Mentor Graphics Reports Fiscal Fourth Quarter Results

Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) today announced financial results for the company’s fiscal fourth quarter and year ended January 31, 2013. The company reported revenues of $331.2 million, non-GAAP earnings per share of $.58, and GAAP earnings per share of $.49. For the full fiscal year, revenues were $1,088.7 million, non-GAAP earnings per share were a record $1.42, and GAAP earnings per share were $1.17.

“The fourth quarter was our sixteenth quarter in a row of exceeding non-GAAP earnings guidance. It capped a year in which Mentor Graphics achieved all-time records in revenue, operating margin and non-GAAP earnings per share,” said Walden C. Rhines, chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphics. “Like our peers in EDA, we continue to benefit from semiconductor retooling requirements driven by advanced design activity. Also like some others in our industry, our business benefits from the growth of the market for system-level design, which is outpacing the market for chip design software.”

In fiscal year 2013 revenue grew 7.3 % while non-GAAP and GAAP earnings per share grew 26% and 58% respectively. Non-GAAP and GAAP operating margins for the year were all-time records at 19.3% and 14.8% respectively. For the full fiscal year, non-GAAP operating expense was up 2.0% and up 1.2% on a GAAP basis.

“The company delivered record operating results in fiscal 2013, primarily as a result of continued expense control,” said Gregory K. Hinckley, president of Mentor Graphics. “We solidly exceeded our non-GAAP operating margin target in fiscal 2013 and on a GAAP basis our margins are among the best in technical software. In recent years we have successfully balanced our investment in product and market development and the sales channel while delivering continuous improvement in operating results.”

During the fourth quarter the company announced two products related to printed circuit board design: the next-generation PADS® flow, with enhancements to interactive routing, improved usability and Chinese language support; and the newest release of the market-leading HyperLynx® product for high-speed design and analysis. Another announcement this quarter was the Tessent® IJTAG solution, which allows designers to reuse existing test, monitoring and debugging logic embedded in IP blocks. With the new T3Ster® DynTIM Tester™ technology, the company launched a new method of measuring thermal characteristics of interface materials. The company also introduced a hardware emulation solution for testing ARM Cortex-A9 MPCore processor-based System-on-Chip (SoC) designs using Veloce® emulators.

During the quarter the company also announced that Tesla Motors, a world leader in the production of electric automobiles, has standardized on the Capital® toolset for their electrical systems design. India-based Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., a leading global tractor manufacturer, also standardized on the Capital products for design, engineering and analysis in their tractor and automotive divisions.

Share Repurchase

In the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013 the company used $14 million to repurchase 825 thousand shares at an average price of $16.85. During fiscal year 2013 the company repurchased 2.2 million shares for $34 million at an average cost of $15.11 per share. The company has repurchased $124 million of Mentor Graphics stock over the past two fiscal years and has $76 million available under its current share repurchase program.

Outlook

For the full fiscal year 2014, the company expects revenues of about $1.155 billion, non-GAAP earnings per share of about $1.53, and GAAP earnings per share of approximately $1.41. For the first quarter of fiscal 2014, the company expects revenues of about $225 million, non-GAAP earnings per share of about $.05, and GAAP earnings per share that are approximately break-even.

Fiscal Year Definition

Mentor Graphics’ fiscal year runs from February 1 to January 31. The fiscal year is dated by the calendar year in which the fiscal year ends. As a result, the first three fiscal quarters of any fiscal year will be dated with the next calendar year, rather than the current calendar year.

Discussion of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Mentor Graphics’ management evaluates and makes operating decisions using various performance measures. In addition to our GAAP results, we also consider adjusted gross margin, operating margin, net income, and earnings per share which we refer to as non-GAAP gross margin, operating margin, net income, and earnings per share, respectively. These non-GAAP measures are derived from the revenues of our product, maintenance, and services business operations and the costs directly related to the generation of those revenues, such as cost of revenue, research and development, sales and marketing, and general and administrative expenses, that management considers in evaluating our ongoing core operating performance. These non-GAAP measures exclude amortization of intangible assets, special charges, equity plan-related compensation expenses, interest expense attributable to net retirement premiums or discounts on the early retirement of debt and associated debt issuance costs, interest expense associated with the amortization of debt discount and premium on convertible debt, the equity in income (loss) of unconsolidated entities (except Frontline PCB Solutions Limited Partnership (Frontline)), and the impact on diluted earnings per share of changes in the calculated redemption value of the noncontrolling interests, which management does not consider reflective of our core operating business.

Management excludes from our non-GAAP measures certain recurring items to facilitate its review of the comparability of our core operating performance on a period-to-period basis because such items are not related to our ongoing core operating performance as viewed by management. Management considers our core operating performance to be that which can be affected by our managers in any particular period through their management of the resources that affect our underlying revenue and profit generating operations during that period. Management uses this view of our operating performance for purposes of comparison with our business plan and individual operating budgets and allocation of resources. Additionally, when evaluating potential acquisitions, management excludes the items described above from its consideration of target performance and valuation. More specifically, management adjusts for the excluded items for the following reasons:

• Identified intangible assets consist primarily of purchased technology, backlog, trade names, and customer relationships. Amortization charges for our intangible assets can vary in frequency and amount due to the timing and magnitude of acquisition transactions. We consider our operating results without these charges when evaluating our core performance due to the variability. Generally, the most significant impact to inter-period comparability of our net income is in the first twelve months following an acquisition.
• Special charges primarily consist of restructuring costs incurred for employee terminations, including severance and benefits, driven by modifications of business strategy or business emphasis. Special charges may also include expenses incurred related to potential acquisitions, excess facility costs, and asset-related charges. Special charges are incurred based on the particular facts and circumstances of acquisition and restructuring decisions and can vary in size and frequency. These charges are excluded as they are not ordinarily included in our annual operating plan and related budget due to the unpredictability of economic trends and the rapidly changing technology and competitive environment in our industry. We therefore exclude them when evaluating our managers' performance internally.
• Equity plan-related compensation expenses represent the fair value of all share-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options and restricted stock units. We do not consider equity plan-related compensation expense in evaluating our manager’s performance internally or our core operations in any given period.
• Interest expense attributable to net retirement premiums or discounts on the early retirement of debt, the write-off or amortization of associated debt issuance costs and the amortization of the debt discount and premium on convertible debt are excluded. Management does not consider these charges as a part of our core operating performance. The early retirement of debt and the associated debt issuance costs are not included in our annual operating plan and related budget due to unpredictability of market conditions which could facilitate an early retirement of debt. We do not consider the amortization of the debt discount and premium on convertible debt to be a direct cost of operations.
• Equity in earnings or losses of unconsolidated entities represents our equity in the net income (loss) of a common stock investment accounted for under the equity method. The carrying amount of our investment is adjusted for our share of earnings or losses of the investee. The amounts are excluded from our non-GAAP results (with the exception of our investment in Frontline as discussed below) as we do not control the results of operations for this investment and we do not participate in regular and periodic operating activities; therefore, management does not consider this investment as a part of our core operating performance.
• In connection with the Company’s acquisition of Valor on March 18, 2010, we also acquired Valor’s 50% interest in Frontline, a joint venture. We report our equity in the earnings or losses of Frontline within operating income. Although we do not exert control, we actively participate in regular and periodic activities such as budgeting, business planning, marketing and direction of research and development projects. Accordingly, we do not exclude our share of Frontline’s earnings or losses from our non-GAAP results as management considers the joint venture to be core to our operating performance.
• Income tax expense (benefit) is adjusted by the amount of additional tax expense or benefit that we would accrue if we used non-GAAP results instead of GAAP results in the calculation of our tax liability, taking into consideration our long-term tax structure. We use a normalized effective tax rate of 17%, which reflects the weighted average tax rate applicable under the various jurisdictions in which we operate. This non-GAAP tax rate eliminates the effects of non-recurring and period specific items which are often attributable to acquisition decisions and can vary in size and frequency and considers our U.S. loss carryforwards that have not been previously benefited. This rate is subject to change over time for various reasons, including changes in the geographic business mix and changes in statutory tax rates. Our GAAP tax rate for the year ended January 31, 2013 is 2%. The GAAP tax rate considers certain mandatory and other non-scalable tax costs which may adversely or beneficially affect our tax rate depending upon our level of profitability in various jurisdictions.
• Our agreement with the owners of noncontrolling interests in one of our subsidiaries gives them a right to require us to purchase their interests at a future date for a price based on a formula defined in the agreement. Under GAAP, increases (or decreases to the extent they offset previous increases), in the calculated redemption value of the noncontrolling interests are recorded directly to retained earnings and therefore do not affect net income. These amounts are applied to increase or decrease the numerator in the calculation of diluted earnings per share. Management does not consider fluctuations in the calculated redemption value of noncontrolling interests to be relevant to our core operating performance.

In certain instances our GAAP results of operations may not be profitable when our corresponding non-GAAP results are profitable or vice versa. The number of shares on which our non-GAAP earnings per share is calculated may therefore differ from the GAAP presentation due to the anti-dilutive effect of stock options and restricted stock units in a loss situation.

Non-GAAP gross margin, operating margin, and net income are supplemental measures of our performance that are not presented in accordance with GAAP. Moreover, they should not be considered as an alternative to any performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP, or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of our liquidity. We present non-GAAP gross margin, operating margin, and net income because we consider them to be important supplemental measures of our operating performance and profitability trends, and because we believe they give investors useful information on period-to-period performance as evaluated by management. Non-GAAP net income also facilitates comparison with other companies in our industry, which use similar financial measures to supplement their GAAP results. Non-GAAP net income has limitations as an analytical tool, and therefore should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. In the future we expect to continue to incur expenses similar to the non-GAAP adjustments described above and exclusion of these items in our non-GAAP presentation should not be construed as an inference that these costs are unusual, infrequent or non-recurring. Some of the limitations in relying on non-GAAP net income are:

• Amortization of intangibles represents the loss in value as the technology in our industry evolves, is advanced, or is replaced over time. The expense associated with this loss in value is not included in the non-GAAP net income presentation and therefore does not reflect the full economic effect of the ongoing cost of maintaining our current technological position in our competitive industry, which is addressed through our research and development program.
• We regularly engage in acquisition and assimilation activities as part of our ongoing business and regularly evaluate our business to determine whether any operations should be eliminated or curtailed. We therefore will continue to experience special charges on a regular basis. These costs also directly impact our available funds.
• Our stock incentive and stock purchase plans are important components of our incentive compensation arrangements and will be reflected as expenses in our GAAP results.
• Our income tax expense (benefit) will be ultimately based on our GAAP taxable income and actual tax rates in effect, which often differ significantly from the 17% rate assumed in our non-GAAP presentation. In addition, if we have a GAAP loss and non-GAAP net income, our non-GAAP results will not reflect any projected GAAP tax benefits. Similarly, in the event we were to have GAAP net income and a non-GAAP loss, our GAAP tax expense would be replaced by a credit in our non-GAAP presentation.
• Other companies, including other companies in our industry, calculate non-GAAP net income differently than we do, limiting its usefulness as a comparative measure.

About Mentor Graphics

Mentor Graphics Corporation is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world’s most successful electronic, semiconductor and systems companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues in the last fiscal year of about $1,090 million. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com/.

(Mentor Graphics, PADS, HyperLynx, Tessent, T3ster, Veloce and Capital are registered trademarks and DynTIM Tester is a trademark of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company and/or product names are the trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.)

Statements in this press release regarding the company’s guidance for future periods constitute “forward-looking” statements based on current expectations within the meaning of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company or industry results to be materially different from any results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the following: (i) the company’s ability to successfully offer products and services that compete in the highly competitive EDA industry, including the risk of obsolescence for our hardware products; (ii) product bundling or discounting of products and services by competitors, which could force the company to lower its prices or offer other more favorable terms to customers; (iii) possible delayed or canceled customer orders resulting from the business disruption and uncertainty of actions of activist shareholders; (iv) effects of the volatility of foreign currency fluctuations on the company’s business and operating results; (v) changes in accounting or reporting rules or interpretations; (vi) the impact of tax audits by the IRS or other taxing authorities, or changes in the tax laws, regulations or enforcement practices where the company does business; (vii) effects of unanticipated shifts in product mix on gross margin; and (viii) effects of customer seasonal purchasing patterns and the timing of significant orders which may negatively or positively impact the company’s quarterly results of operations; all as may be discussed in more detail under the heading “Risk Factors” in the company’s most recent Form 10-K or Form 10-Q. Given these uncertainties, prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. In addition, statements regarding guidance do not reflect potential impacts of mergers or acquisitions that have not been announced or closed as of the time the statements are made. Mentor Graphics disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments.