UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

 

 

Form 10-K

 

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT

TO SECTIONS 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

 

Commission File number 0-23621

MKS INSTRUMENTS, INC.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including area code

(978) 645-5500

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes þ     No o

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§ 229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

(Do not check if a smaller reporting company)

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes o     No þ

 

Aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by nonaffiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2008 based on the closing price of the registrant’s Common Stock on such date as reported by the Nasdaq Global Market: $1,045,692,807.

 

Number of shares outstanding of the issuer’s Common Stock, no par value, as of February 18, 2009: 49,536,699

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

Portions of the definitive Proxy Statement for MKS’ Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 4, 2009 are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Form 10-K.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

MKS’ management believes that this Annual Report on Form 10-K contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act. When used herein, the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “plan,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “may,” “see,” “will,” “would” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect management’s current opinions and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied. MKS assumes no obligation to update this information. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed in the section entitled “Risk Factors” of this annual report on Form 10-K.

 

 

MKS Instruments, Inc. (the “Company” or “MKS”) was founded in 1961 as a Massachusetts corporation. We are a leading worldwide provider of instruments, subsystems and process control solutions that measure, control, power, monitor and analyze critical parameters to improve process performance and productivity of advanced manufacturing processes. We also provide services relating to the maintenance and repair of our products, software maintenance, installation services and training.

 

We are managed as one operating segment. We group our products into three product groups: Instruments and Control Systems, Power and Reactive Gas Products and Vacuum Products. Our products are derived from our core competencies in pressure measurement and control, materials delivery, gas composition analysis, electrostatic charge management, control and information technology, power and reactive gas generation and vacuum technology.

 

Our products are used in diverse markets, applications and processes. Our primary served markets are manufacturers of capital equipment for semiconductor devices and for other thin film applications including flat panel displays, solar cells, data storage media and other advanced coatings. We also leverage our technology in other markets with advanced manufacturing applications including medical equipment, pharmaceutical manufacturing and energy generation and environmental monitoring.

 

For over 45 years, we have focused on satisfying the needs of our customers by establishing long-term, collaborative relationships. We have a diverse base of customers that includes manufacturers of semiconductor capital equipment and semiconductor devices, thin film capital equipment used in the manufacture of flat panel displays, solar cells, data storage media and other coating applications; and other industrial, medical and manufacturing companies, and university, government and industrial research laboratories. Our top 10 customers for the year ended December 31, 2008 were Applied Materials, DNS Electronics, Hitachi, Lam Research, Phillips, Novellus Systems, Sharp, Siemens, Tokyo Electron and Ulvac Technologies.

 

We file reports, proxy statements and other documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission. You may read and copy any document we file at the SEC Headquarters at Office of Investor Education and Assistance, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549. You should call 1-800-SEC-0330 for more information on the public reference room. Our SEC filings are also available to you on the SEC’s internet site at http://www.sec.gov.

 

Our internet address is www.mksinstruments.com. We are not including the information contained in our website as part of, or incorporating it by reference into, this annual report on Form 10-K. We make available free of charge through our web site our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Markets and Applications

 

We are focused on improving process performance and productivity by measuring, controlling, powering, monitoring and analyzing advanced manufacturing processes in semiconductor, thin film and other market sectors. We estimate that approximately 57%, 68% and 70% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively, were to semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers and semiconductor device manufacturers. Approximately 43%, 32% and 30% of our net sales in the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively, were for other advanced manufacturing applications. These include, but are not limited to, thin-film processing equipment applications such as flat panel displays, solar cells, data storage media, and other thin film coatings as well as medical equipment; energy generation and environmental monitoring processes; pharmaceutical and other industrial manufacturing; and university, government and industrial research laboratories.

 

We estimate that approximately 43%, 39% and 34% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively, were to customers located in international markets. International sales include sales by our foreign subsidiaries, but exclude direct export sales.

 

Semiconductor Manufacturing Applications

 

The majority of our sales are derived from products sold to semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers and semiconductor device manufacturers. Our products are used in the major semiconductor processing steps such as depositing thin films of material onto silicon wafer substrates and etching and cleaning circuit patterns. In addition, we provide specialized instruments and software to monitor and analyze process performance.

 

We anticipate that the semiconductor manufacturing market will continue to account for a substantial portion of our sales. While the semiconductor device manufacturing market is global, major semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers are concentrated in Japan and the United States.

 

Other Advanced Manufacturing Applications

 

Our products are used in the manufacture of flat panel displays, data storage media, solar cells and other coatings including architectural glass that require the same or similar thin film deposition processes as semiconductor manufacturing.

 

Flat Panel Display Manufacturing

 

Flat panel displays are used in electronic hand-held devices, laptop computers, desktop computer monitors, and television sets. We sell products to flat panel display equipment manufacturers and to end-users in the flat panel display market. Major manufacturers of flat panel displays are concentrated in Japan, Korea and Taiwan, and major manufacturers of flat panel display equipment are concentrated in Japan and the United States. The transition to larger panel sizes and higher display resolution is driving the need for improved process control to reduce defects.

 

Solar Cells

 

Our products are used in crystalline silicon and emerging thin film processes to manufacture photovoltaic (PV) cells. Crystalline silicon technology requires wafer based deposition systems and is currently the dominant manufacturing technology. Thin film deposition on a non-silicon substrate, such as glass, is the emerging technology.

 

Data Storage Media

 

Our products are used to manufacture storage media which store and read data magnetically; optical storage media which store and read data using laser technology; hard disks; data storage devices; and digital video discs.

 

The transition to higher density storage capacity requires manufacturing processes incorporating tighter process controls. Major manufacturers of storage media are concentrated in Japan and the Asia Pacific region, and major manufacturers of storage media capital equipment are concentrated in Europe, Japan and the United States.

Other Advanced Coatings

 

Thin film coatings for diverse applications such as architectural glass and packaging are deposited using processes similar to those used in semiconductor manufacturing. Thin film processing manufacturers are concentrated in Europe, Japan and the United States.

 

Other Advanced Applications

 

Our products are used in other energy generation and environmental monitoring processes such as nuclear fuel processing, fuel cell research, greenhouse gas monitoring, and chemical agent detection; medical instrument sterilization; consumable medical supply manufacturing and pharmaceutical manufacturing. Our power delivery products are also incorporated into other end-market products such as medical imaging equipment. In addition, our products are sold to government, university and industrial laboratories for vacuum applications involving research and development in materials science, physical chemistry and electronics materials. Major equipment and process providers and research laboratories are concentrated in Europe, Japan and the United States.

 

Product Groups

 

We group our products into three product groups: Instruments and Control Systems, Power and Reactive Gas Products and Vacuum Products.

 

 

This product group includes pressure measurement and control, materials delivery, gas composition analysis, electrostatic charge management and control and information technology products.

 

Pressure Measurement and Control Products.  Each of our pressure measurement and control product lines consists of products that are designed for a variety of pressure ranges and accuracies.

 

Baratron^® Pressure Measurement Products.  These products are typically used to measure the pressure of the gases being distributed upstream of the process chambers, to measure process chamber pressures and to measure pressures between process chambers, vacuum pumps and exhaust lines. We believe we offer the widest range of gas pressure measurement instruments in the semiconductor and advanced thin-film materials processing industries.

 

Automatic Pressure and Vacuum Control Products.  These products enable precise control of process pressure by electronically actuating valves that control the flow of gases in and out of the process chamber to minimize the difference between desired and actual pressure in the chamber.

 

In most cases, Baratron pressure measurement instruments provide the pressure input to the automatic pressure control device. Together, these components create an integrated automatic pressure control subsystem. Our pressure control products can also accept inputs from other measurement instruments, enabling the automatic control of gas input or exhaust based on parameters other than pressure.

 

Materials Delivery Products.  Each of our materials delivery product lines consists of products that are designed for a variety of flow ranges and accuracies.

 

Flow Measurement and Control Products.  Flow measurement products include gas and vapor flow measurement products based upon thermal conductivity, pressure and direct liquid injection technologies. The flow control products combine the flow measurement device with valve control elements based upon solenoid, piezo-electric and piston pump technologies. These products measure and automatically control the mass flow rate of gases and vapors into the process chamber.

 

Gas Composition Analysis Products.  Gas composition analysis instruments are sold to a variety of industries including the semiconductor industry.

 

Mass Spectrometry-Based Gas Composition Analysis Instruments.  These products are based on quadrupole mass spectrometer sensors that separate gases based on molecular weight. These sensors include built-in electronics and are provided with software that analyzes the composition of background and process gases in the process

chamber. These instruments are provided both as portable laboratory systems and as process gas monitoring systems used in the diagnosis of semiconductor manufacturing process systems.

 

Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) Based Gas Composition Analysis Products.  FTIR-based products provide information about the composition of gases by measuring the absorption of infra-red light as it passes through the sample being measured. Gas analysis applications include measuring the compositions of mixtures of reactant gases; measuring the purity of individual process gases; measuring the composition of process exhaust gas streams to determine process health; monitoring gases to ensure environmental health and safety and monitoring combustion exhausts. These instruments are provided as portable laboratory systems and as process gas monitoring systems used in the diagnosis of manufacturing processes.

 

Mass spectrometry-based and FTIR-based gas monitoring systems can indicate out-of-bounds conditions, such as the presence of undesirable contaminant gases and water vapor or out-of-tolerance amounts of specific gases in the process, which alert operators to diagnose and repair faulty equipment.

 

Leak Detection Products.  Helium leak detection is used in a variety of industries including semiconductor, HVAC, automotive and aerospace to ensure the leak integrity of both manufactured products and manufacturing equipment. We believe that our products are the smallest mass spectrometer-based helium leak detectors currently available.

 

Electrostatic Charge Management Products.  Semiconductor, flat panel display and data storage industries are vulnerable to electrostatic charge-related contamination and yield problems. We design and manufacture products to control electrostatic attraction, electrostatic discharge and electromagnetic interference. In high throughput industrial applications such as plastics manufacture and printing, ionization is used to improve process control and productivity.

 

Control and Information Technology Products.  We design and manufacture a suite of products that allow semiconductor and other manufacturing customers to better control their processes through computer-controlled automation. These products include digital control network products, process chamber and system controllers, connectivity products and data analysis/information products.

 

Control Products.  Digital control network products are used to connect sensors, actuators and subsystems to the chamber and system control computers. They support a variety of industry-standard connection methods as well as conventional discrete digital and analog signals. Chamber and system control computers process these signals in real time and allow customers to precisely manage the process conditions.

 

Connecting sensors, chambers and tools to the factory network is essential for improving quality and productivity. Our connectivity products allow information to flow from the process sensors and subsystems and from the process tool control computer to the factory network. By enabling this information flow, we believe that we help customers optimize their processes through Advanced Process Control (“APC”), and diagnose equipment problems from a remote location (“e-diagnostics”).

 

Information Technology Products.  We design on-line and off-line software products to analyze data to improve the quality and yield of semiconductor, thin film, biopharmaceutical, injection molding and other manufacturing processes.

 

 

This product group includes power delivery products and reactive gas generation products used in semiconductor and other thin film applications, including solar and in medical imaging equipment applications.

 

Power Delivery Products.  We design and manufacture microwave, DC and RF power delivery systems as well as RF matching networks and metrology products. In the semiconductor and thin film markets, our power supplies are used to provide energy to various etching, stripping and deposition processes. Our power amplifiers are also used in medical imaging equipment.

 

Reactive Gas Generation Products.  Reactive gases are used to process and clean substrates and to clean process chambers to reduce particle contamination. A reactive gas is created when energy is added to a stable gas to

break apart its molecules. When the resulting dissociated gas comes into contact with other matter it produces rapid chemical reactions which result in processing of thin films (deposition of films, etching and cleaning of films and surface modifications) or equipment cleaning.

 

Processing Thin Films.  Our reactive gas products include ozone generators and subsystems used for deposition of insulators onto semiconductor devices, ozonated water delivery systems for advanced semiconductor wafer and flat panel display cleaning, microwave plasma based products for photo resist removal and a new line of remote plasma generators which provide reactive gases for a wide range of semiconductor, flat panel and other thin film process applications.

 

Equipment Cleaning.  As materials are deposited on wafers, films, or solar cells, the deposited material also accumulates on the walls of the vacuum process chamber. Our atomic fluorine generators are used to clean the process chambers between deposition steps to reduce particulates and contamination caused by accumulated build up on the chamber walls.

 

 

This product group consists of vacuum technology products, including vacuum containment components, vacuum gauges, vacuum valves, effluent management subsystems and custom stainless steel chambers, vessels, biopharmaceutical process equipment (“BPE”) hardware and housings.

 

Vacuum Gauging Products.  We offer a wide range of vacuum instruments consisting of vacuum measurement sensors and associated power supply and readout units as well as transducers where the sensor and electronics are integrated within a single package. These gauges complement our Baratron capacitance manometers for medium and high vacuum ranges. Our indirect gauges use thermal conductivity and ionization gauge technologies to measure pressure and vacuum, and our direct gauges use the pressure measurement technology of a MEMS-based piezo sensor.

 

Vacuum Valves, Stainless Steel Components, Process Solutions and Custom Stainless Steel Hardware.  Our vacuum valves are used for vacuum isolation of vacuum lines, load locks, vacuum chambers and pumps for chamber isolation and vacuum containment. Our vacuum process solutions consist of vacuum fittings, traps and heated lines that are used downstream from the semiconductor process chamber to control process effluent gasses by preventing condensable materials from depositing particles near or back into the process chamber.

 

Custom Manufactured Components.  Our design and manufacturing facilities build high purity chambers for material and thin film coating, ALD, lithography and all semiconductor and solar processes. We design and build custom panels, weldments, ASME (American Society of Manufacturing Engineers) vessels and housings, as well as a line of BPE certified components for biopharmaceutical processes.

 

Customers

 

Our largest customers include leading semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers such as Applied Materials, Lam Research, Novellus Systems, and Tokyo Electron. Sales to our top ten customers accounted for approximately 38%, 46% and 49% of net sales for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively. Applied Materials accounted for approximately 19%, 20% and 21% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

Sales, Marketing, Service and Support

 

Our worldwide sales, marketing, service and support organization is critical to our strategy of maintaining close relationships with semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers and semiconductor device manufacturers. We sell our products primarily through our direct sales force. As of December 31, 2008, we had 195 sales employees worldwide, located in China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. We also maintain sales representatives and agents in a number of countries, which supplement this direct sales force. We maintain a marketing staff that identifies customer requirements, assists in product planning and specifications, and focuses on future trends in semiconductor and other markets.

As semiconductor device manufacturers have become increasingly sensitive to the significant costs of system downtime, they have required that suppliers offer comprehensive local repair service and close customer support. Manufacturers require close support to enable them to repair, modify, upgrade and retrofit their equipment to improve yields and adapt new materials or processes. To meet these market requirements, we maintain a worldwide sales and support organization in 17 countries. Technical support is provided from offices in China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands, Singapore, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Repair and calibration services are provided at 25 service depots located worldwide. We typically provide warranties from one to three years, depending upon the type of product.

 

Research and Development

 

Our products incorporate sophisticated technologies to power, measure, control and monitor increasingly complex gas-related semiconductor manufacturing processes, thereby enhancing uptime, yield and throughput for our semiconductor device manufacturing customers. Our products have continuously advanced as we strive to meet our customers’ evolving needs. We have developed, and continue to develop, new products to address industry trends, such as the shrinking of integrated circuit critical dimensions to 65 nanometers and below. In addition, we have developed, and continue to develop, products that support the migration to new classes of materials and ultra-thin layers, such as copper for low resistance conductors, high-k dielectric materials for capacitors and gates and low-k dielectric materials for low loss insulators that are used in small geometry manufacturing. We have undertaken an initiative to involve our marketing, engineering, manufacturing and sales personnel in the concurrent development of new products in order to reduce the time to market for new products. Our employees also work closely with our customers’ development personnel helping us to identify and define future technical needs on which to focus research and development efforts. We support research at academic institutions targeted at advances in materials science and semiconductor process development. As of December 31, 2008, we had 467 research and development employees, primarily located in the United States. Our research and development expenses were $78.5 million, $74.6 million and $72.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively. Our research and development efforts include numerous projects, none of which are individually material, and generally have a duration of 12 to 30 months.

 

Manufacturing

 

Our manufacturing facilities are located in China, Germany, Israel, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States. Manufacturing activities include the assembly and testing of components and subassemblies, which are integrated into our products. We outsource some of our subassembly work. We purchase a wide range of electronic, mechanical and electrical components, some of which are designed to our specifications. We consider our lean manufacturing techniques and responsiveness to customers’ significantly fluctuating product demands to be a competitive advantage.

 

Competition

 

The market for our products is highly competitive. Principal competitive factors include:

 

 

Although we believe that we compete favorably with respect to these factors, there can be no assurance that we will continue to do so.

 

We encounter substantial competition in most of our product lines, although no single competitor competes with us across all product lines. Certain of our competitors may have greater financial and other resources than us. In some cases, competitors are smaller than we are, but well established in specific product niches. Celerity offers

products that compete with our pressure and materials delivery products. Advanced Energy and Horiba offer materials delivery products that compete with our product line of mass flow controllers. Nor-Cal Products and VAT offer products that compete with our vacuum components. Inficon offers products that compete with our vacuum measurement and gas analysis products. Brooks Automation and Inficon offer products that compete with our vacuum gauging products. Advanced Energy offers products that compete with our power delivery and reactive gas generator products.

 

Patents and Other Intellectual Property Rights

 

We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws and license agreements to establish and protect our proprietary rights. As of December 31, 2008, we owned 336 U.S. patents, 235 foreign patents and had 127 pending U.S. patent applications. Foreign counterparts of certain of these applications have been filed or may be filed at the appropriate time.

 

We require each of our employees, including our executive officers, to enter into standard agreements pursuant to which the employee agrees to keep confidential all of our proprietary information and to assign to us all inventions while they are employed by us.

 

For a discussion of litigation relating to our intellectual property, see “Legal Proceedings” of this annual report on Form 10-K.

 

Employees

 

As of December 31, 2008, we employed 2,631 persons. We believe that our ongoing success depends upon our continued ability to attract and retain highly skilled employees for whom competition is intense. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or are party to a collective bargaining agreement. We believe that our employee relations are good.

 

Acquisitions

 

We completed one acquisition in 2007. On November 7, 2007, we acquired Yield Dynamics, Inc. (“YDI”), a provider of yield management technology located in Sunnyvale, California. YDI’s data and yield management software, along with MKS’ portfolio of sensors that control critical processes, data collection and integration hardware, and real-time fault detection and classification software, provides a comprehensive offering for generating, collecting and analyzing process sensor data and correlating the data to wafers, chambers and tools across the semiconductor fab as well as other thin film manufacturing processes.

 

We completed three acquisitions in 2006. On October 11, 2006, we completed our acquisition of Novx Corp. (“Novx”), a provider of electrostatic charge monitoring technology for semiconductor, data storage, telecommunication, medical device and other markets. Novx’s technology expands our capability to monitor, detect and control electrostatic charge in advanced process environments, such as semiconductor and hard disk drive manufacturing. On January 3, 2006, we completed our acquisition of Ion Systems, Inc. (“Ion”), a leading provider of electrostatic management solutions located in Alameda, California. Ion’s ionization technology monitors electrostatic charges to reduce process contamination and improve yields, which complements our process monitoring and control technologies. Additionally, on January 3, 2006, we completed our acquisition of Umetrics, AB (“Umetrics”), a leader in multivariate data analysis and modeling software located in Umea, Sweden. Umetrics’ multivariate data analysis and modeling software converts process data into useable information for yield improvement, when linked with our open and modular platform of process sensors and data collection, integration, data storage, and visualization capabilities.

 

 

The following factors could materially affect MKS’ business, financial condition or results of operations and should be carefully considered in evaluating the Company and its business, in addition to other information presented elsewhere in this report.

Our business depends substantially on capital spending in the semiconductor industry which is characterized by periodic fluctuations that may cause a reduction in demand for our products.

 

We estimate that approximately 57%, 68% and 70% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively, were to semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers and semiconductor device manufacturers, and we expect that sales to such customers will continue to account for a substantial portion of our sales. Our business depends upon the capital expenditures of semiconductor device manufacturers, which in turn depend upon the demand for semiconductors.

 

Historically, the semiconductor market has been highly cyclical and has experienced periods of overcapacity, resulting in significantly reduced demand for capital equipment which may result in lower gross margins due to reduced absorption of manufacturing overhead. In addition, many semiconductor manufacturers have operations and customers in Asia, a region that in past years has experienced serious economic problems including currency devaluations, debt defaults, lack of liquidity and recessions. Recent reductions in demand for the products manufactured by semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers and semiconductor device manufacturers have adversely affected our business. Our product sales during the year ended December 31, 2008 to these customers have decreased by 35%. As we enter 2009, global economic uncertainty is prolonging a steep downturn in semiconductor capital equipment spending and adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations. We cannot be certain of the timing or magnitude of future semiconductor industry downturns. A decline in the level of orders as a result of any downturn or slowdown in the semiconductor capital equipment industry could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Although we cannot predict when demand from these customers will rebound, we expect further decreases in demand from these customers during 2009 and as a result we are estimating lower sequential revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 compared to December 31, 2008.

 

MKS is exposed to risks associated with the ongoing financial crisis and weakening global economy.

 

The recent severe tightening of the credit markets, turmoil in the financial markets, and weakening global economy are contributing to slowdowns in the industries in which MKS operates, which slowdowns are expected to worsen if these economic conditions are prolonged or deteriorate further. The markets for semiconductors and flat panel displays in particular depend largely on consumer spending. Economic uncertainty exacerbates negative trends in consumer spending and may cause certain MKS customers to push out, cancel, or refrain from placing equipment or service orders, which may affect MKS’ ability to convert backlog to sales and may reduce our net sales. Difficulties in obtaining capital and deteriorating market conditions may also lead to the inability of some customers to obtain affordable financing, resulting in lower sales for MKS. Customers with liquidity issues may lead to additional bad debt expense for MKS. These conditions may also similarly affect key suppliers, which could affect their ability to deliver parts and result in delays for MKS’ products. Further, these conditions and uncertainty about future economic conditions make it challenging for MKS to forecast its operating results, make business decisions, and identify the risks that may affect its business, financial condition and results of operations. If MKS is not able to timely and appropriately adapt to changes resulting from the difficult macroeconomic environment, MKS’ business, financial condition or results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.

 

We anticipate that international sales will continue to account for a significant portion of our net sales. In addition, certain of our key domestic customers derive a significant portion of their revenues from sales in international markets. Therefore, our sales and results of operations could be adversely affected by economic slowdowns, such as the current global economic crisis, and other risks associated with international sales. International sales include sales by our foreign subsidiaries, but exclude direct export sales. International sales accounted for approximately 43%, 39% and 34%, of net sales for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively, a significant portion of which were sales to Japan.

 

Our quarterly operating results have fluctuated, and are likely to continue to vary significantly, which may result in volatility in the market price of our common stock.

 

A substantial portion of our shipments occurs shortly after an order is received and therefore we operate with a low level of backlog. As a result, a decrease in demand for our products from one or more customers could occur

with limited advance notice and could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations in any particular period. A significant percentage of our expenses is relatively fixed and based in part on expectations of future net sales. The inability to adjust spending quickly enough to compensate for any shortfall would magnify the adverse impact of a shortfall in net sales on our results of operations. Factors that could cause fluctuations in our net sales include:

 

 

In addition, our quarterly operating results may be adversely affected due to charges incurred in a particular quarter, for example, relating to inventory obsolescence, warranty or asset impairments.

 

As a result of the factors discussed above, it is likely that we may in the future experience quarterly or annual fluctuations and that, in one or more future quarters, our operating results may fall below the expectations of public market analysts or investors. In any such event, the price of our common stock could fluctuate or decline significantly.

 

The loss of net sales to any one of our major customers would likely have a material adverse effect on us.

 

Our top ten customers accounted for approximately 38%, 46% and 49% of our net sales for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively. The loss of a major customer or any reduction in orders by these customers, including reductions due to market or competitive conditions, would likely have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. During the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, one customer, Applied Materials, accounted for approximately 19%, 20% and 21%, respectively, of our net sales. None of our significant customers, including Applied Materials, has entered into an agreement requiring it to purchase any minimum quantity of our products. The demand for our products from our semiconductor capital equipment customers depends in part on orders received by them from their semiconductor device manufacturer customers.

 

Attempts to lessen the adverse effect of any loss or reduction of net sales through the rapid addition of new customers could be difficult because prospective customers typically require lengthy qualification periods prior to placing volume orders with a new supplier. Our future success will continue to depend upon:

 

 

As part of our business strategy, we have entered into and may enter into or seek to enter into business combinations and acquisitions that may be difficult and costly to integrate, may be disruptive to our business, may dilute stockholder value or may divert management attention.

 

We made several acquisitions in the years 2000 through 2002 and, more recently in 2006 and 2007. As a part of our business strategy, we may enter into additional business combinations and acquisitions. Acquisitions are typically accompanied by a number of risks, including the difficulty of integrating the operations, technology and personnel of the acquired companies, the potential disruption of our ongoing business and distraction of management, possible internal control weaknesses of the acquired companies, expenses related to the acquisition and

potential unknown liabilities associated with acquired businesses. If we are not successful in completing acquisitions that we may pursue in the future, we may be required to reevaluate our growth strategy, and we may incur substantial expenses and devote significant management time and resources in seeking to complete proposed acquisitions that will not generate benefits for us.

 

In addition, with future acquisitions, we could use substantial portions of our available cash as all or a portion of the purchase price. We could also issue additional securities as consideration for these acquisitions, which could cause significant stockholder dilution without achieving the desired accretion to our business. Further, our prior acquisitions and any future acquisitions may not ultimately help us achieve our strategic goals and may pose other risks to us.

 

As a result of our previous acquisitions, we have added several different decentralized operating and accounting systems, resulting in a complex reporting environment. We will need to continue to modify our accounting policies, internal controls, procedures and compliance programs to provide consistency across all our operations. In order to increase efficiency and operating effectiveness and improve corporate visibility into our decentralized operations, we are currently implementing a worldwide Enterprise Resource Planning (“ERP”) system. We expect to continue to implement the ERP system in phases over the next few years. Any future implementations may risk potential disruption of our operations during the conversion periods and the implementations could require significantly more management time and higher implementation costs than currently estimated.

 

An inability to convince semiconductor device manufacturers to specify the use of our products to our customers that are semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers would weaken our competitive position.

 

The markets for our products are highly competitive. Our competitive success often depends upon factors outside of our control. For example, in some cases, particularly with respect to mass flow controllers, semiconductor device manufacturers may direct semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers to use a specified supplier’s product in their equipment. Accordingly, for such products, our success will depend in part on our ability to have semiconductor device manufacturers specify that our products be used at their semiconductor fabrication facilities. In addition, we may encounter difficulties in changing established relationships of competitors that already have a large installed base of products within such semiconductor fabrication facilities.

 

If our products are not designed into successive generations of our customers’ products, we will lose significant net sales during the lifespan of those products.

 

New products designed by semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers typically have a lifespan of five to ten years. Our success depends on our products being designed into new generations of equipment for the semiconductor industry. We must develop products that are technologically advanced so that they are positioned to be chosen for use in each successive generation of semiconductor capital equipment. If customers do not choose our products, our net sales may be reduced during the lifespan of our customers’ products. In addition, we must make a significant capital investment to develop products for our customers well before our products are introduced and before we can be sure that we will recover our capital investment through sales to the customers in significant volume. We are thus also at risk during the development phase that our products may fail to meet our customers’ technical or cost requirements and may be replaced by a competitive product or alternative technology solution. If that happens, we may be unable to recover our development costs.

 

The semiconductor industry is subject to rapid demand shifts which are difficult to predict. As a result, our inability to expand our manufacturing capacity in response to these rapid shifts may cause a reduction in our market share.

 

Our ability to increase sales of certain products depends in part upon our ability to expand our manufacturing capacity for such products in a timely manner. If we are unable to expand our manufacturing capacity on a timely basis or to manage such expansion effectively, our customers could implement our competitors’ products and, as a result, our market share could be reduced. Because the semiconductor industry is subject to rapid demand shifts which are difficult to foresee, we may not be able to increase capacity quickly enough to respond to a rapid increase

in demand. Additionally, capacity expansion could increase our fixed operating expenses and if sales levels do not increase to offset the additional expense levels associated with any such expansion, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected.

 

A material amount of our assets represents goodwill and intangible assets, and our net income will be reduced if our goodwill or intangible assets become impaired.

 

As of December 31, 2008, our goodwill and intangible assets, net, represented approximately $358.8 million, or 36.4%, of our total assets. Goodwill is generated in our acquisitions when the cost of an acquisition exceeds the fair value of the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets we acquire. Goodwill is subject to an impairment analysis at least annually based on the fair value of the reporting unit. Intangible assets, which relate primarily to the customer technologies, relationships and patents and trademarks acquired by us as part of our acquisitions of other companies, are subject to an impairment analysis whenever events or changes in circumstances exist that indicate that the carrying value of the intangible asset might not be recoverable. During the year ended December 31, 2008, we recorded non-cash impairment charges of $6.1 million related to intangible assets. Due to the ongoing uncertainty in market conditions, which may continue to negatively impact our financial performance, we will continue to monitor and evaluate the carrying value of goodwill and intangible assets. If market and economic conditions or business performance deteriorate further, this could increase the likelihood of the Company recording an impairment charge, which could materially and adversely affect our results of operations.

 

We operate in a highly competitive industry.

 

The market for our products is highly competitive. Principal competitive factors include:

 

 

Although we believe that we compete favorably with respect to these factors, we may not be able to continue to do so. We encounter substantial competition in most of our product lines. Certain of our competitors may have greater financial and other resources than we have. In some cases, competitors are smaller than we are, but well established in specific product niches. We may encounter difficulties in changing established relationships of competitors with a large installed base of products at such customers’ fabrication facilities. In addition, our competitors can be expected to continue to improve the design and performance of their products. Competitors may develop products that offer price or performance features superior to those of our products. If our competitors develop superior products, we may lose existing customer and market share.

 

We have significant foreign operations, and outsource certain operations offshore, which pose significant risks.

 

We have significant international sales, service, engineering and manufacturing operations in Europe, Israel and Asia, and have outsourced a portion of our manufacturing to Mexico. We may expand the level of manufacturing and certain other operations that we do offshore in order to take advantage of cost efficiencies available to us in those countries. However, we may not achieve the significant cost savings or other benefits that we anticipate from this program. These foreign operations expose us to operational and political risks that may harm our business, including:

 

 

 

If any of these risks materialize, our operating results may be adversely affected.

 

Unfavorable currency exchange rate fluctuations may lead to lower operating margins or may cause us to raise prices, which could result in reduced sales.

 

Currency exchange rate fluctuations could have an adverse effect on our net sales and results of operations and we could experience losses with respect to our hedging activities. Unfavorable currency fluctuations could require us to increase prices to foreign customers, which could result in lower net sales by us to such customers. Alternatively, if we do not adjust the prices for our products in response to unfavorable currency fluctuations, our results of operations could be adversely affected. In addition, most sales made by our foreign subsidiaries are denominated in the currency of the country in which these products are sold and the currency they receive in payment for such sales could be less valuable at the time of receipt as a result of exchange rate fluctuations. We enter into forward foreign exchange contracts and may enter into local currency purchased options to reduce currency exposure arising from intercompany sales of inventory. However, we cannot be certain that our efforts will be adequate to protect us against significant currency fluctuations or that such efforts will not expose us to additional exchange rate risks.

 

Changes in tax rates or tax liabilities could affect results of operations.

 

As a global company, MKS is subject to taxation in the United States and various other countries. Significant judgment is required to determine and estimate worldwide tax liabilities. MKS’ future annual and quarterly tax rates could be affected by numerous factors, including changes in the: (1) applicable tax laws; (2) composition of pre-tax income in countries with differing tax rates; or (3) valuation of MKS’ deferred tax assets and liabilities. In addition, MKS is subject to regular examination by the Internal Revenue Service and other tax authorities. MKS regularly assesses the likelihood of favorable or unfavorable outcomes resulting from these examinations to determine the adequacy of its provision for income taxes. Although MKS believes its tax estimates are reasonable, there can be no assurance that any final determination will not be materially different from the treatment reflected in MKS’ historical income tax provisions and accruals, which could materially and adversely affect MKS’ financial condition and results of operations.

 

Key personnel may be difficult to attract and retain.

 

Our success depends to a large extent upon the efforts and abilities of a number of key employees and officers, particularly those with expertise in the semiconductor manufacturing and similar industrial manufacturing industries. The loss of key employees or officers could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We believe that our future success will depend in part on our ability to attract and retain highly skilled technical, financial, managerial and marketing personnel. We cannot be certain that we will be successful in attracting and retaining such personnel.

Our proprietary technology is important to the continued success of our business. Our failure to protect this proprietary technology may significantly impair our competitive position.

 

As of December 31, 2008, we owned 336 U.S. patents, 235 foreign patents and had 127 pending U.S. patent applications. Although we seek to protect our intellectual property rights through patents, copyrights, trade secrets and other measures, we cannot be certain that:

 

 

Protection of our intellectual property rights may result in costly litigation.

 

Litigation may be necessary in order to enforce our patents, copyrights or other intellectual property rights, to protect our trade secrets, to determine the validity and scope of the proprietary rights of others or to defend against claims of infringement. We are, from time to time, involved in lawsuits enforcing or defending our intellectual property rights and may be involved in such litigation in the future. Such litigation could result in substantial costs and diversion of resources and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

 

We may need to expend significant time and expense to protect our intellectual property regardless of the validity or successful outcome of such intellectual property claims. If we lose any litigation, we may be required to seek licenses from others or change, stop manufacturing or stop selling some of our products.

 

The market price of our common stock has fluctuated and may continue to fluctuate for reasons over which we have no control.

 

The stock market has from time to time experienced, and is likely to continue to experience, extreme price and volume fluctuations. Prices of securities of technology companies have been especially volatile and have often fluctuated for reasons that are unrelated to the operating performance of the companies. The market price of shares of our common stock has fluctuated greatly since our initial public offering and could continue to fluctuate due to a variety of factors. In the past, companies that have experienced volatility in the market price of their stock have been the objects of securities class action litigation. If we were the object of securities class action litigation, it could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources.

 

Our dependence on sole, limited source suppliers, and international suppliers, could affect our ability to manufacture products and systems.

 

We rely on sole, limited source suppliers and international suppliers for a few of our components and subassemblies that are critical to the manufacturing of our products. This reliance involves several risks, including the following:

 

 

We believe that in time we could obtain and qualify alternative sources for most sole, limited source and international supplier parts. Seeking alternative sources of the parts could require us to redesign our systems, resulting in increased costs and likely shipping delays. We may be unable to redesign our systems, which could result in further costs and shipping delays. These increased costs would decrease our profit margins if we could not

pass the costs to our customers. Further, shipping delays could damage our relationships with current and potential customers and have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

 

We are subject to governmental regulations. If we fail to comply with these regulations, our business could be harmed.

 

We are subject to federal, state, local and foreign regulations, including environmental regulations and regulations relating to the design and operation of our products. We must ensure that the affected products meet a variety of standards, many of which vary across the countries in which our systems are used. For example, the European Union has published directives specifically relating to power supplies. In addition, the European Union has issued directives relating to regulation of recycling and hazardous substances, which may be applicable to our products, or to which some customers may voluntarily elect to adhere to. In addition, China has adopted, and certain other Asian countries have indicated an intention to adopt, similar regulations. We must comply with any applicable regulation adopted in connection with these types of directives in order to ship affected products into countries that adopt these types of regulations. We believe we are in compliance with current applicable regulations, directives and standards and have obtained all necessary permits, approvals, and authorizations to conduct our business. However, compliance with future regulations, directives and standards, or customer demands beyond such requirements, could require us to modify or redesign certain systems, make capital expenditures or incur substantial costs. If we do not comply with current or future regulations, directives and standards:

 

 

Some provisions of our restated articles of organization, as amended, our amended and restated by-laws and Massachusetts law could discourage potential acquisition proposals and could delay or prevent a change in control of us.

 

Anti-takeover provisions could diminish the opportunities for stockholders to participate in tender offers, including tender offers at a price above the then current market price of the common stock. Such provisions may also inhibit increases in the market price of the common stock that could result from takeover attempts. For example, while we have no present plans to issue any preferred stock, our board of directors, without further stockholder approval, may issue preferred stock that could have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control of us. The issuance of preferred stock could adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our common stock, including the loss of voting control to others. In addition, our amended and restated by-laws provide for a classified board of directors consisting of three classes. The classified board could also have the effect of delaying, deterring or preventing a change in control of the Company.

 

Changes in financial accounting standards may adversely affect our reported results of operations.

 

A change in accounting standards or practices could have a significant effect on our reported results and may even affect our reporting of transactions completed before the change was effective. New accounting pronouncements and varying interpretations of existing accounting pronouncements have occurred and may occur in the future. Such changes may adversely affect our reported financial results or may impact our related business practice.

 

For example, Statement on Financial Accounting Standards No. 123R “Share-Based Payment” (“SFAS 123R”), which requires us to measure all employee stock-based compensation awards using a fair value method and record such expense in our consolidated financial statements, was adopted in the first quarter of 2006, and had a material adverse impact on our consolidated financial statements as reported under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States for the first quarter of 2006 and adversely impacted our consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2006.

 

None.

 

 

The following table provides information concerning MKS’ principal and certain other owned and leased facilities as of December 31, 2008:

 

 

 

 

In addition to manufacturing and other operations conducted at the foregoing leased or owned facilities, MKS provides worldwide sales, customer support and services from various other leased facilities throughout the world not listed in the table above. See “Business — Sales, Marketing and Support.”

 

 

We filed suit against Celerity, Inc. in federal district court in Texas on September 8, 2008 for infringement of two of our patents relating to our PiMFC technology. The complaint was amended on September 9, 2008 to include a claim of infringement for one additional related MKS patent, which had issued earlier that day. We dismissed the suit without prejudice on February 6, 2009.

 

We are also subject to various other legal proceedings and claims, which have arisen in the ordinary course of business. In the opinion of management, the ultimate disposition of these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

 

No matters were submitted to a vote of security holders during the fourth quarter of 2008 through the solicitation of proxies or otherwise.

 

 

Price Range of Common Stock

 

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol MKSI. On February 18, 2009, the closing price of our common stock, as reported on the NASDAQ Global Market, was $14.62 per share. The following table sets forth for the periods indicated the high and low bid prices per share of our common stock as reported by the NASDAQ Global Market.

 

 

On February 18, 2009, we had approximately 572 stockholders of record.

 

Dividend Policy

 

We have never declared or paid any cash dividends on our common stock. We currently intend to retain earnings, if any, to support our growth strategy and do not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Payment of future dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of our board of directors after taking into account various factors, including our financial condition, operating results and current and anticipated cash needs.

Comparative Stock Performance

 

The following graph compares the cumulative total shareholder return (assuming reinvestment of dividends) from investing $100 on December 31, 2003, and plotted at the last trading day of each of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008, in each of (i) the Company’s Common Stock; (ii) an industry group index of semiconductor equipment/material manufacturers (the “Hemscott Group Index”), compiled by Hemscott Data (“Hemscott”), a business owned by Morningstar, Inc.; and (iii) the NASDAQ Market Index of companies (the “NASDAQ Market Index”). The graph was compiled by Hemscott. The stock price performance on the graph below is not necessarily indicative of future price performance. The Company’s Common Stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Market under the ticker symbol “MKSI.”

 

Performance Graph

COMPARISON OF CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN OF
ONE OR MORE COMPANIES, PEER GROUPS,
INDUSTRY INDEXES AND/OR BROAD MARKETS

 

 

Assumes $100 invested on Dec. 31, 2003

Assumes dividend reinvested

Fiscal Year Ending Dec. 31, 2008

 

 

The information included under the heading “Performance Graph” in Item 5 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is “furnished” and not “filed” and shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or subject to Regulation 14A, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Exchange Act, or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

Purchases of Equity Securities

 

On February 12, 2007, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program (the “Program”) for the repurchase of up to $300 million of our outstanding stock over the next two years. The repurchases were made from time to time on the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. The timing and amount of any shares repurchased under the Program were dependent upon a variety of factors, including price, corporate and regulatory requirements, capital availability, and other market conditions. During the year ended December 31, 2008, we repurchased 5,667,000 shares of common stock for $116 million for an average price of $20.42 per share. The Program expired on February 11, 2009 with no additional share repurchases in 2009. The following table provides information about purchases by the Company during the quarter ended December 31, 2008 of equity securities that are registered by the Company pursuant to Section 12 of the Exchange Act:

 

PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

 

 

 

 

Selected Consolidated Financial Data

 

 

 

 

Overview

 

We are a leading worldwide provider of instruments, subsystems and process control solutions that measure, control, power, monitor and analyze critical parameters to improve process performance and productivity of advanced manufacturing processes.

 

We are managed as one operating segment. We group our products into three product groups: Instruments and Control Systems, Power and Reactive Gas Products and Vacuum Products. Our products are derived from our core competencies in pressure measurement and control, materials delivery, gas composition analysis, electrostatic charge management, control and information technology, power and reactive gas generation and vacuum technology. Our products are used in diverse markets, applications and processes. Our primary served markets are manufacturers of capital equipment for semiconductor devices, and for other thin film applications including flat panel displays, solar cells, data storage media and other advanced coatings. We also leverage our technology in other markets with advanced manufacturing applications including medical equipment, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and energy generation and environmental monitoring.

 

We have a diverse base of customers that includes manufacturers of semiconductor capital equipment and semiconductor devices, thin film capital equipment used in the manufacture of flat panel displays, solar cells, data storage media, and other coating applications; and other industrial, medical and manufacturing companies, and university, government and industrial research laboratories. During the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, we estimate that approximately 57%, 68% and 70% of our net sales, respectively, were to semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers and semiconductor device manufacturers. We expect that sales to semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers and semiconductor device manufacturers will continue to account for a substantial portion of our sales.

 

Our product revenues sold to our other markets, which exclude semiconductor capital equipment and semiconductor device product applications, increased by 8.3% for the year ended December 31, 2008. This is mainly due to increased sales to the solar market, which is one of our fastest growing markets. We continued to penetrate the solar market in 2008 which was demonstrated by several product design wins for our technologies and the increase in our solar customer base.

 

Recent reductions in demand for the products manufactured by semiconductor capital equipment manufacturers and semiconductor device manufacturers have adversely affected our business. Our product sales during the year ended December 31, 2008 to these customers have decreased by 35%. However, the semiconductor capital equipment industry is subject to rapid demand shifts, which are difficult to predict, and we are uncertain how long these sales levels may be maintained or the timing or extent of any future downturn or upturn in the semiconductor capital equipment industry. As we enter 2009, global economic uncertainty is prolonging a steep downturn in semiconductor capital equipment spending and adversely affecting our business, financial condition and results of operations. Although we cannot predict when demand from these customers will rebound, we expect further decreases in demand from these customers during 2009 and as a result we are estimating lower sequential revenues for the quarter ended March 31, 2009 compared to December 31, 2008 as a result of the continuing downturn.

 

A significant portion of our net sales is to operations in international markets. International net sales include sales by our foreign subsidiaries, but exclude direct export sales. International net sales accounted for approximately 43%, 39% and 34% of net sales for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively, a significant portion of which were sales in Japan. We expect that international net sales will continue to represent a significant percentage of our total net sales.

 

Recent Acquisitions

 

On November 7, 2007, we acquired Yield Dynamics, Inc. (“YDI”), a provider of yield management technology located in Sunnyvale, California. YDI’s data and yield management software, along with MKS’ portfolio of sensors that control critical processes, data collection and integration hardware, and real-time fault detection and classification software, provides a comprehensive offering for generating, collecting and analyzing process sensor data and correlating the data to wafers, chambers and tools across the semiconductor fab as well as

other thin film manufacturing processes. The purchase price consisted of $23.7 million in cash, net of $0.7 million in cash acquired, and $0.4 million in acquisition related costs. The purchase agreement includes contingent payments of up to $10.0 million based upon achieving specific annual and cumulative revenue targets between 2008 and 2010. There were no contingent payments earned in 2008.

 

On October 11, 2006, we completed our acquisition of Novx Corp. (“Novx”), a provider of electrostatic charge monitoring technology for semiconductor, data storage, telecommunication, medical device and other markets. Novx’s technology expands our capability to monitor, detect and control electrostatic charge in advanced process environments, such as semiconductor and hard disk drive manufacturing. The total purchase price was $2.6 million.

 

On January 3, 2006, we completed our acquisition of Ion Systems, Inc. (“Ion”), a leading provider of electrostatic management solutions located in Alameda, California, pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated November 25, 2005. Ion’s ionization technology monitors electrostatic charges to reduce process contamination and improve yields, which complements our process monitoring and control technologies. The aggregate purchase price consisted of $68.1 million in cash, net of $5.1 million in cash acquired, and $0.8 million in acquisition related costs.

 

Additionally, on January 3, 2006, we completed our acquisition of Umetrics, AB (“Umetrics”), a leader in multivariate data analysis and modeling software located in Umea, Sweden, pursuant to a Sale and Purchase Agreement dated December 15, 2005. Umetrics’ multivariate data analysis and modeling software converts process data into useable information for yield improvement, when linked with our open and modular platform of process sensors and data collection, integration, data storage, and visualization capabilities. The purchase price consisted of $27.4 million in cash, net of $2.6 million in cash acquired, and $0.4 million in acquisition related costs.

 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

 

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations discusses our consolidated financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to revenue recognition and allowance for doubtful accounts, inventory, warranty costs, stock-based compensation expense, intangible assets, goodwill and other long-lived assets, in-process research and development and income taxes. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and on various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

 

We believe the following critical accounting policies affect the most significant judgments, assumptions and estimates we use in preparing our consolidated financial statements:

 

Revenue Recognition and Accounts Receivable Allowances.  Revenue from product sales is recorded upon transfer of title and risk of loss to the customer provided that there is evidence of an arrangement, the sales price is fixed or determinable, and collection of the related receivable is reasonably assured. In most transactions, we have no obligations to our customers after the date products are shipped other than pursuant to warranty obligations. In some instances, we provide installation, training, support and services to customers after the product has been shipped. We defer the fair value of any undelivered elements until the undelivered element is delivered. Fair value is the price charged when the element is sold separately. Shipping and handling fees billed to customers, if any, are recognized as revenue. The related shipping and handling costs are recognized in cost of sales.

 

We monitor and track the amount of product returns, provide for accounts receivable allowances and reduce revenue at the time of shipment for the estimated amount of such future returns, based on historical experience. While product returns have historically been within our expectations and the provisions established, there is no assurance that we will continue to experience the same return rates that we have in the past. Any significant increase

in product return rates could have a material adverse impact on our operating results for the period or periods in which such returns materialize.

 

While we maintain a credit approval process, significant judgments are made by management in connection with assessing our customers’ ability to pay at the time of shipment. Despite this assessment, from time to time, our customers are unable to meet their payment obligations. We continuously monitor our customers’ credit worthiness, and use our judgment in establishing a provision for estimated credit losses based upon our historical experience and any specific customer collection issues that we have identified. While such credit losses have historically been within our expectations and the provisions established, there is no assurance that we will continue to experience the same credit loss rates that we have in the past. A significant change in the liquidity or financial position of our customers could have a material adverse impact on the collectability of accounts receivable and our future operating results.

 

Inventory.  We value our inventory at the lower of cost (first-in, first-out method) or market. We regularly review inventory quantities on hand and record a provision to write down excess and obsolete inventory to our estimated net realizable value, if less than cost, based primarily on our estimated forecast of product demand. Demand for our products can fluctuate significantly. A significant increase in the demand for our products could result in a short-term increase in the cost of inventory purchases as a result of supply shortages or a decrease in the cost of inventory purchases as a result of volume discounts, while a significant decrease in demand could result in an increase in the charges for excess inventory quantities on hand. In addition, our industry is subject to technological change, new product development and product technological obsolescence that could result in an increase in the amount of obsolete inventory quantities on hand. Therefore, any significant unanticipated changes in demand or technological developments could have a significant impact on the value of our inventory and our reported operating results. Due to a sharp decrease in demand during the fourth quarter of 2008, we took a charge for excess and obsolete inventory of $6.5 million. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2008, our total charges for excess and obsolete inventory totaled $11.4 million.

 

Warranty costs.  We provide for the estimated costs to fulfill customer warranty obligations upon the recognition of the related revenue. We provide warranty coverage for our products ranging from 12 to 36 months, with the majority of our products ranging from 12 to 24 months. We estimate the anticipated costs of repairing our products under such warranties based on the historical costs of the repairs and any known specific product issues. The assumptions we use to estimate warranty accruals are reevaluated periodically in light of actual experience and, when appropriate, the accruals are adjusted. Our determination of the appropriate level of warranty accrual is based upon estimates. Should product failure rates differ from our estimates, actual costs could vary significantly from our expectations.

 

Stock-Based Compensation Expense.  We account for share-based compensation expense in accordance with SFAS 123R, which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to employees and directors based on estimated fair values. We have estimated the fair value of share-based options on the date of grant using the Black Scholes pricing model, which is affected by our stock price as well as assumptions regarding a number of complex and subjective variables. These variables include our expected stock price volatility over the term of the awards, actual and projected employee option exercise behaviors, risk free interest rate and expected dividends. We are also required to estimate forfeitures at the time of grant and revise those estimates in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates.

 

Management determined that blended volatility, a combination of historical and implied volatility, is more reflective of market conditions and a better indicator of expected volatility than historical or implied volatility. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of share-based payment awards represent management’s best estimates, but these estimates involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management judgment. As a result, if factors change and we use different assumptions, our stock-based compensation expense could be materially different in the future.

 

Intangible assets, goodwill and other long-lived assets.  As a result of our acquisitions, we have identified intangible assets and generated significant goodwill. Intangible assets are valued based on estimates of future cash flows and amortized over their estimated useful life. Goodwill is subject to annual impairment testing as well as testing upon the occurrence of any event that indicates a potential impairment. Intangible assets and other long-lived

assets are subject to an impairment test if there is an indicator of impairment. The carrying value and ultimate realization of these assets is dependent upon estimates of future earnings and benefits that we expect to generate from their use. If our expectations of future results and cash flows are significantly diminished, intangible assets and goodwill may be impaired and the resulting charge to operations may be material. When we determine that the carrying value of intangibles or other long-lived assets may not be recoverable based upon the existence of one or more indicators of impairment, we use the projected undiscounted cash flow method to determine whether an impairment exists, and then measure the impairment using discounted cash flows. To measure impairment for goodwill, we compare the fair value of our reporting units by measuring discounted cash flows to the book value of the reporting units. Goodwill would be impaired if the resulting implied fair value of goodwill was less than the recorded book value of the goodwill.

 

During the fourth quarter of 2008, we incurred an intangible asset impairment charge of $6.1 million related to the acquired Yield Dynamics (“YDI”) customer technologies, relationships, and patents and trademarks. The impairment charge was primarily related to lower than previously estimated revenues from our YDI management software due to the macroeconomic environment and industry downturn.

 

The estimation of useful lives and expected cash flows require us to make significant judgments regarding future periods that are subject to some factors outside of our control. Changes in these estimates can result in significant revisions to the carrying value of these assets and may result in material charges to the results of operations.

 

We have elected to perform our annual goodwill impairment testing as required under FAS 142 on October 31 of each fiscal year, or more often if events or circumstances indicate that there may be impairment. Reporting units are defined as operating segments or one level below an operating segment, referred to as a component. We have determined that our reporting units are components of our one operating segment. We allocate goodwill to reporting units at the time of acquisition and base that allocation on which reporting units will benefit from the acquired assets and liabilities. The estimated fair values of our reporting units were based on discounted cash flow models derived from internal earnings and external market forecasts. Assumptions in estimating future cash flows are subject to a high degree of judgment and complexity. We make every effort to forecast these future cash flows as accurately as possible with the information available at the time the forecast is developed. Based on current results and expectations and our analysis, we have determined that the fair values of our reporting units continue to exceed their carrying values. Therefore, we determined that no goodwill impairment charge was required as of December 31, 2008. Due to the ongoing uncertainty in market conditions, which may continue to negatively impact the financial performance of our reporting units, we will continue to monitor and evaluate the carrying value of goodwill. Earnings forecasts relating to our reporting units have generally declined over the past few quarters. If market and economic conditions or business performance deteriorate further, this could increase the likelihood of us recording an impairment charge.

 

In-process research and development.  We value tangible and intangible assets acquired through our business acquisitions, including in-process research and development (“IPR&D”), at fair value. We determine IPR&D through established valuation techniques for various projects for the development of new products and technologies and expense IPR&D when technical feasibility is not reached. The value of IPR&D is determined using the income approach, which discounts expected future cash flows from projects under development to their net present value. Each project is analyzed and estimates and judgments are made to determine the technological innovations included in the utilization of core technology, the complexity, cost and time to complete development, any alternative future use or current technological feasibility and the stage of completion. If we acquire other companies with IPR&D in the future, we will value the IPR&D through established valuation techniques and will incur future IPR&D charges if those products under development have not reached technical feasibility.

 

Income taxes.  We evaluate the realizability of our net deferred tax assets and assess the need for a valuation allowance on a quarterly basis. The future benefit to be derived from our deferred tax assets is dependent upon our ability to generate sufficient future taxable income to realize the assets. We record a valuation allowance to reduce our net deferred tax assets to the amount that may be more likely than not to be realized. To the extent we established a valuation allowance, an expense is recorded within the provision for income taxes line in the statement of operations. In future periods, if we were to determine that it was more likely than not that we would not be able to

realize the recorded amount of our remaining net deferred tax assets, an adjustment to the valuation allowance would be recorded as an increase to income tax expense in the period such determination was made.

 

We adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 48, “Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes” (“FIN 48”) as of January 1, 2007. FIN 48 contains a two-step approach to recognizing and measuring uncertain tax positions accounted for in accordance with SFAS No. 109, “Accounting for Income Taxes.” The first step is to evaluate the tax position for recognition by determining if the weight of available evidence indicates that it is more likely than not that the position will be sustained upon audit, including resolutions of related appeals or litigation processes, if any. The second step is to measure the tax benefit as the largest amount that is more than 50% likely of being realized upon ultimate settlement. We reevaluate these uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis. This evaluation is based on factors including, but not limited to, changes in facts or circumstances, changes in tax law, effectively settled issues under audit and new audit activity. Any change in these factors could result in the recognition of a tax benefit or an additional charge to the tax provision.

 

Results of Operations

 

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated, the percentage of total net sales of certain line items included in our consolidated statement of operations data:

 

 

Year Ended 2008 Compared to 2007 and 2006

 

Net Revenues

 

 

Product revenues decreased $147.6 million or 20.8% during the year ended December 31, 2008 mainly due to a decrease in worldwide demand from our semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer and semiconductor device manufacturer customers compared to the same period for the prior year. Product revenues related to these customers decreased $166.3 million or 34.5% compared to the same period for the prior year. This decrease was partially offset by an $18.7 million or 8.3% increase in revenues related to other markets, mainly solar. Our domestic product

revenues decreased by $114.8 million or 25.6% mainly due to a high concentration of sales to the semiconductor capital equipment and device manufacturer customers. Our international product revenues decreased $32.8 million or 12.6% during the year ended December 31, 2008. This decrease consists of a $59.0 million decrease in product revenues from our semiconductor customers offset by an increase of $26.2 million related to other markets, mainly solar.

 

Product revenues decreased $12.2 million or 1.7% during the year ended December 31, 2007 mainly due to a decrease in demand from our semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer customers compared to the same period for the prior year. Product revenues related to these customers decreased $26.4 million or 5.2% compared to the same period for the prior year. This decrease was partially offset by a $14.2 million or 6.7% increase in revenues related to other markets. Our domestic product revenues decreased by $39.8 million or 8.2% mainly due to a high concentration of sales to the semiconductor capital equipment and device manufacturer customers. Our international product revenues increased $27.6 million or 11.9% during the year ended December 31, 2007. This increase is mainly due to increased demand from our semiconductor capital equipment manufacturer customers.

 

Service revenues consisted mainly of fees for services related to the maintenance and repair of our products, software maintenance, installation services and training. Service revenues increased $14.1 million and $9.9 million for the years ended 2008 and 2007, respectively. The increases are mainly due to a higher installed base of products and increased software maintenance fees.

 

Total international net revenues were $281.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 or 43.5% of net sales compared to $302.7 million for the same period of 2007 or 38.8% of net sales and $266.9 million or 34.1% of net sales for the year ended December 31, 2006.

 

Gross Profit

 

 

Gross profit on product revenues decreased by 2.7 percentage points for the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to the prior year. The decrease consists of approximately 3.2 lower percentage points from decreased revenue volumes, 0.4 percentage points from unfavorable foreign currency fluctuations and 0.8 percentage points from additional excess and obsolete inventory charges. These decreases were offset by 1.7 percentage points from lower overhead spending due to lower sales volumes and favorable product mix.

 

Gross profit on product revenues decreased by 0.4 percentage points for the year ended December 31, 2007 compared to the prior year. The decrease is mainly due to higher overhead costs offset by lower warranty costs in 2007.

 

Cost of service revenues consists primarily of costs of providing services for repair and training which includes salaries and related expenses and other fixed costs. Service gross profit increased by 3.0 percentage points for the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to the prior year. The increase is a result of increased revenue volumes partly related to our Yield Dynamics acquisition (“Yield acquisition”) in the fourth quarter of 2007. Gross profit decreased 2.6 percentage points for the year ended December 31, 2007 primarily due to increased material costs.

 

Research and Development

 

 

Our research and development is primarily focused on developing and improving our instruments, components, subsystems and process control solutions to improve process performance and productivity.

We have hundreds of products and our research and development efforts primarily consist of a large number of projects related to these products, none of which is individually material to us. Current projects typically have a duration of 12 to 30 months depending upon whether the product is an enhancement of existing technology or a new product. Our current initiatives include projects to enhance the performance characteristics of older products, to develop new products and to integrate various technologies into subsystems. These projects support in large part the transition in the semiconductor industry to larger wafer sizes and smaller integrated circuit geometries, which require more advanced process control technology. Research and development expenses consist primarily of salaries and related expenses for personnel engaged in research and development, fees paid to consultants, material costs for prototypes and other expenses related to the design, development, testing and enhancement of our products as well as legal costs associated with maintaining and defending our intellectual property.

 

Research and development expense increased $3.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to the prior year, mainly due to $3.7 million in expenses related to the Yield acquisition and $1.0 million in other research and development costs, primarily patent legal fees. These increases were offset by $0.8 million in lower compensation expenses as a result of decreased staffing levels.

 

Research and development expense increased $2.4 million during the year ended December 31, 2007 mainly due to $1.9 million in increased compensation, resulting from increased headcount, and $1.8 million in consulting expenses, primarily offset by $0.8 million in lower project material costs as compared to the same period in the prior year.

 

We believe that the continued investment in research and development and ongoing development of new products are essential to the expansion of our markets, and expect to continue to make significant investment in research and development activities. We are subject to risks if products are not developed in a timely manner, due to rapidly changing customer requirements and competitive threats from other companies and technologies. Our success primarily depends on our products being designed into new generations of equipment for the semiconductor industry. We develop products that are technologically advanced so that they are positioned to be chosen for use in each successive generation of semiconductor capital equipment. If our products are not chosen to be designed into our customers’ products, our net sales may be reduced during the lifespan of those products.

 

Selling, General and Administrative

 

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses decreased $2.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to the prior year. The decrease includes a $5.6 million decrease in consulting and professional fees and a $2.3 million decrease in foreign exchange costs. These decreases were partially offset by a $5.3 million increase related to the Yield acquisition and a $1.0 million increase in facilities costs related to the relocated corporate headquarters. The decrease in consulting and professional fees was due primarily to lower IT infrastructure spending. The foreign exchange gains during the year ended December 31, 2008 were primarily attributable to the settlement of cash and intercompany loans at different foreign exchange rates in connection with a legal entity consolidation in the first quarter of 2008 between some of our foreign subsidiaries.

 

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased $7.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2007 primarily due to $3.8 million of increased IT spending to support current and future initiatives including the implementation of an ERP system, $0.7 million in increased compensation, an $0.9 million increase in costs of operating facilities mainly in Asia, and by $1.1 million in foreign currency exchange losses as compared to the same period in the prior year.

 

Amortization of Acquired Intangible Assets

 

Amortization expense for the year ended December 31, 2008 decreased $7.2 million primarily related to intangible assets from earlier acquisitions that became fully amortized during the year ended December 31, 2008.

 

Amortization expense for the year ended December 31, 2007 decreased $1.2 million primarily related to intangible assets from earlier acquisitions that became fully amortized during the year ended December 31, 2007.

 

Purchase of in-process technology

 

 

In-process research and development amounts related to our acquisition of YDI in 2007 and Ion and Umetrics in 2006. The purchase price of the acquisitions was allocated to the assets acquired, including intangible assets, based on estimated fair values. The intangible assets included acquired in-process technology for projects, generally expected to have durations of 12 months, which did not have alternative future uses. Accordingly, these costs were expensed in the year of acquisition.

 

Interest Income, Net

 

 

Net interest income decreased $8.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2008 compared to the prior year mainly related to lower average outstanding cash and investment balances in 2008 and lower average rates. The lower cash and investment balances were mainly a result of our stock repurchase program.

 

Net interest income increased $6.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2007 compared to the prior year mainly related to higher average outstanding cash and investment balances in 2007 and higher average rates.

 

Impairments

 

 

During the fourth quarter of 2008, we incurred an intangible asset impairment charge of $6.1 million related to the acquired Yield customer technologies, relationships, and patents and trademarks. The impairment charge was primarily related to lower than previously estimated revenues from our YDI management software due to the macroeconomic environment and industry downturn. The lower estimated future cash flows were based on the amount by which the carrying value of the intangible assets exceeded the estimated fair value. Fair value was determined based on a discounted estimate of future cash flows expected to be derived from the intangible assets.

 

During the fourth quarter of 2007, we determined that declines in the fair value of our investments in certain commercial paper were other-than-temporary. This commercial paper was issued by two structured investment vehicles (SIVs) that entered into receivership during the fourth quarter of 2007 and they failed to make payments at maturity. Due to the mortgage-related assets these issuers held, they were exposed to adverse market conditions that affected the value of their collateral and their ability to access short-term funding. These investments are not currently trading on active markets, and therefore, have no readily determinable market value. As a result of our evaluation as of December 31, 2007, we recorded a $1.5 million impairment charge to earnings, based upon receiving contemporaneous quotes from established third-party pricing services.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2008, we recorded additional net impairment charges of $0.9 million related to these two investments. We liquidated our position in these two impaired investments during the third quarter of 2008, one by sale and the other by a structured payment. We received a combined total of $3.4 million from the

settlement of these investments during 2008. The liquidation of these two impaired investments leaves the remaining portfolio consisting of direct U.S. Government and Agency obligations and high quality, liquid, short term corporate debt obligations.

 

Provision for Income Taxes

 

 

The provision for income taxes in 2008, 2007 and 2006 are comprised of federal, state and foreign income taxes.

 

Our effective tax rate for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006 was 26.6%, 28.0% and 28.0%, respectively. The effective tax rate in 2008 is less than the statutory tax rate primarily due to the benefit from federal research and development credits, the profits of our international subsidiaries being taxed at rates lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate, and discrete reserve releases.

 

The effective tax rate in 2007 is less than the statutory tax rate primarily due to the benefit from the federal research and development credits and the profits of our international subsidiaries being taxed at rates lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate.

 

The effective tax rate in 2006 is less than the statutory tax rate primarily due to certain discrete tax matters related to our international operations, the benefit from the federal research and development credits, the reduction in the valuation allowance for state tax credits, and the profits of our international subsidiaries being taxed at rates lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate.

 

We adopted FASB Interpretation 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes (“FIN 48”), as of January 1, 2007. At December 31, 2007, the total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits, which excludes interest and penalties discussed below, was approximately $16.1 million. If these benefits were recognized in a future period, the timing of which is not estimable, the net unrecognized tax benefit of $13.2 million would impact our effective tax rate. The total amount of gross unrecognized tax benefits at December 31, 2008 was approximately $14.7 million, excluding penalties and interest. The decrease from January 1, 2007 was primarily attributable to the close of U.S. statute of limitations on the 2004 tax year. At December 31, 2008, if these benefits were recognized in a future period, the timing of which is not estimable, the net unrecognized tax benefit of approximately $11.8 million, excluding penalties and interest, would impact our effective tax rate.

 

MKS and its subsidiaries are subject to U.S. federal income tax as well as the income tax of multiple state and foreign jurisdictions. We have concluded all U.S. federal income tax matters for years through 2002. While the U.S. 2004 federal tax year is closed, the 2003 federal tax year remains open to the extent of the loss carryforward to 2005. As of December 31, 2008 and currently, we are under a federal audit for the 2005 and 2006 tax years, as well as other ongoing audits in various other tax jurisdictions for various years.

 

Over the next 12 months it is reasonably possible that we may recognize $8.0 million to $8.5 million of previously unrecognized tax benefits related to various federal, state and foreign tax positions as a result of the conclusion of various audits and the expiration of the statute of limitations. The following tax years, in the major tax jurisdictions noted, are open for assessment or refund: U.S. Federal: 2003, 2005 to 2007, Germany: 2001 to 2007, Korea: 2006 to 2007, Japan: 2001 to 2007, and the United Kingdom: 2006 and 2007.

 

We accrue interest and penalties, if applicable, for any uncertain tax positions. This interest and penalty expense is a component of income tax expense. At December 31, 2008 and at December 31, 2007, we had $1.7 million and $1.5 million, respectively, accrued for interest on unrecognized tax benefits.

 

On a quarterly basis, we evaluate both positive and negative evidence that bears on the realizability of net deferred tax assets and assesses the need for a valuation allowance. The future benefit to be derived from its deferred tax assets is dependent upon its ability to generate sufficient future taxable income to realize the assets. During the year ended December 31, 2008, we increased our valuation allowance by $3.3 million for state tax credit carryforwards and $0.8 million for federal capital loss carryforwards, as we determined it is more likely than

not that the deferred tax assets related to these attributes will not be realized. In addition, we recorded a benefit to income tax expense of $3.0 million due to discrete reserve releases primarily related to the close of statute of limitations.

 

During the year ended December 31, 2007, we amended prior federal tax returns to reflect revised estimates for qualifying federal research and development costs that allowed us to claim additional research tax credits. As a result of this claim, we recorded a benefit to income tax expense of $1.8 million.

 

During the year ended December 31, 2006, we received a notification letter from the Israeli Ministry of Industry Trade and Labor (“MITL”) indicating that our Israeli operations were in compliance with requirements relating to the tax holiday granted to our manufacturing operations in Israel in 2001. This tax holiday is anticipated to expire in 2011 and is subject to meeting continued investment, employment and other requirements under the guidelines of the MITL. Additionally, we recorded the impact of both a change in German tax rules allowing interest deductions on certain loans and an adjustment relating to transfer pricing. As a result of these items we recorded a net benefit to income tax expense of $1.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2006.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities totaled $278.9 million at December 31, 2008 compared to $323.8 million at December 31, 2007. This decrease was mainly due to $115.7 million of cash used to repurchase common stock and $13.5 million of cash used to purchase property, plant and equipment offset by an increase of $89.8 million of cash provided by operations. The primary driver in our current and anticipated future cash flows is and will continue to be cash generated from operations, consisting mainly of our net income and changes in operating assets and liabilities. In periods when our sales are growing, higher sales to customers will result in increased trade receivables, and inventories will generally increase as we build products for future sales. This may result in lower cash generated from operations. Conversely, in periods when our sales are declining, our trade accounts receivable and inventory balances will generally decrease, resulting in increased cash from operations.

 

Net cash provided by operating activities was $89.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 and resulted mainly from net income of $30.1 million, a $38.3 million decrease in operating assets, non-cash charges of $30.5 million for depreciation, amortization and impairments, a $15.3 million charge for stock-based compensation, a decrease in net operating liabilities of $16.8 million and a deferred tax benefit of $5.0 million. The decrease in operating assets consisted of a $23.6 million decrease in accounts receivable as a result of lower sales in the last two months of 2008 compared to 2007 and an $18.5 million decrease in inventories due to lower ordering levels and additional charges for excess and obsolete inventory. The decrease in operating liabilities is mainly caused by a decrease of $9.2 million in accounts payable primarily as a result of lower inventory procurement activities and a decrease of $4.4 million in accrued expenses and other current liabilities primarily as a result of lower accrued compensation.

 

Net cash provided by operating activities was $119.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2007 and resulted mainly from net income of $86.4 million, a $26.1 million decrease in operating liabilities and non-cash charges of $30.6 million for depreciation and amortization and $12.9 million for stock-based compensation, and a decrease in net operating assets of $20.2 million and a deferred tax benefit of $10.3 million. The $26.1 million net decrease in operating liabilities is mainly caused by a decrease of $18.9 million in accounts payable primarily as a result of inventory procurement activities and a decrease of $6.6 million in accrued expenses and other current liabilities primarily as a result of lower accrued compensation and warranty costs. The $20.2 million decrease in operating assets consisted primarily of an $18.3 million decrease in accounts receivable as a result of lower sales in the last two months of 2007 compared to 2006.

 

Net cash used in investing activities was $74.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2008 and resulted primarily from the net purchases of $60.7 million of available for sale investments and purchases of property, plant and equipment of $13.5 million. The purchases of property, plant and equipment relate to leasehold improvements in Japan to facilitate a consolidation of facilities, IT hardware to reduce system operating costs in the future and test equipment. Net cash used in investing activities of $60.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2007, resulted primarily from the purchase of one technology company for $24.0 million, purchases of property, plant and

equipment of $15.1 million, including approximately $6.3 million related to our new China facility and net purchases of $23.7 million of available for sale investments.

 

Net cash used in financing activities of $114.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, resulted from $115.7 million used to repurchase common stock, $4.8 million in net repayment of short-term borrowings and $6.3 million in principal payments on capital lease obligations and long-term debt, primarily to retire a $5.0 million industrial development revenue bond, offset by $8.9 million in proceeds from the exercise of stock options and purchases under our employee stock purchase plan. Net cash used in financing activities of $58.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2007, resulted from $101.2 million used to repurchase common stock and $4.1 million in net repayment of short-term borrowings, offset primarily by $45.3 million in proceeds from the exercises of stock options and purchases under our employee stock purchase plan.

 

On August 1, 2008, we renewed an unsecured short-term LIBOR based loan agreement with a bank to be utilized primarily by our Japanese subsidiary for short-term liquidity purposes. The credit line, which expires on July 31, 2009, allows us to borrow, in multiple currencies, up to an equivalent of $35.0 million U.S. dollars. At December 31, 2008, we had outstanding borrowings of $1.1 million U.S. dollars, payable on demand, at an interest rate of 1.65%, with $33.9 million available for future borrowings.

 

Our Japanese subsidiary also has credit lines and short-term borrowing arrangements with a financial institution, which provide for aggregate borrowings as of December 31, 2008 of up to $27.5 million, which generally expire and are renewed in three-month intervals. At December 31, 2008, total borrowings outstanding under these arrangements were $16.7 million, at interest rates ranging from 1.20% to 1.68%, with $10.8 million available for future borrowings.

 

On January 26, 2009, we committed to a plan of termination with respect to approximately 10% of our workforce. This decision was based on the overall economic slowdown, particularly in the semiconductor capital equipment industry. As a result, we expect to incur approximately $2.5 million in cash expenditures for severance and related costs, which we expect to record in the quarter ending March 31, 2009. We expect annual compensation-related savings of approximately $19.0 million as a result of these reductions.

 

We have provided financial guarantees for certain unsecured borrowings and have standby letters of credit, some of which do not have fixed expiration dates. At December 31, 2008, our maximum exposure as a result of these standby letters of credit and performance bonds was approximately $1.0 million.

 

Future payments due under debt, lease and purchase commitment obligations as of December 31, 2008 are as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

We believe that our working capital, together with the cash anticipated to be generated from operations, will be sufficient to satisfy our estimated working capital and planned capital expenditure requirements through at least the next 12 months.

 

On February 12, 2007, our Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program (the “Program”) for the repurchase of up to $300.0 million of our outstanding stock over the next two years. The repurchases were made from time to time on the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. The timing and amount of any shares repurchased under the Program were dependent upon a variety of factors, including price, corporate and regulatory requirements, capital availability and other market conditions. During the year ended December 31, 2008, we repurchased 5,667,000 shares of common stock for $115.7 million for an average price of $20.42 per share. There were no share repurchases during 2009 and the Program expired on February 11, 2009.

 

To the extent permitted by Massachusetts law, our Restated Articles of Organization, as amended, require us to indemnify any of our current or former officers or directors or any person who has served or is serving in any capacity with respect to any of our employee benefit plans. Because no claim for indemnification has been pursued by any person covered by the relevant provisions of our Restated Articles of Organization, we believe that the estimated exposure for these indemnification obligations is currently minimal. Accordingly, we have no liabilities recorded for these requirements as of December 31, 2008.

 

We also enter into agreements in the ordinary course of business which include indemnification provisions. Pursuant to these agreements, we indemnify, hold harmless and agree to reimburse the indemnified party, generally our customers, for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party in connection with certain patent or other intellectual property infringement claims, and, in some instances, other claims, by any third party with respect to our products. The terms of these indemnification obligations are generally perpetual after execution of the agreements. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make under these indemnification agreements is, in some instances, not contractually limited. We have never incurred costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification obligations. As a result, we believe the estimated fair value of these obligations is minimal. Accordingly, we have no liabilities recorded for these obligations as of December 31, 2008.

 

When, as part of an acquisition, we acquire all of the stock or all of the assets and liabilities of another company, we assume liability for certain events or occurrences that took place prior to the date of acquisition. The maximum potential amount of future payments we could be required to make for such obligations is undeterminable at this time. Other than obligations recorded as liabilities at the time of the acquisitions, historically we have not made significant payments for these indemnifications. Accordingly, no liabilities have been recorded for these obligations.

 

In conjunction with certain asset sales, we may provide routine indemnifications whose terms range in duration and often are not explicitly defined. Where appropriate, an obligation for such indemnifications is recorded as a liability. Because the amounts of liability under these types of indemnifications are not explicitly stated, the overall maximum amount of the obligation under such indemnifications cannot be reasonably estimated. Other than obligations recorded as liabilities at the time of the asset sale, historically we have not made significant payments for these indemnifications.

 

Derivatives

 

We conduct our operations globally. Consequently, the results of our operations are exposed to movements in foreign currency exchange rates. We hedge a portion of our forecasted foreign currency denominated intercompany sales of inventory, over a maximum period of 15 months, using forward foreign exchange contracts (“forward exchange contracts”) primarily related to Japanese, Korean and European currencies. These derivatives are designated as cash-flow hedges, and changes in their fair value are carried in accumulated other comprehensive income in our consolidated statements of stockholder’s equity until the hedged transaction affects earnings. When

the hedged transaction affects earnings, the appropriate gain or loss from the derivative designated as a hedge of the transaction is reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to cost of sales in the consolidated statements of operations. As of December 31, 2008, the unrealized gain that will be reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income to cost of sales over the next twelve months is $0.7 million. The ineffective portions of the derivatives are recorded in selling, general and administrative costs and were immaterial in 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

We also hedge certain intercompany and other payables with forward exchange contracts. Typically, as these derivatives hedge existing amounts that are denominated in foreign currencies, the derivatives do not qualify for hedge accounting. The foreign exchange gain or loss on these derivatives was a gain of $2.7 million in 2008 and was immaterial in 2007 and 2006.

 

Realized and unrealized gains and losses on forward exchange contracts that do not qualify for hedge accounting are recognized immediately in earnings. The cash flows resulting from forward exchange contracts are classified in our consolidated statements of cash flows as part of cash flows from operating activities. We do not hold or issue derivative financial instruments for trading purposes.

 

We had forward exchange contracts with notional amounts totaling $30.6 million outstanding at December 31, 2008 of which $17.3 million were outstanding to exchange Japanese yen for U.S. dollars. We had forward exchange contracts with notional amounts totaling $66.7 million outstanding at December 31, 2007, of which $39.9 million were outstanding to exchange Japanese yen for U.S. dollars. We had forward exchange contracts with notional amounts totaling $20.3 million outstanding at December 31, 2006, of which $14.6 million were outstanding to exchange Japanese yen for U.S. dollars.

 

Gains and losses on forward exchange contracts that qualify for hedge accounting are classified in cost of goods sold, which totaled a loss of $1.2 million, gains of $1.3 million and $1.9 million for the years ended December 31, 2008, 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

We do not have any financial partnerships with unconsolidated entities, such as entities often referred to as structured finance, special purpose entities or variable interest entities which are often established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements or other contractually narrow or limited purposes. Accordingly, we are not exposed to any financing, liquidity, market or credit risk that could arise if we had such relationships.

 

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

 

In December 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued SFAS No. 141(R), “Business Combinations” (“SFAS No. 141R”), which replaces SFAS No. 141. This revised standard requires assets, liabilities and non-controlling interests acquired to be measured at fair value and requires that costs incurred to effect the acquisition be recognized separately from the business combination. In addition, this statement expands the scope to include all transactions and other events in which one entity obtains control over one or more businesses. This statement is effective for all business combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the beginning of the first annual reporting period beginning on or after December 15, 2008. We are in the process of evaluating whether the adoption of this standard will have a material effect on our consolidated financial results.

 

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, “Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements, an Amendment of ARB No. 51” (“SFAS No. 160”). This statement establishes accounting and reporting standards for the non-controlling interest in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary. This statement is effective for fiscal years beginning on or after December 15, 2008. This statement does not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements, as we do not have any minority interests.

 

In March 2008, the FASB issued SFAS No. 161, “Disclosures about Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, an amendment of FASB Statement No. 133” (“SFAS 161”). This statement is intended to improve transparency in financial reporting by requiring enhanced disclosures of an entity’s derivative instruments and hedging activities and their effects on the entity’s financial position, financial performance, and cash flows. SFAS 161 applies to all derivative instruments within the scope of SFAS 133, “Accounting for Derivative

Instruments and Hedging Activities” (“SFAS 133”). Entities with instruments subject to SFAS 161 must provide more robust qualitative disclosures and expanded quantitative disclosures. SFAS 161 is effective prospectively for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after November 15, 2008, with early application permitted. We are currently evaluating the disclosure implications of this statement.

 

In April 2008, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position (“FSP”) No. 142-3, “Determination of the Useful Life of Intangible Assets” (“FSP 142-3”). FSP 142-3 amends the factors an entity should consider in developing renewal or extension assumptions used in determining the useful life of recognized intangible assets under FASB Statement No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.” This new guidance applies prospectively to intangible assets that are acquired individually or with a group of other assets in business combinations and asset acquisitions. FSP 142-3 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2008. Early adoption is prohibited. We are currently evaluating the potential impact of the implementation of FSP 142-3 on our financial position and results of operations.

 

 

Market Risk and Sensitivity Analysis

 

Our primary exposures to market risks include fluctuations in interest rates on our investment portfolio, short and long-term debt as well as fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates.

 

Foreign Exchange Rate Risk

 

We enter into forward exchange contracts to reduce currency exposure arising from intercompany sales of inventory.

 

There were forward exchange contracts with notional amounts totaling $30.6 million and $66.7 million outstanding at December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively. Of such forward exchange contracts, $17.3 million and $39.9 million, respectively, were outstanding to exchange Japanese yen for U.S. dollars with the remaining amounts relating to contracts to exchange the British pound, Korean Won and Euro for U.S. dollars. The potential fair value loss for a hypothetical 10% adverse change in the currency exchange rate on our forward exchange contracts at December 31, 2008 and 2007 would be $3.1 million and $6.7 million, respectively. The potential losses in 2008 and 2007 were estimated by calculating the fair value of the forward exchange contracts at December 31, 2008 and 2007 and comparing that with those calculated using the hypothetical forward currency exchange rates.

 

At December 31, 2008 and 2007 we had $0.6 million and $134.3 million, respectively, in loans outstanding between subsidiaries that were subject to foreign exchange exposure. The majority of the intercompany loans were related to our UK subsidiary, which were incurred in late December 2007 and were repaid in January 2008. At December 31, 2008 and 2007 a hypothetical 10% adverse change in foreign exchange rates would result in a net transaction loss of $0.1 million and $14.9 million, respectively, which would be recorded in current earnings.

 

At December 31, 2008 and 2007, we had $17.8 million and $19.0 million, respectively, related to short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt denominated in Japanese yen. The carrying value of these short-term borrowings approximates fair value due to their short period to maturity. Assuming a hypothetical 10% adverse change in the Japanese yen to U.S. dollar year-end exchange rate, the fair value of these short-term borrowings would increase by $2.0 million and $2.1 million, respectively. The potential increase in fair value was estimated by calculating the fair value of the short-term borrowings at December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively, and comparing that with the fair value using the hypothetical year-end exchange rate.

 

Interest Rate Risk

 

Due to its short-term duration, the fair value of our cash and investment portfolio at December 31, 2008 and 2007 approximated its carrying value. Interest rate risk was estimated as the potential decrease in fair value resulting from a hypothetical 10% increase in interest rates for securities contained in the investment portfolio. The resulting hypothetical fair value was not materially different from the year-end carrying values.

Our total long-term debt outstanding, including the current portion, at December 31, 2008 and 2007 was $0.0 and $5.0 million, respectively, and consisted of a mortgage note and industrial development revenue bond. The interest rate on these debt instruments was 4.0% at December 31, 2007. We repaid the entire debt agreement on July 1, 2008.

 

From time to time, MKS has outstanding short-term borrowings with variable interest rates, primarily denominated in Japanese yen. At December 31, 2008 and 2007, we had $17.8 million and $19.0 million, respectively, outstanding related to these short-term borrowings at interest rates ranging from 1.20% to 1.68% and 1.24% to 1.88%, respectively. Due to the short-term nature and amount of this short-term debt, a hypothetical change of 10% in interest rates would not have a material effect on our near-term financial condition or results of operations.

 

 

To Board of Directors and Shareholders of

MKS Instruments, Inc.:

 

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements listed in the index appearing under Item 15(a)(1) present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of MKS Instruments, Inc. and its subsidiaries at December 31, 2008 and 2007, and the results of their operations and their cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2008 in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the financial statement schedule listed in the index appearing under Item 15(a)(2) presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein when read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial statements. Also in our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2008, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). The Company’s management is responsible for these financial statements and financial statement schedule, for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting appearing under Item 9A. Our responsibility is to express opinions on these financial statements, on the financial statement schedule, and on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our integrated audits. We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audits to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement and whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audits of the financial statements included examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our audit of internal control over financial reporting included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, and testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk. Our audits also included performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinions.

 

As discussed in Note 12 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company changed the manner in which it accounts for uncertain tax positions in 2007.

 

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

 

 

Boston, Massachusetts

February 27, 2009

MKS INSTRUMENTS, INC.

 

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

MKS INSTRUMENTS, INC.

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

MKS INSTRUMENTS, INC.

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

 

 

The accompanying notes are an integral part of the consolidated financial statements.

MKS INSTRUMENTS, INC.

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS