Atomera (ATOM) Q4 2018 earnings summary

Executive summary

• 2018 semiconductor sales grew 13%, though the market softened in Q4; with fewer firms investing at the bleeding edge, focus shifted toward improving existing process nodes. MST targets this opportunity as an additive technology.

• First commercial integration licenses were signed with Asahi Kasei Microdevices in September and STMicroelectronics in October; neither agreement permits in-fab manufacturing or product sales.

• Customer engagements rose 50% to 21, customers in integration more than doubled YoY, and granted and pending patents increased 24% to 198 worldwide.

Financial highlights

• Revenue was $246,000 in 2018 vs. $110,000 in 2017, from integration services engagements and integration license agreements in 2018.

• Gross margin was $98,000 vs. $71,000; operating expenses totaled $13.231M vs. $13.281M, resulting in operating losses of $13.133M vs. $13.210M.

• Net loss was $12.897M vs. $13.068M; net loss per share was $1.02 vs. $1.11, with 2017 EPS restated.

• Operating cash use was $9.773M vs. $9.289M; cash and cash equivalents ended 2018 at $18.933M.

Outlook and guidance

• Planned next-12-month spending includes higher R&D headcount and outsourced fabrication and testing; available capital was expected to fund plans and obligations for at least 12 months from filing.

• The stated near-term priority was securing a manufacturing or distribution licensee and enabling full-scale industrial production of an MST-enabled device; successful commercialization remained uncertain.

• Customer testing and qualification can take 18–36 months or longer; meaningful royalties depend on successful integration, qualification, and volume production.