |
) |
Operating
loss
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(683 |
) |
|
|
(1,162 |
) |
Equity
in earnings from subsidiaries
|
|
|
69,435 |
|
|
|
107,583 |
|
|
|
76,082 |
|
Other
non operating income
|
|
|
5,755 |
|
|
|
5,696 |
|
|
|
1,461 |
|
Earnings
before income taxes
|
|
|
75,190 |
|
|
|
112,596 |
|
|
|
76,381 |
|
Income
tax
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Net
Income
|
|
$ |
75,190 |
|
|
|
112,596 |
|
|
|
76,381 |
|
Condensed
Statements of Cash Flows
|
|
Year ended December 31,
|
|
|
|
2006
|
|
|
2007
|
|
|
2008
|
|
|
|
(in
thousands)
|
|
Cash
flows from operating activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Net
income
|
|
$ |
75,190 |
|
|
|
112,596 |
|
|
|
76,381 |
|
Adjustments
to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating
activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Share-based
compensation expense
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
5 |
|
|
|
22 |
|
Equity
in earnings from subsidiaries
|
|
|
(69,435 |
) |
|
|
(107,583 |
) |
|
|
(76,082 |
) |
Changes
in operating assets and liabilities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Other current
assets
|
|
|
(5,789 |
) |
|
|
16,821 |
|
|
|
330 |
|
Other accrued expenses and other
current liabilities
|
|
|
1,192 |
|
|
|
(499 |
) |
|
|
78 |
|
Net cash provided by operating
activities
|
|
|
1,158 |
|
|
|
21,340 |
|
|
|
729 |
|
Net
cash used in investing activities
|
|
|
(540 |
) |
|
|
(24,141 |
) |
|
|
(8,481 |
) |
Cash
flows from financing activities:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Distribution of special cash
dividends
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
(39,710 |
) |
|
|
(66,817 |
) |
Proceeds
from repayments of short-term debt
|
|
|
(13,600 |
) |
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Proceeds
from initial public offering, net of issuance costs
|
|
|
147,408 |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
Proceeds from issue of RSUs from a
subsidiary
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
4,853 |
|
|
|
7,540 |
|
Proceeds
from long-term debt from a subsidiary
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
60,000 |
|
Acquisitions of ordinary shares
for retirement
|
|
|
(38,835 |
) |
|
|
(39,345 |
) |
|
|
(8,656 |
) |
Net cash provided by (used in)
financing activities
|
|
|
94,973 |
|
|
|
(74,202 |
) |
|
|
(7,933 |
) |
Net
increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
|
|
|
95,591 |
|
|
|
(77,003 |
) |
|
|
(15,685 |
) |
Cash
and cash equivalents at beginning of year
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
95,591 |
|
|
|
18,588 |
|
Cash
and cash equivalent at end of year
|
|
$ |
95,591 |
|
|
|
18,588 |
|
|
|
2,903 |
|
F-64