Netlist Reports Second Quarter, Six-month Results

Migration to Chip-Based Technologies Continues on Track

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Netlist, Inc. (Nasdaq: NLST) today reported financial results for the second quarter and six months ended July 4, 2009. Revenues for the second quarter and six months ended July 4, 2009, were $3.2 million and $5.3 million, respectively, compared to $18.4 million and $31.5 million for the second quarter and six months ended June 28, 2008.

The sharp year-over-year decline in revenues was driven by a reduction in demand from the Company's customer base mainly due to the commoditization of current product offerings in the past year. Costs have also been managed downward in order to better match the decline in revenue and gross profit dollars. The Company continues to invest heavily in R&D as it executes on the planned transition to new memory subsystems based on custom logic devices.

"We continue to make steady progress in the development of next-generation high-density, high-speed, low-power memory subsystems," Chief Executive Officer Chun K. Hong said. "OEM customers have expressed their interest in qualification of these upcoming products with revenues possible in the first half of 2010."

Gross profit for the second quarter ended July 4, 2009, improved to $244,000, or a gross margin of 7.7 percent, compared to negative gross margins for the prior two sequential quarters. For the second quarter ended June 28, 2008, gross profit was $2.7 million, or a gross margin of 14.4 percent. Negative gross profit for the six months ended July 4, 2009, was $293,000, or a negative gross margin of 5.5 percent, compared to a gross profit of $5.8 million, or a gross margin of 18.4 percent in the year-earlier period.

Net loss for the 2009 second quarter was $4.0 million, or $0.20 loss per share, compared to a net loss in the prior year period of $2.3 million, or $0.11 loss per share. Net loss for the 2009 first six months was $7.8 million, or $0.39 loss per share, compared to a net loss of $2.8 million, or a $0.14 loss per share. These results include stock-based compensation expense in the second quarter and six months ended July 4, 2009 of $290,000 and $597,000, respectively, compared with $375,000 and $619,000 in the prior year periods.

During the second quarter, the Company remained focused on preserving cash. As of July 4, 2009, cash, cash equivalents, and investments in marketable securities were $20.2 million, total assets were $30.9 million, working capital was $16.3 million, total long-term debt was $364,000, and stockholders' equity was $23.1 million.

Conference Call Information

As previously announced, Netlist is conducting a conference call today to be broadcast live over the Internet at 5:00 pm Eastern Time to discuss and review the financial results for the second quarter and six months ended July 4, 2009. The dial-in number for the call is 1-800-762-8795. The live webcast and archived replay of the call can be accessed in the Investors section of Netlist's website at www.netlist.com.

About Netlist, Inc.

Netlist designs and manufactures high-performance memory subsystems for the server and high- performance computing and communications markets. The Company's memory subsystems are developed for applications in which high-speed, high-capacity memory, functionality, small form factor, and heat dissipation are key requirements. These applications include tower-servers, rack-mounted servers, blade servers, high-performance computing clusters, engineering workstations, and telecommunication equipment. Netlist maintains its headquarters in Irvine, California with manufacturing facilities in Suzhou, China.

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Netlist, including future opportunities and growth for the company's business. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the rapidly-changing nature of technology; volatility in the pricing of DRAM ICs and NAND;changes in and uncertainty of customer demand, including delays in product qualifications; delays in our and our customers' product releases and development; introductions of new products by competitors; changes in end-user demand for technology solutions; the Company's ability to attract and retain skilled personnel; the Company's reliance on suppliers of critical components; fluctuations in the market price of evolving industry standards; and the political and regulatory environment in the People's Republic of China. Other risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's annual report on Form 10-K, dated March 30, 2009, and subsequent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission made by the Company from time to time. Netlist undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Contact:  Allen & Caron Inc            Gail Itow
              Jill Bertotti (investors)    Chief Financial Officer
              jill@allencaron.com          Netlist, Inc.
              Len Hall (media)             (949) 435-0025
              len@allencaron.com
              (949) 474-4300

                                   TABLES FOLLOW



                              Netlist, Inc.
           Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
                    (in thousands, except per share amounts)

                                  Three Months Ended   Six Months Ended
                                  ------------------   ----------------
                                   July 4,   June 28,  July 4,  June 28,
                                    2009      2008      2009     2008
                                  -------   -------   -------  -------

    Net sales                      $3,173   $18,429    $5,335  $31,533
    Cost of sales(1)                2,929    15,770     5,628   25,743
                                  -------   -------   -------  -------
    Gross profit (loss)               244     2,659      (293)   5,790
                                  -------   -------   -------  -------
    Operating expenses:
      Research and development(1)   2,030     1,716     3,644    3,292
      Selling, general and
       administrative(1)            2,120     3,310     4,055    6,778
                                  -------   -------   -------  -------
        Total operating expenses    4,150     5,026     7,699   10,070
                                  -------   -------   -------  -------
    Operating loss                 (3,906)   (2,367)   (7,992)  (4,280)
                                  -------   -------   -------  -------
    Other income:
      Interest income, net             18       104       100      343
      Other income (expense), net     (45)       23       130      (68)
                                  -------   -------   -------  -------
        Total other income
         (expense), net               (27)      127       230      275
                                  -------   -------   -------  -------
    Loss before provision
     (benefit) for income taxes    (3,933)   (2,240)   (7,762)  (4,005)
    Provision (benefit) for
     income taxes                      31        11        49   (1,170)
                                  -------   -------   -------  -------
    Net loss                      $(3,964)  $(2,251)  $(7,811) $(2,835)
                                  =======   =======   =======  =======
    Net loss per common share:
      Basic and diluted            $(0.20)   $(0.11)   $(0.39)  $(0.14)
    Weighted-average common
     shares outstanding:
      Basic and diluted            19,855    19,855    19,855   19,839

    (1) Amounts include
         stock-based
         compensation expense
         as follows:

    Cost of sales                     $38       $48       $67      $62
    Research and development           48        62       106       85
    Selling, general and
     administrative                   204       265       424      472



                                     Netlist, Inc.
                    Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
                                     (in thousands)

                                                       July 4,    January 3,
                                                        2009         2009
                                                       -------      -------
    ASSETS
      Current assets:
      Cash and cash equivalents                        $10,106      $15,214
      Investments in marketable securities               9,096        5,199
      Accounts receivable, net                           1,523        1,917
      Inventories                                        1,954        1,829
      Income taxes receivable                              651        1,880
      Prepaid expenses and other current assets            759          761
                                                       -------      -------
        Total current assets                            24,089       26,800

      Property and equipment, net                        5,621        6,939
      Long-term investments in marketable securities       979          960
      Other assets                                         221          234
                                                       -------      -------
        Total assets                                   $30,910      $34,933
                                                       =======      =======

    LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
    Current liabilities:
      Accounts payable                                  $2,455       $1,786
      Revolving line of credit                           2,153            -
      Current portion of long-term debt                    328          474
      Current portion of deferred gain on sale and
       leaseback transaction                               118          118
      Accrued expenses and other current liabilities     2,713        2,083
                                                       -------      -------
        Total current liabilities                        7,767        4,461
    Long-term debt, net of current portion                  36          130
    Deferred gain on sale and leaseback transaction,
     net of current portion                                 49          108
                                                       -------      -------
        Total liabilities                                7,852        4,699

    Commitments and contingencies

    Stockholders' equity:
      Common stock, $0.001 par value - 90,000 shares
       authorized; 19,855 shares issued and
       outstanding                                          20           20
      Additional paid-in capital                        69,980       69,383
      Accumulated deficit                              (46,924)     (39,113)
      Accumulated other comprehensive loss                 (18)         (56)
                                                       -------      -------
        Total stockholders' equity                      23,058       30,234
                                                       -------      -------
        Total liabilities and stockholders' equity     $30,910      $34,933
                                                       =======      =======

SOURCE Netlist, Inc.

Aug 13, 2009

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