Silicon Motion Announces New $50 Million Share Repurchase Program

Rhea-AI Summary

Silicon Motion Technology (SIMO) has announced a new $50 million share repurchase program for its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) over a six-month period. The company reported significant top-and-bottom-line growth in fiscal year 2024, attributing success to their market share expansion and product portfolio diversification strategy.

The repurchases will be conducted in the open market following Rule 10b-18 safe harbor provisions. The program will be funded using the company's cash reserves, which stood at approximately $334.3 million in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and short-term investments as of December 31, 2024.

CEO Wallace Kou expressed confidence in the company's long-term opportunities, highlighting their entry into the enterprise market with the MonTitan platform and expansion into automotive, IoT, gaming, wearables, and other emerging growth markets.

Positive

• Authorized $50 million share repurchase program, potentially enhancing shareholder value
• Significant top and bottom line growth reported for FY 2024
• Strong cash position of $334.3 million as of December 31, 2024
• Successful market share expansion and product portfolio diversification

Negative

• None.

Insights

Financial Analyst

Silicon Motion's $50 million share repurchase program represents a strategic move that warrants careful analysis from multiple angles. The program's size, while modest at 2.6% of market cap, is particularly notable given the company's robust cash position of $334.3 million. This conservative approach to capital return suggests management is maintaining a balanced strategy between shareholder returns and investing in growth initiatives.

The timing of this announcement is significant, coming after strong fiscal 2024 performance and alongside strategic expansion into enterprise markets with the MonTitan platform. The company's diversification into automotive, IoT, gaming and wearables markets positions it well in high-growth segments, making the current stock valuation potentially attractive for buybacks.

From a financial perspective, the program's structure offers several advantages:

• The 6-month timeframe provides flexibility to capitalize on market volatility
• The open-market execution under Rule 10b-18 ensures regulatory compliance while maximizing price efficiency
• Maintaining $284.3 million in cash reserves post-buyback ensures ample liquidity for operational needs and strategic investments

The buyback signals management's confidence in their growth strategy while addressing potential market undervaluation. The focus on emerging markets and new product platforms, combined with this shareholder-friendly capital return policy, suggests a well-balanced approach to value creation. However, investors should monitor the execution pace and impact on trading liquidity, given the relatively concentrated trading window.

TAIPEI, Taiwan and MILPITAS, Calif., Feb. 06, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (NasdaqGS: SIMO) (“Silicon Motion” or the “Company”) today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program and approved related cash disbursement for the Company to repurchase up to $50 million of its American Depositary Shares (“ADSs”) over a six-month period (the “Repurchase Program”), effective immediately.

“We experienced significant top-and-bottom-line growth in fiscal year 2024 as our strategy to capture greater market share and diversify our product portfolio and addressable markets is delivering results,” said Wallace Kou, President & CEO of Silicon Motion. “We are confident that our opportunities are expanding over the long-term as we enter the enterprise market with our new MonTitan platform and expand our presence in automotive, IoT, gaming, wearables and other emerging growth markets. We remain confident in our strategy, growth prospects and strong financial position and are committed to opportunistically repurchasing our shares when we believe the current equity value may not accurately reflect the strength of our business longer-term.”

Repurchases made under the Repurchase Program will be made in the open market or according to other methods in compliance with the safe harbor provisions of Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), subject to market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other factors. The Company expects to use cash on hand to fund the ADS repurchases. The Repurchase Program does not obligate the Company to acquire any particular amount of ADSs, and it may be suspended at any time at the Company's discretion.

As of December 31, 2024, the Company had approximately $334.3 million of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments.

About Silicon Motion:

We are the global leader in supplying NAND flash controllers for solid state storage devices.  We supply more SSD controllers than any other company in the world for servers, PCs and other client devices and are the leading merchant supplier of eMMC and UFS embedded storage controllers used in smartphones, IoT devices and other applications.  We also supply customized high-performance hyperscale data center and specialized industrial and automotive SSD solutions.  Our customers include most of the NAND flash vendors, storage device module makers and leading OEMs.  For further information on Silicon Motion, visit us at www.siliconmotion.com.

Forward-Looking Statements:

This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue,” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although such statements are based on our own information and information from other sources we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on them. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual market trends or our actual results of operations, financial condition or business prospects may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to the unpredictable volume and timing of customer orders, which are not fixed by contract but vary on a purchase order basis; the loss of one or more key customers or the significant reduction, postponement, rescheduling or cancellation of orders from one or more customers; general economic conditions or conditions in the semiconductor or consumer electronics markets; the impact of inflation on our business and customer’s businesses and any effect this has on economic activity in the markets in which we operate; the functionalities and performance of our information technology (“IT”) systems, which are subject to cybersecurity threats and which support our critical operational activities, and any breaches of our IT systems or those of our customers, suppliers, partners and providers of third-party licensed technology; the effects on our business and our customer’s business taking into account the ongoing U.S.-China tariffs and trade disputes; the uncertainties associated with any future global or regional pandemic; the continuing tensions between Taiwan and China including enhanced military activities; decreases in the overall average selling prices of our products; changes in the relative sales mix of our products; changes in our cost of finished goods; supply chain disruptions that have affected us and our industry as well as other industries on a global basis; the payment, or non-payment, of cash dividends in the future at the discretion of our board of directors and any announced planned increases in such dividends; changes in our cost of finished goods; the availability, pricing, and timeliness of delivery of other components and raw materials used in the products we sell given the current raw material supply shortages being experienced in our industry; our customers’ sales outlook, purchasing patterns, and inventory adjustments based on consumer demands and general economic conditions; any potential impairment charges that may be incurred related to businesses previously acquired or divested in the future; our ability to successfully develop, introduce, and sell new or enhanced products in a timely manner; and the timing of new product announcements or introductions by us or by our competitors. For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please see the documents we file from time to time with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 30, 2024. Other than as required under the securities laws, we do not intend, and do not undertake any obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this news release.

Investor Contact:	Investor Contact:
Tom Sepenzis	Selina Hsieh
Senior Director of IR & Strategy	Investor Relations
E-mail: tsepenzis@siliconmotion.com	E-mail: ir@siliconmotion.com

FAQ

What is the size and duration of Silicon Motion's (SIMO) new share repurchase program?

Silicon Motion announced a $50 million share repurchase program for its American Depositary Shares (ADSs), to be executed over a six-month period starting February 6, 2025.

How much cash does SIMO have available as of December 31, 2024?

As of December 31, 2024, Silicon Motion had approximately $334.3 million in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments.

What markets is Silicon Motion (SIMO) expanding into with its MonTitan platform?

Silicon Motion is entering the enterprise market with its MonTitan platform and expanding into automotive, IoT, gaming, wearables, and other emerging growth markets.

How will SIMO fund the share repurchase program?

Silicon Motion expects to use its existing cash on hand to fund the ADS repurchases.

What was Silicon Motion's (SIMO) financial performance in fiscal year 2024?

The company reported significant top-and-bottom-line growth in fiscal year 2024, driven by successful market share expansion and product portfolio diversification.