Axt Inc (NASDAQ:AXTI)

FREMONT, CA--(Marketwire - Jan 24, 2012) - AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI), a leading manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, today announced that it has agreed with the Administrative Commission of Tianjin Economy and Technology Development Zone to establish a second manufacturing facility in Tianjin, China. The arrangement provides AXT with land use rights for approximately 32 acres of industrial land located in Yixian Scientific and Industrial Park to construct a compound semiconductor substrate manufacturing facility that would be completed in phases by 2017.

AXT has committed to a $12.5 million investment in the construction of the facility over the next two years in exchange for land use rights, enterprise and individual income tax rebates, employee hiring and development subsidies, and other benefits. The facility would provide AXT with substantial substrate manufacturing capacity expansion, complimenting the company's current 190,000 square foot facility in Beijing.

"We are very pleased for the opportunity to begin planning our future expansion in such a vibrant and dynamic area of China and in cooperation with the Administrative Commission of Tianjin Economy and Technology Development Zone," said Morris Young, chief executive officer. "While our current facility in Beijing continues to provide us with ample capacity to grow our business for the next 18 to 24 months, we believe that a second manufacturing facility in Tianjin will provide us with additional capacity for many years to come, particularly in light of positive trends in the demand for wireless devices, the proliferation of LEDs and the adoption of photovoltaic technology. The positive financial considerations of this arrangement, coupled with what we believe to be our longer-term capacity needs, provide compelling incentives to proceed with our expansion plans at this time. This arrangement allows us to begin planning for growth and redundancy in our business in a measured and incremental way that is suitable both to the current economic conditions and the sizeable opportunity ahead."

FREMONT, CA--(Marketwire - Jul 27, 2011) - AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI), a leading manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, announced today that it has filed a universal shelf registration statement on Form S-3 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). When the shelf registration statement is declared effective by the SEC, AXT will have the option to offer and sell, from time to time in one or more offerings, up to $60 million of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants to purchase any of these securities, depository shares, units or any combination of such securities. The timing of any offering will be at the company's discretion and will depend on many factors, including the prevailing market conditions. Specific terms and share prices of any future offering under the registration statement will be established at the time of any such offering, and will be described in a prospectus supplement that AXT will file with the SEC.

AXT intends to use the net proceeds from any sale of securities under the shelf registration statement for general corporate purposes, which may include capital expenditures in connection with AXT's planned expansion of its manufacturing facilities in China.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the SEC but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold nor may offers to buy be accepted prior to the time that the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

A copy of the final prospectus and prospectus supplement relating to any offering under the registration statement will be filed with the SEC and can be obtained, when available, by contacting AXT, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations Department, 4281 Technology Drive, Fremont, CA 94538.

 Second Quarter 2011 Results

• Revenue for the second quarter of 2011 was $30.0 million, up 22 percent from $24.6 million in the first quarter of 2011, and up 29.6 percent from $23.2 million in the second quarter of 2010.

• Net income in the second quarter of 2011 was $7.1 million or $0.21 per diluted share compared with net income of $4.2 million or $0.13 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2011, and with a net income of $5.5 million or $0.17 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2010. Excluding the $1.2 million, net, sales tax refund or $0.04 per diluted share, our net income in the second quarter of 2010 was $4.3 million or $0.13 per diluted share.

Management Qualitative Comments
"This was another strong quarter for AXT," said Morris Young, chief executive officer. "Revenues exceeded our expectations, driven by double-digit growth in our substrate business and record revenues from third party raw material sales. We are experiencing healthy demand across all of our product categories and are pleased to see our competitive positioning continue to strengthen. Further, our strong business model and solid operational execution are resulting in healthy growth to our bottom line. We believe that the trends fueling our growth are substantial, and we are well-positioned to benefit with the capacity, raw material access and attractive cost-structure that are unique in our industry."

Outlook for Third Quarter, Ending September 30, 2011
AXT estimates revenue for the third quarter for 2011 will be between $30.5 million and $31.5 million. The company estimates that net income per share will be between $0.18 and $0.20, which takes into account our weighted average share count of approximately 33.4 million shares

Added to the GeoSpecial list on April 29, 2010 @ $5.20.

Catalyst: Company was continually exceeding analyst estimates; Had value based on PEG ratio; Riding the smart phone craze.

Peak performance: Reached a high of  $10.74 on 12/30/2010, up 137% .
Current road block: Earnings comparisons will soon become difficult.

Current Price: $10.50

Reason for removal: Stock easily exceeds our price target of $9.00. We will look to trade on pull backs.

• Revenue for the third quarter of 2010 was $26.8 million, compared with $23.2 million in the second quarter of 2010, and $16.8 million in the third quarter of 2009.

• Net income in the third quarter of 2010 was $5.6 million or $0.17 per diluted share compared  with a net income of $2.1 million or $0.07 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2009.

Management Qualitative Comments

"Q3 was another strong quarter for AXT," said Morris Young, chief executive officer. "Solid demand in all of our key end markets coupled with great execution across our organization allowed us to deliver outstanding financial results and continued increases in our market share and customer penetration. Not only did we exceed our revenue expectations, our gross margin performance was the highest it has been in many years. We continue to see growing momentum in the long-term secular trends that are fueling our growth, including the adoption of smartphones and other intelligent wireless devices, the proliferation of LED applications and the expansion of photovoltaic technology. These trends are opening up exciting opportunities for our business that we believe will extend for years to come."

Outlook for Fourth Quarter, Ending December 31, 2010

AXT estimates revenue for the fourth quarter will increase to between $28.0 million and $29.0 million. The company estimates that net income per share will be between $0.15 and $0.17, which takes into account our weighted average share count of approximately 32.4 million shares.

GeoTeam® Note:

Analyst EPS estimates for the 2010 third quarter were $0.13.

Analyst EPS estimates for the 2010 fourth quarter are currently at $0.14.

AXT pulled in a strong 2010 second quarter yesterday evening:

• Revenue for the second quarter of 2010 was $23.2 million, compared with $18.6 million in the first quarter of 2010, and $13.1 million in the second quarter of 2009. 
  
• Excluding the $1.2 million, net, sales tax refund or $0.04 per diluted share, our net income in the second quarter of 2010 was $4.3 million or $0.13 per diluted share compared with net income of $2.6 million or $0.08 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2010, and with a net loss of $1.3 million, or loss of $0.05 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2009.

Analysts had been expecting the company to report EPS of $0.08.  This is the second quarter in a row in which  AXT has easily exceeded analyst estimates.  The company will aim to make it three in a row, as it has guided for 2010 EPS to come in at $0.12 to $0.14 compared to an estimate of $0.09.

Comments were strong:

"This is an exciting time for AXT," said Morris Young, chief executive officer. "The demand for gallium arsenide substrates continues to grow at a healthy pace, fueled by strong sales of wireless devices and the increasing worldwide adoption and investment into LED technology in many applications. As a result, we are enjoying solid increases in our sales of semi-insulating and semi-conducting gallium arsenide substrates and strong increases in the sales of gallium raw material. In addition, the demand for our indium phosphide substrates is also growing, reaching nearly 5 percent of our total revenues in the second quarter, and we expect to see increasing contribution from germanium substrates in the second half of the year. We believe that the trends fueling growth in all of these areas will create meaningful opportunity for AXT and we are strongly positioned to benefit given our raw material access and attractive cost-structure."

We feel the stock is worth tracking and will take a small trading position in the shares, with a near-term price target of $7.00. Coding as a short-term GeoSpecial.

Marketwire (July 29, 2010)

"This was another very good quarter for AXT," said Morris Young, chief executive officer. "We have continued to experience solid demand for our products across all of our primary markets, driven by significant and extended market trends, such as the rapid expansion of wireless devices and subscribers, the increasing momentum in the adoption of LED technology and the growing interest in solar energy. Further, our own execution has been strong throughout our engineering, manufacturing, sales and administrative functions. We have had tremendous success in continuing to develop our valuable, long-term customer relationships as well as penetrating new customers and new opportunities to drive our growth and diversify our base. In addition, our efforts to restructure and refocus our organization over the past nine months are resulting in tangible benefits in our efficiency, productivity and profitability -- creating a solid foundation for our success in quarters to come."

AXT estimates revenue for the second quarter will increase to between $20.7 million and $21.5 million. The company estimates that net income per share will be between $0.08 and $0.09, which takes into account our weighted average share count of approximately 31.9 million shares.

Analyst estimates:  

• Revenue:  $18.1
• EPS: $0.04