AXTI AXT Inc

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington,  D.C. 20549 

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): October 29, 2015

AXT, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

[   ] Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

[   ] Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

[   ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

[   ] Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 2.02 Results of Operations and Financial Condition

On October 29, 2015, AXT, Inc. issued a press release announcing its financial results for the quarter ended September 30, 2015.  A copy of the Company’s press release, announcing the results, is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and incorporated herein by reference.

The information in Exhibit 99.1 hereto discussing the Company’s results of operations and financial condition for the quarter ended September 30, 2015, is being “furnished” in accordance with General Instruction B.2 of Form 8-K and shall not be deemed to be “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, or Sections 11 and 12(a)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.  The information contained herein and in the accompanying exhibit shall not be incorporated by reference into any filing of the Registrant, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing, unless expressly incorporated by specific reference to such filing.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits

(d)Exhibits

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

EXHIBIT INDEX

Contacts:

Gary Fischer

Chief Financial Officer

(510) 438-4700

Leslie Green

Green Communications Consulting, LLC

(650) 312-9060

AXT, Inc. Announces Third Quarter 2015 Financial Results

FREMONT, Calif., October 29, 2015 – AXT, Inc. (NasdaqGS: AXTI), a leading manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, today reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015.

Third Quarter 2015 Results

Revenue for the third quarter of 2015 was $18.4 million compared with $21.0 million in the second quarter of 2015.

Gross margin was 25.1 percent of revenue for the third quarter of 2015, compared with 20.9 percent of revenue in the second quarter of 2015.

Operating expenses were $5.3 million in the third quarter of 2015, compared with $5.2 million in the second quarter of 2015. 

Operating loss for the third quarter of 2015 was $0.7 million compared with $0.8 million in the second quarter of 2015. 

Net interest and other income for the third quarter of 2015 was $0.8 million, compared with $1.1 million in the second quarter of 2015.

Net profit in the third quarter of 2015 was $42,000 compared with a net loss of $3,000 the second quarter of 2015.

Management Qualitative Comments

"Our business has continued to evolve as a direct reflection of the transformation in our industry," said Morris Young, chief executive officer.  "We are seeing a growing shift within our revenue base towards indium phosphide, which has surpassed both semi-insulating gallium arsenide and semi-conducting gallium arsenide as the single largest segment of substrates in our sales composition.  Its growth as a percentage of our revenues has had a favorable effect on our results.  This was evident in Q3 as softness in other parts of our business caused us to fall short of our revenue guidance, but we outperformed our bottom line guidance to achieve break even profitability.  We continue to actively invest in our future through focused R&D, technology M&A and the upgrade of our manufacturing infrastructure. We believe we are making the right investments to maximize our business opportunity and drive increased value for our shareholders."

Conference Call

The company will host a conference call to discuss these results today at 1:30 p.m. PT. The conference call can be accessed at (719) 457-2083 (passcode 968071). The call will also be simulcast on the Internet at www.axt.com. Replays will be available at (719) 457-0820 (passcode 968071) until November 5, 2015. Financial and statistical information to be discussed in the call will be available on the company's website immediately prior to commencement of the call. Additional investor information can be accessed at http://www.axt.com or by calling the company's Investor Relations Department at (510) 438-4700.

About AXT, Inc.

AXT designs, develops, manufactures and distributes high-performance compound and single element semiconductor substrates comprising gallium arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP) and germanium (Ge) through its manufacturing facilities in Beijing, China.  In addition, AXT maintains its sales, administration and customer service functions at its headquarters in Fremont, California.  The company’s substrate products are used primarily in lighting display applications, wireless communications, fiber optic communications and solar cell. Its vertical gradient freeze (VGF) technique for manufacturing semiconductor substrates provides significant benefits over other methods and enabled AXT to become a leading manufacturer of such substrates. AXT has manufacturing facilities in China and invests in joint ventures in China producing raw materials. For more information, see AXT’s website at http://www.axt.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

The foregoing paragraphs contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws, including, for example, statements regarding the market demand for our products, our market opportunity, and our expectations with respect to our business prospects. These forward-looking statements are based upon assumptions that are subject to uncertainties and factors relating to the company’s operations and business environment, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements contained in the foregoing discussion. These uncertainties and factors include but are not limited to: overall conditions in the markets in which the company competes; global financial conditions and uncertainties; policies and regulations in China; market acceptance and demand for the company’s products; the impact of factory closures or other events causing delays by our customers on the timing of sales of our products; our ability to control costs, our ability to utilize our manufacturing capacity; product yields and their impact on gross margins; and other factors as set forth in the company’s annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and other filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Each of these factors is difficult to predict and many are beyond the company’s control. The company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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FINANCIAL TABLES TO FOLLOW

AXT, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited, in thousands, except per share data)

AXT, INC.

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(Unaudited, in thousands)