Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:KLIC) Q2 2024 Earnings Call Transcript May 2, 2024

Kulicke and Soffa Industries, Inc. isn’t one of the 30 most popular stocks among hedge funds at the end of the third quarter (see the details here).

Operator: Greetings and welcome to the Kulicke & Soffa 2024 Second Quarter Results Conference Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. A brief question-and-answer session will follow the formal presentation. [Operator Instructions] As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host Joseph Elgindy, Senior Director, Investor Relations. Thank you, Sir. You may begin.

Joseph Elgindy: Thank you. Welcome everyone to Kulicke & Soffa’s fiscal second quarter 2024 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. GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation tables are included within our latest earnings release, and our 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 our future results.

These statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from the statements made today. 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 our most recently filed Form 10-K and the 8-K filed yesterday. With that said, I will now like to turn the call over to Fusen Chen for the business overview. Please go ahead, Fusen.

Fusen Chen: Good morning, everyone. While certain markets including LED, Automotive and Industrial continue to be a challenge near-term, we remain focused on expanding our market positions and driving new and successful customer qualifications over the coming quarters in Thermocompression, VFO and Advanced Dispense. These expected successes combined with a recovering core market and significant focus on operational efficiency, will be beneficial to customers, employees and the investors over the coming years. Before discussing this quarter’s results and outlook, I wanted to briefly discuss Project W and our overriding customer engagement strategy. Since 2017 K&S has evolved by growing intimate customer engagements. This customer-focused growth strategy has been successful and has allowed us to take shares in new markets as we expand our competencies.

A few recent examples of this engagement approach include our efforts to enter advanced display market, enter the co-packaged optics market, expand our shares in leading-edge logic, and actively enable the next-high volume packaging format for DRAM. Our Advanced dispense business is taking a similar customer focused approach which I will explain shortly. While our intimate engagement strategy has provided a new market access, share gains and profitability, there will always be a potential risk that a project may be cancelled by the end customer, which unfortunately was the case for Project W. Industry challenges combined with macro factors likely played a role in our customer’s decision to discontinue this program with it’s supply chain partners, including K&S.

Project-related assets and tools, raw and finished goods inventory, as well as open purchase orders with our vendors were accounted for in the second quarter’s impairment charges which have affected both, GAAP and non-GAAP earnings. Largely related to the cancellation of Project W, we have restructured to remain lean, and have reallocated resources to accelerate other critical business initiatives, including fulfilling a sizeable purchase order, and broadening customer demand for Memory, Advanced Dispense and Advanced Packaging solutions. Restructuring and reallocation decisions are never taken lightly, although these actions were necessary to maintain a focused operational model. We continue to expect gradual market recovery through fiscal 2024 with greater technology and capacity opportunities in fiscal 2025.

Near-term, we continue to anticipate demand improvements led by General Semiconductor combined with more resilient memory demand. For General Semiconductor, Ball Bonder order activity is improving and supported by utilization trends; also customer momentum continues as we broaden Advanced Packaging engagements. Since our second fiscal quarter 2023, we have already experienced an over 50% increase in Ball Bonder revenue despite ongoing headwinds within Automotive, Industrial and LED markets. We continue to prepare for a more robust demand in General Semiconductor applications as the order activity with high-volume customers gradually accelerates. After market close yesterday, we announced a sizeable purchase order of 1,000 RAPID Pro systems, from a fast-growing Assembly & Test Company, which were upgraded with our ProSuite response-based bonding and looping capabilities.

Improving utilization rates combined with high-volume orders, provide us with optimism on near-term General Semiconductor recovery. Next, demand for LED has remained limited due to lower utilization rates across our customer base. The Automotive and Industrial market continues to face near-term headwinds, although based on utilization rates and customer feedback, we anticipate demand to stabilize with a broader recovery to begin over the coming quarters. Despite the current softness, our current quarterly automotive revenue run-rate, fiscal year 2024 to date is 33% above our most recent automotive and industrial trough run rate experienced throughout fiscal year 2020. This fairly rapid increase in trough-to-trough performance is largely driven by broad and the secular trends we are enabling.

These trends are driven by global electric vehicle, sustainable energy and a smart power distribution need which provides ongoing growth opportunities. Finally, Memory has sequentially reduced from a very strong quarter, largely due to customer mix changes. Demand for our Memory solutions has expanded significantly from the trough level we experienced last fiscal year. During the first fiscal half of 2024, our Memory revenues have nearly doubled from our entire Memory revenue in fiscal year 2023. We expect demand across Memory applications to continue to recover over the coming quarters. Looking ahead, our core business is anticipated to strengthen as general semiconductor continues to improve, and we remain very focused on near-term execution; new technology wins in Memory, share gains in Advanced Dispense, and the broadening of our Thermocompression customer base.

I would like to take a few minutes to explain each. First within Memory, we continue to actively qualify and develop Vertical-Fan-Out, or VFO, solutions utilizing our wafer-level-packaging system, which is expected to expand our memory market access over the coming years. While VFO memory solutions are still emerging, customer momentum is strong and we expect they will transition into higher-volume production next year. In addition to leading Memory customers, we continue to actively support key vertical wire development with leading IDM and Fabless companies who are demanding [ph] these new solutions. The benefits of our unique vertical wire solution extend well beyond the Memory market. Vertical wire is currently moving into high-volume production for shielding requirements and is well positioned to provide a new cost-effective packaging solution for future high-volume system-in-package applications.

Our VFO team is currently supporting development of a future stacked connectivity application which can drive high-volume adoption. Next, our Advanced Dispense business continues to gain momentum and we are aggressively penetrating high-precision dispense opportunities in advanced packaging, battery assembly, and display markets. Broadening customer interest and ongoing evaluation progress are driving momentum and we expect to begin growing our market share in the near-term. Our Advanced Dispense solutions are highly competitive due to their micro-dispensing capabilities being equipped with self-compensation, in-line inspection, and excellent repeatability. Qualifications wins over the coming quarters will secure a foundation of Advanced Dispense customers which will support revenue growth in fiscal 2025 and beyond.

Finally, we continue to gain momentum in Thermocompression bonding, or TCB, which has expanded in revenue by nearly four times comparing the trailing four quarters of demand over our fiscal 2021 results. As customer momentum continues to build, it is becoming clear that our TCB solutions can broadly support and scale chiplet and heterogeneous integration. Furthermore, we continue to expect demand for our leading Fluxless TCB solution to increase significantly in the future. We have already built a baseline of approximately $60 million of sales during fiscal year 2023, and currently have active new engagements with over 10 separate Fluxless TCB opportunities supporting key IDM, OSAT and Foundry customers. We continue to receive multiple inquiries for additional TCB opportunities with other customers.

This funnel of growing demand across a wide customer base serves as a testament that we are in the early stages of TCB growth. The need to efficiently create a more transistor-dense packages will only accelerate this market momentum; our Fluxless TCB solutions are extremely well positioned for the next wave of demand and we remain committed to near-term execution. Upon near-term customer qualification success and healthy customer demand trajectory, we anticipate our dedicated Advanced Packaging solutions, which include flip-chip mass reflow, TCB and wafer-level-packaging systems to approach $200 million in annual revenue by fiscal year 2025. Contingent upon near-term qualification and the business execution, growth across advanced packaging applications is anticipated to further accelerate.

Looking more near-term, new engagements for next-generation high-bandwidth-memory, or HBM, can potentially begin shipping as early as this calendar year. Also, our unique copper-to-copper capability has very strong customer momentum and could potentially delay higher-volume adoption of hybrid bonding due to a more competitive cost of ownership. Currently, our Advanced Solutions team remains very focused on near-term customer engagements with leading IDM, OSAT and Foundry customers. This broad group of customers requires a cost-effective process that supports high-bandwidth, fine-pitch interconnects, and stacked-die capabilities. Our leading Fluxless TCB solutions are well positioned to support high-volume, copper-to-copper interconnects with pitch from 35 to 5 microns.

Our capability to pick from tray, tape and reel, or wafer and bond to substrate, chip or wafer is robust and expected to support the broad future market of Thermocompression bonding. Today, our Fluxless TCB solutions are best-in-class, and that have allowed us to be first to mass production through our engagement with a leading IDM. In parallel, we have also continued to take the shares with leading OSATs as they begin to ramp 3D assembly for high-growth and high-volume markets, such as mobile, sensing, and co-packaged optics. We made significant progress over recent years to expand our TCB shares across this initial base of IDM and OSAT customers, who we have built long-term relationships. Over the past few quarters, we have continued to allocate additional R&D resources towards specific Foundry opportunities, which we anticipate can represent a sizeable portion of the future TCB marketplace.

Today, our global TCB team is actively engaged to support the future interconnect needs throughout all of our customer engagements. We look forward to announcing additional qualification wins and a new partnerships over the coming quarters. In closing, we continue to look forward to a brighter 2025. We have an intense focus on enhancing operational efficiencies, are preparing for a core-market recovery and continuing to support key technology transitions with our growing Memory, Advanced Dispense and Advanced Packaging opportunities. We look forward to sharing our near-term progress which will solidify our foundation for future growth. I will now turn the call over the Lester for the financial review update. Lester?

Lester Wong: Thank you, Fusen. My remarks today will refer to GAAP results, unless noted. While there continues to be headwinds across specific end markets related to macroeconomic and industry conditions, it continues to remain an exciting time for the Company. As Fusen mentioned, we are pleased to see improving order activity with higher volume customers and anticipate additional groups of customers to begin ramping for both capacity and technology needs over the near-term. During the March quarter, we generated $172.1 million of revenue, and a 9.6% gross margin. Without this quarter’s unique charges, gross margin would have been similar to the prior quarter. During this recent quarter, we booked pre-tax charges, including impairments, in the amount of $105.5 million.

As you recall, we announced on March 11 that the Company had anticipated pre-tax charges, including impairments relating to the cancellation of Project W to be between the low estimate of $110 million and a high estimate of $130 million. By the end of fiscal year 2024, we expect our total charges to come in below our high estimate of $130 million. In addition to reallocating key R&D members to in-demand projects, we prudently reduced resources which have directly and indirectly supported Project W. We booked GAAP tax expenses of $6.4 million for the March quarter, which included tax items related to unique events during the quarter. We continue to anticipate an effective tax rate above 20% through the remainder of fiscal year 2024. Our repurchase program remains opportunistic, and we have again increased our repurchase activity sequentially.

During the March quarter we booked $37.3 million of open market repurchases activity, which represents a sequential increase of nearly 40% over the December quarter. Although gradual, recent order activity increases expectations of broader general semiconductor end-market growth. We continue to anticipate near-term headwinds within the Automotive and Power Semiconductor end markets, and also anticipate approximately $15 million of lost revenue relating to the cancellation of Project W in the second fiscal half. Looking into the June quarter, we expect revenue of approximately $180 million, plus or minus $10 million with gross margins of 47%. Non-GAAP operating expenses are anticipated to be $72 million, plus/minus 2%, which includes additional wind down expenses of approximately $2.5 million.

Collectively, for the June quarter, we expect GAAP EPS of $0.17 per share and non-GAAP EPS of $0.30 per share. Over the coming quarters, we look forward to providing additional updates as we reach new milestones which will help build a foundation in Memory, Dispense and Thermocompression opportunities over the coming years. This concludes our prepared comments. Operator, please open the call for questions.

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Q&A Session

Operator: Thank you. [Operator Instructions] Our first question comes from Krish Sankar with TD Cowen. Please proceed with your question.

Krish Sankar: Thanks for taking my question. I told them first one on your general semi cool vibe on the business [ph]; it looks like that’s kind of bouncing off the bottom. Fusen, these things that — is this a cyclical recovery for the Ball Bonder business, i.e. utilization rates are going up for all sites and you begin to see through and demand pull through, or is this more bouncing off the bottom until visibility gets better?

Fusen Chen: Krish, I believe in general, the recovery was not strong enough; it expended last quarter, automotive for semi [ph] personally and it already was a center of stubbornness when we have general comparison to recovery, right. But even with this, actually, our second quarter mitigated by stronger Ball Bonder implement. As the Ball Bonder — as an increase in revenue by 55% in Q2 for 2024 compared to 2023. So you know, I am going to accuse the — even [indiscernible] Josephine continues to go up and but auto didn’t increase incrementally, so auto got weaker. So, relatively I think, the industry probably need a little bit more recovery. And even we have a general semiconductor in the company, we also have headwind in auto loan to actually fit.

We have to relook now — actually, part of that — they actually cancelled together. But what I think is 2025 would be a better year for us. If we see some recovery in PC and auto, this should be very easy to end in a much bigger way. So, I don’t know if I answered your questions. I think our recovery is on the way. But when we have an increase in general semi, we also see the significance or what was the reason of increase, as it is supposed to be slower. But looking forward, we expect the recovery will be more broader and in our PC from an order. And you know, at this moment either we have a stronger Ball Bonder 55% above the trough but the sphere only 40% of FY24 revenue compared to the pick. So, all recoveries do have a long way to go but probably this industry needs an immediate recovery [ph].

Krish Sankar: Got it. And then, one other quick follow-up. Can you give us an update on your PCB qualification in the Taiwan foundry? I thought it should — so the call is expected to be done around this time, where the end customers are moving from hybrid bonding to TCB; can you give us an update there?

Fusen Chen: Okay. Krish, let me first to tell you; I think the hybrid model and the PCB actually they are quite efficient in this market. So why I say this — okay, I can tell you this. The Foundry is one of the several priority engagement for us at this moment. And we have engagement and a qualification for multiple applications with our new front-based technology there; so it’s not only the general project. As I mentioned, we are currently the first and only technology provider in the mix production for the whole industry. And the best technology process in Foundry is already is always relevancy. And the production of this new advanced technology for production is intended for CY25. And we are in early discussion for shipment to begin in the first half of CY25.

So we expect to reach new short-term milestone and to give you an update prior to our next call. So I try to tell you, I think we feel like the progress is good but the qualification in our Foundry tech is very, very less. Let me give you an example. We anticipate this Foundry relationship to progress CY25 on our engagement on IDM side. We began to engage in 2021 and are beginning to actually take to share with us 18 months of data; so quantification can take a bit longer. And this is a TCB application — and TCB activity is increasing in importance in the big end [ph], and we have a very good operations in OSAT, as well as IDM. We do expect it’s just a matter of time since we have multiple projects, we will grow our shares in Foundry in coming quarters.

Krish Sankar: Got it. Thank you very much.

Operator: Our next question comes from Dave Duley with Steelhead Securities. Please proceed with your question.

David Duley: Good evening. Thanks for taking my question. I also have a follow-up on Thermocompression bonding. I guess one of your competitors had a conference call a few days ago talking about how they thought that your other Memory guys were going to pursue kind of a dual strategy with both Thermocompression bonding and Hybrid bonding. And I think they imply that Thermocompression bonding would be the kind of technology of choice for HBM3 and HBM4. I’m just wondering where we are at as far as working with the Memory guys with Thermocompression bonding? And do you see TCB as the near-term solution first for stacking the Memory die [ph]? Or will they continue to use the current technology? Thanks.

Fusen Chen: Okay. So we actually believe TCB right now is a production tool. And next-generation was BTCD [ph]. One of the reasons I think is capability, the other reason is really low cost. We are engaging in next-generation of our HBM. And we are working to get a system, and it probably potentially will be shipped by the end of this year — fiscal calendar year. I think we also have another exciting project we call VFO. This is a project actually it can physically reduce the form factor of a Memory package but fully present. And also increase IO, as well as improve the actual performance. The first in our production actually is intended for low power TDR [ph] but one over Memory customer also have in another HBM4. It will not be for — like next-generation HBM but as you will know, a customer has a potential to be HBM.

So we actually work on our both way; TCB, we actually focus on heterogeneous integration and shipment. This is for Advanced Logic. But for the Memory, actually we have VFO. Actually, both of our projects will increase our potential revenue. So to answer your question, I think at least we believe our TCB is used, that is a simple and a capable, and we believe current generation and next-generation of HBM is going to be TCB.

David Duley: Okay, great. And my second question has to do with the core business. You announced 1000 unit order I guess for a new wire bonder. I’m assuming this is the first big order that you’ve received. Would it be fair to assume usually when you get one big order, you start to collect other large orders from the other OSATs or IDM because they all kind of tend to order at the same time? Is that the assumption that we should start to make here is that you’re starting to roll up these big orders on a more consistent basis?