Kulicke and Soffa Industries - Q4 2023

Transcript

Operator (participant)

Greetings, and welcome to the Kulicke & Soffa Q4 2023 results conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the formal presentation. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. At this time, I'd like to turn the call over to Joe Elgindy, Senior Director, Investor Relations. Thank you. You may begin.

Joe Elgindy (Senior Director of Investor Relations)

Thank you. Welcome everyone to Kulicke & Soffa's fiscal Q4 2023 conference call. Fusen Chen, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Lester Wong, Chief Financial Officer, are also joining on today's call. Non-GAAP financial measures referenced today should be considered in addition to, not as a substitute for or in isolation from our GAAP financial information. Complete GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation tables are included within the latest earnings release and earnings presentation. Both are available at investor.kns.com, along with prepared remarks for today's call. In addition to historical statements, today's remarks will contain statements relating to future events and/or future results. These statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from what is indicated in those forward-looking statements.

For a complete discussion of the risks associated with Kulicke & Soffa that could affect our future results and financial condition, please refer to our recent and upcoming SEC filings, specifically the 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2023, and the 8-K filed yesterday. With that said, I would now like to turn the call over to Fusen Chen for the business overview. Please go ahead, Fusen.

Fusen Chen (President and CEO)

Thank you, Joe. Before discussing our business performance, I wanted to first reference the humanitarian crisis in the Middle East. Like many of our industry peers, we have had a long-term presence in Israel, where we develop and produce our precision capillary products. Our team there in our Haifa facility have delivered meaningful innovation and the leading product over the years, and we are pleased to report that they are not in a high-risk area. However, we continue to hope for a quick and a peaceful resolution. As a global company with a diverse employee and a customer base, we are committed to strengthening our diversity and inclusion initiatives to foster collaboration, mitigate inherent bias and create growth opportunity. Earlier this week, we successfully hosted our inaugural Enabling Women in Engineering and Tech Summit in Philadelphia.

This well-attended event featured several keynote speakers from KNS, as well as esteemed members from the external community. We are grateful to be able to host this type of event, which stands as a testament to our dedication to enabling change and exercising leadership within our local communities. Heading to our business, we have seen clear sequential improvement in key markets, although broader market recovery will be gradual. We anticipate the sequential change into the December quarter being largely seasonal and in line with our long-term average. Furthermore, based on discussion with customers, external forecasts and a gradually improving utilization data, we anticipate a moderate demand improvement into the March quarter and a stronger H2-driven recovery. Since our prior March quarter, we have seen significant improvement in the general semiconductor end market and some recovery within LED. At the same time, automotive and memory continue to be subdued near-term.

Regardless of near-term industry conditions, we remain very aligned with the major technology transition and are actively and intensively engaged in qualification for our advanced packaging, automotive, dispense and advanced display solution with multiple industrial leading customers. Coupled with ongoing improvement in the ball bonding business, this focused engagement will create more traction and momentum in the H2, which we anticipate will be sustained through 2025. We have also increased our repurchase activity and remain optimistic as we execute on several key long-term projects. We recently announced the fourth consecutive annual dividend raise, and we continue to maintain the highest, highest dividend yield relative to U.S. industry peer. For the September quarter, we delivered $202.3 million of revenue, $23.4 million of net income, and $0.51 non-GAAP EPS.

We continue to see improvement in general semiconductor, which increased 50% sequentially, providing another clear indicator that we are way beyond trough market conditions. This sequential improvement was primarily due to higher demand for our latest series ball bonder platform, which is best suited for the most complex wire bonding application. We have also seen a pickup in demand for emerging vertical wire application, increasingly deployed in mobile and IoT-based applications to mitigate RF interference between bands. We look forward to ongoing technology-driven change and improving conditions within the key ball bonding market. Separately, we are well positioned to further optimize our higher volume business with the recently introduced POWERCOMM and the POWERNEXX platform. This new system will provide additional value and margin opportunities as they ramp over the coming years.

Within LED, we have also seen sequential improvement in the general lighting, which we associate with the U.S. incandescent ban that took place this past April. We at Advanced Display continue to make technical progress with the Luminex platform and are approaching five nice year, and we also continue to execute toward Project W deliverable. For automotive and the industrial, macro dynamics, including high interest rates, have impacted end user demand and also near-term industry CapEx need. Our automotive and the industrial business remain a validated enabler of battery assembly and the power semiconductor applications, which are supporting long-term electric vehicle and the sustainable energy transition globally. We have recently accepted an order of 120 battery assembly system, which will be recognized primarily in the March and the June quarter of 2024.

Finally, as indicated in last week, in recent weeks, the memory market remain challenging near term. We currently see improving price dynamic as well as the specific technology treatment opportunities within next generation, high bandwidth memory, and continuing to execute on emerging vertical fan-out or VFO application. As briefly discussed last quarter, VFO is being deployed as an alternative to through silicon via, or TSVs, to assemble low power dynamic RAM in a 3D format. This cost-effective and flexible VFO approach enable higher density DDR, which support large and established market, such as the power efficient mobile devices and other edge-based applications. We are currently engaged in evaluation with several memory leaders, and are well-prepared position to support these emerging 3D-based memory architectures. Both emerging HBM and the VFO opportunity will add a new layer of diversification to our memory portfolio over the long term.

Next, I wanted to discuss our participation within broadening artificial intelligence application, and provide brief update on advanced display and the dispense. First, on AI, similar to how PCs, smartphone, and connected devices have increased the capacity need for the industry, artificial intelligence applications are directly creating both unique and a technology-based growth opportunity for many of our businesses. To be very clear, we have taken shares with optical, with high-volume logic, and also with leading-edge heterogeneous devices. This new position have all enhanced our ability to support long-term AI trend, which are very much centered on emerging assembly techniques. Considering our growing alignment with the key artificial intelligence trend, I would like to outline how we are specifically exposed to what we consider to be the three key building blocks of AI: machine learning, network infrastructures, and the device on the edges.

First, machine learning has received most attention over the past few quarters. Here we see increasing multi-die applications such as high bandwidth memory, multi-die GPU-based application, and emerging chiplet and the heterogeneous-based CPUs. We continue to directly support leading heterogeneous application with our thermal compression portfolio, and anticipate both high bandwidth memory and multiple GPU-based application will begin transitioning to finer and finer pitches, increasing the need for our precision solution. As both HBM and the GPU-based application continue to move to finer IO pitches, we expect our solution to be increasingly competitive. As we work with several key customers, we continue to believe KNS is a significant enabler to the success of most leading-edge applications supporting AI. Our tool in both qualification and the production are extremely competitive, and the customer engagement have strengthened over the past two quarters.

We look forward to sharing more feedback on the current evaluation and qualification status of our key leading-edge logic opportunity over the coming months. Next, as AI become more integrated with the existing user application, deployed at work, at home, and through the cloud, there is a growing need for higher bandwidth and a more efficient networking solution. This need is being met with emerging Silicon Photonics technology, deployed in co-packaged optics devices, which are anticipated to grow at the 66% CAGR through 2033. Currently, our silicon photonics system are supporting a leading customer's co-package optics production used to support network switching application.

This application have unique assembly challenge, which our competitive systems support well, and have triggered the interest of multiple new customers. Today, we are engaged with seven different customers who are critically supporting this emerging Silicon Photonics opportunity, and they remain well positioned for future growth. Yesterday evening, we announced winning the first in a series of expected orders to support customers' aggressive Silicon Photonics capacity expansion. The momentum and the interest for our current solution is very high. This recent win serves to highlight our incumbent position and the technical leadership in this emerging Silicon Photonics and the co-packaged optics market.

In addition to machine learning and the network infrastructures, the AI trend will continue demanding higher complexity and the higher volume production of devices on the edge, such as camera, sensing, connectivity, and the logic-based applications which are deployed in power efficient mobile, IoT, and other client-facing applications. These applications will continue to leverage proven and cost-effective assembly approaches, such as a system in package applications, in which ball and the wedge bonding play a dominant role, as well as emerging opportunities for vertical wire application, used in both connectivity, shielding, and the power efficient stack device. Over the coming years, both wedge and the thermo-compression are positioned very well to directly support these three AI trends. More complex assembly requirements are increasing the value of our market leading ball bonder and the dedicated advanced packaging portfolio.

Despite the gradual industrial recovery, customer interest for qualification and evaluation remain very strong. In addition to AI, we continue to make progress on our advanced display opportunity, supporting advanced backlighting and the future direct-emissive display. As mini and the micro LED wafer production costs improve and the die size, die size continue to shrink, end market use case will grow, and the efficiency and the capability of assembly will also increase. Our dedicated high throughput, high accuracy Luminex system is well positioned to support this upcoming market need. Additionally, we continue to execute on Project W and expect to provide additional visibility into Project W's outlook over the coming quarters. Finally, the integration of our new dispense business continued to proceed very well, with key engagement across our extensive customer network. Market feedback on this new solution from multiple leading customers has been very promising.

Our micro dispense solutions are extremely efficient, capable, and accurate, which add significant value for critical applications, supporting advanced display, battery, medical, and the sensing trend. The market opportunity for dispense are broad, and I will provide more specific on our target application and the evaluation over the coming quarters. Looking into fiscal 2024, we continue to anticipate a return to about average semiconductor unit growth and also anticipate taking share in the new market. We have very strong customer interest and momentum across our emerging portfolio, have already shown clear technical improvement in our core market, and look forward to releasing a steady pace of new system, new feature, and also announcing a new customer and a technology win over the coming quarters. With that said, I will now turn the call over to Lester, who will discuss our financial performance and outlook. Lester?

Lester Wong (CFO)

Thank you, Fusen. My remarks today will refer to GAAP results, unless noted. While the business environment remains challenging for the entire industry, it remains a very exciting time for the company, with clear signs of improvement within our core market and ongoing progress within our emerging opportunities, supporting long-term technology transitions, which address AI, battery assembly, dispense, and advanced display. During the September quarter, we generated $202.3 million of revenue, 47.4% gross margin, and $0.51 non-GAAP EPS. Gross margins came in slightly softer than expectations, largely due to product mix. Non-GAAP operating expenses came in just below $70 million, in line with our prior expectations. Finally, tax came in slightly better than expectations due to favorable jurisdictional mix and discrete items.

We continue to target the long-term 20% effective tax rate, although anticipate coming in slightly above this level in December. Turning to the balance sheet. Working capital days decreased from 465 to 448 days in the September quarter, primarily due to the sequential revenue improvements. Our repurchase program remained opportunistic, and we have increased our repurchase activity sequentially to $9.2 million during the September quarter. As Fusen mentioned, we have also increased our dividend payout, maintaining a very competitive dividend yield. This growing and consistent dividend commitment highlights the confidence in our long-term outlook. Combined with the ongoing reduction in share count due to our opportunistic repurchase program, our dividend program provides additional long-term value to shareholders.

Fusen Chen (President and CEO)

...Looking into the December quarter, we anticipate revenue of approximately $170 million ±$10 million, with gross margin of 47%. Non-GAAP operating expenses are anticipated to increase slightly to $71 million ±2%. We remain focused on controlling and limiting non-critical activities, although continue to ramp headcount to support our growing set of customer engagements. Non-GAAP net income for the December quarter is expected to be approximately $14.2 million, with non-GAAP earnings per diluted share of approximately $0.25. In closing, we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the growing value of semiconductor and display assembly. Our market access is steadily expanding, and we are positioned well to support and enable major long-term technology trends for the industry.

As our core business gradually improves and increases in complexity, we remain focused on expanding our access to positive long-term advanced packaging, advanced display, automotive, and dispense needs. We look forward to sharing our progress over the coming quarters. This concludes our prepared comments. Operator, please open the call for questions.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question-and-answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. You may press star two if you would like to remove your question from the queue. For participants using speaker equipment, it may be necessary to pick up your handset before pressing the star key. One moment please, while we poll for your questions. Our first questions come from the line of Krish Sankar with TD Cowen. Please proceed with your questions.

Krish Sankar (Managing Director)

Yeah, hi. Thanks for taking my question. I actually have three of them. First one, Fusen, when I look at your commentary into the March quarter and beyond, is it fair to assume you think the worst of the ball bonder bottom is behind us? And what kind of visibility do you have and conviction on why it should continue improving?

Fusen Chen (President and CEO)

Okay, so, Krish, you ask why we feel ball bonder in H2 is high. Is that right?

Krish Sankar (Managing Director)

Yeah, yeah. Why you think the worst is behind us?

Fusen Chen (President and CEO)

Okay. Okay. So I think, there are a few reasons. One is of course, customers feedback. And, also historically, we are H2 actually, you know, higher than the H1. And the industry actually went through a few inventory digestion. So we feel like, you know, it should grow. And also the recent, actually forecast from IDC and Gartner, they all point to a strong, you know, CY 2024. So especially I think we see offset, order although I think we believe that they will even order more H2. And a lot actually, we are quite close to our customers, so I, hope I answer your questions.

Krish Sankar (Managing Director)

Got it. Got it. That's very helpful, Fusen. And then, just wanted to follow up on some of the commentary you made on, on the HBM and GPU applications. A, number one, I'm, I'm kind of curious, the status of your thermo-compression bonder eval at one of the large, Taiwan foundries. And second, do you expect some... Pretty many of the GPUs for AI are using CoWoS. Do you see them migrating to TCB in the future?

Fusen Chen (President and CEO)

Oh, yeah. Okay. So, Krish, we are actually quite excited about prospect of our TCB. So look at the year 2000, you know, our revenue is a single digit. I'm sorry, I think 2020. And actually, 2023, actually we reached to a $64 million, and we expect our TCB will be over $100 million in 2025. So, when we are in 2025 for TCB, the whole dedicated AP actually will be over $200 million. So, the progress has been very good, backed up by, you know, strong technology. So currently, I think we have a multiple engagement with OSAT, with IDM and also with the foundry. And each company might also have a multiple project. And the engagement in the past two quarter are even more.

So, going to your questions. We, the company you ask, but currently actually we have engagement in both the C2W and C2S. So very strong solution, which is extendable to fine pitch. The feedback has been good, and we hope to finish all qualification in the next few months, right? So I hope I answered your question. So next question is AI, GPU, and HBM. Actually, it also require the TCB at the top to make the integration. So, the tool actually support multiple application, and AI, the measure you mentioned is one of them. So I hope I answer all your questions.

Krish Sankar (Managing Director)

Yeah, thanks for that, Fusen. Yeah, that is very helpful. And then maybe a quick follow-up for, Lester. Can you give some color on how much the backlog was and how much was China as a percentage of total sales?

Lester Wong (CFO)

Hi, Krish. Yeah, thanks for the question. The backlog was $423 million at the end of Q4, and then as far as China is concerned, you talking about how much was China revenue?

Krish Sankar (Managing Director)

Yeah, that's right. Yeah.

Lester Wong (CFO)

So for Q4, China revenue was 49%, but 46% of those are China headquarters, so not MNCs. And for the year, actually, China headquarters actually dropped down to about 40% for FY 2023, and FY 2024, it was actually closer to 46%.

Krish Sankar (Managing Director)

Got it. Thank you very much, Lester. Thank you.

Lester Wong (CFO)

Okay, thank you, Krish.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question, please press star one on your telephone keypad. Our next questions come from the line of Dave Duley with Steelhead Securities. Please proceed with your questions. Dave, could you please check if you're self muted?

Dave Duley (Managing Principal)

Yeah. Thank you. I was muted.

Operator (participant)

Thank you.

Dave Duley (Managing Principal)

Could you just talk a little bit about the general semi business recovery that you saw? You know, how much that grew sequentially, what you would expect it to do in the following couple of quarters? And then, as a follow on, I think you mentioned that one of the forecast, IDC, was forecasting strong unit volume growth in 2024. Could you talk about what sort of forecast you're expecting for unit volume growth in 2024?

Fusen Chen (President and CEO)

Oh, okay. Okay, so talk about the quarter business expectation as asked. So Dave, as you know, we actually H2 historically is stronger than the H1. So this means, you know, seasonality, you know, from September to December quarters. And the average sequential revenue change from September quarter to December, the average historically is 13%. So, you know, our Q1 FY 2024 guidance actually is in line with our historical, you know, average. So, uh, that's Q1. So Q2, uh, from all our current view and the customer feedback, we will see sequential growth.

And in terms of H2, you know, currently we have actually ongoing intensive and very intensive qualification, you know, with our customer on AP, but advanced display and very, very strong feedback on the dispensing and coupled with a broader ball bonder business recovery, I think, which, I think, Krish just asked. You know, maybe, IDC. IDC actually forecast 20% semiconductor growth. This just came out recently. The Gartner, the unit actually is very, very high, but I think on average is about 6.6%. The forecast, I think, is close to 10%, but even with 7%, a little bit higher than, you know, historical, I think will be very, very good for us.

You know, as I mentioned, I think industry inventory write down has been many, many times. Coupled with the KNS, I think historically, our H2 revenue is 60% compared to H1, or 40%. And also with the unique momentum, you know, in many, many qualification, AP, advanced display, I think will set up stronger, you know, H2 just for KNS. So I hope I answered your question. Maybe Lester, you want to add a little bit more?

Lester Wong (CFO)

Yeah. Hi, Dave. So, you're right. General semi revenues did increase 50% quarter on quarter. And I think, as you know, general semi is our always our biggest end market segment. It accounts for between 50%-70% of our revenues. I think another point to pick up is utilization rates. So general semi has been below 70% for a couple quarters now, but in the last quarter, it's broken 70%. We think it's actually going to continue to rise. Actually, overall utilization has increased 10% from the beginning of FY 2023 to Q4. So those are all signs pointing out towards, you know, a much stronger FY 2024, particularly in the H2, as Fusen said.

Dave Duley (Managing Principal)

Okay, and then a follow-up question for me is. I guess two of them. Could you just elaborate a little bit more about this new battery assembly order you got? I think you mentioned it was 125 systems or units. Just talk a little bit more in greater detail about what that is about and the delivery schedules there. And then, Lester, I don't know if the new wire bonders you mentioned in your press release are the ones that address the new general semi bucket. I was just curious about the update for that particular wire bonder. When is that kind of higher margin product going to ramp and hit market? Thanks.

Lester Wong (CFO)

So for the battery assembly equipment, we see that coming into Q2 and Q3 of our year. It's one of our traditional customers who haven't bought for a while, but now is back into the market again. So we're very, very happy to see that. As far as the new products, it's POWERNEXX and POWERCOMM. They have been introduced. Those are ball bonders that serve the high-end or mid-end general semis market. Those should become more meaningful in Q3 and Q4 as they qualify and deploy, and that should be accretive to our growth margins.

Dave Duley (Managing Principal)

Thank you.

Operator (participant)

... Thank you. Our next questions come from the line of Tom Diffely with D.A. Davidson. Please proceed with your questions.

Tom Diffely (Director of Institutional Research)

Yeah, good morning. So you talked a little bit about some tech advances for the Luminex. What about the market update? You know, what are you seeing right there in that marketplace for those tools?

Fusen Chen (President and CEO)

Okay. Okay. So let me say this. I think we introduced a very successful product, PIXALUX. Very, very successful. But in the meantime, we also understand industry really have a higher productivity, you know, of technology. So in 2023, we focus on two technology. One is Luminex. This is a laser transfer. Can be multiple x speed higher than the PIXALUX, and so is Project W. So Luminex, I think at this moment, in the prior earning call, I described many of outstanding technical milestone has been achieved. So what we are right now is have a multiple engagement with customer, but very, very focused just with one leading customer, you know, to complete all the high volume production, you know, high volume production qualifications by Q2.

Let me say it's our end of March. So therefore, I think Q3 they can go to production, right? So we are very, very, excited. I think, the mini micro LED, the size will continue to go down, and, the industry need to have a high productivity, too. Currently, I think, still, you know, large size still supported by die bonder type of, low-end technology. We believe, the transition, is going to come for next one or two generation. So again, I think, we hope to bring one major customer to high volume production and, finish all the qualification together with them. They can go to production in Q3. So also maybe update a little bit about the Project W.

This year, 2024, you know, we are delivering initial production tool as well as preparing for the ramp production during 2024. And, actually, we are quite optimistic, you know, with these two technology. Move forward, I think, we will see growth. And this year, we hope target for $50 million together for these two technology. And, 2025, we believe can do even much higher than that. So Tom, I hope I can... I, I answer your questions.

Tom Diffely (Director of Institutional Research)

Yeah, no, I appreciate the extra color on the marketplace. Fusen, you also obviously acquired a dispensing company a few quarters ago. Maybe just a quick update on how that integration is going and if you're able to expand the customer base for that product.

Fusen Chen (President and CEO)

Okay. You mean the dispensing, right? So actually-

Tom Diffely (Director of Institutional Research)

Yeah.

Fusen Chen (President and CEO)

We are very, very excited. I think dispensing is a very, very huge market. You know, cover multiple industry, right? And every customer of KNS, mobile customer, they all have a need. So it's easy for us to actually penetrate into a customer. We are focused with a few customer and do a demo, demonstration. The dispensing right now reached to a critical stage, need we call micro dispensing. Need to be very precise, be very accurate, you know, with the right amount. And has become a bottleneck for many, many customers. And we focus on a few major ones. The feedback has very, very strong, right? So we are very confident.

I think, we will see initial success maybe middle of 2024, and we do believe that we can grow this product to much higher, you know, revenue in the next couple of years.

Tom Diffely (Director of Institutional Research)

Great. And then final question. You talked a little bit about increasing headcount. Any sense on the magnitude of that?

Lester Wong (CFO)

Well, I think we said we would increase headcount in critical areas, which particularly has to do with, I think, the R&D projects that we talked a little bit about the growth initiatives that will pay off in the mid- to long-term. We are very careful on all costs, including headcount, for all other functions, given the a little bit uncertainty. So, we're not looking to increase headcount significantly. It's probably... Overall, it's probably neutral or down a little bit.

Tom Diffely (Director of Institutional Research)

Great. Thank you.

Operator (participant)

Thank you. We have reached the end of our question and answer session. I would now like to turn the floor back over to Joe Elgindy for any closing remarks.

Joe Elgindy (Senior Director of Investor Relations)

Thank you, Daryl, and thank you all for joining today's call. Over the coming months, we will be presenting at investor conferences in Arizona and New York. As always, please feel free to follow up directly with any additional questions. This concludes today's call. Have a great day, everyone.