Ichor Holdings, Ltd. Announces Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2024 Financial Results

Ichor Holdings, Ltd. (NASDAQ:ICHR), a leader in the design, engineering, and manufacturing of critical fluid delivery subsystems and components for semiconductor capital equipment, today announced fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024 financial results.

Fourth quarter 2024 highlights:

• Revenues of $233 million, at the upper end of our guidance range communicated in November;
• Gross margin of 11.6% on a GAAP basis and 12.0% on a non‑GAAP basis; and
• Earnings (loss) per share of $(0.12) on a GAAP basis and $0.08 on a non-GAAP basis.

Fiscal year 2024 highlights:

• Revenues of $849 million, up 5% year-over-year;
• Gross margin of 12.2% on a GAAP basis and 12.7% on a non‑GAAP basis; and
• Earnings (loss) per share of $(0.64) on a GAAP basis and $0.18 on a non-GAAP basis.

"We are pleased to report that the strengthening customer demand environment resulted in over 10% sequential revenue growth in Q4, and another quarter of growth expected for Q1," commented Jeff Andreson, Ichor's CEO. "With our revenue run rate up significantly from prior levels, our gross margin performance for Q4 was affected by cost headwinds ramping our direct labor force as well as one-time inventory charges and less favorable product and customer mix. While we expect some of these factors will continue to some degree into Q1, the vast majority of cost headwinds were unique to the fourth quarter and we expect significant gross margin improvement ahead for 2025. The customer demand profile has continued to strengthen year-to-date, indicating expectations for a continued robust business environment for leading edge foundry and logic investments, and the beginning of a recovery in overall memory investments, leading us to be confident in Ichor's ability to outgrow WFE in 2025 and demonstrate significant gross margin and earnings leverage."

For the fourth quarter of 2024, revenue was $233.3 million, net loss was $(3.9) million, and net loss per diluted share ("diluted EPS") was $(0.12). This compares to revenue of $211.1 million and $203.5 million, net loss of $(2.8) million and $(11.9) million, and diluted EPS of $(0.08) and $(0.40), for the third quarter of 2024 and fourth quarter of 2023, respectively.

For 2024, revenue was $849.0 million, net loss was $(20.8) million, and diluted EPS was $(0.64). This compares to revenue of $811.1 million, net loss of $(43.0) million, and diluted EPS of $(1.47) for 2023.

For the fourth quarter of 2024, non-GAAP net income was $2.8 million and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.08. This compares to non-GAAP net income (loss) of $4.0 million and $(1.7) million, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.12 and $(0.06), for the third quarter of 2024 and fourth quarter of 2023, respectively.

For 2024, non-GAAP net income was $5.9 million and non-GAAP diluted EPS was $0.18. This compares to non-GAAP net income of $12.3 million, and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.42 for 2023.

For the first quarter of 2025, we expect the following:

This outlook for non‑GAAP diluted EPS excludes amortization of intangible assets of approximately $2.1 million and share-based compensation expense of approximately $4.4 million, as well as the related income tax effects. Non-GAAP diluted EPS should be considered in addition to, but not as a substitute for, our financial information presented in accordance with GAAP.

We ended the fourth quarter of 2024 with cash and cash equivalents of $108.7 million, a decrease of $7.8 million from the prior quarter and an increase of $28.7 million from the prior year ended December 29, 2023.

The decrease of $7.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 was primarily due to capital expenditures of $4.4 million, net cash used in operating activities of $2.5 million, and net payments on our credit facilities of $1.9 million, partially offset by net cash received from share-based compensation of $1.0 million.

The increase of $28.7 million during the twelve months ended December 27, 2024 was primarily due to net proceeds of $136.7 million from our issuance of 3.8 million ordinary shares in March 2024 in connection with an underwritten public offering, net cash provided by operating activities of $27.9 million, and net cash received from share-based compensation of $2.4 million, partially offset by net payments on credit facilities of $120.6 million and capital expenditures of $17.6 million.

Our cash used in operating activities of $2.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2024 consisted of an increase in our net operating assets and liabilities of $10.7 million and net loss of $3.9 million, partially offset by net non-cash charges of $12.1 million, consisting primarily of depreciation and amortization of $8.0 million and share-based compensation expense of $4.6 million.

Our cash provided by operating activities of $27.9 million for the twelve months ended December 27, 2024 consisted of net non-cash charges of $46.0 million, consisting primarily of depreciation and amortization of $30.7 million and share-based compensation expense of $15.6 million, and a decrease in our net operating assets and liabilities of $2.7 million, partially offset by net loss of $20.8 million.

The increase in our net operating assets and liabilities of $10.7 million during the fourth quarter of 2024 was primarily due to an increase in inventories of $10.7 million, an increase in accounts receivable of $2.5 million, and a decrease in accrued and other liabilities of $3.1 million, partially offset by an increase in accounts payable of $6.4 million.

The decrease in our net operating assets and liabilities of $2.7 million during the twelve months ended December 27, 2024 was primarily due to an increase in accounts payable of $29.1 million and a decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets of $2.3 million, partially offset by an increase in accounts receivable of $19.9 million, a decrease in accrued and other liabilities of $4.6 million, and an increase in inventories of $4.2 million.

In addition to U.S. GAAP ("GAAP") results, this press release also contains non-GAAP financial results, including non‑GAAP gross profit, non‑GAAP operating income, non‑GAAP net income (loss), non‑GAAP diluted EPS, and free cash flow. Management uses non-GAAP metrics to evaluate our operating and financial results. We believe the presentation of non-GAAP results is useful to investors for analyzing business trends and comparing performance to prior periods, along with enhancing investors' ability to view our results from management's perspective. Non-GAAP gross profit, operating income, and net income are defined as: gross profit, operating income (loss), or net income (loss), respectively, excluding (1) amortization of intangible assets, share-based compensation expense, and discrete or infrequent charges and gains that are outside of normal business operations, including transaction-related costs, contract and legal settlement gains and losses, facility shutdown costs, and severance costs associated with reduction-in-force programs, to the extent they are present in gross profit, operating income (loss), and net income (loss), respectively; and (2) the tax impacts associated with these non-GAAP adjustments, as well as non-recurring discrete tax items, including the impact of deferred tax asset valuation allowances. All non-GAAP adjustments are presented on a gross basis; the related income tax effects, including current and deferred income tax expense, are included in the adjustment line under the heading "Tax adjustments related to non-GAAP adjustments." Non-GAAP diluted EPS is defined as non-GAAP net income divided by weighted average diluted ordinary shares outstanding during the period. Non-GAAP gross margin and non-GAAP operating margin are defined as non-GAAP gross profit and non-GAAP operating income, respectively, divided by net sales. Free cash flow is defined as cash provided by or used in operating activities, less capital expenditures. Tables showing these metrics on a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, with reconciliation footnotes thereto, are included at the end of this press release.

Non-GAAP results have limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider them in isolation or as a substitute for our results reported under GAAP. Other companies may calculate non-GAAP results differently or may use other measures to evaluate their performance, both of which could reduce the usefulness of our non-GAAP results as a tool for comparison.

Because of these limitations, you should consider non-GAAP results alongside other financial performance measures and results presented in accordance with GAAP. In addition, in evaluating non-GAAP results, you should be aware that in the future we will incur expenses such as those that are the subject of adjustments in deriving non-GAAP results, and you should not infer from our presentation of non-GAAP results that our future results will not be affected by these expenses or other discrete or infrequent charges and gains that are outside of normal business operations.

We will conduct a conference call to discuss our fourth quarter and fiscal year 2024 results and business outlook today at 1:30 p.m. PT.

To listen to a live webcast of the call, please visit our investor relations website at https://ir.ichorsystems.com, or go to the live link at https://www.webcast-eqs.com/register/ichorholdings02042025/en.

To listen via telephone, please call (877) 407‑0989 (domestic) or +1 (201) 389‑0921 (international), conference ID: 13751019. After the call, an on-demand replay will be available at the same webcast link.

We are a leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of critical fluid delivery subsystems and components primarily for semiconductor capital equipment, as well as other industries such as defense/aerospace and medical. Our primary product offerings include gas and chemical delivery subsystems, collectively known as fluid delivery subsystems, which are key elements of the process tools used in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices. Our gas delivery subsystems deliver, monitor and control precise quantities of the specialized gases used in semiconductor manufacturing processes such as etch and deposition. Our chemical delivery subsystems precisely blend and dispense the reactive liquid chemistries used in semiconductor manufacturing processes such as chemical-mechanical planarization, electroplating, and cleaning. We also provide precision-machined components, weldments, e-beam and laser welded components, precision vacuum and hydrogen brazing, surface treatment technologies, and other proprietary products. We are headquartered in Fremont, CA. https://ir.ichorsystems.com.

We use a 52- or 53-week fiscal year ending on the last Friday in December. The three-month periods ended December 27, 2024, September 27, 2024, and December 29, 2023 were each 13 weeks. References to the fourth quarter of 2024, third quarter of 2024, and fourth quarter of 2023 relate to the three-month periods then ended. Our fiscal years ended December 27, 2024 and December 29, 2023 are each 52 weeks. References to 2024 and 2023 relate to the fiscal years then ended.

Certain statements in this release are "forward-looking statements" made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The words "anticipate," "believe," "contemplate," "designed," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "goal," "guidance," "intend," "may," "outlook," "plan," "predict," "project," "see," "seek," "target," "would" and similar expressions or variations or negatives of these words are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Examples of forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our outlook for our first fiscal quarter of 2025, statements regarding the current business environment, revenue levels in 2025 and beyond, manufacturers' investment in water fabrication equipment, our investment in research and development of new products, acquiring new business, and company and industry growth and performance in 2025 and beyond, as well as any other statement that does not directly relate to any historical fact. Such forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations about future events as of the date hereof and involve many risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in our forward-looking statements. Our actual results and outcomes could differ materially from those included in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to: geopolitical, economic and market conditions, including high inflation, changes to fiscal and monetary policy, high interest rates, currency fluctuations, challenges in the supply chain and any disruptions in the global economy as a result of the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East; dependence on expenditures by manufacturers and cyclical downturns in the semiconductor capital equipment industry; reliance on a very small number of original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs") for a significant portion of sales; negotiating leverage held by our customers; competitiveness and rapid evolution of the industries in which we participate; keeping pace with developments in the industries we serve and with technological innovation generally; designing, developing and introducing new products that are accepted by original equipment manufacturers in order to retain our existing customers and obtain new customers; managing our manufacturing and procurement process effectively; defects in our products that could damage our reputation, decrease market acceptance and result in potentially costly litigation; and our dependence on a limited number of suppliers. Additional information concerning these and other factors can be found in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including other risks, relevant factors, and uncertainties identified in the "Risk Factors" section of our Annual Report on Form 10‑K for the year ended December 29, 2023 and any other periodic reports that we may file with the SEC.

All forward-looking statements in this press release are based upon information available to us as of the date hereof, and qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein, whether as a result of actual results, changes in our expectations, future events or developments, or otherwise, except as required by law.

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Greg Swyt, CFO 510-897-5200

Claire McAdams, IR & Strategic Initiatives 530-265-9899

[email protected]