Electronics IP Industry – Q1 2012
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Electronics IP Industry – Q1 2012

Introduction

This is the May 25, 2012 article for the EDACafe.com EDA Commentary. The article is entitled, “Electronics IP Industry – Q1 2012.”

Herein we return our attention to the phenomenon of the rise of Intellectual Property (IP) in the world’s Electronics Industry, a segment of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) that Henke Associates began reporting on separately in 2003. 

At the beginning, we covered eight (8) publicly-traded IP companies (called the "Group-of-8" or "G8"), as representative of the financial state of the nascent Electronics IP Industry. Subsequently, ARM absorbed Artisan Components in 2004; Mentor Graphics acquired LogicVision in 2009; and Synopsys bought Virage Logic in 2010. So nowadays, when we report on the Electronics IP Industry quarterly financials, the G5 listed below are included: 


The Q2 2011 financial results of the G5 IP vendors were posted here on August 22, 2011, just at the beginning of a period of economic volatility that was precipitated by the US Government's debt ceiling debate in Washington DC and subsequent reduction of the USA’s credit rating by S&P from AAA to AA+.

The aforementioned continuing volatility in the economy was visible to anyone looking at the stock markets’ performances by the time of the posting of the Q3 2011 IP Industry Commentary on November 14, 2011. Below is a graph of the six months of the NASDAQ Composite leading up to November 14. Please note: (a) the relative stability of the Composite curve at just above the 2800 level for the initial months shown till late July 2011; (b) the steep plunge to below 2400 by mid-August 2011; (c) the relatively wild oscillations from mid-August 2011 through mid-November 2011; and (d) never closing at 2800 or above during the entire reporting period after mid-August 2011:

 

NASDAQ Close Nov 04 = 2686.15

52 week range = 2298.89 – 2887.75 



Indeed, it was not until January 25, 2012 that the NASDAQ Composite finally closed above 2800 again, rising at an average slope of over 41 points per week for the four weeks between January 20 and February 17, 2012 as the US economy began to show consistent improvement.

The NASDAQ Composite had stabilized and began rising at a powerful upward slope, flirting with 3090.08 on March 21, 2012, closing at 3067.92 on March 23, 2012, having just closed at a high of 3078.32 on March 19, 2012.

The NASDAQ market then flattened out through mid-March and continued for the most part above 3000 until the index began some serious slipping in the period between May 04, 2012 and May 19, 2012:
 

 

 The impact of this most recent overall market deterioration on the individual and collective IP G5 vendors’ Stock Prices and Market Caps will be presented at the conclusion of this IP Commentary.

 

G5 Electronics IP Vendor by Vendor Details – Q1 2012

Let’s first look at the individual performances of each member of the Group of Five (a.k.a. the G5) Electronics IP players for nominal Q4 2012. Then we’ll follow up with a summary of the by-now-familiar Tables of Revenues and Profits of the entire G5 for Q1 2012 (and the four quarters leading up to Q1 2012), as well as some graphs of previous quarterly P&L’s.


On April 24, 2012 ARM Holdings plc announced its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

Progress on key growth drivers in Q1 2012

Growth in adoption of ARM® processor technology

Growth in shipments of chips based on ARM processor technology

Growth in outsourcing of new technology

                                                                                  
ARM Revenue in IFRS in Q1 2012 was 132.5 million pounds, up 14.22% year over year compared to 116.0 million pounds in Q1 2011.


ARM Revenue in IFRS in Q1 2012 was $209.4 million, up 12.94% year over year compared to Q1 2011 of $185.5 million.

ARM Net Income in IFRS in Q1 2012 was 37.4 million pounds, up 73.4% year over year compared to 21.5 million pounds in Q1 2011.

ARM Net Income in IFRS in Q1 2012 was $59.09 million, up 11.33% year over year compared to $34.40 million in Q1 2011.

Warren East, Chief Executive Officer, said:

"As many aspects of our lives become digital, we continue to see an increase in the demand for ARM’s smarter and lower power technology, which is driving both our licensing and royalty revenues.”


Warren East

“In the first quarter of 2012 we saw continuing demand for technology licenses driven by a remarkable variety of end markets from highly efficient servers to energy‐sipping sensors. ARM’s royalty revenues continued to outperform the overall semiconductor industry as our customers launch their products into new markets and gain market share within existing markets. With more customers choosing to deploy ARM technology in their products, this has been another quarter that underpins the long‐term growth opportunity of the business. This growth enables us to invest in future innovative technology as well as delivering increases in profit and cash flow.”

Outlook

While Q1 2012 industry shipments declined sequentially, most analysts expect the industry to recover in the second half. In that context, ARM expects that group dollar revenues for the full‐year 2012 will be in line with current market expectations.

Lest we forget, this is what ARM said about 2012 last quarter: “For full-year 2012, the global macro-economic situation remains uncertain and is likely to influence consumer and enterprise spending, thereby potentially impacting semiconductor revenues and industry confidence.  Assuming the macroeconomic situation does not deteriorate significantly, ARM expects group dollar revenues for the full-year to be at least in line with current market expectations of just over $860 million.”

People Count

As of March 31, 2012, ARM had 2,176 full‐time employees, a net increase of 60 since the start of the year. At the end of March, the group had 892 employees based in the UK, 563 in the USA, 258 in Continental Europe, 317 in India and 146 in the Asia Pacific region.

(Recall that last year, ARM enjoyed some $392,970 in revenue per employee).

ARM self description:

ARM designs the technology that lies at the heart of advanced digital products, from wireless, networking and consumer entertainment solutions to imaging, automotive, security and storage devices. ARM’s comprehensive product offering includes 32-bit RISC microprocessors, graphics processors, video engines, enabling software, cell libraries, embedded memories, high-speed connectivity products, peripherals and development tools. Combined with comprehensive design services, training, support and maintenance, and the company’s broad Partner community, they provide a total system solution that offers a fast, reliable path to market for leading electronics companies. More information on ARM is available at http://www.arm.com.

ARM is a registered trademarks of ARM Limited. ARM7, ARM9, ARM11, Cortex and Mali are trademarks of ARM Limited. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders. “ARM” is used to represent ARM Holdings plc; its operating company ARM Limited; and the regional subsidiaries: ARM Inc.; ARM KK; ARM Korea Ltd.; ARM Taiwan Limited; ARM France SAS; ARM Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; ARM Belgium Services BVBA; ARM GermanyGmbH; ARM Embedded Technologies Pvt. Ltd.; ARM Norway AS; and ARM Sweden AB.

DAC News from ARM:

 

No doubt all readers of EDACafe.com are fully aware that San Francisco CA will be the host city for this year’s Design Automation Conference June 3 through June 7, 2012.

 

 

Most EDA vendors and supporting organizations (including IBSystems’ EDACafe) will be represented. ARM and its partners will of course be there.   

The ARM architecture is at the foundation of over 30% of all consumer devices in the world. Join ARM and its Partners at DAC 2012 and increase your expertise to optimize your ARM processor-based solutions.

Events

Hear from ARM's CTO Mike Muller as he presents the DAC keynote: "Scaling for 2020 Solutions"
Tuesday, June 5, 2012 - 9:00 to 9:45 AM
Comparing the original ARM design of 1985 to those of today's latest microprocessors, ARM CTO Mike Muller - in this special keynote address - will look at how far design strategies have evolved. How has EDA contributed to enable these advances in systems, hardware, operating systems, and applications, and how have business models influenced this evolution over 25 years? Mike will discuss possible design solutions for the next decade -- from tiny embedded sensors through to cloud-based servers, which together will enable and drive the "Internet of Things."

Visit ARM in Booth 1414

Monday, June 4 - Wednesday, June 6
Learn more about ARM's processor technologies and Artisan® physical IP. Discover how to quickly optimize these solutions for your designs. The ARM demo of big.LITTLE processing technology introduces a flexible approach to power and performance management that redefines the traditional relationships. The ARM Processor Optimization Pack™ (POP) solution details a new way to achieve an optimized ARM core implementation across a broad envelope of power, performance and area optimization points. 

You'll also hear presentations from ARM technologists and subject-matter experts on topics, including: Low-power design, FinFET and advanced technology, and processor optimization, as well as success stories of collaborative efforts on ARM-based solutions from customers and partners. Check out ARM's daily theater schedule for DAC. 

NEW at DAC! Don't miss the ARM Connected Community Pavilion, Booth 802

DAC and ARM have partnered to bring to DAC the ARM Connected Community Pavilion, where you'll be able to see some of the latest innovations from ARM's EDA and Embedded Partners. Stop by to check out their solutions and become eligible for a special ARM giveaway. The ARM Connected Community is a global network of more than 900 companies aligned to provide a complete solution, from design to manufacture and end use, for products based on the ARM architecture.

 

 

Bar Graph Source: Google Finance

 



 


On May 2, 2012 CEVA, Inc. (NASDAQ: CEVA), the vendor that correctly states that it is the leading licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) platform solutions and DSP cores for the mobile handset, portable and consumer electronics markets, announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

Total revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was $15.112 million, virtually flat compared to $15.052 million for the first quarter of 2011. Licensing revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was $5.1 million, flat compared to $5.1 million reported for the same quarter a year ago. Royalty revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was $9.1 million compared to $9.2 million reported for the first quarter of 2011. Revenue from services for the first quarter of 2012 was $0.9 million, an increase of 21% compared to $0.7 million reported for the first quarter of 2011.

Gideon Wertheizer, Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Driven by strong licensing activities, we generated revenue and earnings results at the high-end of our expectations. We are particularly happy to augment our already strong customer base in baseband with new licensees who will use our DSPs for advanced audio processing in smart phones."


CEO Wertheizer

US GAAP net income for the first quarter of 2012 was $4.857 million, a slight increase of 4.43% over $4.651 million reported for the same period in 2011. US GAAP diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2012 was $0.20, also a slight increase of 5.26% compared to $0.19 for the first quarter of 2011.

During Q1 2012, the Company concluded eight new license agreements. Six agreements were for CEVA DSP cores, platforms and software, and two agreements were for CEVA SATA/SAS product lines. Target applications for customer deployment are 3G and 4G basebands, audio and voice processing for mass market smart phones and SSD drives. Geographically, three of the agreements signed were in the US, four were in Asia and one was in Europe.

Yaniv Arieli, Chief Financial Officer stated, "Our first quarter financial performance demonstrates our consistent execution in growing our customer base and diversifying our revenue sources.”


Yaniv Arieli

“During the first quarter, we bought back approximately 400,000 shares of our common stock for an aggregate consideration of approximately $9.5 million. The recent buyback activity demonstrates our confidence in CEVA's strong fundamentals. At the end of the quarter, our cash balance, marketable securities and bank deposits totaled $163 million."

CEVA, Inc. self description

CEVA is the world's leading licensor of silicon intellectual property (SIP) DSP cores and platform solutions for the mobile handset, portable and consumer electronics markets. CEVA's IP portfolio includes comprehensive technologies for cellular baseband (2G / 3G / 4G), multimedia (HD video, Image Signal Processing (ISP) and HD audio), voice over packet (VoP), Bluetooth, Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and Serial ATA (SATA). In 2011, CEVA's IP was shipped in over 1 billion devices and powers handsets from every top handset OEM, including HTC, Huawei, LG, Motorola, Nokia, Samsung, Sony and ZTE. Today, more than 40% of handsets shipped worldwide are powered by a CEVA DSP core. For more information, visit www.ceva-dsp.com.

More CEVA News provided by Mike Sottak of Wired Island

CEVA Continues to Dominate DSP IP Market with 90% Market Share

CEVA’s market share leadership revealed in report by leading research firm The Linley Group; Report also forecasts greater need for programmable DSPs to address multimode baseband processing

On May 14, 2012 CEVA, Inc. announced that it has been ranked by leading research firm  The Linley Group as the worldwide leader in DSP IP shipments in 2011, with a 90% market share. The market share numbers were published in The Linley Group’s recent report, entitled ‘A Guide to CPU Cores and Processor IP’ (1).

"CEVA continues to be the most successful supplier of DSP IP -- its licensees shipped more than one billion chips in 2011,” said J. Scott Gardner, an analyst at The Linley Group and co-author of the report. “CEVA has an impressive customer base for its DSP portfolio, especially in communications and multimedia. Furthermore, with the 4G transition well underway, high-performance programmable DSPs are required to efficiently handle complex multimode baseband processing. CEVA is well positioned to capitalize on this trend.” 

 "CEVA is pleased to be ranked yet again as the worldwide leader in DSP IP by The Linley Group,” said Gideon Wertheizer, CEO of CEVA. “Our unrivalled expertise in DSP technology for high volume mobile and digital home applications drives our success and is the reason we are the DSP-of-choice for many of the world’s leading semiconductors and OEMs.”

CEVA's industry-leading DSP cores power many of the world's leading semiconductors today for a broad range of applications including cellular baseband, imaging, vision, audio, voice, voice-over-IP and more. Addressing every advanced wireless standard, including LTE-Advanced, Wi-Fi 802.11ac and DTV demodulation, CEVA’s latest generation communications DSP architecture framework, the  CEVA-XC4000, sets a new milestone for power efficiency and utilizes an innovative instruction set to enable highly complex, software-based baseband processing. Likewise, the new  CEVA-TeakLite-4 DSP architecture framework for advanced audio and voice processing introduces innovative smart power management technology and supports customer-owned extensions, making it a highly flexible architecture and ideal for even the most area and power sensitive designs.

Independent analysis of both the CEVA-XC4000 and the CEVA-TeakLite-4 DSP architecture frameworks was recently published in The Linley Group’s Microprocessor Report (2)(3). These reports are available at  http://www.ceva-dsp.com/mpr.

1)      The Linley Group “A Guide to CPU Cores & Processor IP” by Kevin Krewell & J. Scott Gardner, April 2012.

2)      The Linley Group “Microprocessor Report – CEVA-TeakLite-4 Illuminates Roadmap, April 2012

3)      The Linley Group “Microprocessor Report – CEVA Exposes DSP Six Pack, March 2012

For EDA IP Commentary readers:

The Linley Group url:

http://www.linleygroup.com/index.php

The Report url:

http://www.linleygroup.com/report_detail.php?num=28


 

Bar Graph Source: Google Finance

 

                                                                                                        

 

On April 26, 2012 MIPS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MIPS), reported consolidated financial results for the first calendar quarter of 2012 ended March 31, 2012. All financial results are reported in US GAAP unless otherwise noted.

Summary Ql 2012 Financial Metrics: 

Q1 2012 Revenue from royalties was $11.0 million, while license revenue was $4.3 million.

The Company's Q1 2012 GAAP net loss was $2.53 million or $0.05 per share compared to net loss of slightly less than $1.0 million and $0.02 per share in Q4 2011. The Company delivered revenue of $20.048 million in Q1 2011, with a GAAP net income of $3.365 million, or $0.06 per share.

"Results this quarter came in at the high end of our guidance," said Sandeep Vij, chief executive officer, MIPS Technologies.

 


Sandeep Vij


"We are encouraged by our advancements in the mobile segment, with momentum this quarter both in new MIPS-Based devices coming to market, and reaching key ecosystem milestones. This continued progress together with the imminent launch of a new generation of MIPS products, are laying the foundation for our customers' future MIPS-Based product development." 

MIPS Technologies, Inc. self description

MIPS Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: MIPS) is a leading provider of industry-standard processor architectures and cores for home entertainment, networking, mobile and embedded applications. The MIPS architecture powers some of the world's most popular products, including broadband devices from Linksys, DTVs and digital consumer devices from Sony, DVD recordable devices from Pioneer, digital set-top boxes from Motorola, network routers from Cisco, 32-bit microcontrollers from Microchip Technology and laser printers from Hewlett-Packard. Founded in 1998, MIPS Technologies is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, with offices worldwide. For more information, contact (408) 530-5000 or visit www.mips.com. 

News from MIPS: 

MIPS Technologies Introduces New Aptiv™ Generation of Microprocessor Cores

May 10, 2012 -  

News Highlights: 

Product Specifications and Details

For detailed product information including benchmarks, specifications, datasheets and more, visit www.mips.com/aptiv. 

Availability

All Aptiv core families can be licensed now. The proAptiv family will be generally available in mid-2012 supporting a range of functional and performance points with single and multi-core versions. The new proAptiv FPU is also available. The interAptiv family will be available in mid-2012 in dual- and quad-core configurations, with optional FPU. Single core versions will be available in the fourth quarter. The microAptiv family is available now, with cache/MMU or non-cached core options. For more information on product availability, contact Email Contact, or visit www.mips.com/aptiv.

Supporting Quotes 

"With the launch of our new Aptiv Generation of products, MIPS is entering a new era of innovation and increasing our competitive position. The Aptiv Generation is the result of strategic investments we have made, and are continuing to make for the future. We are pushing performance efficiency to new levels. Our previous generation of cores was already more performance-efficient than the competition. The new Aptiv Generation is even better. With these cores and the ever-expanding ecosystem around the MIPS architecture, we are providing solutions that will enable our customers to differentiate and win in an increasingly competitive market."-Gideon Intrater, Vice President of Marketing, MIPS Technologies.

 

Bar Graph Source: Google Finance

 

          
                                                                                                           

 

On May 02, 2012 MoSys, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOSY) reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

First Quarter Highlights

Management Commentary

"During the first quarter, we achieved additional significant milestones for the Bandwidth Engine by securing multiple new design wins, including a multi-platform design win with a major Japanese networking equipment supplier," said Len Perham, MoSys' President and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to work closely with prospective customers to convert existing design wins in-progress into design wins, while the performance improvements offered by the Bandwidth Engine continue to generate strong interest from customers and partners. We have now successfully completed high-temperature operating life testing and achieved carrier-grade qualification. We have also made further progress in the development of our second generation Bandwidth Engine IC, which will include a significant performance upgrade and a substantially enhanced feature set”

 


Len Perham

 
"This quarter represents a significant shift toward becoming a fabless semiconductor company. During the quarter, we completed the sale of a portion of our high-speed serial interface technology. This transaction was synergistic with our strategy to monetize our IP and technology portfolio in order to further strengthen our financial resources, while focusing on the development, marketing and sale of our Bandwidth Engine ICs. With initial Bandwidth Engine design wins from leading networking equipment providers, a solid pipeline of design wins in-progress and a strengthened balance sheet, we are well positioned to achieve our goals in the coming quarters," concluded Mr. Perham.

First Quarter Results

Total net revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was $1.424 million, compared with $5.169 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2011 and $3.539 million in the first quarter of 2011.

First quarter 2012 total revenue included licensing and other revenue of $0.2 million, compared with $2.7 million for the previous quarter and $1.3 million for the first quarter of 2011. First quarter 2012 royalty revenue was $1.2 million, compared with $2.5 million in the previous quarter and $2.2 million for the first quarter of 2011.

Gross margin for the first quarter of 2012 was 96%, compared with 66% in the fourth quarter of 2011 and 81% for the first quarter of 2011. The sequential increase in gross margin was primarily due to royalty revenue representing a higher percentage of total revenue.

Total operating expenses on a GAAP basis for the first quarter of 2012 were $8.6 million, compared with a $26.5 million gain in the previous quarter and $8.9 million of expenses for the first quarter of 2011. First quarter 2012 operating expenses included a net gain of $1.9 million related to the serial interface technology IP sale, and the Company expects to record $1.9 million of additional gains over the next twelve months. Additionally, total operating expenses included a one-time charge to selling, general and administrative expenses of $0.6 million related to an arbitration settlement of a contract dispute, $0.7 million of amortization of intangible assets and $1.0 million of stock-based compensation expense.

GAAP net loss for the first quarter of 2012 was $7.235 million, or ($0.19) per share, compared with net income of $29.800 million, or $0.75 per diluted share, in the previous quarter and a net loss of $6.020 million, or ($0.16) per share, for the first quarter of 2011

As of March 31, 2012, cash and investments totaled $54.7 million, which included $2.2 million in net cash proceeds from the Company's March 2012 sale of serial interface technology.

MoSys, Inc. self description

MoSys, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOSY) is an IP-rich fabless semiconductor company that provides high performance solutions for fast, intelligent data access in network and communications systems. Engineered and built for high-reliability carrier and enterprise applications, MoSys' products are breaking bandwidth barriers(TM) in data processing to allow for faster packet access and analysis, expanded user capacity and new capabilities required by the expanding global infrastructure. MoSys' Bandwidth Engine ® family of ICs combines the company's patented 1T-SRAM ® high-density, embedded memory and high-speed, 10 Gigabits per second serial interface with its intelligent access technology and a highly efficient GigaChip(TM) Interface transport protocol to eliminate bottlenecks in high-speed data access. MoSys is headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and more information is available at http://www.mosys.com.

MoSys, 1T-SRAM and Bandwidth Engine are registered trademarks of MoSys, Inc. in the US and/or other countries. Breaking Bandwidth Barriers, GigaChip and the MoSys logo are trademarks of MoSys, Inc. All other marks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

News from Mosys:

MoSys Releases Carrier-Grade Bandwidth Engine IC to Production 

Industry-leading architecture delivers four times the system-level performance for networking, communications and other high-access applications

On May 8, 2012 MoSys (NASDAQ: MOSY) announced the production release of its first generation high-speed serial access Bandwidth Engine(R) IC product. The MSR576 device is optimized for high-data rate, high-access rate use in networking, video processing and compute acceleration applications and is supported by leading suppliers of FPGAs and ASICs. The innovative architecture provides over two Giga-accesses per second (GA/s), more than double the performance of any competing solution, and provides greater than 2.5 times improvement in power, system cost and board area.

Working with packet processing solutions implemented using ASICs, network processors or FPGAs, Bandwidth Engine ICs are optimized for fast, intelligent access to accelerate the processing of packet header information supporting high-data rate traffic in networking and communications systems. The device is well suited to traffic management, classification, network services, intrusion detection and prevention, as well as video processing applications. Bandwidth Engine enables equipment manufacturers to deliver line card solutions, combining multi-100 Gigabit per second (Gbps) capacity with significant numbers of data accesses to meet increased traffic demand, quality of service and expanded features.

"Internet traffic continues to expand dramatically, driven by video content, cloud computing, emerging economies and smart phones," stated Jag Bolaria, Senior Analyst for The Linley Group. "In order to ensure capacity and user experience, routers and switches must support aggregate line card capacities of hundreds of Gigabits per second. Serial technologies, such as the MoSys Bandwidth Engine, will help system designers develop high-capacity line cards."

"The rapid expansion in the number of users, bandwidth per user and new services translates to increased demand for systems that can sustain packet rates of over 150 million packets per second with dozens of data accesses per packet," stated John Monson, Vice President of Marketing for MoSys. "Bandwidth Engine addresses critical memory bandwidth and access rate bottlenecks that limit the processing, monitoring, and management of network traffic, while enabling support for increased data rates and added intelligence with reduced board space and lower power."

This first generation Bandwidth Engine device is built with 576 Megabits of MoSys' patented high-performance, high-density 1T-SRAM(R) memory and contains onboard algorithmic logic units that provide up to 2.7 GA/s and up to 1 Giga-operations per second for the acceleration of common functions in 100GE applications. The device supports peak data rates of 198 Gbps when utilizing 16 lanes of 10.3125 Gbps, CEI-11G and XFI compatible SerDes interface. Bandwidth Engine supports the necessary data reliability and integrity required by carrier and enterprise applications through the use of a 72-bit access word which can be protected with standard error correction codes. Bandwidth Engine enables full duplex and concurrent operations with the packetized, 90% efficient GigaChip(TM) Interface transport protocol. The GigaChip Interface is protected from errors using CRC codes and includes an automatic error recovery mechanism to ensure robust and reliable data transport.

MoSys' Bandwidth Engine IC has been fully qualified for carrier-class applications and is available for volume production now. For information about Bandwidth Engine pricing and availability, contact a local MoSys sales representative at http://www.mosys.com/contact.php.

 

 

 

Bar Graph Source: Google Finance

 

Q1 2012

REV                    1.42

NET INC              -7.21

EPS                    -0.22

 

 

On April 19 , 2012 Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS) reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.

First Quarter 2012 Business and Financial Highlights

GAAP Financial Results:

Revenue for the first quarter of 2012 was $62.863 million, down 25% sequentially from the fourth quarter of 2011. This quarter-over-quarter decline was primarily due to recognition of one-time royalty revenue during the fourth quarter of 2011 from a licensing agreement with Broadcom and lower royalties reported by certain licensees, due to seasonality. This decline was partially offset by a new patent license agreement signed with MediaTek in the first quarter of 2012. As compared to the first quarter of 2011, revenue was up 0.54% primarily due to the complete allocation of Samsung's quarterly license payment to revenue since the second quarter of 2011 and revenue recognized from various new patent license agreements signed in the past year. The increased revenue is also due to revenue from patent license agreements resulting from the acquisition of Cryptography Research Inc. ("CRI"), partially offset by lower royalties reported by certain licensees, and expiration of a patent license agreement in the second quarter of 2011.

Total operating costs and expenses for the first quarter of 2012 were $80.4 million, which included general litigation expenses of $4.1 million, $6.7 million of stock-based compensation expenses and $14.9 million related to deal costs, retention bonuses and amortization expenses for business acquisitions which occurred during the past twelve months. This is compared to total operating costs and expenses for the fourth quarter of 2011 of $101.5 million, which included general litigation expenses of $16.8 million, $6.5 million of stock-based compensation expenses, $13.5 million for previous stock-based compensation restatement and related legal expenses, and $13.1 million related to retention bonuses and amortization expenses from the acquisition of CRI. Total operating costs and expenses in the first quarter of 2011 were $54.2 million, which included general litigation expenses of $9.2 million, $7.3 million of stock-based compensation expenses, $1.2 million for previous stock-based compensation restatement and related legal expenses, and a $6.2 million credit for gain from the Samsung settlement.

Net loss for the first quarter of 2012 was $27.890 million as compared to net loss of $28.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 and net loss of $4.230 million in the first quarter of 2011. Diluted net loss per share for the first quarter of 2012 was $0.25 as compared to net loss per share of $0.26 in the fourth quarter of 2011 and net loss per share of $0.04 in the first quarter of 2011.

Other Financial Highlights:

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of March 31, 2012 were $232.5 million, a decrease of approximately $57.0 million from December 31, 2011. During the first quarter of 2012, the Company used $31.1 million to acquire privately-held Unity Semiconductor and an additional $11.6 million on other acquisitions.

During the first quarter of 2012, the Company recorded an income tax provision of approximately $3.9 million. As the Company continues to maintain a full valuation allowance against its U.S. deferred tax assets, the Company's tax provision consists of primarily withholding taxes and current state and foreign taxes.

Rambus self description

Rambus is one of the world's premier technology licensing companies. As a company of inventors, Rambus focuses on the development of technologies that enrich the end-user experience of electronic systems. Additional information is available at www.rambus.com.

News from Rambus:

 

Hi Russ,

Just wanted to keep you in the loop about latest Rambus news. On May 7 the company announced that it has signed an agreement with Cooper Lighting, a leading provider of world-class lighting fixtures and controls.

Rambus will be licensing out its Rambus Lighting solutions for Cooper LED-based lighting fixtures to be used in commercial, industrial, and utility markets. Cooper Lighting will also be showcasing over 100 of its innovative products at LIGHTFAIR INTERNATIONAL this week in Las Vegas, NV.

Best,

Teresa Pham

The Hoffman Agency

Cooper Lighting and Rambus Sign License Agreement to Provide Innovative, LED-Based Lighting Solutions

 Agreement covers Rambus’ patented innovations for edge-lit lighting solutions

On May 7, 2012 Cooper Lighting and Rambus Inc. announced they have signed a licensing agreement for the use of Rambus' patented lighting innovations. Cooper will focus on creating LED-based lighting fixtures for commercial, industrial and utility markets.

"As a leading provider of innovative, high-quality lighting fixtures and controls, one of our objectives is to quickly launch leading-edge products that help accelerate the adoption of quality LED lighting solutions around the world,” said Mark Eubanks, president, Cooper Lighting. “We are committed to consistently providing superior products that extend beyond our customers’ needs and this agreement with Rambus allows us to exceed their expectations."

"As one of the most innovative lighting fixture companies in the world, Cooper Lighting is an excellent partner for Rambus,” said Jeff Parker, president of the Lighting and Display Technology business at Rambus. “Working together, we can create an exciting new generation of advanced LED-based lighting products with unique form factors that are cost-competitive and energy efficient.”

Cooper Lighting showcased over 100 innovative Lighting and Controls products at LIGHTFAIR INTERNATIONAL (May 9 – 11, in Las Vegas, Nev., booth #2524).

Cooper Lighting has made a significant investment in people, resources and technology to ensure the company provides first-class solutions to its customers’ lighting challenges. In 2009, the company opened a world-class 60,000 square-foot LED Innovation Center to design, test and manufacture reliable LED products. The company offers a range of indoor and outdoor LED lighting products and controls, all of which are specifically designed to maximize energy and cost savings.

++ 

 

 

Bar Graph Source: Google Finance

 

                                                                                                                   

The Electronics IP G5 Results for Calendar Q1 2012

We have just completed our first look at the individual performances of each member of the Group of Five (a.k.a. the G5) Electronics IP players for Q1 2012.

Promised  thereafter was a summary of the by-now-familiar Tables of Revenues and Profits of the entire IP G5, this time of course for Q1 2012 (and the four quarters leading up to Q1 2012).

First to Table 1 and the G5 IP Revenue Sum for Q1 2012:

 

 

It is typical for most software vendors to have weak Q1’s revenue-wise, especially following typically-robust Q4’s of the previous year. Indeed, last year the total Q1 2011 revenue if the IP G5 ($286.67 million – See Table 1 above) was some 7.48% below Q4 2010’s total. However, this time Q1 2012’s total IP G5 revenue fell more than 9% below that of Q4 2011. Indeed, even ARM and CEVA reported revenues in Q1 2012 less than their Q4 counterparts, joining the other three this time round, such that all five of the IP G5 suffered revenue shortfalls compared to their respective Q4 2011 totals. Thus the column third from the right in Table 1 above, is all red.  But a quick tally of the sum of the sums in the first four columns above reveals a total some 19% greater than its counterpart a year ago, indicating that the IP industry is still very very healthy, at least from a revenue perspective. ARM’s strength here is critical to this judgment, but while much smaller, CEVA is demonstrating similar maturity. Even Rambus is good for one or two terrific revenue quarters each year.

And then comes Table 2 into the discussion. Once again ARM and little CEVA are earnings models to emulate. While this past year has not been kind to Rambus’ earnings, that company always carries the potential for a fantastic profit windfall and it sure does possess some incredible technology. And lastly, some observers are unsure about the earnings potential of the other two members of our IP G5.

 

 

Notice that Table 1 columns far above calculate the percentage of one quarter over the other, as labeled,

whereas in Table 2 just above, the relevant columns provide the numerical dollar differences in earnings between two different quarters as labeled.

 

Here is the detail on NASDAQ prices since May 01:  

 

 

 

 

 




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About the Writer:

Since 1996, Dr. Russ Henke has been active full time as president of HENKE ASSOCIATES, a San Francisco Bay Area high-tech business & management consulting firm. The number of client companies served by HENKE ASSOCIATES during those years now numbers close to fifty. Engagement lengths have varied from a few weeks up to ten years and beyond.

During his previous corporate career, Henke operated sequentially on "both sides" of MCAE/MCAD and EDA, as a user and as a vendor. He's a veteran corporate executive from Cincinnati Milacron (Research Scientist), SDRC (President & COO), Schlumberger Applicon (Executive VP), Gould Electronics (President & General Manager), ATP (Chairman and CEO), and Mentor Graphics (VP & General Manager).

Henke is a Fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and served on the SME International Board of Directors. Henke was also a board member of SDRC, PDA, ATP, and the MacNeal Schwendler Corporation, and he currently serves on the board of Stottler Henke Associates, Inc.

Henke is also a member of the IEEE and a Life Fellow of ASME International.

In April 2006, Dr. Henke received the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from the CAD Society, presented by CAD Society president Jeff Rowe at COFES2006 in Scottsdale, AZ. In February 2007, Henke became affiliated with Cyon Research's select group of experts on business and technology issues as a Senior Analyst. This Cyon Research connection aids and supplements Henke's ongoing, independent consulting practice (HENKE ASSOCIATES).

Dr. Henke was also a contributing editor of the EDACafé.com EDA WEEKLY from November 01, 2009 until March 31, 2012, posting thirty-two EDA WEEKLY articles during that period; URL's available. Effective April 01, 2012 he contributes to EDA COMMENTARY and MCAD COMMENTARY, and also writes a periodic blog for EDACafe.com and/or MCADCafe.com.

Since May 2003 HENKE ASSOCIATES has also published more than 100 independent commentary articles on MCAD, PLM, EDA and Electronics IP on IBSystems' MCADCafé and EDACafé. Such Commentaries are now part of the EDA and/or MCAD COMMENTARY entries.

Further information on HENKE ASSOCIATES, and URL's for past Commentaries, WEEKLIES, etc., are available at

http://www.henkeassociates.net

March 31, 2012 marked the 16th Anniversary of the founding of HENKE ASSOCIATES.