AXT, Inc. Updates Expectations for the Fourth Quarter 2018
14 January 2019 - 10:55PM
AXT, Inc. (NasdaqGS: AXTI), a leading manufacturer of compound
semiconductor substrates, today provided an update to its
expectations for its fourth quarter 2018 financial results, which
will be announced on February 20, 2019.
The company now expects fourth quarter revenue
to be in the range of $22.0 million to $22.4 million. The revised
revenue expectation is down from the company’s previous guidance of
$26.5 million to $27.5 million, provided at its third quarter
earnings announcement on October 31, 2018.
“AXT saw a significant slowdown during the last
two months of the quarter,” said Morris Young, chief executive
officer. “The business climate grew increasingly cautious
over the quarter and customers generally did not follow through
with the level of orders they had previously forecasted. As a
result, revenue for all our product lines came in below our
expectations. We remain optimistic about the many drivers for our
business growth, including data center connectivity, PON, LED
lighting, 3-D sensing, 5-G wireless, among others. We believe our
new manufacturing facilities, technological proficiency, and
efficient cost structure position us well to benefit when the
demand environment strengthens.”
The company also announced that one of its
partially owned supply chain companies was required to temporarily
shut down during the fourth quarter to install manufacturing
improvements mandated by a regional environmental agency.
Under the equity method of accounting, AXT will incur a charge of
$1.1 million, which represents AXT’s 25 percent ownership of this
company. The supply chain company resumed production and
operations later in Q4.
Conference Call
The estimated financial results for the fourth
quarter of fiscal 2018 are preliminary and subject to change upon
completion of the company’s year-end financial audit process. The
company will announce its full financial results for the fourth
quarter 2018 in a press release immediately following the close of
market on February 20, 2019. The company will also host
a conference call to discuss these results on February 20,
2019 at 1:30 p.m. PT. The conference call can be accessed at
(844) 892-6598 (passcode 9999917). The call will also be simulcast
on the Internet at www.axt.com. Replays will be available at
(855) 859-2056 (passcode 9999917) until February 26, 2019.
Financial and statistical information to be discussed in the call
will be available on the company’s website immediately prior to
commencement of the call. Additional investor information can be
accessed at http://www.axt.com or by calling the
company’s Investor Relations Department at (510) 438-4700.
About AXT, Inc.
AXT designs, develops, manufactures and distributes
high-performance compound and single element semiconductor
substrates comprising indium phosphide (InP), gallium arsenide
(GaAs) and germanium (Ge) through its manufacturing facilities
in Beijing, China. AXT’s worldwide headquarters
are in Fremont, California where the company maintains its sales,
administration and customer service functions. The company’s
substrate products are used primarily in lighting display
applications, wireless communications, fiber optic communications
and solar cell applications. Its vertical gradient freeze (VGF)
process technology for manufacturing semiconductor substrates
provides significant benefits over other methods and enabled AXT to
become a leading manufacturer of such substrates. AXT has
manufacturing facilities in China and, as part of its
supply chain strategy, has partial ownership in ten companies in
China producing raw materials. For more information, see AXT’s
website at http://www.axt.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
The foregoing paragraphs contain forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws,
including, for example, statements regarding the market demand for
our products, our growth prospects and opportunities for continued
business expansion, our market opportunity, our relocation and our
expectations with respect to our business prospects and financial
results. These forward-looking statements are based upon
assumptions that are subject to uncertainties and factors relating
to the company’s operations and business environment, which could
cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or
implied in the forward-looking statements contained in the
foregoing discussion. These uncertainties and factors include but
are not limited to: the timing and receipt of significant orders;
the cancellation of orders and return of product; emerging
applications using chips or devices fabricated on our substrates;
end-user acceptance of products containing chips or devices
fabricated on our substrates; our ability to bring new products to
market; product announcements by our competitors; the ability to
control costs and improve efficiency; the ability to utilize our
manufacturing capacity; product yields and their impact on gross
margins; the relocation of manufacturing lines; possible factory
shutdowns as a result of air pollution in China; the financial
performance of our partially owned supply chain companies; policies
and regulations in China and other factors as set forth in the
company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form
10-Q and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. Each of these factors is difficult to predict and
many are beyond the company’s control. The company does not
undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement,
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Contacts:
Gary
Fischer
Chief Financial
Officer
(510) 438-4700
Leslie
Green
Green Communications Consulting,
LLC
(650) 312-9060
AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
AXT (NASDAQ:AXTI)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024