V

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

__________________

 

FORM 10-K

 

(Mark One)

 

 

 

x

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007

 

 

o

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

 

For the transition period from __________ to __________

 

Commission File Number: 0-21174

__________________

 

Avid Technology, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

Delaware

(State or Other Jurisdiction of
Incorporation or Organization)

 

04-2977748

(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

 

 

Avid Technology Park, One Park West

Tewksbury, Massachusetts 01876

(Address of Principal Executive Offices, Including Zip Code)

 

(978) 640-6789

(Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code)

 

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

Title of Each Class
Common Stock, $.01 Par Value

 

Name of Exchange on which registered
NASDAQ Global Select Market

 

 

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

__________________

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes x No o

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes o No x

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yesx No o

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. x

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

 

 

Large Accelerated Filer x
Non-accelerated Filer o
(Do not check if smaller reporting company)

 

Accelerated Filer o
Smaller Reporting Company o

 

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes o No x

 

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant was approximately $1,433,896,005 based on the closing price of the Common Stock on the NASDAQ National Market on June 29, 2007.  The number of shares outstanding of the registrant’s Common Stock as of February 27, 2008 was 37,959,750.

 

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Document Description
Portions of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for the 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders

 

10-K Part
III

 

 

 


 

AVID TECHNOLOGY, INC.

FORM 10-K

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2006

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

Page

PART I.

 

 

 

 

 

ITEM 1.

Business

1

ITEM 1A.

Risk Factors

11

ITEM 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments

17

ITEM 2.

Properties

18

ITEM 3.

Legal Proceedings

18

ITEM 4.

Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

18

 

Executive Officers of the Registrant

18

 

 

 

PART II.

 

 

 

 

 

ITEM 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities


21

ITEM 6.

Selected Financial Data

23

ITEM 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

24

ITEM 7A.

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

46

ITEM 8.

Financial Statements and Supplementary Financial Information

47

 

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

48

 

Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms

49

ITEM 9.

Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure

87

ITEM 9A.

Controls and Procedures

87

ITEM 9B.

Other Information

87

 

 

 

PART III.

 

 

 

 

 

ITEM 10.

Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

88

ITEM 11.

Executive Compensation

88

ITEM 12.

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters


88

ITEM 13.

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

88

ITEM 14.

Principal Accountant Fees and Services

88

 

 

 

PART IV.

 

 

 

 

 

ITEM 15.

Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules

89

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

90

 

 

 

SCHEDULE II – VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS

F-1

 

 

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

 

 


 

This Annual Report on Form 10-K includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. For this purpose, any statements contained herein regarding our strategy, future plans or operations, financial position, future revenues, projected costs, prospects and objectives of management, other than statements of historical facts, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the foregoing, the words “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. We cannot guarantee that we actually will achieve the plans, intentions or expectations expressed or implied in forward-looking statements. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those indicated or implied by such forward-looking statements, many of which are beyond our control, including the risk factors discussed in Part I - Item 1A of this report. In addition, the forward-looking statements contained herein represent our estimates only as of the date of this filing and should not be relied upon as representing our estimates as of any subsequent date. While we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we specifically disclaim any obligation to do so, whether to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions, changes in other factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise.

 

The information included under the heading “Performance Graph” in Item 5 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K is “furnished” and not “filed” and shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or subject to Regulation 14A, shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), or otherwise subject to the liabilities of that section, nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

 

 


PART I

 

 

ITEM 1.

BUSINESS

 

OVERVIEW

 

We develop, market, sell and support a wide range of software and hardware products for the production, management and distribution of digital media content. Our products empower users, from the home hobbyist to film studios and media-production companies, to realize their creative vision, whether they aspire to edit blockbuster feature films, write and record hit songs, or design animated characters for games or movies. Our technology also improves customer workflows by enabling collaboration, streamlining processes and securely managing digital assets and allows users to distribute media over multiple platforms, including airwaves, cable and the Internet.

 

In order to serve the needs of our customers, we are organized into strategic business units that reflect the principal markets into which our products are sold: Professional Video, Audio and Consumer Video. These business units also reflect our reportable segments and collectively encompass seven brands: Avid Video, Digidesign, M-Audio, Pinnacle, Sibelius, Softimage and Sundance Digital. For more segment and geographic information, including revenue from customers, a measure of profit or loss and total assets for each of the last three years, see our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report of Form 10-K, including Note O thereto. The following is an overview of the business units and the markets they serve.

 

Professional Video.  This business unit offers innovative solutions including video- and film-editing systems, integrated storage, workflow and asset management tools, 3D and special-effects software and a comprehensive range of services, from product support and training to consultancy and managed services. We market these solutions under the brand names Avid Video, Softimage and Sundance Digital to a broad range of professional users, broadcast and cable companies, corporations, governmental entities and educational institutions. Professional users include production and post-production companies that produce feature films, music videos, commercials, entertainment programs, documentaries and industrial videos, as well as professional animators, video-game developers and film studios. Our broadcast and cable customers include national and international broadcasters, such as the National Broadcasting Company, Reuters, CBS News, Fox Television, the British Broadcasting Corporation, DirectTV and Comcast networks including E!, the Golf Channel and Versus, as well as network affiliates, local independent television stations, web news providers and local and regional cable operators.

 

Audio.  Under the Digidesign, M-Audio and Sibelius brand names, this business unit offers solutions for audio creation, mixing, post-production, collaboration, distribution and scoring to a range of users from home studio novices to award-winning, multi-platinum recording artists. We also sell our solutions to professional music studios, project studios, film and television production and post-production facilities, television and radio broadcasters, “new media” production studios (for example, creators of DVD and web content), performance venues, corporations, governmental entities and educational institutions. Customers use our audio products and solutions for a wide variety of tasks in both studio and live environments, including recording, editing, mixing, processing, mastering, composing and performing.

 

Consumer Video.  This business unit markets, under the Pinnacle brand name, video-editing and digital lifestyle products to the home user who wants to create, edit, share, publish and view video content easily, creatively and effectively. This segment's two vertical markets consist of home video editing and TV-over-PC viewing. The home video-editing market includes novice and advanced home video editors, as well as corporations, governmental entities and educational institutions. Our home video-editing solutions are used by more than 10 million customers who want to edit, enhance and preserve their videos and share those videos on DVD or over the Internet. The TV-over-PC viewing market includes virtually any consumer who wants to watch and record television programming on a personal computer. With the emergence of digital television, we are now selling approximately one million TV-over-PC viewing solutions a year.

 

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STRATEGY

 

Our strategy consists of four key elements: deliver best-of-breed products; deliver an integrated workflow for customers with multiple systems; support open standards for media; and deliver excellent customer service.

 

Deliver Best-of-Breed Products to Content Creators for Stand-Alone or Integrated Use.

 

We focus on markets where media is digitally created, edited, stored, managed and distributed. Each of our business units develops best-of-breed products for stand-alone or integrated use. These products fall into three main categories:

 

 

Content Creation – products used for making media, including our professional and consumer video- and audio-editing tools, compositing and graphics systems, animation solutions and audio-mixing consoles.

 

 

Content Management and Storage – products used for storing, sharing, managing, searching, archiving, encoding or transcoding digital media files, as well as systems used for automating production tasks.

 

 

Content Distribution – products that enable users to move digital media files over terrestrial, satellite and cable broadcast networks, as well as LAN, WAN and wireless networks.

 

Achieving best-in-breed status requires staying ahead of the market. To support our strategy and enable our company and customers to benefit from important industry trends, including the move to HD television production, the switch to all-digital broadcast production, the growth of home audio studios, the move to digital audio mixing in both studio and live environments, and the growth of consumer video editing and consumption, we continue to focus on strategically enhancing and broadening our product offerings either through internal development or acquisitions.

 

Deliver an Integrated Workflow for Customers Who Work with Multiple Systems or within Multiple-Media Disciplines.

 

We continue to invest significant resources to enhance the interoperability of our broad array of products and are committed to delivering integrated solutions. For example, our Avid Unity ISIS network-based collaborative workgroups enable many of our Professional Video and Audio products to connect to one another to seamlessly share storage and metadata. Powered by Interplay, this collaborative production environment promotes the sharing of media-production assets and information about the media, or metadata, in a seamless workflow that encompasses all the disciplines in content creation – acquisition, editing, image manipulation, graphics, audio, mastering, encoding and distribution. An Avid Unity for News solution can facilitate all the tasks required to create news stories for broadcast by leveraging the aggregate power of our tools. The entire process, including capturing news feeds; managing scripts and sound tracks; editing video, audio and graphics; delivering the finished product to a video server for playback; automated repurposing of the story for web distribution; and streaming the repurposed content to the consumer, can be accomplished seamlessly by an array of our products working together, connected in an Avid Unity workgroup.

 

Support Open Standards for Media, Metadata and Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

 

Because collaboration and interoperability are important to our customers, we seek to design all of our products so that they support a variety of established industry-wide standards, including computer platforms, operating systems, networking protocols, data compression and digital media handling formats. We are a leader in defining and developing industry standards, including Advanced Authoring Format, or AAF, a multimedia file format that enables content creators to exchange digital media and metadata across platforms and between systems and applications. AAF saves time, simplifies project management and preserves valuable metadata. We also offer a patented high-definition, or HD, encoding format, known as Avid DNxHD, which is the first codec compliant with the new SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers) VC-3 standard. DNxHD enables customers to transfer and store HD content with the same storage bandwidth and capacity requirements

 

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as uncompressed standard-definition, or SD, files. Although the size of Avid DNxHD files is similar to SD files, the quality of the original HD image is preserved. The source code for Avid DNxHD technology is licensable free-of-charge on our website, for users to compile, without modifications, on any platform. We also license Avid DNxHD for a fee to parties who enhance and distribute the source code as part of their products. Our workflow solutions also interchange data with external systems by supporting a comprehensive set of application programming interfaces, or APIs, including the Avid Interplay Web Services interface.

 

Deliver Excellent Customer Service, Support and Training.

 

In order to succeed, we must provide experienced, accessible and knowledgeable customer service. We strive to create a culture at Avid that encourages every employee to focus on providing exceptional customer service. We seek to train our service personnel on a broad range of applications, operating systems and storage and networking solutions to enable them to meet our customers' diverse needs and requirements. Our staff of consultants and technicians provides media industry professional and installation services, as well as technical support, and we offer technical training throughout the world through a network of experienced educational specialists. In addition, we train our global resellers to deliver application and hardware support directly to end users.

 

To help us achieve our strategic goals, we have over the past several years acquired many companies:

 

 

Medea Corporation, Sibelius Software Limited, and Sundance Digital, Inc. in 2006;

 

 

Pinnacle Systems Inc. and Wizoo Sound Design GmbH in 2005; and

 

 

Midiman, Inc., d/b/a M-Audio, in 2004.

 

PRODUCTS

 

The following section describes the core products within each of our business units, which are also our reportable segments. Information about our reportable segments, including total revenues, operating income and total assets, as well as a geographic breakdown of our revenues and long-lived assets, can be found in Footnote O to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8.

 

PROFESSIONAL VIDEO

 

Our Professional Video segment markets products under the Avid Video, Softimage and Sundance Digital brand names. The product categories discussed below may include products marketed under more than one brand.

 

Video and Film Editing and Finishing

 

Media Composer Family

 

This group of digital nonlinear editing products includes Media Composer with Avid Mojo SDI and Media Composer Adrenaline systems, as well as Media Composer software. These products are widely used during the “offline” editing stage in the creation of prime-time television programs, commercials and films, during which editors assemble storylines by cutting different scenes together in sequential order. This product family accounted for approximately 8%, 9% and 12% of our consolidated net revenues in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

 

Avid Xpress Family

 

The Avid Xpress family is made up of portable software-based editing systems that run on Macintosh and Windows computers and includes the Avid Xpress Pro and Avid Xpress Studio systems. All Avid Xpress Pro solutions can be enhanced with Avid Mojo or Avid Mojo SDI hardware accelerators to perform the compression and decompression of video signals, as well as other tasks, freeing up host-computer processing for other video operations. The Avid Xpress family is designed to meet the needs of independent media

 

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professionals, video and film educators, Internet video developers and others involved with video and multimedia production.

 

Avid DS and Symphony Nitris Family

 

Many professionals who use our Media Composer products to create feature films, television programs, commercials and music videos also use the Avid Symphony Nitris, Avid DS Nitris and Avid DS Assist systems during the “online” or “finishing” stage, during which editors and specialists work with high resolution media files to augment the storyline with graphics, special effects, colorgrading and other sophisticated visual enhancements. These real-time, uncompressed HD and SD solutions provide an environment for high-quality finishing and mastering.

 

Storage & Workgroups

 

Avid Unity Media Network Family

 

Our shared media networks offer collaborative workflows that support a wide range of digital video SD and HD formats, including the Avid DNxHD format. This product line includes the enterprise level Avid Unity ISIS (Infinitely Scalable Intelligent Storage) system, which provides high scalability and availability based on industry-standard gigabit ethernet networking; the 4-gigabit fibre channel-based Avid Unity MediaNetwork for high performance in facility-class environments; and the Avid Unity LANshare system for smaller broadcast operations and post-production customers. This product family accounted for approximately 10% of our consolidated net revenues in each of 2007, 2006 and 2005.

 

Avid Interplay Family

 

Avid Interplay workgroup tools bring together creative, production and business processes by fusing integrated asset management, workflow automation and security control into a single system that delivers a business-wide workflow for post-production and broadcast settings of any size. The flexible set of Avid Interplay components and services paired with the Avid Interplay nonlinear workflow engine streamline collaboration by automating complex workflow processes so that users can focus on creating compelling content rather than spending time to manually address labor-intensive production tasks.

 

Broadcast

 

Avid production, newsroom, on-air graphics, play-to-air and automation device control solutions are designed to help broadcasters accelerate the production process; research, create, manage and deliver television news programs; develop and deliver real-time graphics for broadcast television; and manage, control and play back television programming.

 

3D Graphics and Animation

 

Our Softimage character and face animation solutions meet the needs of the most demanding 3D production environments, including next-generation, 3D game pipelines and state-of-the-art VFX and film studios. The Softimage Alienbrain Studio software is a multi-user file and asset management solution that allows 3D professionals to import, manage and share any kind of file, monitor the health of their database systems and control access in a collaborative environment, facilitating improved productivity for game creation and other complex workflows.

 

Support, Service, Training & Consulting

 

Avid Support is our maintenance support offering for our Professional Video products. Avid Support provides software and application support to meet the product maintenance needs of our customers, including isolating hardware issues, resolving software issues, providing software upgrades and generally helping our customers utilize their applications fully. In addition to Avid Support, we provide installation services for our products and media-industry consulting services for the planning, integration and operation

 

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of our customers systems. We also offer a variety of training programs at sites around the globe and over the Internet.

 

AUDIO

 

Our Audio segment markets products under the Digidesign, M-Audio and Sibelius brand names. The product categories discussed below may include products marketed under more than one brand.

 

Professional Audio

 

Pro Tools Digital Audio Workstation

 

Pro Tools is a multi-track, non-linear digital audio workstation comprising a variety of hardware options and bundled software that runs on Macintosh and Windows platforms. Pro Tools workstations provide solutions for the entire audio production process, including recording, editing, signal processing, sound synthesis, integrated surround mixing and mastering, and reference video playback. Pro Tools users work in the professional or aspiring professional music, film, television, radio, multimedia, DVD and Internet production markets. Pro Tools systems support a rich third-party development environment, with more than 100 development partners providing a variety of additional software and hardware add-on options.

 

Digidesign Pro Tools systems are offered in a variety of price points and configurations, ranging from Pro Tools|HD systems for professional music and post-production environments, to the affordable Mbox 2 and 003 product families for home production studios. The hardware offerings of these product lines are typically bundled with industry-standard Pro Tools software, but can also run third-party software applications. Customers can choose to use Pro Tools with a wide range of audio peripherals, including a variety of mixing control surfaces such as our newly introduced C|24 or those from our ICON family, and our post-production Pro Tools customers can choose a qualified Avid Video peripheral to provide reference video recording and playback.

 

The Pro Tools product family accounted for approximately 15%, 15% and 18% of our consolidated net revenues in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

 

ICON Control Surfaces

 

In the large-format digital mixing console category, the Digidesign ICON (Integrated Console System) system features the D-Control and D-Command mixing surfaces, our high-end, expandable hardware control surfaces for tactile control of Pro Tools software and hardware. ICON systems can be customized to fit any studio, providing from 16 to 80 channels of simultaneous control.

 

Live Sound

 

VENUE Mixing Consoles

 

The VENUE product family includes products for mixing sound at live concert and theater performances, and other public address events. VENUE systems can be interconnected with Pro Tools systems to make live recordings. They also offer the ability to run Digidesign and third-party signal and effects processing software plug-ins. In keeping with our strategy of delivering superior integration, we continued to extend the hardware interface options and software capabilities of this product line in 2007. A VENUE console was used by four of the top eight highest-grossing concert tours in North America during 2007.

 

Aspiring Professional and Home Studio Audio

 

We offer a number of product lines specifically designed to meet the price-sensitive needs of a range of aspiring music industry users, including the home hobbyist with a personal home studio and the up-and-coming professional. Our Digidesign Pro Tools LE family of audio interfaces and M-Audio family of digital audio and ancillary hardware and software solutions enable electronic musicians and home enthusiasts to

 

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manage the production of their own material from creation and recording to the editing, processing and mixing required to produce the final result.

 

Audio Interfaces

 

Our M-Audio interfaces dovetail with the Digidesign Pro Tools LE product line, allowing users to get high-quality sound in and out of a computer at affordable prices. Users can create audio recordings on their personal computers using optional Pro Tools M-Powered software or with third-party software. We continued to expand the software and interface capabilities of this product family in 2007, including the addition of compatibility with newer technologies such as USB 2.0.

 

Keyboards

 

Our M-Audio USB, FireWire and wireless keyboards allow users to send MIDI messages directly to a personal computer, access sound-creation software and control a variety of other musical functions without the need for additional MIDI interface peripherals. A line of M-Audio sound-producing keyboards was introduced during 2007. This line includes the KeyStudio 49i, a combination controller, audio interface and digital piano.

 

Speakers, Microphones, Mixers and Add-On Software

 

We offer a variety of in-ear reference earphone monitors and self-powered monitor speakers that provide stereo or multi-channel surround monitoring aimed at the recording studio, home music hobbyist, personal computer, gaming and home-theater markets. Under the M-Audio brand name, we also offer condenser and dynamic microphones and the recently introduced the NRV10, a desktop analog mixing console with built-in audio interface capability. We also distribute a selection of third-party software product lines that allow customers to purchase complete home recording packages from a single supplier.

 

Notation Products

 

Our Sibelius software allows written musical scores to be created, edited and published electronically and is used by composers, arrangers and other media professionals. We also offer student versions of the Sibelius notation software to assist in the teaching of music composition and score writing.

 

CONSUMER VIDEO

 

Our Consumer Video segment markets products under the Pinnacle brand name.

 

Home Video-Editing and Capture Products

 

Our consumer video-editing and capture products offer a wide range of features that streamline the three-step “capture, enhance and share” process. For example, consumers can drag and drop clips to create video sequences in the order they desire, insert transitions between scenes, and add simple graphics, titles, music or narration to their personal productions.

 

Video-Capture Products

 

Our consumer video-capture products include a wide range of hardware-based solutions that enable consumers to capture analog video from VHS or camcorder tapes, live TV signals or any other analog source and turn it into a variety of digital formats for archiving or editing. Our Pinnacle Studio and Dazzle video capture solutions are available for either Windows or Macintosh users. We also offer Pinnacle Video Transfer, a stand-alone device that does not require a computer in order to capture video from any analog video source and transfer content to a mobile video player (such as an iPod), a hard drive or a flash memory stick.

 

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Pinnacle Software Products

 

Our Pinnacle software offerings consist of nonlinear video-editing software products that run on the Windows operating system. Our Pinnacle Studio editing line is available in three configurations, Pinnacle Studio, Pinnacle Studio Plus and Pinnacle Studio Ultimate. Pinnacle Studio is designed for entry-level storytellers looking for a quick and easy way to enhance and share their projects with family and friends. Pinnacle Studio Plus and Pinnacle Studio Ultimate are intended for advanced video enthusiasts who require additional power, control and quality to create more professional looking results by offering additional features such as HD editing and HD output to disc. Pinnacle Studio products are available as stand-alone software products or bundled with a variety of video input/output hardware. Our recently announced VideoSpin editing product is available by free download and allows users to easily create movies in minutes simply by dragging and dropping videos, pictures and music from their personal computer hard drive onto a timeline and adding transitions and titles as they wish.

 

TV-Over-PC Viewing Products

 

Our TV-over-PC viewing products allow Windows or Macintosh users to view television programming on their computers wherever and whenever they choose. A television program can be viewed or recorded on its own using the Pinnacle TV Center software or in conjunction with applications such as Windows Media Center. The Pinnacle PCTV line, available for HD format in certain markets, consists of a family of USB sticks with a small and convenient form factor well-suited for use with laptops and PCI-based cards more appropriate for desktop users.

 

SALES AND SERVICE CHANNELS

 

We market and sell our products through a combination of direct and indirect sales channels, including a network of more than 3,000 independent distributors, value-added resellers and dealers. Our direct sales channel consists of internal sales representatives serving select customers and markets, as well as our Internet sales programs.

 

We have significant international operations with offices in 23 countries around the world. We believe this geographic diversity allows us to draw on business and technical expertise from a global workforce and provides stability to our operations and revenue streams to offset regional economic trends. Revenues from our international operations accounted for 58%, 57% and 57% of our total net revenues for 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

 

We generally ship our products shortly after the receipt of an order, which is typical for our industry. Historically, a high percentage of our revenues has been generated in the third month of each fiscal quarter and is concentrated in the latter part of that month. Accordingly, orders may exist at the end of a quarter that have not been shipped and have not been recognized as revenue. Backlog that may exist at the end of any quarter is not a reliable indicator of future sales levels.

 

We have historically experienced increased sales for our consumer products in the fourth quarter due to holiday season demand. This historical pattern may not be a reliable indicator of future sales levels.

 

We provide customer service and support directly through regional telephone support centers and major-market field service representatives and indirectly through strategically located dealers, value-added resellers and authorized third-party service providers. Depending on the product, customers may choose from a variety of support offerings, including telephone support, quick-response on-site assistance, hardware replacement and extended warranty, and software upgrades. In addition, we offer media-industry consultation and installation services. We also offer customer training, which is available directly from us or through certified Avid training centers around the world. Revenues from service and support offerings represented 13%, 11% and 11% of our consolidated net revenues in 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively.

 

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MANUFACTURING AND SUPPLIERS

 

Our manufacturing operations consist primarily of the testing of subassemblies and components purchased from third parties, the duplication of software, and the configuration, assembly and testing of board sets, software, related hardware components and complete systems. In addition to our internal manufacturing operations, we rely on independent contractors to manufacture some of our products and certain components and subassemblies, in each case to our specifications, both in the United States and overseas. Our products undergo testing and quality assurance at the final assembly stage. We depend on a number of sole source vendors for certain key hardware components of our products. For the risks associated with our reliance upon certain vendors, see Item 1A “Risk Factors.”

 

Our manufacturing facilities are located in: Tewksbury, Massachusetts; Dublin, Ireland; Menlo Park, California; Mountain View, California; and Irwindale, California. We also contract with third-party manufacturing facilities in the United States and overseas for the manufacture of some of our products and certain component parts.

 

Avid Green Initiative

 

In order to comply with environmental directives, such as those recently adopted or currently proposed in the European Union, China, Japan, Korea and various states within the United States, we must provide for the recycling of our products and removal of specific toxic substances that may be found in our products sold in these jurisdictions. During 2007 we began and made significant progress with our “Avid Green Initiative,” including hiring a corporate environmental officer. This officer initially focused on the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive, or WEEE, and Restriction of the use of certain Hazardous Substances in electrical and electronic equipment, or RoHS, compliance initiatives. We have also begun work on a “Design for Environment” program, which incorporates environmental considerations into products from initial concept to end-of-life. In addition, we expect to finalize in 2008 a Corporate Environment Management System and Environmental Policy Statement, which will ensure that we as an organization incorporate conservation, energy management, waste management and other environmental concerns into our business process.

 

In 2007 and 2006, we incurred costs of approximately $0.6 million and $3.3 million, respectively, to comply with the various environmental regulations, including WEEE and RoHS. In 2005 the expense for such compliance was immaterial. The environmental compliance costs were significantly higher in 2006 as a result of the initial costs of complying with WEEE and RoHS, both of which went into effect in that year. We expect our 2008 environmental compliance costs to remain approximately the same as the 2007 costs. However, because these regulations are new and some jurisdictions have not yet finalized their implementation rules, it is difficult to predict the exact cost of compliance for 2008 and beyond, and the actual amount is subject to change. Any amounts spent for compliance will result in decreased earnings, but are required in order to allow us to continue selling our products in these jurisdictions.

 

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

 

We regard our software and hardware as proprietary and protect our proprietary interests under the laws of patents, copyrights, trademarks and trade secrets, as well as through contractual provisions.

 

We have obtained patents and have registered copyrights, trademarks and service marks in the United States and in many foreign countries. As of December 31, 2007, we held 246 U.S. patents, with expiration dates through 2024, and had 89 patent applications pending with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. We have also registered or applied to register various trademarks and service marks in the United States and a number of foreign countries, including Avid, Media Composer, NewsCutter, Digidesign, Pro Tools, M-Audio, Softimage, XSI, Sibelius and Pinnacle Systems. Although we believe ownership of our patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks and trade secrets is an important factor in our business, our success relies primarily on the innovative skills, technical competence and marketing abilities of our personnel.

 

Our software is licensed to end users pursuant to shrink-wrap, embedded, click-through or signed paper license agreements. Our products generally contain copy-protection and/or copy-detection features to guard against

 

8

 


unauthorized use. Policing unauthorized use of computer software is difficult, and software piracy is a persistent problem for us, as well as for the software industry in general. This problem is particularly acute in international markets. We participate in an anti-piracy program through the Business Software Alliance, or BSA, an external association of software vendors.

 

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

 

We are known as a pioneer and innovator in the media industry with research and development, or R&D, centers across North America and Europe. Our R&D expenditures for 2007, 2006 and 2005 were $150.7 million, $141.4 million and $111.3 million, respectively.

 

Our R&D efforts are focused on the development of digital media content-creation tools and workgroup solutions that operate primarily on the Macintosh and Windows platforms. We are committed to delivering best-in-class video, film, 3D animation and audio editing systems to meet the needs of professionals in the television, film, music, broadcast production and industrial post-production markets, and the needs of end-users in the educational, consumer and corporate markets. Our R&D efforts also include networking and storage initiatives intended to deliver standards-based media transfer and media asset management tools, as well as stand-alone and network-attached media storage systems for workgroups. Our systems are designed to include technology for encoding and streaming media over the Internet.

 

Our R&D operations are located in: Tewksbury, Massachusetts; Daly City, California; Mountain View, California; Irwindale, California; Madison, Wisconsin; Rochelle Park, New Jersey; Dallas, Texas; Braunschweig, Germany; Munich, Germany; Montreal, Canada; Edmonton, Canada; and London, England. We also employ independent contractors in the United States and abroad for R&D activities.

 

COMPETITION

 

The markets for our products are highly competitive and subject to rapid change. Our competition is fragmented, with a large number of competitors providing different types of products to different markets.

 

PROFESSIONAL VIDEO

 

Video and Film Editing and Finishing

 

In the TV, video and film post-production markets, we compete primarily with vendors that offer similar digital editing and effects products based on standard computer platforms. These competitors include Apple Inc., Adobe Systems Incorporated, AJA Video Systems Inc., Blackmagic Design Pty. Ltd., Autodesk, Inc., Quantel Inc., Dayang Technology Development Inc. and Sony Corporation. In the 3D animation sector, we compete with Autodesk, Inc. and NewTek, Inc.

 

Broadcast

 

In the broadcast production area, we compete with vendors of video servers and traditional broadcast equipment that offer nonlinear editing and shared storage systems, such as Apple Inc., Harris Corporation, Thomson Grass Valley, Quantel Inc. and Sony Corporation. Other vendors of competitive products targeting these markets include 360 Systems and Bit Central, Inc. Primary competitors with respect to newsroom solutions are The Associated Press (ENPS) and Dalet Digital Media Systems. In on-air graphics, principal competitors are Chyron Corporation, Harris Corporation and Vizrt Ltd. Our primary competitors in play-to-air servers are Thomson Grass Valley, Harris Corporation, Omneon Video Networks, EVS Broadcast Equipment and SeaChange International, Inc. We expect continued competition from these vendors as they develop and introduce digital media products. In addition, as more disciplines move toward rich video content, we expect to see competition from companies like International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) and Accenture, which approach solving customers' problems by bundling multiple off-the-shelf and custom systems.

 

9

 


Storage & Workgroups and Digital Asset Management

 

We compete in the data storage market with companies such as Advanced Digital Information Corporation (ADIC), Apple Inc., Ciprico Inc., EditShare LLC, EMC Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Development Company L.P., IBM, Isilon Systems, Inc., Facilis Technology Inc., Omneon Video Networks and Rorke Data (a subsidiary of Bell Microproducts, Inc.). In digital asset management, we compete with products primarily from Cinegy GmbH, Thomson Grass Valley, Ardendo AB (a Vizrt company) and Dalet Digital Media Systems.

 

AUDIO

 

In the Audio segment, we compete primarily with suppliers of disk-based digital audio workstation software and hardware products, such as Apple Inc., MOTU, Inc. (Mark of the Unicorn), Line 6, Inc., Merging Technologies Inc. and Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH (a subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation). We also compete with manufacturers of professional analog and digital mixing consoles for studio production and live-sound mixing, including AMS Neve Ltd., DiGiCo Limited, Euphonix, Inc., Midas (a division of Telex Communications, Inc.), Solid State Logic Ltd. and Yamaha Corporation. We also compete with manufacturers of low-cost, computer-connected audio I/O hardware, such as Creative Technology Ltd., PreSonus Audio Electronics, Inc., Loud Technologies, Inc., Roland Corporation, Tascam (a division of TEAC Corporation) and Yamaha Corporation. In addition, M-Audio also competes in the categories of MIDI keyboard/controllers, MIDI interfaces, speakers, pre-amplifiers and microphones with many of these companies and others. Our Sibelius products compete with products offered by MakeMusic Inc., Notion and others.

 

CONSUMER VIDEO

 

In the Consumer Video segment, we compete primarily with video-editing software providers Adobe Systems, Inc., Sony Corporation, Ulead Systems, Inc. (a subsidiary of Corel Corporation), Sonic Solutions, and Magix AG. In the market for TV-over-PC viewing, we compete with Hauppauge Computer Works, Inc., ATI Technologies, Inc. and TerraTec Electronic GmbH.

 

OPERATIONS

 

Avid is headquartered in Tewksbury, Massachusetts, with operations spanning the United States, Canada, South America, Europe and Asia. Avid employed approximately 2,728 people worldwide as of December 31, 2007.

 

WEB SITE ACCESS

 

We make available free of charge on our website, www.avid.com, copies of our annual report on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, our current reports on Form 8-K and all amendments to those reports as soon as practicable after such material is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, we will provide paper copies of all of these filings free of charge upon request. Alternatively, these reports can be accessed at the SEC’s Internet website: www.sec.gov.

 

Avid brands can be accessed at www.avid.com, www.digidesign.com, www.m-audio.com, www.pinnaclesys.com, www.sibelius.com, www.softimage.com and www.sundancedigital.com.

 

10

 


 

ITEM 1A.

RISK FACTORS

 

Investing in our common stock involves a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the risks and uncertainties described below in addition to the other information included or incorporated by reference in this annual report before making an investment decision regarding our common stock. If any of the following risks actually occurs, our business, financial condition or operating results would likely suffer, possibly materially, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment.

 

Our revenues and operating results depend on several variables and may fluctuate from period to period.

 

Our revenues and operating results depend on several variables, which include, but are not limited to:

 

 

size, timing and volume of significant orders and shipments;

 

 

mix of products and services sold;

 

 

our ability to recognize revenues from large solution-based sales;

 

 

length of sales cycles and associated costs;

 

 

global macroeconomic conditions;

 

 

timing and acceptance of new product introductions by us and our competitors;

 

 

competitive pressure on product pricing;

 

 

remedial costs and reputational harm associated with product defects or errors;

 

 

price discounts and sales promotions;

 

 

cost and proportion of third-party technology or components incorporated into or bundled with products sold;

 

 

reliance on third-party reseller and distribution channels;

 

 

changes in operating expenses;

 

 

seasonal factors, such as higher consumer demand at year-end;

 

 

changes in foreign currency exchange rates; and

 

 

price protections and provisions for inventory obsolescence extended to resellers and distributors.

 

The occurrence and relationship of these variables may cause our revenues and operating results to fluctuate from period to period. As a result, period-to-period comparisons of our revenues and operating results may not provide a good indication of our future performance.

 

Our success depends in part on our ability to adapt to dynamic market demand and continued customer acceptance of our products.

 

The markets in which we operate are dynamic and rapidly evolving. We continuously develop new products, as well as strategically upgrade or enhance our existing products, in an attempt to capitalize on market trends. Any new or upgraded product may require months or years of development prior to its actual introduction and may involve substantial investments of resources. Development can be a complex and uncertain process, and we may experience design, manufacturing or other difficulties that delay or prevent the introduction of products or result in even greater resource outlays. Additionally, we may fail to predict market trends correctly, fall short of customer expectations or

 

11

 


encounter product quality issues, in which case our new or upgraded product introductions may fail. New or upgraded product introductions may also have a negative impact on the market for our existing products.

 

The markets in which we operate are highly competitive, and our competitors may be able to draw upon a greater depth and breadth of resources than those which are available to us.

 

We operate in highly competitive markets characterized by pressure to expand feature sets and functionality, accelerate new product releases and reduce prices. Some markets, including many of the consumer markets in which we compete, also have limited barriers to entry. Customers consider many factors when evaluating our products relative to those of our competitors, including reliability, performance, ease of use, feature sets, functionality, reputation, training and support, and we may not compare favorably against our competitors in all cases. Some of our current and potential competitors have longer operating histories, greater brand recognition and substantially greater financial, technical, marketing, distribution and support resources than we do. As a result, they may be able to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies and changes in market demand, devote greater resources to the development, marketing and sale of their products, or price their products more aggressively than we can. The superior resources of these competitors may also allow them to realize economies of scale or other cost-saving advantages that allow them to price their products aggressively relative to our products, in which case our product sales may decline and our revenues and operating results may suffer.

 

Competition for technical and management personnel is intense in our industry, and our business may suffer if we are unable to attract or retain key personnel.

 

Our success depends in part upon our ability to attract and retain talented and dedicated personnel, including members of our management team and employees in key technical positions. Competition for managerial and technical talent in the markets and geographic areas in which we operate is intense and turnover rates can be high. Our compensation, incentive and development practices may be inadequate for purposes of retaining personnel or attracting needed talent. Additionally, companies with which we compete for talent may offer potential recruits a more dynamic work environment or greater opportunity to work with, or train on, cutting-edge technology than we are able to offer. In the past, we have relied on stock option grants as one mechanism for recruiting and retaining highly skilled talent, however, a decline in the market price for our common stock may cause stock options that we have issued to be of little or no value. If we fail to provide adequate compensation and incentives, we may be unable to compete successfully for talented and dedicated employees and our business may suffer.

 

Our Avid 20|20 initiatives, focusing on operational efficiency and strategic analysis and improvements, may not achieve their intended results.

 

Through a collaborative review process, referred to as Avid 20|20, we identified a number of potential initiatives that focus on operational efficiency and strategic analysis and improvements. We have undertaken, or plan to undertake, many of these initiatives. Pursuit of these initiatives may divert management’s time and attention from day-to-day operational matters and may require significant investment. We cannot be certain that these initiatives will achieve improved operational efficiency or other intended results. Additionally, these initiatives may be misplaced or insufficient for purposes of positioning us for future growth, in which case our long-term competitive position may suffer.

 

We may have difficulty accurately forecasting quarterly revenues and operating results.

 

We have in the past had, and may in the future have, difficulty accurately forecasting quarterly revenues and operating results due, in part, to an historically high concentration of sales activity near quarter-end. Additionally, many of our larger enterprise or solution sales include complex customer acceptance terms that may delay, or make difficult to predict the timing of, revenue recognition. If any of our quarterly forecasts of revenues or operating results proves to be inaccurate, we may fail to meet the expectations of investors and securities analysts, and the market price of our common stock may decline.

 

12

 


Potential acquisitions could be difficult to integrate, divert the attention of key personnel, disrupt our business, dilute stockholder value and impair our financial results.

 

As part of our business strategy, we periodically acquire companies, technologies and products that we believe can improve our ability to compete in our existing markets or allow us to enter new markets. The potential risks associated with any acquisition include, but are not limited to:

 

 

difficulty in assimilating the operations, policies and personnel of the acquired company;

 

 

failure to realize anticipated returns on investment, cost savings and synergies;

 

 

possibility of incurring impairment charges related to goodwill and other intangible assets;

 

 

unidentified issues not discovered in due diligence, which may include product quality issues or legal contingencies;

 

 

diversion of management’s time and attention;

 

 

potential dilution to existing stockholders, if we issue common stock or other equity rights in the acquisition;

 

 

potential loss of key employees of the acquired company;

 

 

difficulty in complying with a variety of foreign laws and regulations, if so required;

 

 

impairment of relationships with customers or suppliers; and

 

 

possibility of contingent payments or earn-outs.

 

Acquisitions often involve significant transaction-related costs, including potential hidden costs that we may not fully appreciate, and could cause disruption to our normal operations. In the future, in addition to acquisitions, we may also make debt or equity investments, and we may fail to realize anticipated returns on such investments.

 

Our Professional Video customers are increasingly demanding comprehensive product and service solutions from single vendors, which we may be unable to provide or successfully implement.

 

Our Professional Video customers are increasingly demanding comprehensive product and service solutions from single vendors, as opposed to discrete point product and service purchases from multiple vendors. This trend is being driven to a significant degree by media and broadcast organizations converting entire systems from analog, or tape-based, processes to digital formats. Our combined product and service solutions may not always be sufficiently compelling or comprehensive for our customers’ requirements, and we may need to augment our solutions with third-party products and services. Such third-party products and services may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all. To the extent we are unable to provide our customers with compelling or comprehensive product and service solutions, we may be competitively disadvantaged and our revenues and operating results may decline. Additionally, if we are unable to achieve successful and timely implementation of these solutions, our industry reputation may be diminished and our ability to secure similar sales opportunities in the future may be impaired. The size and frequency of, and competition for, these types of sales may cause our revenues to become more variable from period to period, in which case we may fail to meet the expectations of investors and securities analysts, and the market price of our common stock may decline.

 

To the extent we derive significant revenues from consumer markets, we may experience lower profit margins and greater revenues seasonality.

 

As a result of acquisitions and new product initiatives, we derive significant revenues from sales to consumers of home video and audio products. The market for consumer video and audio products is highly competitive and changes rapidly, and we may not have sufficient skill or experience to continue to compete effectively. Additionally, competitive and consumer-driven pricing pressure may result in lower consumer profit margins that could lower our

 

13

 


overall profit margins. Similarly, our revenues may exhibit greater seasonality because sales of consumer electronics typically increase in the latter half of the year.

 

Our products may, from time to time, experience quality problems that could negatively impact our customer relationships, our market reputation and our operating results.

 

We offer sophisticated and complex products. Our software products, as is typical of high-end software, generally include coding defects or errors, often referred to as “bugs,” which in some cases may interfere with or impair a customer’s ability to operate or use the software. Similarly, our hardware products, from time to time, may include design or manufacturing defects that could cause them to malfunction. Although we employ various quality control measures, they may be inadequate, particularly if other business considerations, such as meeting target release-to-market dates, limit the amount of time or resources available to devote to such measures. We cannot be certain that we will be able to detect or remedy all such defects that may exist in our products. Any such defects could result in loss of customers or revenues, delays in revenue recognition, increased product returns, damage to our market reputation and significant warranty or other expense.

 

A catastrophic event may significantly limit our ability to conduct business as normal.

 

We operate a complex, geographically dispersed business, which includes a significant personnel and facilities presence in California near major earthquake fault lines. Disruption or failure of our networks or systems, or injury or damage to our personnel or physical infrastructure, caused by a natural disaster, public health crisis, terrorism, cyber attack, act of war or other catastrophic event may significantly limit our ability to conduct business as normal, including our ability to communicate and transact with our customers, suppliers, distributors and resellers, and negatively impact our revenues and operating results. The threat or occurrence of a catastrophic event may create additional economic and political uncertainties that could adversely affect our business and the markets in ways that cannot be predicted. We are predominantly uninsured for losses and disruptions caused by such catastrophic events, and we may not have a sufficiently comprehensive enterprise-wide disaster recovery plan in place.

 

Our success depends in part on protecting our proprietary technology from third-party infringement and misappropriation.

 

Our ability to compete successfully and achieve future revenues growth depends in part on our ability to protect our proprietary technology. Software piracy is an ongoing concern for us, particularly with respect to our consumer products, where we have limited ability to track license usage and transfers. We rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws, as well as confidentiality procedures and contractual provisions to protect our proprietary technology. We also design some of our products to include anti-piracy features, such as required hardware components or security keys. These legal and security practices may prove to be inadequate or subject to circumvention. Additionally, the laws of certain countries in which we operate may not protect our proprietary technology to the same extent as do the laws of the United States. The unauthorized use or copying of our proprietary technology results in lost revenues to our business, and enforcement actions or litigation that we may pursue to protect our technology may be costly and time-consuming.

 

Our products may infringe third-party intellectual property rights.

 

We occasionally receive communications alleging that our products infringe third-party intellectual property rights. Although our practice is to investigate the factual basis of such allegations and negotiate licenses where necessary, licenses may not be available to us on commercially reasonable terms or at all, in which case we may be required to expend considerable resources to develop a non-infringing alternative. Until we are able to develop an alternative, sales of our products may be delayed or suspended or we may be forced to distribute our products with reduced feature sets or functionality. We also may be liable to some of our customers, resellers and distributors for damages in connection with intellectual property claims relating to our products. If any of these risks were to occur, the potential harm to our business could be substantial.

 

14

 


Qualifying and supporting our products on multiple computer platforms is time consuming and expensive.

 

We devote significant time and resources to qualify and support our software products on various computer platforms, including Microsoft and Apple operating systems. To the extent that any qualified and supported platform is modified or upgraded, or we need to qualify and support a new platform, we would be required to expend additional engineering time and resources, which may add significantly to our development expenses and adversely affect our operating results.

 

Our use of independent contracting firms and subcontractors for certain product development and manufacturing activities may limit our control over such activities or expose us to other risks.

 

From time to time, we engage independent contracting firms, some of which are located in foreign countries, to perform product development activities for us to complement or support our internal development efforts. We generally own the work product developed by such firms. We also rely on subcontractors, many of which are likewise located in foreign countries, for some of our procurement and manufacturing activities. Our reliance on third parties for development and manufacturing activities may, among other risks, reduce our control over delivery schedules, order lead times, product quality and component costs.

 

Our revenues and operating results depend significantly on third-party reseller and distribution channels.

 

We distribute many of our Professional Video products, and substantially all of our Audio and Consumer Video products, indirectly through third-party resellers and distributors. With respect to our Audio and Consumer Video products, relatively few resellers and distributors account for a significant portion of our revenues. The loss of one or more of these or other key resellers or distributors may significantly reduce our revenues. Increasingly, we are distributing our products directly to customers, which could put us in competition with our resellers and distributors and adversely affect these relationships. Additionally, in response to this or similar direct sales strategies that we may undertake, or for other business reasons, resellers and distributors may choose to resell our competitors’ products in addition to, or in place of, ours. Resellers and distributors of our Audio and Consumer Video products typically have limited rights of return, as well as inventory stock rotation and price protection. Accordingly, reserves for estimated returns, exchanges and credits for price protection are recorded as a reduction of revenues upon product shipment, based upon our historical experience. To date, actual returns of our Audio and Consumer Video products have not differed materially from management’s estimates. To the extent returns of our Audio or Consumer Video products exceed such estimated levels, our revenues and operating results may be adversely impacted.

 

We depend on the availability and proper functioning of certain third-party technology that we incorporate into or bundle with our products.

 

We license third-party technology for incorporation into or bundling with our products. This technology may provide us with critical or strategic feature sets or functionality. The profit margin for each of our products depends in part on the royalty, license and purchase fees we pay in connection with third-party technology. To the extent we add additional third-party technology to our products and we are unable to offset associated costs, our profit margins may decline and our operating results may suffer. In addition to cost implications, third-party technology may include defects or errors that could adversely affect the performance of our products, which may harm our market reputation or adversely affect product sales. Third-party technology may also include open source software code that if used in combination with our own software may jeopardize our intellectual property rights. If any third-party technology license expires, is terminated or ceases to be available on commercially reasonable terms, we may be required to expend considerable resources integrating alternative technology or developing our own. In the interim, sales of our products may be delayed or suspended or we may be forced to distribute our products with reduced feature sets or functionality.

 

Lengthy procurement lead times and unpredictable life cycles and customer demand for some of our products may result in significant inventory risks.

 

With respect to many of our products, we must procure component parts and build finished inventory far in advance of product shipments. Certain of these products, particularly within our consumer markets, may have unpredictable life cycles and encounter rapid technological obsolescence as a result of dynamic market conditions. We procure

 

15

 


product components and build inventory based upon our forecasts of product life cycle and customer demand. If we are unable to provide accurate forecasts or manage our inventory levels in response to shifts in customer demand, we may have insufficient, excess or obsolete product inventory. Insufficient product inventory may impair our ability to fulfill product orders and negatively impact our revenues. For excess or obsolete inventory, we may need to record a write-down on products and components to their realizable value, which would negatively impact our results of operations.

 

We purchase certain hardware components for our products from sole source suppliers.

 

We depend on sole source suppliers for certain key hardware components of our products. We do not generally carry significant inventories of, and may not in all cases have guaranteed supply arrangements for, these hardware components. If any of our sole source suppliers ceases, suspends or otherwise limits production or shipment of its hardware components, or adversely modifies our terms or pricing structures, our ability to sell and service our own products may be impaired. We cannot be certain that we will be able to obtain these hardware components, or acceptable substitutes, from alternative sources or that we will be able to do so on commercially reasonable terms. We may also be required to expend significant development resources to redesign our products to work around the exclusion of any hardware component or accommodate the inclusion of any substitute hardware component, in which case our operating results may suffer.

 

Our international operations expose us to significant exchange rate fluctuations and regulatory, intellectual property and other risks that may adversely affect our operating results.

 

We derive a significant portion of our revenues from customers outside of the United States. Our international sales are, for the most part, transacted through foreign subsidiaries and generally in the currency of the end-user customers. Therefore, we are exposed to the risks that changes in foreign currency could adversely impact our revenues, operating results and cash flow. To hedge against the international exchange exposure of certain forecasted receivables, payables and cash balances of our foreign subsidiaries, we enter into foreign currency, forward-exchange contracts. The success of our hedging program depends on forecasts of transaction activity in the various currencies. To the extent that these forecasts are over- or understated during periods of currency volatility, we may experience currency gains or losses. Other risks inherent in our international operations relate to, among other things, environmental laws, regulatory practices, tax laws, trade restrictions and tariffs, as well as longer collection cycles for accounts receivable and greater difficulties in protecting our intellectual property.

 

We are subject to risks associated with environmental regulatory compliance.

 

Many of our products are subject to international, federal and state laws and regulations governing the presence of chemical substances in, and the proper recycling of, such products. Our product design and procurement operations are becoming increasingly complex as we adjust to new and future requirements relating to the composition and energy consumption of our products, including similar legislation recently adopted or currently proposed in the European Union, China, Japan, Korea and various states within the United States. Our potential liability resulting from environmental legislation may be substantial and may have an adverse effect on our operating results.

 

Our websites may subject us to legal claims that could harm our business.

 

Some of our websites provide interactive information and services to our customers, including content generated or posted by members of the public. To the extent that materials may be posted on or downloaded from our websites and distributed to others, we may be subject to claims for defamation, negligence, copyright or trademark infringement, personal injury or other theories of liability based on the nature, content, publication or distribution of such materials. In addition, we may also be subject to claims for indemnification by end users in the event that the security of our websites is compromised. Our websites are available on a worldwide basis and may potentially be subject to a wide variety of international laws. The potential impact of these risks on our business could be substantial.

 

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If we experience problems with our third-party leasing program, our revenues may be adversely impacted.

 

We have an established leasing program with a third party that allows qualified customers to finance purchases of our products. If this program ended abruptly or unexpectedly, some customers would likely be unable to purchase our products unless or until they were able to arrange for alternative financing. To the extent such customers were precluded from, or delayed in, making product purchases, our revenues may decline.

 

The market price of our common stock has been and may continue to be volatile.

 

The market price of our common stock has experienced volatility in the past and may continue to fluctuate substantially in the future in response to various factors, some of which are beyond our control. These factors include, but are not limited to:

 

 

period-to-period variations in our revenues or operating results;

 

 

our failure to accurately forecast quarterly or annual revenues or operating results;

 

 

shortfalls in our revenues or earnings compared to expectations;

 

 

changes in investors’ perceptions of us or our competitors;

 

 

announcements by us or our competitors of acquisitions, new products, significant contracts, commercial relationships or capital commitments;

 

 

shifts in markets or demand for our products;

 

 

our ability to develop and market new or upgraded products on a timely basis;

 

 

changes in our relationships with suppliers, resellers, distributors or customers;

 

 

our commencement of, or our involvement in, litigation;

 

 

changes to our board of directors or management;

 

 

the volume of shares of our common stock available for public sale;

 

 

short sales, hedging or other derivative transactions involving shares of our common stock;

 

 

shifts in financial markets;

 

 

changes in governmental regulations; and

 

 

global macroeconomic conditions.

 

Additionally, broader financial market trends may negatively affect the market price of our common stock, regardless of our operating performance.

 

 

ITEM 1B.

UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

 

None.

 

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ITEM 2.

PROPERTIES

 

Our principal corporate and administrative offices, as well as our Professional Video headquarters, are located in three adjacent buildings in an office park located in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. Our leases on these buildings expire in June 2010.

 

We lease office space in Daly City, California for our Audio headquarters, including its administrative, sales and marketing and R&D activities, and in Mountain View, California, for our Consumer Video headquarters including its administrative, sales and marketing and R&D activities. In Europe we lease facilities in Iver Heath, United Kingdom for our European headquarters, including administrative, sales and support functions; in Munich, Germany for R&D, sales and administrative support; and in Braunschweig, Germany to accommodate the European engineering operations for our Consumer Video products. In Asia, we lease facilities in Singapore for our Asian headquarters. We also lease facilities in Dublin, Ireland and Menlo Park, California for the manufacture and distribution of our products.

 

 

ITEM 3.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 

We are involved in legal proceedings from time to time arising from the normal course of business activities, including claims of alleged infringement of intellectual property rights and commercial, employment, piracy prosecution and other matters. We do not believe these matters will have a material adverse effect on our financial position or results of operations. However, our financial position or results of operations may be negatively impacted by the unfavorable resolution of one or more of these proceedings.

 

 

ITEM 4.

SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

 

None.

 

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

Set forth below are the names and ages of each of our executive officers, the position(s) currently held by each person and the principal occupation held by each person for at least the past five years.

 

EXECUTIVE OFFICER

AGE

POSITION(S)

Gary G. Greenfield

53

Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer

Kirk E. Arnold

48

Executive Vice President and General Manager, Professional Video

Gregory A. Estes

47

Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer

Nancy A. Grant

48

Vice President and Corporate Controller

David M. Lebolt

51

Vice President and General Manager, Audio

Joel E. Legon

57

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Gregory A. Munster

46

Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Business Process Transformation

Paige Parisi

43

Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Sharad Rastogi

40

Vice President of Corporate Development and Interim General Manager, Consumer Video

Kenneth A. Sexton

54

Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer

 

 

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GARY G. GREENFIELD.  Mr. Greenfield has served as Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer since December 2007. Prior to joining us, Mr. Greenfield was Chief Executive Officer of GXS, Inc., a provider of business-to-business integration, synchronization and collaboration solutions, since December 2003. Also during that period, he was an Operating Partner with Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm. From June 2002 to August 2003, Mr. Greenfield served as Chief Executive Officer of Peregrine Systems, Inc., an infrastructure management software company. From December 2001 to March 2003, Mr. Greenfield also served as an advisor to JMI Equity Fund. Prior to that, Mr. Greenfield served as President and Chief Executive Officer of MERANT PLC and, prior to that, was the President and Chief Executive Officer of INTERSOLV, Inc., during which time it merged with Micro Focus Group PLC to form MERANT.

 

KIRK E. ARNOLD.  Ms. Arnold has served as Executive Vice President and General Manager of Professional Video since February 2008. Prior to joining us, Ms. Arnold was Vice Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of Keane Inc., a global consulting and outsourcing firm, from January 2007 to June 2007. Prior to that, she was at Fidelity Investments, serving as Executive Vice President of Product, Marketing and Strategy for the Human Resources Outsourcing Group, Fidelity’s business process outsourcing unit, from June 2004 to January 2007, and as Senior Vice President of Sales and Market for Fidelity Institutional Retirement Services Company from June 2003 to June 2004. Prior to joining Fidelity, Ms. Arnold served as President and Chief Executive Officer of NerveWire, Inc., a venture-backed information technology services business that she helped launch, from February 2002 to February 2003, and as NerveWire’s President and Chief Operating Officer from February 2000 to February 2002.

 

GREGORY A. ESTES.  Mr. Estes has served as Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer since December 2006. Previously, Mr. Estes served as a marketing consultant to us. Prior to that, from July 1990 to March 2006, he was Vice President of Global Marketing at Silicon Graphics Inc., a provider of high-performance computing and data management solutions. Mr. Estes was also a founding member of RasterOps Corp., which developed the first color graphics boards and video capture devices for the Macintosh II in the late 1980's.

 

NANCY A. GRANT.  Ms. Grant has served as Vice President and Corporate Controller since December 2007. Since joining us in 1992, Ms. Grant has previously served as Corporate Accounting Manager from 1992 to 1997, Director of Order Administration from 1997 to 1998, and Director of Corporate Finance and Assistant Corporate Controller from 1998 until December 2007. Prior to joining us, Ms. Grant served as an Audit Manager at Deloitte and Touche LLC.

 

DAVID M. LEBOLT.  Mr. Lebolt has served as Vice President and General Manager of Audio since July 2002. Previously, Mr. Lebolt held a variety of positions at our Digidesign, including Vice President of Product Strategy from November 1999 to July 2002, Director of Product Strategy from November 1998 to November 1999 and Pro Tools Product Line Manager from February 1994 to November 1998. Before joining Digidesign in 1994, Mr. Lebolt was a professional keyboardist, producer, arranger and composer. He also has experience in music advertising and music production and has received both Clio and Emmy awards for his production work.

 

JOEL E. LEGON.  Mr. Legon has served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since July 2007. From March 2006 to July 2007, Mr. Legon was Vice President and Corporate Controller for Avid. Prior to joining us, Mr. Legon served in the following positions at Parametric Technology Corporation, a lifecycle management software solutions company: from January 2004 to March 2006 as Senior Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller; from November 1999 to January 2004 as Vice President of Finance and Corporate Controller; and from March 1998 to November 1999 as Corporate Controller. Prior to that, Mr. Legon held finance positions at Computervision Corporation, NEC America, Inc., Chesebrough-Ponds, Inc. and Richardson-Vicks Inc.

 

GREGORY A. MUNSTER.  Mr. Munster has served as Chief Information Officer and Vice President of Business Process Transformation since July 2007. Previously, Mr. Munster served as a business process consultant to us beginning in March 2007. Prior to that, from April 2005 until January 2007, Mr. Munster served as Executive Director of Corporate Strategy at Lenovo International, a designer and manufacturer of personal computer products. Prior to the divestiture of its Personal Computer Group to Lenovo, Mr. Munster served from January 1999 until April 2005 in several executive positions at IBM, most recently as a Vice President of Marketing and Strategy for its Asia-Pacific operations based in Tokyo, Japan.

 

19

 


PAIGE PARISI.  Ms. Parisi has served as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary since May 2006. From June 2003 to May 2006, Ms. Parisi was Corporate Counsel for us. Ms. Parisi also served as our outside counsel while in private practice at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP from 1997 to 2003. Prior to beginning her law career, Ms. Parisi was a news producer for the CBS Evening News and NBC Nightly News.

 

SHARAD RASTOGI.  Mr. Rastogi has served as Vice President of Corporate Development since August 2005 and as Interim General Manager of Consumer Video since July 2007. From January 2004 until August 2005, he was Vice President of Strategic Planning and New Business Development. Prior to joining us, Mr. Rastogi was a Vice President and Partner at the management consulting firm Bain & Company, Inc. from September 1996 until December 2003. Prior to that, Mr. Rastogi was senior automation engineer at hard-disk manufacturer Komag, Inc.

 

KENNETH A. SEXTON.  Mr. Sexton has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer since January 2008. Prior to joining us, in 2007 Mr. Sexton served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of webMethods, Inc., a provider of business integration solutions. In 2006 he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Infor, Inc., a private software company focused on enterprise resource planning software solutions. From 2004 to 2005, Mr. Sexton was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Axentis, Inc., a privately-held provider of enterprise governance, risk and compliance management software. From 2002 to 2004, Mr. Sexton was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Peregrine Systems, Inc., an infrastructure management software company.

 

20

 


PART II

 

 

ITEM 5.

MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

 

Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol AVID. The table below shows the high and low sales prices of the common stock for each calendar quarter of the fiscal years ended December 31, 2006 and 2007.

 

2006          

 

High  

 

Low   

First Quarter

 

$59.10

 

$41.65

Second Quarter

 

$44.45

 

$32.95

Third Quarter

 

$43.95

 

$32.05

Fourth Quarter

 

$40.68

 

$35.56

 

2007          

 

High  

 

Low   

First Quarter

 

$38.36

 

$31.90

Second Quarter

 

$38.78

 

$32.00

Third Quarter

 

$38.34

 

$25.55

Fourth Quarter

 

$29.58

 

$24.79

 

On February 25, 2008, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market was $23.35 per share. The approximate number of holders of record of our common stock at February 20, 2008 was 434. This number does not include shareholders for whom shares were held in a “nominee” or “street” name.

 

We have never declared or paid cash dividends on our capital stock and we do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future.

 

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

 

A stock repurchase program was approved by the Company’s board of directors and publicly announced on April 26, 2007. Under this program, the Company was authorized to repurchase up to $100 million of its common stock through transactions on the open market, in block trades or otherwise. The program has no expiration date. The following table is a summary of the stock repurchases under this program during the quarter ended December 31, 2007:

 

Period

 

Total Number
of Shares
Repurchased

 

Average Price
Paid Per Share

 

Total Number of
Shares Repurchased
as Part of the
Publicly Announced
Program

 

Dollar Value of
Shares That May
Yet be Purchased
Under the Program
(in thousands)

October 30 – October 31, 2007

 

50,735

 

$28.63

 

50,735

 

$74,882

November 1 – November 2, 2007

 

52,500

 

$28.51

 

52,500

 

$73,385

 

 

103,235

 

$28.57

 

103,235

 

$73,385

 

Subsequent to December 31, 2007, from February 5, 2008 through February 21, 2008, we repurchased an additional 3,454,197 shares of our common stock for a total purchase price of $73.4 million, which completed the stock repurchases then authorized under the repurchase program. The average price per share, including commissions, paid for these shares was $21.28. The average price per share, including commissions, of the total repurchase of 4,263,433 shares of our common stock was $23.49. On February 27, 2008, we announced our board of directors' approval of a $100 million increase in the authorized funds for the repurchase of our common stock under this program.

 

21

 


Stock Performance Graph

 

The following graph compares the cumulative stockholder return on our common stock during the period from December 31, 2002 through December 31, 2007 with the cumulative return during the period for:

 

 

the NASDAQ Computer, Data Processing Index, and

 

 

the NASDAQ Index (all companies traded on NASDAQ Capital, Global or Global Select Markets).

 

This comparison assumes the investment of $100 on December 31, 2002 in our common stock, the NASDAQ Index and the NASDAQ Computer, Data Processing Index and assumes that dividends, if any, were reinvested.

 


22

 


 

 

ITEM 6.

SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

 

The following table sets forth our selected condensed consolidated financial data. The selected consolidated financial data below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included elsewhere in this filing. See Footnote G to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 for information regarding our acquisitions that affect the comparability of the selected condensed consolidated financial data presented.

 

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS DATA:

(in thousands except per share data)

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

2007

 

 

 

2006

 

 

 

2005

 

 

 

2004

 

 

 

2003

 

Net revenues

 

$

929,570

 

 

 

$

910,578

 

 

 

$

775,443

 

 

 

$

589,605

 

 

 

$

471,912

 

Cost of revenues

 

 

480,427

 

 

 

 

465,894

 

 

 

 

364,687

 

 

 

 

255,496

 

 

 

 

209,373

 

Gross profit

 

 

449,143

 

 

 

 

444,684

 

 

 

 

410,756

 

 

 

 

334,109

 

 

 

 

262,539

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development

 

 

150,707

 

 

 

 

141,363

 

 

 

 

111,334

 

 

 

 

94,940

 

 

 

 

85,552

 

Marketing and selling

 

 

210,456

 

 

 

 

203,967

 

 

 

 

170,787

 

 

 

 

130,123

 

 

 

 

105,735

 

General and administrative

 

 

77,463

 

 

 

 

63,250

 

 

 

 

47,147

 

 

 

 

35,468

 

 

 

 

27,177

 

Amortization of intangible assets

 

 

13,726

 

 

 

 

14,460

 

 

 

 

9,194

 

 

 

 

3,641

 

 

 

 

1,316

 

Impairment of goodwill and intangible assets

 

 

 

 

 

 

53,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1,187

 

 

 

 

 

Restructuring costs, net

 

 

9,410

 

 

 

 

2,613

 

 

 

 

3,155

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3,194

 

In-process research and development

 

 

 

 

 

 

879

 

 

 

 

32,390

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

461,762

 

 

 

 

479,532

 

 

 

 

374,007

 

 

 

 

265,359

 

 

 

 

222,974

 

Operating income (loss)

 

 

(12,619

)

 

 

 

(34,848

)

 

 

 

36,749

 

 

 

 

68,750

 

 

 

 

39,565

 

Interest and other income, net

 

 

7,637

 

 

 

 

7,274

 

 

 

 

5,586

 

 

 

 

1,339

 

 

 

 

1,874

 

Income (loss) before income taxes

 

 

(4,982

)

 

 

 

(27,574

)

 

 

 

42,335

 

 

 

 

70,089

 

 

 

 

41,439

 

Provision for (benefit from) income taxes

 

 

2,997

 

 

 

 

15,353

 

 

 

 

8,355

 

 

 

 

(1,612

)

 

 

 

550

 

Net income (loss)

 

$

(7,979

)

 

 

$

(42,927

)

 

 

$

33,980

 

 

 

$

71,701

 

 

 

$

40,889

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Net income (loss) per common share – basic

 

$

(0.19

)

 

 

$

(1.03

)

 

 

$

0.90

 

 

 

$

2.21

 

 

 

$

1.40

 

Net income (loss) per common share – diluted

 

$

(0.19

)

 

 

$

(1.03

)

 

 

$

0.86

 

 

 

$

2.05

 

 

 

$

1.25

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding - basic

 

 

40,974

 

 

 

 

41,736

 

 

 

 

37,762

 

 

 

 

32,485

 

 

 

 

29,192

 

Weighted-average common shares outstanding - diluted

 

 

40,974

 

 

 

 

41,736

 

 

 

 

39,517

 

 

 

 

35,003

 

 

 

 

32,653

 

 

 

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET DATA:

(in thousands)

 

 

 

As of December 31,

 

 

 

2007

 

 

 

2006

 

 

 

2005

 

 

 

2004

 

 

 

2003

 

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities

 

$

224,460

 

 

 

$

172,107

 

 

 

$

238,430

 

 

 

$

155,419

 

 

 

$

196,309

 

Working capital

 

 

308,589

 

 

 

 

287,757

 

 

 

 

299,276

 

 

 

 

176,384

 

 

 

 

196,605

 

Total assets

 

 

1,005,953

 

 

 

 

997,034

 

 

 

 

1,062,046

 

 

 

 

576,234

 

 

 

 

348,119

 

Long-term liabilities

 

 

17,495

 

 

 

 

20,471

 

 

 

 

20,048

 

 

 

 

1,689

 

 

 

 

607

 

Total stockholders' equity

 

 

779,783

 

 

 

 

780,381

 

 

 

 

839,597

 

 

 

 

424,621

 

 

 

 

227,105

 

 

 

23

 


 

ITEM 7.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

 

Our Markets and Strategy

 

We develop, market, sell and support a wide range of software and hardware products for the production, management and distribution of digital media content. Our products empower users, from the home hobbyist to film studios and media-production companies, to realize their creative vision, whether they aspire to edit blockbuster feature films, write and record hit songs, or design animated characters for games or movies. Our technology also improves customer workflows by enabling collaboration, streamlining processes and securely managing digital assets and allows users to distribute media over multiple platforms, including airwaves, cable and the Internet.

 

In order to serve the needs of these customers, we are organized into strategic business units that reflect the principal markets into which our products are sold: Professional Video, Audio and Consumer Video. These business units also reflect our reportable segments and collectively encompass seven brands: Avid Video, Digidesign, M-Audio, Pinnacle, Sibelius, Softimage and Sundance Digital. For more segment and geographic information, including revenue from customers, a measure of profit or loss and total assets for each of the last three years, see our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report of Form 10-K, including Note O thereto. The following is an overview of the business units and the markets they serve.

 

Professional Video.  This business unit offers innovative solutions including video- and film-editing systems, integrated storage, workflow and asset management tools, 3D and special-effects software and a comprehensive range of services, from product support and training to consultancy and managed services. We market these solutions under the brand names Avid Video, Softimage and Sundance Digital to a broad range of professional users, broadcast and cable companies, corporations, governmental entities and educational institutions. Professional users include production and post-production companies that produce feature films, music videos, commercials, entertainment programs, documentaries, and industrial videos, as well as professional animators, video-game developers and film studios. Our broadcast and cable customers include national and international broadcasters, such as the National Broadcasting Company, Reuters, CBS News, Fox Television, the British Broadcasting Corporation, DirectTV and Comcast networks including E!, the Golf Channel and Versus, as well as network affiliates, local independent television stations, web news providers and local and regional cable operators.

 

Audio.  Under the Digidesign, M-Audio and Sibelius brand names, this business unit offers solutions for audio creation, mixing, post-production, collaboration, distribution and scoring to a range of users from home studio novices to award-winning, multi-platinum recording artists. We also sell our solutions to professional music studios, project studios, film and television production and post-production facilities, television and radio broadcasters, “new media” production studios (for example, creators of DVD and web content), performance venues, corporations, governmental entities and educational institutions. Customers use our audio products and solutions for a wide variety of tasks in both studio and live environments, including recording, editing, mixing, processing, mastering, composing and performing.

 

Consumer Video.  This business unit markets, under the Pinnacle brand name, video-editing and digital-lifestyle products to the home user who wants to create, edit, share, publish and view video content easily, creatively and effectively. This segment's two vertical markets consist of home video editing and TV-over-PC viewing. The home video-editing market includes novice and advanced home video editors, as well as corporations, governmental entities and educational institutions. Our home video-editing solutions are used by more than 10 million customers who want to edit, enhance and preserve their videos and share those videos on DVD or over the Internet. The TV-over-PC viewing market includes virtually any consumer who wants to watch and record television programming on a personal computer. With the emergence of digital television, we are now selling approximately one million TV-over-PC viewing solutions a year.

 

Our strategy consists of four key elements:

 

 

deliver best-of-breed, stand-alone products to content creators;

 

 

deliver an integrated workflow for customers who work with multiple systems or within multiple media disciplines;

 

24

 


 

support open standards for media, metadata and application program interfaces; and

 

 

deliver excellent customer service, support and training.

 

We continue to focus on strategically enhancing our existing products and broadening our product offerings to satisfy customer demand for new technology across the spectrum of educational to consumer to professional markets. We continue to position ourselves and deliver new products and services to benefit from a number of important industry trends, including the move to HD television production, the switch to all-digital broadcast production, the growth of home audio studios, the move to digital audio mixing and the growth of consumer video editing and consumption.

 

Financial Summary

 

The following table sets forth certain items from our consolidated statements of operations as a percentage of net revenues for the periods indicated:

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

2007

 

 

2006

 

 

2005

Product revenues

 

86.7

%

 

 

88.8

%

 

 

89.3

%

Service revenues

 

13.3

%

 

 

11.2

%

 

 

10.7

%

Total revenues

 

100.0

%

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

100.0

%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of revenues

 

51.7

%

 

 

51.2

%

 

 

47.0

%

Gross profit

 

48.3

%

 

 

48.8

%

 

 

53.0

%

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development

 

16.2

%

 

 

15.5

%

 

 

14.3

%

Marketing and selling

 

22.7

%

 

 

22.4

%

 

 

22.0

%

General and administrative

 

8.3

%

 

 

6.9

%

 

 

6.1

%

Amortization of intangible assets

 

1.5

%

 

 

1.6

%

 

 

1.2

%

Impairment of goodwill

 

 

 

 

5.8

%

 

 

 

Restructuring costs, net

 

1.0

%

 

 

0.3

%

 

 

0.4

%

In-process research and development

 

 

 

 

0.1

%

 

 

4.2

%

Total operating expenses

 

49.7

%

 

 

52.6

%

 

 

48.2

%

Operating income (loss)

 

(1.4

%)

 

 

(3.8

%)

 

 

4.8

%

Interest and other income (expense), net

 

0.8

%

 

 

0.8

%

 

 

0.7

%

Income (loss) before income taxes

 

(0.6

%)

 

 

(3.0

%)

 

 

5.5

%

Provision for income taxes

 

0.3

%

 

 

1.7

%

 

 

1.1

%

Net income (loss)

 

(0.9

%)

 

 

(4.7

%)

 

 

4.4

%

 

Total net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2007 were $929.6 million, an increase of $19.0 million, or 2%, compared to the year ended December 31, 2006. Broken down by business unit, compared to 2006, Professional Video revenues increased 1%, Audio revenues increased 5%, primarily due to our July 2006 acquisition of Sibelius, and Consumer Video revenues decreased 1%. The revenues of each business unit are discussed in further detail in the section titled “Results of Operations” below.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2007, we incurred a net loss of $8.0 million, compared to a net loss of $42.9 million for 2006. The net loss for 2007 includes $30.6 million of acquisition-related costs for intangible asset amortization expenses, compared to $89.5 million of acquisition-related costs in 2006, including intangible asset amortization expenses of $35.6 million, a goodwill impairment charge of $53.0 million and in-process research and development expenses of $0.9 million. This decrease in acquisition-related costs was partially offset by an increase in other operating expenses and to a lesser extent from slightly decreased gross margins. To address our increasing operating expenses, we announced restructuring programs in the third quarter of 2007, primarily in our Professional Video and Consumer Video segments, that are meant to improve operational efficiencies and align key business skill sets with future opportunities. During 2007 we recorded restructuring charges of $12.2 million related to these programs.

 

Following an in-depth internal analysis and with the assistance of Bain and Company, we have identified a number of initiatives that focus on operational efficiency and strategic analysis and improvements. We have undertaken, or plan to

 

25

 


undertake, many of these initiatives and expect to make significant investments in these initiatives in 2008. The 2007 costs for the Bain and Company consulting arrangement were $3.4 million.

 

Our operating activities continue to generate positive cash flows with cash of $94.1 million provided by operating activities in 2007, compared to $33.7 million in 2006. Our cash provided by operating activities in 2007 primarily reflected non-cash adjustments to our net loss for depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation expense, as well as a decrease in inventory and an increase in deferred revenues.

 

We derive a significant percentage of our revenues from sales to customers outside the United States. International sales accounted for 58% of our net revenues in 2007, compared to 57% of our net revenues for both 2006 and 2005. Our international business is, for the most part, transacted through international subsidiaries and generally in the currency of the customers. Therefore, we are exposed to the risk that changes in foreign currency could materially impact, either positively or adversely, our revenues, net income and cash flow. To hedge against the foreign exchange exposure of certain forecasted receivables, payables and cash balances of our foreign subsidiaries, we enter into short-term foreign currency forward-exchange contracts. We record gains and losses associated with currency rate changes on these contracts in results of operations, offsetting transaction and remeasurement gains and losses on the related assets and liabilities. The success of this hedging program depends on forecasts of transaction activity in the various currencies. To the extent that these forecasts are overstated or understated during periods of currency volatility, we could experience unanticipated currency gains or losses.

 

A significant portion of our operating expenses are fixed in the short term and we plan our expense run rate based on our expectations of future revenues. In addition, a significant percentage of our sales transactions are completed during the final weeks or days of each quarter, and, therefore, we generally do not know whether revenues have met our expectations until after the end of the quarter. If we have a shortfall in revenues in any given quarter, there is an immediate effect on our overall earnings.

 

See Item 1A “Risk Factors” for additional risk factors that may cause our future results to differ materially from our current expectations.

 

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND ESTIMATES

 

Our consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. We regularly reevaluate our estimates and judgments, including those related to revenue recognition and allowances for product returns and exchanges; stock-based compensation; allowances for bad debts and reserves for recourse under financing transactions; the valuation of inventories, business combinations, and goodwill and other intangible assets; and income tax assets. We base our estimates and judgments on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the amounts of revenues and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

 

We believe the following critical accounting policies most significantly affect the portrayal of our financial condition and involve our most difficult and subjective estimates and judgments.

 

Revenue Recognition and Allowances for Product Returns and Exchanges

 

We generally recognize revenues from sales of software and software-related products upon receipt of a signed purchase order or contract and product shipment to distributors or end users, provided that collection is reasonably assured, the fee is fixed or determinable and all other revenue recognition criteria of Statement of Position, or SOP, 97-2, Software Revenue Recognition, as amended, are met. In addition, for certain transactions where our services are non-routine or essential to the delivered products, we record revenues upon satisfying the criteria of SOP 97-2 and obtaining customer acceptance. Within our Professional Video segment, much of our Audio segment and our Consumer Video segment, we follow the guidance of SOP 97-2 for revenue recognition because our products and services are software or software related. However, for certain offerings in our Audio segment, software is incidental to the delivered products and services. For these products, we record revenues based on satisfying the criteria in Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting Bulletin, or SAB, No. 104, Revenue Recognition and Emerging Issues Task Force, or EITF, Issue 00-21, Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables.

 

26

 


In connection with many of our product sale transactions, customers may purchase a maintenance and support agreement. We recognize revenues from maintenance contracts on a ratable basis over their term. We recognize revenues from training, installation or other services as the services are performed.

 

We use the residual method to recognize revenues when an order includes one or more elements to be delivered at a future date and evidence of the fair value of all undelivered elements exists. Under the residual method, the fair value of the undelivered element, typically professional services or maintenance, is deferred and the remaining portion of the total arrangement fee is recognized as revenue related to the delivered element. If evidence of the fair value of one or more undelivered elements does not exist, we defer all revenues and only recognize them when delivery of those elements occurs or when fair value can be established. Fair value is typically based on the price charged when the same element is sold separately to customers. However, in certain transactions, fair value of maintenance is based on the renewal price that is offered as a contractual right to the customer, provided that such renewal price is substantive. Our current pricing practices are influenced primarily by product type, purchase volume, term and customer location. We review services revenues sold separately and corresponding renewal rates on a periodic basis and update, when appropriate, our fair value for such services used for revenue recognition purposes to ensure that it reflects our recent pricing experience.

 

In most cases, the products we sell do not require significant production, modification or customization of software. Installation of the products is generally routine, requires minimal effort and is not typically performed by us. However, certain transactions, typically those involving orders from end users, such as news broadcasters, for a significant number of products for a single customer site require that we perform an installation effort that we deem to be complex and non-routine. In these situations, we do not recognize revenues for either the products shipped or the installation services until the installation is complete. In addition, if these orders include a customer acceptance provision, no revenues are recognized until the customer’s acceptance of the products and services has been received or the acceptance period has lapsed.

 

Telephone support, enhancements and unspecified upgrades typically are provided at no additional charge during the product's initial warranty period (generally between 30 days and twelve months), which precedes commencement of the maintenance contracts. We defer the fair value of this support period and recognize the related revenues ratably over the initial warranty period. We also from time to time offer certain customers free upgrades or specified future products or enhancements. For each of these elements that is undelivered at the time of product shipment, and provided that we have vendor specific objective evidence regarding the fair value of the undelivered element, we defer the fair value of the specified upgrade, product or enhancement and recognize that revenue only upon later delivery or at the time at which the remaining contractual terms relating to the upgrade have been satisfied.

 

In 2007 approximately 70% of our revenues were derived from indirect sales channels, including authorized resellers and distributors. Within our Professional Video segment, our resellers and distributors are generally not granted rights to return products to us after purchase, and actual product returns from them have been insignificant to date. However, distributors of our Media Composer software, Avid Xpress Pro and Avid Mojo products have a contractual right to return a percentage of prior quarter purchases. The return provision for these distributors has not had a material impact on our results of operations. In contrast, some channel partners, particularly our Audio and certain of our Consumer Video channel partners, are offered limited rights of return, stock rotation and price protection. In accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, or SFAS, No. 48, Revenue Recognition When Right of Return Exists, we record a provision for estimated returns and other allowances, as a reduction of revenues, in the same period that related revenues are recorded. Management estimates must be made and used in connection with establishing and maintaining a sales allowance for expected returns and other credits. In making such estimates, we analyze historical returns and credits and the amounts of products held by major resellers and consider the impact of new product introductions, changes in customer demand, current economic conditions and other known factors. The amount and timing of our revenues for any period may be impacted if actual product returns or other reseller credits prove to be materially different from our estimates.

 

A portion of our revenues from sales of Consumer Video products is derived from transactions with channel partners who have unlimited return rights and from whom payment is contingent upon the product being sold through to their customers. Accordingly, revenues for these channel partners is recognized when the products are sold through to the customer instead of being recognized at the time products are shipped to the channel partners.

 

From time to time, we offer rebates on purchases of certain products or based on purchasing volume that are accounted for as reductions to revenues upon shipment or expected achievement of purchasing volumes. In accordance with EITF Issue 01-09, Accounting for Consideration Given by a Vendor to a Customer (including a Reseller of the Vendor’s Products), consideration given to customers or resellers under the rebate program is recorded as a reduction to revenues because we do not receive an identifiable benefit that is sufficiently separable from the sale of our products.

 

27

 


At the time of a sales transaction, we make an assessment of the collectibility of the amount due from the customer. Revenues are recognized only if we are reasonably assured that collection will occur in a timely manner. In making this assessment, we consider customer credit-worthiness and historical payment experience. If it is determined from the outset of the arrangement that collection is not reasonably assured based on our credit review process, revenues are recognized on a cash-collected basis to the extent that the other criteria of SOP 97-2 and SAB No. 104 are satisfied. At the outset of the arrangement, we assess whether the fee associated with the order is fixed or determinable and free of contingencies or significant uncertainties. In assessing whether the fee is fixed or determinable, we consider the payment terms of the transaction, our collection experience in similar transactions without making concessions, and our involvement, if any, in third-party financing transactions, among other factors. If the fee is not fixed or determinable, revenue is recognized only as payments become due from the customer, provided that all other revenue recognition criteria are met. If a significant portion of the fee is due after our normal payment terms, which are generally 30 days, but can be up to 90 days, after the invoice date, we evaluate whether we have sufficient history of successfully collecting past transactions with similar terms. If that collection history is successful, then revenue is recognized upon delivery of the products, assuming all other revenue recognition criteria are satisfied.

 

We record as revenues all amounts billed to customers for shipping and handling costs and record the actual shipping costs as a component of cost of revenues. We record reimbursements received from customers for out-of-pocket expenses as revenues, with related costs recorded as cost of revenues. We present revenues net of any taxes collected from customers and remitted to a government authority.

 

Stock-Based Compensation

 

On January 1, 2006, we adopted the provisions of, and started to account for stock-based compensation in accordance with, Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004), or SFAS 123(R), Share-Based Payment, which is a revision of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123, Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation. SFAS 123(R) requires employee stock-based compensation awards to be accounted for under the fair value method and eliminates the ability to account for these instruments under the intrinsic value method as prescribed by Accounting Principles Board, or APB, Opinion No. 25, Accounting for Stock Issued to Employees and related interpretations. We adopted SFAS 123(R) using the modified prospective application method as permitted under SFAS 123(R). Under this method, we are required to record compensation cost, based on the fair value estimated in accordance with SFAS 123(R), for stock-based awards granted after the date of adoption over the requisite service periods for the individual awards, which generally equals the vesting period. We are also required to record compensation cost for the non-vested portion of previously granted stock-based awards outstanding at the date of adoption over the requisite service periods for the individual awards based on the fair value estimated in accordance with the original provisions of SFAS No. 123 adjusted for forfeitures as required by SFAS 123(R).

 

Prior to the adoption of SFAS 123(R), we accounted for stock-based compensation under the recognition and measurement principles of APB Opinion No. 25 and related interpretations. Accordingly, no compensation expense was recorded for options issued to employees and non-employee directors in fixed amounts and with fixed exercise prices at least equal to the market price of our common stock at the date of grant. In connection with our acquisition of M-Audio in August 2004, we assumed options to certain M-Audio employees at exercise prices that were less than the market price of our common stock at the date of acquisition. We recorded as deferred compensation a portion of the difference between the exercise prices and the fair value of the options at the date of completion of the acquisition, determined under the Black-Scholes method, multiplied by the number of shares underlying the options. The resulting deferred compensation was expensed over the vesting period of the options. Additionally, deferred compensation was recorded for restricted stock granted to employees based on the market price of our common stock at the date of grant, which was being expensed over the period in which the restrictions lapse. In connection with the adoption of SFAS 123(R) on January 1, 2006, we reversed the remaining deferred compensation of $1.8 million, with the offset to additional paid-in capital.

 

On October 26, 2005, in anticipation of the adoption of SFAS 123(R), our board of directors approved a partial acceleration of the vesting of all outstanding options to purchase our common stock that were granted on February 17, 2005. Vesting was accelerated for options to purchase 371,587 shares of our common stock with an exercise price of $65.81 per share, including options to purchase 157,624 shares of our common stock held by our executive officers. The decision to accelerate vesting of these options was made to avoid recognizing compensation cost related to these out-of-the-money options in our future statements of operations upon the adoption of SFAS 123(R). It is estimated that the maximum future compensation expense that would have been recorded in our statements of operations had the vesting of these options not been accelerated is approximately $4.4 million.

 

The fair values of restricted stock awards, including restricted stock and restricted stock units, are based on the intrinsic values of the awards at the date of grant. As permitted under SFAS No. 123 and SFAS 123(R), we generally use the Black-Scholes option pricing model to estimate the fair value of stock option grants. The Black-Scholes model relies on a number of key assumptions to calculate estimated fair values. Our assumed dividend yield of zero is based on the fact that we have never paid

 

28

 


cash dividends and have no present intention to pay cash dividends. Since adoption of SFAS 123(R) on January 1, 2006, the expected stock-price volatility assumption used by us has been based on recent (six month trailing) implied volatility calculations. These calculations are performed on exchange traded options of our common stock. We believe that using a forward-looking market-driven volatility assumption will result in the best estimate of expected volatility. Prior to adoption of SFAS 123(R), the expected volatility was based on the historical volatility of the underlying stock. The assumed risk-free interest rate is the U.S. Treasury security rate with a term equal to the expected life of the option. The assumed expected life is based on company-specific historical experience. With regard to the estimate of the expected life, we consider the exercise behavior of past grants and model the pattern of aggregate exercises. Based on our historical turnover rates, an annualized estimated forfeiture rate of 6.5% was used in calculating the estimated compensation cost of most of the stock-based awards for the year ended December 31, 2007 and all of the stock-based awards for the year ended December 31, 2006. In December 2007, we granted a stock option to purchase 725,000 shares of our common stock and 100,000 shares of restricted stock award to our newly hired chief executive officer. The compensation cost for these grants was estimated using a 0% forfeiture rate. Additional expense will be recorded if the actual forfeiture rates are lower than estimated, and a recovery of prior expense will be recorded if the actual forfeitures are higher than estimated. Prior to the adoption of SFAS 123(R), forfeitures were not estimated at the time of award.

 

The stock option to purchase 725,000 shares granted to our chief executive officer in December 2007 included 625,000 shares that vest based on performance and market conditions. The vesting of 300,000 shares is tied to our stock price. The vesting of the remaining 325,000 shares is tied to both our stock price and improvements in our return on equity. The fair value of these options was determined using the Monte Carlo valuation method.

 

If factors change and we employ different assumptions for estimating stock-based compensation expense in future periods, or if we decide to use a different valuation model, the stock-based compensation expense we recognize in future periods may differ significantly from what we have recorded in the current period and could materially affect our operating income, net income and earnings per share. It may also result in a lack of comparability with other companies that use different models, methods and assumptions. The Black-Scholes option-pricing model was developed for use in estimating the fair value of traded options that have no vesting restrictions and are fully transferable. These characteristics are not present in our option grants. Existing valuation models, including the Black-Scholes and Monte Carlo models, may not provide reliable measures of the fair values of our stock-based compensation. See Footnote L to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 for further information regarding our adoption of SFAS 123(R).

 

During 2007 we granted both restricted stock units and stock options as part of our annual stock-based compensation program, and during 2006 we granted only restricted stock units as part of this program. During both 2007 and 2006, we granted stock options to new hires and restricted stock to newly hired executives. The vesting of stock option grants may be based on time, performance or market conditions. In the future, we may grant either stock awards, options, or other equity-based instruments allowed by our stock-based compensation plans, or a combination thereof, as part of our overall compensation strategy.

 

Allowance for Bad Debts and Reserves for Recourse under Financing Transactions

 

We maintain allowances for estimated bad debt losses resulting from the inability of our customers to make required payments for products or services. When evaluating the adequacy of the allowances, we analyze accounts receivable balances, historical bad debt experience, customer concentrations, customer credit worthiness and current economic trends. If the financial condition of our customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances could be required.

 

We provide third-party lease financing options to some of our customers. We are not generally a party to the leases; however, during the terms of these leases, which are generally three years, we remain liable for any unpaid principal balance upon default by the end user, but such liability is limited in the aggregate. We record revenues from these transactions upon the shipment of our products because we believe that our collection experience with similar transactions supports our assessment that the fee is fixed or determinable. We have operated these programs for over ten years and to date defaults under the program have consistently ranged between 2% and 4%. We maintain reserves for estimated recourse losses under this financing program based on these historical default rates. While we have experienced insignificant losses from defaults to date under this program, deterioration in the financial condition of our customers who participate in the program could require additional reserves. See Footnote J to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 for further information regarding third-party lease financing.

 

Inventories

 

Inventory in the digital media market, including our inventory, is subject to rapid technological change or obsolescence. We regularly review inventory quantities on hand and write down inventory to its realizable value to reflect estimated obsolescence

 

29

 


or lack of marketability based on assumptions about future inventory demand (generally for the following twelve months) and market conditions. If actual future demand or market conditions are less favorable than we estimate, additional inventory write-downs may be required.

 

Business Combinations

 

When we acquire new businesses, we allocate the purchase price of the acquired businesses to the assets, including intangible assets, and the liabilities assumed based on their estimated fair values, with any amount in excess of such allocations designated as goodwill. Significant management judgments and assumptions are required in determining the fair value of acquired assets and liabilities, particularly acquired intangible assets. For example, it is necessary to estimate the portion of development efforts that are associated with technology that is in process and has no alternative future use. The valuation of purchased intangible assets is based on estimates of the future performance and cash flows from the acquired business. If different assumptions are used, it could materially impact the purchase price allocation and our financial position and results of operations.

 

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

 

We assess the impairment of goodwill and identifiable intangible assets on at least an annual basis and whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the asset may not be fully recoverable. Factors we consider important that could trigger an impairment review include significant underperformance relative to the historical or projected future operating results, significant negative industry or economic trends, unanticipated competition, loss of key personnel, a more-likely-than-not expectation that a reporting unit or component thereof will be sold or otherwise disposed of, significant changes in the manner of use of the acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business, a significant decline in our stock price for a sustained period, a reduction of our market capitalization relative to our net book value and other such circumstances.

 

In accordance with SFAS No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, we do not amortize goodwill and certain indefinite-lived intangible assets. The goodwill impairment test prescribed by SFAS No. 142 requires us to identify reporting units and to determine estimates of the fair values of our reporting units as of the date we test for impairment. Our organizational structure is based on strategic business units aligned with the principal markets in which our products are sold: Professional Video, Audio and Consumer Video. Our reporting units equate to these strategic business units. All three of the reporting units include goodwill.

 

We complete our annual impairment tests as of the end of the fourth quarter of each year. In our goodwill impairment analysis, the fair value of each reporting unit is compared to its carrying value, including goodwill. We generally use a discounted cash flow valuation model to determine the fair values of our reporting units. This model focuses on estimates of future revenues and profits for each reporting unit and also assumes a terminal value for the unit based on a multiple of revenue. We estimate these amounts by evaluating historical trends, current budgets, operating plans and industry data. For reporting units composed primarily of acquired businesses, we utilize the same technique as was used to value the acquisition assuming it is consistent with the objective of measuring fair value. If the reporting unit’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, we would record an impairment loss equal to the difference between the carrying value of the goodwill and its implied fair value. In the fourth quarter of 2006, our impairment testing determined that the carrying value of our Consumer Video reporting unit exceeded its fair value. The fair value of the Consumer Video unit was based on a multiple-of-revenues technique similar to that used in valuing the Pinnacle acquisition, updated for current revenues projections. The estimated fair value was then allocated among the assets and liabilities of the Consumer Video business, with the excess fair value representing the implied fair value of goodwill. Because the book value of Consumer Video's goodwill exceeded the implied fair value by $53 million, we recorded this amount as an impairment loss.

 

In our identifiable intangible asset impairment analysis, if events or circumstances exist that indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable, the fair value of each asset is compared to its carrying value. If the asset’s carrying value is not recoverable and exceeds its fair value, we would record an impairment loss equal to the difference between the carrying value of the asset and its fair value. The carrying value of an asset is not recoverable if it exceeds the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and eventual disposition of the asset. In connection with the goodwill impairment charge taken for the Consumer Video reporting unit in 2006, we also reviewed the Consumer Video identifiable intangible assets for possible impairment. This analysis included grouping the intangible assets with other operating assets and liabilities in the Consumer Video business that would not otherwise be subject to impairment testing, because the grouped assets and liabilities represent the lowest level for which cash flows are largely independent of the cash flows of other groups of assets and liabilities within our company. The result of this analysis was that the undiscounted cash flows of the Consumer Video net asset groups exceeded the carrying value, indicating no impairment loss had occurred.

 

30

 


Income Tax Assets

 

We record deferred tax assets and liabilities based on the net tax effects of tax credits, operating loss carryforwards and temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes compared to the amounts used for income tax purposes. We regularly review our deferred tax assets for recoverability with consideration for such factors as historical losses, projected future taxable income and the expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary differences. Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, or SFAS, No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes, requires us to record a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Based on our level of deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2007 and our level of historical U.S. losses, we have determined that the uncertainty regarding the realization of these assets is sufficient to warrant the need for a full valuation allowance against our U.S. net deferred tax assets.

 

Our assessment of the valuation allowance on our U.S. deferred tax assets could change in the future based on our levels of pre-tax income and other tax-related adjustments. Reversal of the valuation allowance in whole or in part would result in a non-cash reduction in income tax expense during the period of reversal. If the valuation allowance of $140.5 million as of December 31, 2007 were to be removed in its entirety, a $101.4 million non-cash reduction in income tax expense and a $39.1 million credit to goodwill related to Pinnacle net operating losses, tax credit carryforwards and temporary differences would be recorded. To the extent some or all of our valuation allowance is reversed, future financial statements would reflect an increase in non-cash income tax expense until such time as our deferred tax assets are fully utilized. For 2007 there was no impact to goodwill from the utilization of acquired U.S. deferred tax assets. For 2006 the impact to goodwill resulting from the utilization of acquired U.S. deferred tax assets was $9.8 million.

 

In addition to the tax assets described above, we have deferred tax assets resulting from the exercise of employee stock options. In accordance with SFAS No. 109 and SFAS 123(R), recognition of these assets would occur upon their utilization to reduce taxes payable and would result in a credit to additional paid-in capital within stockholders' equity rather than the provision for income taxes. As a result of the exercise of employee stock options, we recorded increases to additional paid-in capital of $0.3 million and $4.1 million in 2007 and 2006, respectively.

 

We adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 48, or FIN 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes – An Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109, on January 1, 2007. FIN 48 clarified the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise's financial statement in accordance with SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes. FIN 48 requires that a tax position must be more likely than not to be sustained before being recognized in the financial statements. The interpretation also requires us to accrue interest and penalties as applicable on our unrecognized tax positions. We recognized no adjustment in the liability for unrecognized income tax benefits as a result of the adoption of FIN 48.

 

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

In the first quarter of 2006, with the adoption of SFAS 123(R), we began to record stock-based compensation expense for the fair value of stock options. Stock-based compensation expense of $15.9 million, $16.8 million and $2.4 million, resulting from the adoption of SFAS 123(R), the acquisition of M-Audio and the issuance of restricted stock and restricted stock units, was included in the following in our consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005, respectively:

 

 

 

Years Ended December 31,
(in thousands)

 

 

 

2007

 

2006

 

2005

 

Product cost of revenues

 

$

679

 

$

516

 

$

 

Service cost of revenues

 

 

829

 

 

801

 

 

 

Research and development expenses

 

 

4,521

 

 

4,925

 

 

272

 

Marketing and selling expenses

 

 

4,470

 

 

4,833

 

 

772

 

General and administrative expenses

 

 

5,450

 

 

5,766

 

 

1,403

 

 

 

$

15,949

 

$

16,841

 

$

2,447

 

 

In addition, stock-based compensation totaling $180,000 was included in the caption “restructuring costs, net” during 2006 related to stock-based compensation expense for the acceleration of vesting for certain employees who were terminated in a restructuring program.

 

As of December 31, 2007, there was $46.3 million of total unrecognized compensation cost, before forfeitures, related to non-vested stock-based compensation awards granted under our stock-based compensation plans. This cost will be recognized over

 

31

 


the next four years. We expect this cost to be amortized as follows: $17.1 million in 2008, $14.1 million in 2009, $11.0 million in 2010 and $4.1 million thereafter. See Footnotes B and L to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 for further information regarding our stock-based compensation assumptions and expenses, including pro forma disclosures for the year ended December 31, 2005.

 

Net Revenues

 

Comparison of 2007 to 2006

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2007

Net Revenues

 

% of Consolidated Net Revenues

 

2006

Net Revenues

 

% of Consolidated Net Revenues

 

Change

 

% Change

in Revenues

Professional Video:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product revenues

$363,980

 

39.1%

 

$379,097

 

41.7%

 

($15,117)

 

(4.0%)

Service revenues

121,206

 

13.1%

 

100,286

 

11.0%

 

20,920 

 

20.9% 

Total

485,186

 

52.2%

 

479,383

 

52.7%

 

5,803 

 

1.2% 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product revenues

316,732

 

34.1%

 

303,072

 

33.3%

 

13,660 

 

4.5% 

Service revenues

2,261

 

0.2%

 

1,290

 

0.1%

 

971 

 

75.3% 

Total

318,993

 

34.3%

 

304,362

 

33.4%

 

14,631 

 

4.8% 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consumer Video:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product revenues

125,391

 

13.5%

 

126,833

 

13.9%

 

(1,442)

 

(1.1%)

Total

125,391

 

13.5%

 

126,833

 

13.9%

 

(1,442)

 

(1.1%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total net revenues:

$929,570

 

100.0%

 

$910,578

 

100.0%

 

$18,992

 

2.1% 

 

Professional Video product revenues decreased $15.1 million from 2006 to 2007 due to lower revenues from our video- and film-editing products and broadcast products. The decrease in product revenues for our video- and film-editing products was partially due to Media Composer Adrenaline migration issues that caused longer than expected customer transitions to the latest versions of that product, as well as a shift in product mix to a software-only version of our Media Composer product that has significantly lower average selling prices than our other editing products. The decrease in revenues for our broadcast products was related to our transmission server product line. As part of our 2007 restructuring programs, we made a decision to exit this product line. The overall decrease in Professional Video product revenues for 2007, as compared to 2006, was partially mitigated by increased revenues from our storage and workgroups product families.

 

Professional Video service revenues are derived primarily from maintenance contracts, professional and installation services, and training. The $20.9 million increase in service revenues for 2007, as compared to 2006, was due to increased revenues generated from maintenance contracts sold in connection with our products.

 

Of the total $14.6 million increase in our Audio segment product revenues in 2007, as compared to 2006, approximately $9.6 million related to our acquisition of Sibelius in July 2006. Audio product revenues for 2007 also included increased revenues from Digidesign products, including the Venue live sound mixing consoles, Pro Tools systems, and ICON control surfaces, partially offset by a slight decrease in M-Audio product revenues. The overall increase in Audio segment product revenues was primarily the result of increased sales volumes.

 

Consumer Video product revenues decreased $1.4 million from 2006 to 2007, primarily due to decreased revenues from our TV-over-PC viewing products. Revenues from our TV-over-PC viewing products were lower in 2007 because of the lack of revenue drivers that existed in 2006, such as new product releases and increased consumer demand due to the 2006 World Cup tournament. The decrease in revenues from our TV-over-PC viewing products was partially offset by increased revenues from our video-editing products, which was primarily related to our release of Pinnacle Studio version 11 in May 2007. These changes in revenues were primarily related to changes in sales volumes.

 

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Overall, net revenues derived through indirect channels were approximately 70% for 2007 compared to 72% for 2006. The decrease in indirect sales resulted from increased direct sales of our Professional Video products. Revenues from direct sales of our Professional Video products can vary significantly based on the relative proportion of revenues recognized from large solution sales in any period.

 

Sales to international customers accounted for 58% of our net revenues in 2007, compared to 57% in 2006 and increased by $25.0 million, or 4.8%, from 2006 to 2007. The increase in international sales in 2007 occurred primarily in Europe, and to a lesser extent in Asia.

 

Comparison of 2006 to 2005

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2006

Net Revenues

 

% of Consolidated Net Revenues

 

2005

Net Revenues

 

% of Consolidated Net Revenues

 

Change

 

% Change

in Revenues

Professional Video:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product revenues

$379,097

 

41.7%

 

$366,074

 

47.2%

 

$13,023

 

3.6%

Service revenues

100,286

 

11.0%

 

82,214

 

10.6%

 

18,072

 

22.0%

Total

479,383

 

52.7%

 

448,288

 

57.8%

 

31,095

 

6.9%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Audio:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product revenues

303,072

 

33.3%

 

267,616

 

34.5%

 

35,456

 

13.2%

Service revenues

1,290

 

0.1%

 

442

 

0.1%

 

848

 

191.9%

Total

304,362

 

33.4%

 

268,058

 

34.6%

 

36,304

 

13.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Consumer Video:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Product revenues

126,833

 

13.9%

 

59,097

 

7.6%

 

67,736

 

NM (a)

Total

126,833

 

13.9%

 

59,097

 

7.6%

 

67,736

 

NM (a)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total net revenues:

$910,578

 

100.0%

 

$775,443

 

100.0%

 

$135,135

 

17.4%

 

 

(a)

Comparison is not meaningful as the Consumer Video segment was formed in August 2005 with the acquisition of Pinnacle Systems.

 

Professional Video product revenues increased $13.0 million from 2005 to 2006. For 2006, products we acquired in the Pinnacle acquisition accounted for $47.4 million of Professional Video product revenues, compared to $31.6 million for 2005. The increase in these product revenues was offset by a net decrease of $2.8 million for all other product families, including decreased revenues from our video- and film-editing products and broadcast products. The decrease in revenues was due to lower revenues from large solution sales as a result of several factors, including the increasing size and complexity of our customer projects, delays in delivering specific customer commitments and customer logistics delays, including changes to “on-air” dates. These decreased revenues were partially offset by increased revenues from our storage and workgroups products, primarily related to new product introductions.

 

Service revenues consist primarily of maintenance contracts, installation services and training. Professional Video service revenues resulting from the Pinnacle acquisition were $12.9 million and $6.8 million for 2006 and 2005, respectively. The remaining increase of $12.0 million in 2006, as compared to 2005, was primarily due to an increase in maintenance contracts sold in connection with our products, as well as increased revenues generated from professional services, such as installation services provided in connection with large broadcast news deals.

 

Of the total $35.5 million increase in our Audio segment product revenues in 2006, as compared to 2005, approximately $6.9 million related to our acquisition of Sibelius in July 2006. The remaining increase represented increased revenues from both our M-Audio family of products and our Digidesign products. Sales of Digidesign’s Pro Tools|HD systems slowed in the third quarter of 2006 due to a transition to the Intel-based Macintosh platform, but improved in the fourth quarter, resulting in an overall increase in these revenues from 2005 to 2006. We believe that customers delayed their Pro Tools|HD purchases pending evaluation of the new Mac Pro desktop computers and a new version of Pro Tools software designed to support the new computers, as well as a lack of updated third-party software plug-in products that supported the new machines.

 

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The Consumer Video segment was formed during the third quarter of 2005 with our acquisition of Pinnacle, and, therefore, revenues for this segment for 2006 and 2005 are not comparable. Net revenues, which are primarily derived from our home video-editing and TV-over-PC viewing product lines, were lower than expected for 2006, due in large part to product quality issues in our home video-editing product line. We focused on several operating initiatives during 2006 to address the product reliability issues and improve the operating efficiency of the business. Revenues for our home video-editing product line increased steadily during the third and fourth quarters of 2006, which we believe resulted from improvements that we made to the Pinnacle Studio product, including our release of the Pinnacle Studio 10 Anniversary edition in Europe during the third quarter of 2006. Revenues from our TV-over-PC viewing products were particularly strong during the second and fourth quarters of 2006. We believe the second quarter was strong as a result of new TV-over-PC viewing product releases across Europe and increased consumer demand during the 2006 World Cup tournament. Increased sales in the fourth quarter were the result of the release of the Pinnacle PCTV HD Pro Stick in the United States in the third quarter coupled with strong holiday sales in the fourth quarter.

 

Net revenues derived through indirect channels were approximately 72% for 2006 compared to 70% for 2005. The increase in indirect selling was due primarily to the acquisition of Pinnacle, which sells products almost exclusively through indirect channels, and the growth in revenues from our Audio segment, which also sells a large percentage of products through indirect channels.

 

Sales to international customers accounted for 57% of our net revenues for both 2006 and 2005. International sales increased by $74.4 million, or 16.8%, in 2006 compared to 2005. The increase in international sales in 2006 occurred primarily in Europe, and to a lesser extent in Asia, and is primarily due to the acquisition of Pinnacle, which has a significant portion of its sales in Europe and Asia.

 

Gross Profit

 

Cost of revenues consists primarily of costs associated with:

 

 

the procurement of components;

 

the assembly, testing and distribution of finished products;

 

warehousing;

 

post-sales customer support costs related to maintenance contract revenues and other services; and

 

royalties for third-party software and hardware included in our products.

 

Cost of revenues also includes amortization of technology, which represents the amortization of developed technology assets acquired in the August 2005 Pinnacle acquisition and, to a lesser extent, the M-Audio, Sibelius, Sundance Digital, Medea and Wizoo acquisitions, and is described further in the Amortization of Intangible Assets section below. For 2007, cost of revenues includes a charge of $4.3 million related to the write-down of inventory resulting from our decision to exit the transmission server product line.

 

Gross margin fluctuates based on factors such as the mix of products sold, the cost and proportion of third-party hardware and software included in the systems sold, the offering of product upgrades, price discounts and other sales-promotion programs, the distribution channels through which products are sold, the timing of new product introductions, sales of aftermarket hardware products such as disk drives and currency exchange-rate fluctuations.

 

Comparison of 2007 to 2006

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2007

 

Gross Margin

 

2006

 

Gross Margin

 

Gross Margin
% Change

Product cost of revenues

$390,725

 

51.5%

 

$388,483

 

52.0%

 

(0.5%)

Service cost of revenues

68,529

 

44.5%

 

56,218

 

44.7%

 

(0.2%)

Amortization of intangible assets

16,895

 

 

21,193

 

 

Restructuring costs

4,278

 

 

 

 

Total

$480,427

 

48.3%

 

$465,894

 

48.8%

 

(0.5%)

 

The decrease in product gross margin percentage in 2007, as compared to 2006, primarily reflected price reductions due to competitive pressures, decreased margins from certain large broadcast installations and the write-down of inventory related to

 

34

 


the discontinuation of a product line. These negative influences on gross margin were partially offset by a shift in product mix to increased revenues from higher margin software products and increased sales volumes. During 2007 a few large Professional Video broadcast installations had gross margins that were lower than our usual margin for broadcast transactions of similar size, due in part to the inclusion of a high percentage of lower margin third-party products. These transactions had a negative effect on our Professional Video product gross margins for 2007. In our Consumer Video segment, we made a decision in the fourth quarter of 2007 to discontinue a TV-over-PC viewing product sold exclusively to an original equipment manufacturer. This decision resulted in a write-off of $1.7 million in inventory and had a negative impact on the Consumer Video segment's 2007 gross margins.

 

The slight decrease in the service gross margin in 2007, as compared to 2006, primarily reflected a 22% increase in service costs and expenses, including a $4.6 million increase in service personnel costs and a $1.3 million increase in facilities costs, and an increase of 22% for the corresponding service revenues.

 

Comparison of 2006 to 2005

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2006

 

Gross Margin

 

2005

 

Gross Margin

 

Gross Margin
% Change

Product cost of revenues

$388,483

 

52.0%

 

$308,386

 

55.5%

 

(3.5%)

Service cost of revenues

56,218

 

44.7%

 

45,274

 

45.2%

 

(0.5%)

Amortization of intangible assets

21,193

 

 

11,027

 

 

Total

$465,894

 

48.8%

 

$364,687

 

53.0%

 

(4.2%)

 

The decrease in the product gross margin percentage in 2006, as compared to 2005, primarily reflected changes in the mix of products sold in our Professional Video and Consumer Video segments, as well as reduced product pricing resulting from competitive pressures, which were partially offset by increased volumes. In our Professional Video segment, net revenues in 2006 reflected an increased percentage of products with lower gross margin relative to 2005, including products acquired from the Pinnacle and Medea businesses. In our Consumer Video segment, the percentage of revenues from our hardware-based TV-over-PC viewing products, which have lower gross margins than our home-editing products, increased in 2006 compared to 2005.

 

The decrease in the service gross margin in 2006, as compared to 2005, primarily reflects higher personnel-related costs of $9.2 million, which increased significantly in the last quarter of 2006, compared to the same period in 2005, without a corresponding increase in service revenues.

 

Research and Development

 

Research and development expenses include costs associated with the development of new products and the enhancement of existing products, and consist primarily of employee salaries and benefits, facilities costs, depreciation, costs for consulting and temporary employees, and prototype and other development expenses.

 

Comparison of 2007 to 2006

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2007 Expenses

 

2006 Expenses

 

Change

 

% Change

Research and development

$150,707

 

$141,363

 

$9,344

 

6.6%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

16.2%

 

15.5%

 

0.7%

 

 

 

The increase in R&D expenses in 2007, as compared to 2006, was primarily due to increases in personnel-related costs of $6.3 million and hardware development and computer equipment costs of $2.9 million. The increase in personnel-related costs was primarily the result of our 2006 acquisitions and a decrease in the amount of R&D costs transferred to cost of product revenues in connection with work performed on complex solution sales. The increase in hardware development and computer equipment costs was primarily the result of the write-off of certain assets related to changes in our Professional Video segment's development strategy. The increase in R&D expense as a percentage of revenues was also related to the spending increases noted, as the 7% increase in R&D expenses was greater than the 2% increase in revenues for the comparative periods.

 

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Comparison of 2006 to 2005

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2006 Expenses

 

2005 Expenses

 

Change

 

% Change

Research and development

$141,363

 

$111,334

 

$30,029

 

27.0%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

15.5%

 

14.4%

 

1.1%

 

 

 

The increase in R&D expenses in 2006, as compared to 2005, was primarily due to increases in personnel-related costs of $18.9 million and facilities costs of $3.4 million, primarily resulting from our acquisitions in 2005 and 2006. We also incurred increased stock-based compensation expense of $4.7 million in 2006, as compared to 2005, as a result of the adoption of SFAS 123(R) on January 1, 2006. The increase in R&D expenses as a percentage of revenues was also related to the spending increases noted, as the 27% increase in R&D expenses was greater than the 17% increase in revenues for the comparative periods.

 

Marketing and Selling

 

Marketing and selling expenses consist primarily of employee salaries and benefits for sales, marketing and pre-sales customer support personnel, as well as commissions, travel expenses, advertising and promotional expenses, and facilities costs.

 

Comparison of 2007 to 2006

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2007 Expenses

 

2006 Expenses

 

Change

 

% Change

Marketing and selling

$210,456

 

$203,967

 

$6,489

 

3.2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

22.7%

 

22.4%

 

0.3%

 

 

 

The increase in marketing and selling expenses during 2007, as compared to 2006, was largely due to an increase in personnel-related costs of $10.8 million, partially offset by a decrease in advertising, tradeshow and other promotional expenses of $4.5 million. The increase in personnel-related costs, which includes salaries and related taxes, benefits and commissions, was largely the result of our 2006 acquisitions. The decrease in advertising, tradeshow and other promotional expenses was primarily the result to fewer new product introductions in 2007, compared to 2006, combined with the results of several cost-reduction initiatives. The increase in marketing and selling expense as a percentage of revenues was also related to the spending increases noted, as the 3% increase in marketing and selling expenses was greater than the 2% increase in revenues for the comparative periods.

 

Comparison of 2006 to 2005

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2006 Expenses

 

2005 Expenses

 

Change

 

% Change

Marketing and selling

$203,967

 

$170,787

 

$33,180

 

19.4%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

22.4%

 

22.0%

 

0.4%

 

 

 

The increase in marketing and selling expenses during 2006, as compared 2005, was primarily due to higher personnel-related costs of $14.7 million, including salaries and related taxes, benefits, commissions and travel expenses, which resulted in large part from the acquisitions that occurred in 2005 and 2006, as well as higher spending for advertising, trade shows and other marketing programs totaling $4.5 million. We also spent $2.1 million more on consulting and other outside services, as compared to 2005. In addition, we incurred increased stock-based compensation expense of $4.1 million in 2006, as compared to 2005, as a result of the adoption of SFAS 123(R) on January 1, 2006. The increase in marketing and selling expense as a percentage of revenues was also related to the spending increases noted, as the 19% increase in marketing and selling expenses was greater than the 17% increase in revenues for the comparative periods.

 

36

 


General and Administrative

 

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of employee salaries and benefits for administrative, executive, finance and legal personnel; audit and legal fees; and insurance, information systems and facilities costs. Information systems and facilities costs reported within general and administrative expenses are net of allocations to other expenses categories.

 

Comparison of 2007 to 2006

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2007 Expenses

 

2006 Expenses

 

Change

 

% Change

General and administrative

$77,463

 

$63,250

 

$14,213

 

22.5%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

8.3%

 

6.9%

 

1.4%

 

 

 

The increase in general and administrative expenditures in 2007, as compared to 2006, was due to increased personnel-related costs of $8.7 million, as well as higher consulting and outside services costs of $6.6 million. The increased personnel-related costs primarily resulted from our 2006 acquisitions, as well as executive management severance and bonus compensation paid in the third and fourth quarters of 2007 and profit sharing accrued in the fourth quarter of 2007. The increased consulting and outside services costs were largely the result of our consulting arrangement with Bain and Company and the increased use of temporary employees for short-term projects. The increase in general and administrative expense as a percentage of revenues was also related to the spending increases noted, as the 23% increase in general and administrative expenses was greater than the 2% increase in revenues for the comparative periods.

 

Comparison of 2006 to 2005

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2006 Expenses

 

2005 Expenses

 

Change

 

% Change

General and administrative

$63,250

 

$47,147

 

$16,103

 

34.2%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

6.9%

 

6.1%

 

0.8%

 

 

 

The increase in general and administrative expenditures in 2006, as compared to 2005, was due in large part to higher personnel-related costs of $10.6 million, as well as higher facilities-related costs of $4.5 million and depreciation of $2.1 million, all primarily resulting from our acquisitions that occurred in 2005 and 2006. We also incurred increased stock-based compensation expense of $4.4 million in 2006 as a result of the adoption of SFAS 123(R) on January 1, 2006. The increase in general and administrative expense as a percentage of revenues was also related to the spending increases noted, as the 34% increase in general and administrative expenses was greater than the 17% increase in revenues for the comparative periods.

 

Amortization of Intangible Assets

 

Intangible assets result from acquisitions and include developed technology, customer-related intangibles, trade names and other identifiable intangible assets with finite lives. With the exception of developed technology, these intangible assets are amortized using the straight-line method. Developed technology is amortized over the greater of the amount calculated using the ratio of current quarter revenues to the total of current quarter and anticipated future revenues over the estimated useful life of the developed technology, and the straight-line method over each developed technology's remaining useful life. Amortization of developed technology is recorded within cost of revenues. Amortization of customer-related intangibles, trade names and other identifiable intangible assets is recorded within operating expenses.

 

37

 


Comparison of 2007 to 2006

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

 

2007 Expenses

 

2006 Expenses

 

Change

 

% Change

 

Amortization of intangible assets recorded in cost of revenues

$16,895

 

$21,193

 

($4,298)

 

(20.3%)

 

Amortization of intangible assets recorded in operating expenses

13,726

 

14,460

 

(734)

 

(5.1%)

 

Total amortization of intangible assets

$30,621

 

$35,653

 

($5,032)

 

(14.1%)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

3.3%

 

3.9%

 

(0.6%)

 

 

 

 

The decrease in amortization of intangible assets for 2007, as compared to 2006, was primarily the result of the completion during 2007 of the amortization of certain developed technologies related to our acquisition of Pinnacle in 2005 and the completion during 2006 of the amortization of certain intangible assets related to our acquisition of M-Audio and other prior acquisitions.

 

The unamortized balance of the identifiable intangible assets relating to all acquisitions was $71.4 million at December 31, 2007. We expect amortization of these intangible assets to be approximately $21 million in 2008, $15 million in 2009, $12 million in 2010 and $23 million thereafter. See Footnote G to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 regarding identifiable intangible assets related to acquisitions.

 

Comparison of 2006 to 2005

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

 

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

 

2006 Expenses

 

2005 Expenses

 

Change

 

% Change

 

Amortization of intangible assets recorded in cost of revenues

$21,193

 

$11,027

 

$10,166

 

92.2% 

 

Amortization of intangible assets recorded in operating expenses

14,460

 

9,194

 

5,266

 

57.3% 

 

Total amortization of intangible assets

$35,653

 

$20,221

 

$15,432

 

76.3% 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

3.9%

 

2.6%

 

1.3%

 

 

 

 

The increase in amortization of intangible assets for 2006, as compared to 2005, was primarily the result of a full year of amortization related to our acquisition of Pinnacle in August 2005 and, to a lesser extent, amortization related to our acquisitions of Sibelius, Sundance Digital and Medea in 2006. In the purchase price allocation for the Pinnacle acquisition, we recorded amortizing identifiable intangible assets totaling $90.8 million. For the Sibelius, Sundance Digital and Medea acquisitions, we recorded amortizing identifiable intangible assets totaling $9.2 million, $5.6 million and $3.8 million, respectively.

 

Impairment of Goodwill and Intangible Assets

 

As part of the purchase accounting allocation for our August 2005 acquisition of Pinnacle, we recorded goodwill of approximately $214 million of which approximately $131 million was allocated to our Consumer Video segment. In December 2006, the goodwill allocated to the Consumer Video reporting unit was analyzed in accordance with SFAS No. 142 and was determined to be impaired. Accordingly, we recorded an impairment charge of $53.0 million during the quarter ended December 31, 2006. See Footnote G to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8.

 

Restructuring Costs, Net

 

During 2007 we implemented restructuring programs within our Professional Video and Consumer Video segments, as well as corporate operations, that resulted in restructuring charges of $12.2 million. In connection with these actions, we notified approximately 125 employees that their employment would be terminated. The terminated employees were primarily from the research and development teams and marketing and selling teams. The charges for the estimated costs for the employee terminations totaled $5.2 million. Actions under these restructuring programs also included the closure of facilities in Munich, Germany and Chicago, Illinois and portions of facilities in Tewksbury, Massachusetts; Montreal, Canada; and Mountain View, California, and our exit from the transmission server product line. The costs for the facility closures totaled $2.6 million. As a result of exiting the transmission server product line, we recorded non-cash charges totaling $4.3 million in cost of revenues for the write-down of inventory. We also recorded a non-cash restructuring charge of $0.1 million related to the disposal of fixed

 

38

 


assets. The purpose of these restructuring programs was to eliminate duplicative business functions, improve operational efficiencies and align key business skill sets with future opportunities. We expect annual cost savings of between $10 million and $12 million to result from actions taken under these restructuring programs.

 

During 2007 we also recorded restructuring charges totaling $0.7 million and $0.1 million, respectively, as a result of our increased estimates for the facilities restructuring costs related to our Pinnacle and Medea acquisitions, and $0.4 million primarily as a result of our increased estimate for the restructuring costs associated with the vacated portion of our Montreal facility that was part of a restructuring that took place in December 2005. The revised estimate related to the Pinnacle acquisition was primarily the result of an increase in the estimated costs for the closure of Pinnacle's Uxbridge, U.K. facility based on our conclusion that we will be unable to find a subtenant at any time during the remaining term of our lease for that facility. The revised estimate related to the Montreal facility was primarily the result of a buy-out of the lease for the vacated portion of the facility.

 

During the fourth quarter of 2006, we implemented restructuring programs within both our Professional Video and Consumer Video segments, resulting in restructuring charges of $2.9 million and $0.9 million, respectively. As a result of the Professional Video restructuring program, approximately 40 employees worldwide, primarily in the management and selling teams, were notified that their employment would be terminated and a small leased office in Australia was closed. The total estimated costs for the employee terminations were $2.8 million and the total costs for the facility closure were $0.1 million. As a result of the Consumer Video restructuring program, approximately 10 employees worldwide, primarily in the selling and engineering teams, were notified that their employment would be terminated and a portion of a leased facility in Germany was vacated. The total estimated costs for the employee terminations were $0.8 million and the total costs for the facility closure were $0.1 million. The purpose of these programs was to improve the effectiveness of each segment. During the first and second quarters of 2007, we recorded in our statement of operations additional restructuring charges totaling $0.3 million for revisions to the estimated liabilities for the Professional Video restructuring program.

 

During the first quarter of 2006, we implemented a restructuring program within our Consumer Video segment under which approximately 25 employees worldwide, primarily in the marketing and selling teams and research and development teams, were notified that their employment would be terminated. The purpose of the program was to improve efficiency. In connection with this action, we recorded a charge of $1.1 million in the statement of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2006. During the three months ended September 30, 2006, we completed the payments under this restructuring and reversed approximately $0.1 million remaining in the related restructuring accrual.

 

Also during 2006, we executed an amendment to the existing lease for our Daly City, California facility that extended the lease through September 2014, and a new subtenant was found for a portion of our London, U.K. facility vacated as part of a 1999 restructuring program. Based on the new terms of the amended lease for the Daly City facility and our changing facilities requirements, we determined that we would re-occupy the space in this facility that had previously been vacated under a restructuring program. Accordingly, the existing restructuring accrual for that facility was reversed during the three months ended September 30, 2006, and a restructuring recovery of $1.5 million was recorded in our statement of operations. As a result of finding a subtenant for the London facility, a restructuring recovery of $0.6 million was recorded in our statement of operations during the three months ended December 31, 2006.

 

In December 2005, we implemented a restructuring program within our Professional Video segment under which approximately 20 employees worldwide were terminated and a portion of a leased facility in Montreal, Canada was vacated. In connection with these actions, we recorded charges of $0.8 million for employment terminations and $0.5 million for facilities costs. Also during 2005, we recorded restructuring charges totaling $1.8 million, primarily as a result of our increased estimate for the restructuring costs associated with our London facility that was vacated as part of a restructuring plan in 1999. The revision became necessary when one of the subtenants in the facility gave notice of their intention to discontinue their sublease.

 

In-process Research and Development

 

We recorded in-process R&D charges of:

 

 

$0.5 million in the third quarter of 2006 related to the acquisition of Sibelius,

 

 

$0.3 million in the first quarter of 2006 related to the acquisition of Medea,

 

39

 


 

$32.3 million in the third quarter of 2005 related to the acquisition of Pinnacle, and

 

 

$0.1 million in the third quarter of 2005 related to the acquisition of Wizoo.

 

These in-process R&D charges represent product development efforts that were under way at Sibelius, Medea, Pinnacle and Wizoo at the time of the respective acquisitions for which technological feasibility had not yet been established. Technological feasibility is established when either of the following criteria is met: 1) detailed program design has been completed, documented and traced to product specifications and its high-risk development issues have been resolved; or 2) a working model of the product has been finished and determined to be complete and consistent with the product design. As of the respective acquisition dates, Sibelius, Medea, Pinnacle and Wizoo had not completed product designs or working models for the in-process technology, and we determined that there was no future alternative use for the technologies beyond the stated purpose of the specific R&D projects. The fair value of each in-process R&D effort was, therefore, expensed at the time of the respective acquisitions.

 

The key assumptions used in the in-process R&D valuations consisted of the expected completion dates for the in-process projects, estimated costs to complete the projects, revenues and expense projections assuming future release of the product, and a risk-adjusted discount rate. The discount rate is based on the weighted-average cost of capital adjusted for risks such as delays or uncertainties in bringing the products to market and competitive pressures. Such risks vary from acquisition to acquisition based on the characteristics of the acquired company and the applications of the acquired technology. Projections of revenues and expenses, the estimated costs to complete the projects and the determination of the appropriate discount rate reflect management's best estimates of such factors at the time of the valuation. For purposes of valuing the in-process R&D of Sibelius, Medea, Pinnacle and Wizoo, we used discount rates of 19%, 20%, 17% and 22%, respectively.

 

Interest and Other Income (Expense), Net

 

Comparison of 2007 to 2006

 

Interest and other income (expense), net, generally consists of interest income, interest expense and equity in income of a non-consolidated company.

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2007

 

2006

 

% Change

 

% Change

Interest and other income (expense), net

$7,637

 

$7,274

 

$363

 

5.0% 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

0.8%

 

0.8%

 

0.0%

 

 

 

The increase in interest and other income, net, for 2007, as compared to 2006, was primarily due to increased interest income earned due to increased rates of return on cash and marketable securities balances.

 

Comparison of 2006 to 2005

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2006

 

2005

 

Change

 

% Change

Interest and other income (expense), net

$7,274

 

$5,586

 

$1,688

 

30.2% 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

0.8%

 

0.7%

 

0.1%

 

 

 

The increase in interest and other income, net, for 2006, as compared to 2005, was primarily due to increased interest income earned due to increased rates of return on cash and marketable securities balances.

 

40

 


Provision for Income Taxes, Net

 

Comparison of 2007 to 2006

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2007 and 2006

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2007

 

2006

 

Change

Provision for income taxes, net

$2,997

 

$15,353

 

($12,356)

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

0.3%

 

1.7%

 

(1.4%)

 

 

Comparison of 2006 to 2005

 

 

Years Ended December 31, 2006 and 2005

 

(dollars in thousands)

 

2006

 

2005

 

Change

Provision for income taxes, net

$15,353

 

$8,355

 

$6,998 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a percentage of net revenues

1.7%

 

1.1%

 

0.6% 

 

The net tax provision of $3.0 million for 2007 reflected a current tax provision of $6.3 million and a deferred tax benefit of $3.3 million mostly related to the foreign amortization of non-deductible acquisition-related intangible assets and to a release of a deferred tax liability in our German entity. The net tax provision of $15.4 million for 2006 reflected a current tax provision of $10.9 million and a non-cash deferred tax charge of $7.9 million related to the utilization of acquired net operating loss carryforwards and other acquired timing differences, partially offset by a $3.4 million deferred tax benefit related to the foreign amortization of non-deductible acquisition-related intangible assets. The net tax provision of $8.4 million for 2005 reflected a current tax provision of $8.6 million and a non-cash deferred tax charge of $1.8 million related to utilization of acquired net operating loss carryforwards, partially offset by a $1.2 million deferred tax benefit related to the amortization of non-deductible acquisition-related intangible assets and other deferred benefits totaling $0.8 million.

 

Our effective tax rate, which is our tax provision as a percentage of profit or loss before tax, was 60%, 56% and 20%, respectively, for 2007, 2006 and 2005. Although there was a significant decrease in the provision for income taxes in 2007, there was a slight increase in the effective tax rate in 2007, as compared to 2006. The decrease in the provision for income taxes in 2007, as compared to 2006, resulted primarily from: (1) a discrete tax benefit of $3.0 million resulting from the favorable settlement of a Canadian R&D credit audit; (2) a discrete tax benefit of $1.0 million resulting from the release of a deferred tax liability in our German entity; and (3) our inability to recognize a tax benefit on U.S. losses. The increase in the effective tax rate for 2006, as compared to 2005, resulted from a non-deductible impairment of goodwill charge and an increase in deferred taxes related to the utilization of acquired net operating losses and acquired timing differences, partially offset by a reduction in tax contingency reserves. We generally recognize no significant U.S. tax benefit from acquisition-related amortization. Except for a minimal amount of state tax payments, the federal and state tax provisions are non-cash provisions due to the tax impact of net operating loss carryforwards related to stock option deductions and acquisition-related net operating loss carryforwards.

 

The tax rate in each year is affected by net changes in the valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets. We regularly review our deferred tax assets for recoverability taking into consideration such factors as historical losses, projected future taxable income and the expected timing of the reversals of existing temporary differences. SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes, requires us to record a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Based on the level of deferred tax assets as of December 31, 2007 and the level of historical U.S. losses, we have determined that the uncertainty regarding the realization of these assets is sufficient to warrant the continued establishment of a full valuation allowance against the U.S. net deferred tax assets.

 

Our assessment of the valuation allowance on the U.S. deferred tax assets could change in the future based on our levels of pre-tax income and other tax-related adjustments. Reversal of the valuation allowance in whole or in part would result in a non-cash reduction in income tax expense during the period of reversal. To the extent there is a reversal of some or all of the valuation allowance, future financial statements would reflect an increase in non-cash income tax expense until such time as our deferred tax assets are all used to reduce current taxes payable.

 

41

 


Excluding the impact of the valuation allowance, our effective tax rate would have been (187)%, 50% and 59%, respectively, for the years 2007, 2006 and 2005. These rates differ from the Federal statutory rate of 35% primarily due to the mix of income and losses in foreign jurisdictions, which have tax rates that differ from the statutory rate, non-deductible impairment of goodwill expenses, and non-deductible acquisition-related expenses.

 

We file in multiple tax jurisdictions and from time to time are subject to audit in certain tax jurisdictions, but we believe that we are adequately reserved for these exposures.

 

LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES

 

We have funded our operations in recent years through cash flows from operations as well as through stock option exercises from our employee stock plans. As of December 31, 2007, our principal sources of liquidity included cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities totaling $224.5 million.

 

Net cash provided by operating activities was $94.1 million in 2007, compared to $33.7 million in 2006 and $49.8 million in 2005. In 2007 cash provided by operating activities primarily reflected non-cash adjustments to our net loss for depreciation and amortization and stock-based compensation expense, as well as a decrease in inventory and an increase in deferred revenues. In 2006 cash provided by operating activities primarily reflected non-cash adjustments to our net loss for depreciation and amortization, impairment of goodwill, and stock-based compensation expense, partially offset by increased inventories and decreases in accounts payable and accrued expenses, all net of the impact of acquisitions. In 2005 cash provided by operating activities primarily reflected net income adjusted for depreciation and amortization and the write-off of in-process R&D, partially offset by increases in accounts receivable and inventories and a decrease in accrued expenses, all net of the impact of acquisitions.

 

Accounts receivable increased by $0.1 million to $138.7 million at December 31, 2007, from $138.6 million at December 31, 2006, driven primarily by the increase in net revenues of 8% in the fourth quarter of 2007 when compared to the same period of 2006. These balances are net of allowances for sales returns, bad debts and customer rebates, all of which we estimate and record based primarily on historical experience. Days sales outstanding in accounts receivable was 48 days at December 31, 2007, compared to 52 days at December 31, 2006. The days sales outstanding at December 31, 2007 was unusually low due to the recognition of revenues in the fourth quarter of 2007 from a number of large broadcast deals for which payment had already been received.

 

At December 31, 2007 and 2006, we held inventory in the amounts of $117.3 million and $144.2 million, respectively. These balances include stockroom, spare parts and demonstration equipment inventories at various locations and inventory at customer sites related to shipments for which we have not yet recognized revenue. The decrease in inventory of $26.9 million from December 31, 2006 to December 31, 2007 was the result of various 2007 operating initiatives, as well as approximately $6.4 million related to the write-off of inventories for discontinued products. The 2007 initiatives were launched in response to significant increases in our inventories in 2006. As a result of these initiatives, we increased utilization of outsourced manufacturing programs in Asia and focused on reducing our inventories through improved procurement and manufacturing forecasting.

 

Net cash flow provided by investing activities was $35.6 million in 2007, while in 2006 and 2005 we used cash of $25.5 million and $19.4 million, respectively, for investing activities. We hold our excess cash in short-term marketable securities and convert them to cash as needed. The net cash flow provided by investing activities for 2007 primarily reflected net proceeds of $63.6 million resulting from the timing of the sale and purchase of such marketable securities, partially offset by purchases of property and equipment. The net cash flow used in investing activities in 2006 primarily reflected cash paid, net of cash acquired, of $20.7 million, $11.4 million and $9.3 million for our acquisitions of Sibelius, Sundance Digital and Medea, respectively, and purchases of property and equipment, partially offset by net proceeds resulting from the sale and purchase of marketable securities. The net cash flow used in investing activities in 2005 primarily reflected the timing of purchases and sales of marketable securities, which resulted in net purchases in the period, and the purchase of property and equipment, partially offset by net cash acquired of $24.9 million related to our acquisition of Pinnacle. We purchased $26.1 million of property and equipment during 2007, compared to $20.8 million during 2006 and $17.8 million in 2005. Purchases of property and equipment in all years consisted primarily of computer hardware and software to support R&D activities and our information systems. Our capital spending in 2008 is currently expected to be approximately $35 million, including approximately $12 million for investment in projects related to Avid 20|20 initiatives. These amounts could increase in the event we enter into strategic business acquisitions or for other reasons.

 

Net cash flow used in financing activities was $15.3 million and $37.8 million, respectively, in 2007 and 2006, while in 2005 cash of $18.0 million was provided by financing activities. The cash used in financing activities in 2007 reflected a $26.6

 

42

 


million repurchase of our common stock in the second and fourth quarters of 2007, partially offset by proceeds of $11.1 million from the issuance of stock related to the exercise of stock options and our employee stock purchase plan. The stock repurchase program was approved by our board of directors and publicly announced on April 26, 2007. Under this program, we were authorized to repurchase up to $100 million of our common stock through transactions on the open market, in block trades or otherwise. During the second and fourth quarters of 2007, respectively, we repurchased 706,001 shares and 103,235 shares of common stock under the program at an average price per share, including commissions, of $32.92. As of December 31, 2007, $73.4 million remained authorized for future stock repurchases under the program. Subsequent to December 31, 2007, from February 5, 2008 through February 21, 2008, we repurchased an additional 3,454,197 shares of our common stock at an average price per share, including commissions, of $21.28, which completed the stock repurchases then authorized under the program. The average price per share, including commissions, of the total repurchase of 4,263,433 shares of our common stock was $23.49. On February 27, 2008, we announced our board of directors' approval of a $100 million increase in the authorized funds for the repurchase of our common stock under this program. The stock repurchase program is being funded through working capital. The cash used in financing activities in 2006 was primarily the result of $50.0 million used to repurchase 1,432,327 shares of our common stock under a stock repurchase program approved and completed in the third quarter of 2006, partially offset by proceeds of $8.2 million from the issuance of stock related to the exercise of stock options and our employee stock purchase plan.

 

In connection with our Pinnacle acquisition in 2005, we recorded restructuring accruals totaling $14.4 million related to severance ($10.0 million) and lease or other contract terminations ($4.4 million). In connection with our Medea acquisition in 2006, we recorded severance obligations of $0.7 million and $0.5 million for lease termination costs. As of December 31, 2007, we had future cash obligations of approximately $1.3 million under leases for which we had vacated the underlying facilities and restructuring accruals of $2.0 million related to acquisition-related lease obligations. Lease payments will be made over the remaining terms of the leases, which have varying expiration dates through 2010.

 

In 2007 we implemented corporate restructuring programs that are intended to reduce costs and enable our Professional Video and Consumer Video business units to better serve their respective customers through the elimination of duplicative business functions, improvement in operational efficiencies and alignment of key business skill sets with future opportunities. In connection with the restructurings, approximately 125 employees, primarily from the research and development teams and marketing and selling teams, were notified that their employment would be terminated; we reduced office space at our facilities in Tewksbury, Massachusetts; Mountain View, California; Montreal, Canada; Munich, Germany; and Chicago, Illinois; and we exited from the transmission server product line. During 2007 we recorded restructuring charges of $12.2 million related to these activities and charges of $1.5 million for revisions to estimates for restructuring plans initiated in prior years. With the exception of non-cash expenses of $4.4 million for the write-down of inventory and the disposal of fixed assets, these charges represented cash expenditures.

 

In connection with non-acquisition-related restructuring activities during 2007 and prior periods, as of December 31, 2007, we have future cash obligations of approximately $9.4 million under leases for which we have vacated the underlying facilities, and restructuring accruals of $1.2 million and $3.3 million related to severance and lease obligations, respectively. The lease accrual represents the excess of our lease commitments on space no longer used by us over expected payments to be received on subleases of such facilities. Severance payments will be made during the next twelve months. Lease payments will be made over the remaining terms of the leases, which have varying expiration dates through 2011, unless we are able to negotiate earlier terminations.

 

All payments related to restructuring actions are expected to be funded through working capital. See Footnote N to our Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 for the activity in the restructuring and other costs accrual for 2007.

 

Our cash requirements vary depending on factors such as our growth, capital expenditures, acquisitions of businesses or technologies and obligations under restructuring programs. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities and funds generated from operations will be sufficient to meet our operating cash requirements for at least the next twelve months. In the event that we require additional financing, we believe that we will be able to obtain such financing; however, there can be no assurance that we would be successful in doing so or that we could do so on favorable terms.

 

43

 


CONTRACTUAL AND COMMERCIAL OBLIGATIONS INCLUDING OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

 

The following table sets forth future payments that we are obligated to make as of December 31, 2007 under existing lease agreements and commitments to purchase inventory (in thousands):

 

 

 


Total

 

Less than
1 Year

 


1 – 3 Years

 


3 – 5 Years

 

After
5 Years

Operating leases

 

$118,421

 

$28,461

 

$42,135

 

$23,714

 

$24,111

Unconditional purchase obligations

 

60,870

 

60,870

 

 

 

 

 

$179,291

 

$89,331

 

$42,135

 

$23,714

 

$24,111

 

Other contractual arrangements that may result in cash payments consist of the following (in thousands):

 

 

 


Total

 

Less than
1 Year

 


1 – 3 Years

 


3 – 5 Years

 

After
5 Years

 

All
Other

Transactions with recourse

 

$  8,800

 

$8,800

 

 

 

$  —

 

$     —

FIN 48 liability and interest (a)

 

4,700

 

 

 

 

 

4,700

Stand-by letter of credit

 

750

 

 

 

 

750

 

 

 

$14,250

 

$8,800

 

 

 

$750

 

$4,700

 

 

(a)

As of December 31, 2007, our FIN 48 liability related to unrecognized tax positions and related interest was $4.7 million, and we were unable to reasonably estimate the timing of our FIN 48 liability in individual years beyond 12 months due to uncertainties in the timing of the effective settlement of the positions.

 

 

Through a third party, we offer lease financing options to our customers. During the terms of these financing arrangements, which are generally for three years, we remain liable for a portion of the unpaid principal balance in the event of a default on the lease by the end-user, but our liability is limited in the aggregate based on a percentage of initial amounts funded or, in certain cases, amounts of unpaid balances. As of December 31, 2007, our maximum exposure under this program was $8.8 million.

 

We have a stand-by letter of credit at a bank that is used as a security deposit in connection with our Daly City, California office space lease. In the event of a default on this lease, the landlord would be eligible to draw against this letter of credit to a maximum, as of December 31, 2007, of $0.8 million. The letter of credit will remain in effect at this amount throughout the remaining lease period, which runs through September 2014. As of December 31, 2007, we were not in default of this lease.

 

We conduct our business globally and, consequently, our results from operations are exposed to movements in foreign- currency exchange rates. We enter into forward exchange contracts, which generally have one-month maturities, to reduce exposures associated with the foreign exchange exposures of certain forecasted third-party and intercompany receivables, payables and cash balances. At December 31, 2007, we had foreign currency forward contracts outstanding with an aggregate notional value of $53.8 million, denominated in the euro, British pound, Canadian dollar and Japanese yen, as a hedge against forecasted foreign currency denominated receivables, payables and cash balances.

 

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

 

In December 2007, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007), or SFAS 141(R), Business Combinations. SFAS 141(R) makes significant changes to the accounting and reporting standards for business acquisitions. SFAS 141(R) establishes principles and requirements for an acquirer's financial statement recognition and measurement of the assets acquired; the liabilities assumed, including those arising from contractual contingencies; any contingent consideration; and any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree at the acquisition date. SFAS 141(R) amends SFAS No. 109, Accounting for Income Taxes, to require the acquirer to recognize changes in the amount of its deferred tax benefits that are recognizable as a result of a business combination either in income from continuing operations in the period of the combination or directly in contributed capital, depending on the circumstances. The statement also amends SFAS No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, to, among other things, provide guidance for the impairment testing of acquired research and development intangible assets and assets that the acquirer intends not to use. SFAS 141(R) is effective for our fiscal year beginning January 1, 2009 and may not be adopted early or applied retrospectively. The adoption of SFAS 141(R) will have an impact on our accounting for business combinations occurring on or after the adoption date, but the effect will be dependent on the acquisitions made at that time.

 

44

 


 

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements – an amendment of ARB No. 51. SFAS No. 160 establishes new accounting and reporting standards for the noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary. Specifically, this statement requires that a noncontrolling interest, or minority interest, be recognized as equity in the consolidated financial statements and that it be presented separately from the parent’s equity. Also, the amounts of net income attributable to the parent and to the noncontrolling interest must be included in consolidated net income on the face of the income statement. SFAS No. 160 clarifies that changes in a parent’s ownership interest in a subsidiary constitute equity transactions if the parent retains its controlling financial interest. In addition, this statement requires that a parent recognize a gain or loss in net income when a subsidiary is deconsolidated, with that gain or loss measured using the fair value of the noncontrolling equity investment on the deconsolidation date. SFAS No. 160 is effective for our fiscal year beginning January 1, 2009 and requires retroactive adoption of the presentation and disclosure requirements for existing minority interests; all other requirements may only be applied prospectively. Adoption of SFAS No. 160 is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

 

In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities - Including an Amendment of FASB Statement No. 115. SFAS No. 159 permits entities to choose to measure many financial instruments and certain other items at fair value and is effective for our fiscal year beginning January 1, 2008. Adoption of SFAS No. 159 is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

 

In September 2006, the FASB issued SFAS No. 157, Fair Value Measurements, which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. SFAS No. 157 does not require any new fair value measurements, but its provisions apply to all other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurement. SFAS No. 157 is effective for our fiscal year beginning January 1, 2008. Adoption of SFAS No. 157 is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

 

45

 


 

ITEM 7A.

QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURE ABOUT MARKET RISK

 

Foreign Currency Exchange Risk

 

We have significant international operations and, therefore, our revenues, earnings, cash flows and financial position are exposed to foreign currency risk from foreign currency denominated receivables, payables, sales transactions and net investments in foreign operations.

 

We derive more than half of our revenues from customers outside the United States. This business is, for the most part, transacted through international subsidiaries and generally in the currency of the end-user customers. Therefore, we are exposed to the risks that changes in foreign currency could adversely impact our revenues, net income and cash flow. To hedge against the foreign exchange exposure of certain forecasted receivables, payables and cash balances, we enter into short-term foreign currency forward contracts. There are two objectives of our foreign currency forward-contract program: (1) to offset any foreign exchange currency risk associated with cash receipts expected to be received from our customers over the next 30-day period and (2) to offset the impact of foreign currency exchange on our net monetary assets denominated in currencies other than the functional currency of the legal entity. These forward contracts typically mature within 30 days of execution. We record gains and losses associated with currency rate changes on these contracts in results of operations, offsetting gains and losses on the related assets and liabilities. The success of this hedging program depends on forecasts of transaction activity in the various currencies and contract rates versus financial statement rates. To the extent these forecasts are overstated or understated during periods of currency volatility, we could experience unanticipated currency gains or losses.

 

At December 31, 2007, we had foreign currency forward contracts outstanding with an aggregate notional value of $53.8 million, denominated in the euro, British pound, Canadian dollar and Japanese yen, as a hedge against forecasted foreign currency denominated receivables, payables and cash balances. For the year ended December 31, 2007, net losses of $2.0 million resulting from forward contracts were included in results of operations, offset by $3.3 million of net transaction and remeasurement gains on the related assets and liabilities.

 

A hypothetical 10% change in foreign currency rates would not have a material impact on our results of operations, assuming the above-mentioned forecast of foreign currency exposure is accurate, because the impact on the forward contracts as a result of a 10% change would at least partially offset the impact on the asset and liability positions of our foreign subsidiaries.

 

Interest Rate Risk

 

At December 31, 2007, we held $224.5 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, including short-term corporate obligations, asset-backed securities and government-agency obligations. Marketable securities are classified as “available for sale” and are recorded on the balance sheet at market value, with any unrealized gain or loss recorded in other comprehensive income (loss). A hypothetical 10% increase or decrease in interest rates would not have a material impact on the fair market value of these instruments due to their short maturities.

 

 

46

 


 

ITEM 8.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION

 

AVID TECHNOLOGY, INC.

 

INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULE

 

 

 

Page

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS INCLUDED IN ITEM 8:

 

 

 

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

48

 

 

Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firms

49

 

 

Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005

52

 

 

Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2007 and 2006

53

 

 

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005

54

 

 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005

55

 

 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

56

 

 

 

 

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULE INCLUDED IN ITEM 15(d):

 

 

 

Schedule II – Valuation and Qualifying Accounts for the years ended December 31, 2007, 2006 and 2005

F-1

 

 

 

 

Schedules other than those listed above have been omitted since the required information is not present, or not present in amounts sufficient to require submission of the schedule, or because the information is included in the consolidated financial statements or the notes thereto.

 

 

47

 


Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

 

The management of the Company is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the Company’s principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by the Company’s board of directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and includes those policies and procedures that:

 

 

pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the Company;

 

 

provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the Company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the Company; and

 

 

provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the Company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

 

The Company’s management assessed the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007. In making this assessment, the Company’s management used the criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO) in Internal Control-Integrated Framework.

 

Based on our assessment, management has concluded that as of December 31, 2007 the Company’s internal control over financial reporting is effective based on the criteria set forth by the COSO.

 

Ernst & Young LLP, the independent registered public accounting firm that audited our financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K, has issued an attestation report on our internal controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007. Please see page 49.

 

 

48

 


 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

The Board of Directors and Stockholders of Avid Technology, Inc.

 

We have audited Avid Technology, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (the COSO criteria). Avid Technology, Inc.’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting, and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.

 

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

 

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

 

In our opinion, Avid Technology, Inc. maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on the COSO criteria.

 

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), the consolidated balance sheets of Avid Technology, Inc. as of December 31, 2007 and 2006, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders’ equity, and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2007 and our report dated February 27, 2008 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

 

 

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

 

Boston, Massachusetts  

 

February 27, 2008

 

49

 


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

The Board of Directors and Stockholders of Avid Technology, Inc.

 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Avid Technology, Inc. as of December 31, 2007 and 2006, and the related consolidated statements of operations, stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2007. Our audit also included the financial statement schedule listed in the index in Item 15(d). These financial statements and schedule are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and schedule based on our audits.

 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of Avid Technology, Inc. at December 31, 2007 and 2006, and the consolidated results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the two years in the period ended December 31, 2007, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. Also, in our opinion the related financial statement schedule, when considered in relation to the basic financial statements taken as a whole, present fairly in all material respects the information set forth therein.

 

As discussed in Note B to the consolidated financial statements, on January 1, 2006, the Company adopted the provisions of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123(R), Share-Based Payment.

 

As discussed in Note B to the consolidated financial statements, on January 1, 2007, the Company adopted the provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes-An Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109.

 

We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), Avid Technology, Inc.'s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2007, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission and our report dated February 27, 2008 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.

 

/s/ Ernst & Young LLP

 

Boston, Massachusetts

 

February 27, 2008

 

50

 


 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of Avid Technology, Inc.:

 

In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements listed in the accompanying index present fairly, in all material respects, the results of operations and cash flows of Avid Technology, Inc. and its subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 2005, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. In addition, in our opinion, the financial statement schedule listed in the accompanying index presents fairly, in all material respects, the information set forth therein with respect to the year ended December 31, 2005 when read in conjunction with the related consolidated financial statements. These financial statements and financial statement schedule are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial statement schedule based on our audit. We conducted our audit of these statements in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

 

 

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

 

Boston, MA

March 7, 2006

 

51

 


AVID TECHNOLOGY, INC.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except per share data)

 

 

 

For the Year Ended December 31,

 

 

 

 

2007

 

 

 

2006

 

 

 

2005

 

 

Net revenues:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Products

 

$

806,103

 

 

 

$

809,002

 

 

 

$

692,787

 

 

Services

 

 

123,467

 

 

 

 

101,576

 

 

 

 

82,656

 

 

Total net revenues

 

 

929,570

 

 

 

 

910,578

 

 

 

 

775,443

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cost of revenues:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Products

 

 

390,725

 

 

 

 

388,483

 

 

 

 

308,386

 

 

Services

 

 

68,529

 

 

 

 

56,218

 

 

 

 

45,274

 

 

Amortization of intangible assets

 

 

16,895

 

 

 

 

21,193

 

 

 

 

11,027

 

 

Restructuring costs

 

 

4,278

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Total cost of revenues

 

 

480,427

 

 

 

 

465,894

 

 

 

 

364,687

 

 

Gross profit

 

 

449,143

 

 

 

 

444,684

 

 

 

 

410,756

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating expenses:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Research and development

 

 

150,707

 

 

 

 

141,363

 

 

 

 

111,334

 

 

Marketing and selling

 

 

210,456

 

 

 

 

203,967

 

 

 

 

170,787

 

 

General and administrative

 

 

77,463

 

 

 

 

63,250

 

 

 

 

47,147

 

 

Amortization of intangible assets

 

 

13,726

 

 

 

 

14,460

 

 

 

 

9,194

 

 

Impairment of goodwill

 

 

 

 

 

 

53,000

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restructuring costs, net

 

 

9,410

 

 

 

 

2,613

 

 

 

 

3,155

 

 

In-process research and development

 

 

 

 

 

 

879

 

 

 

 

32,390

 

 

Total operating expenses

 

 

461,762

 

 

 

 

479,532

 

 

 

 

374,007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Operating income (loss)

 

 

(12,619

)

 

 

 

(34,848

)

 

 

 

36,749

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Interest income

 

 

8,256

 

 

 

 

7,991

 

 

 

 

5,244

 

 

Interest expense