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): February 24, 2016

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 February 24, 2016, AXT, Inc. issued a press release announcing its financial results for the quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 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 and fiscal year ended December 31, 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

99.1     Press release dated February 24, 2016, regarding the financial results of AXT, Inc. for the quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.

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 Fourth Quarter 2015 Financial Results

FREMONT, Calif., February 24, 2016 – AXT, Inc. (NasdaqGS: AXTI), a leading manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2015.

Fourth Quarter 2015 Results

Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $18.1 million compared with $18.4 million in the third quarter of 2015.

Gross margin was 17.1 percent of revenue for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with 25.1 percent of revenue in the third quarter of 2015.

Operating expenses were $4.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with $5.3 million in the third quarter of 2015. 

Operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $1.7 million compared with $0.7 million in the third quarter of 2015. 

Net interest and other income for the fourth quarter of 2015 was $0.1 million, compared with $0.8 million in the third quarter of 2015.

Net loss in the fourth quarter of 2015 was $1.2 million compared with a net profit of $42,000 the third quarter of 2015.

Management Qualitative Comments

"2015 was a year of transformation for AXT as we continued to realign our business with the trends that are driving growth in compound semiconductor substrates,” said Morris Young, chief executive officer. "We focused on strategic investments in our technology and manufacturing capabilities that would improve our competitive positioning, and enable us to drive better consistency and efficiency across our substrate portfolio. We are pleased with these investments, and in the early results of our efforts.  Although raw material pricing is providing a near-term headwind, we expect to continue to see a positive shift in our revenue mix in 2016 driven by InP, providing the potential for both revenue and margin expansion."

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) 325-2323 (passcode 5401451). The call will also be simulcast on the Internet at www.axt.com. Replays will be available at (719) 457-0820 (passcode 5401451) until March 1, 2016. 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 indium phosphide (InP), gallium arsenide (GaAs) 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 applications. 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)