PART I
Item 1. Business
Methode Electronics, Inc. was incorporated in 1946 as an Illinois corporation and reincorporated in Delaware in 1966. As used herein, “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” or “Methode” mean Methode Electronics, Inc. and its subsidiaries.
We are a global manufacturer of component and subsystem devices with manufacturing, design and testing facilities in China, Egypt, Germany, India, Lebanon, Malta, Mexico, the Philippines, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. We design, manufacture and market devices employing electrical, radio remote control, electronic, wireless and sensing technologies. Our components are found in the primary end markets of the aerospace, appliance, automotive, construction, consumer and industrial equipment, communications (including information processing and storage, networking equipment, wireless and terrestrial voice/data systems), rail and other transportation industries.
We maintain our financial records on the basis of a fifty-two or fifty-three week fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to April 30.
Segments. Our business is managed and our financial results are reported on a segment basis, with those segments being Automotive, Interconnect, Power Products and Other.
The Automotive segment supplies electronic and electro-mechanical devices and related products to automobile Original Equipment Manufacturers, ("OEMs"), either directly or through their tiered suppliers. Our products include control switches for electrical power and signals, connectors for electrical devices, integrated control components, switches and sensors that monitor the operation or status of a component or system, and packaging of electrical components.
The Interconnect segment provides a variety of copper and fiber-optic interconnect and interface solutions for the aerospace, appliance, commercial, computer, construction, consumer, material handling, medical, military, mining, networking, storage, and telecommunications markets. Solutions include conductive polymers, connectors, custom cable assemblies, industrial safety radio remote controls, optical and copper transceivers, personal computer and express card packaging and terminators, solid-state field effect interface panels, and thick film inks. Services include the design and installation of fiber optic and copper infrastructure systems, and manufacturing active and passive optical components.
The Power Products segment manufactures braided flexible cables, current-carrying laminated bus devices, custom power-product assemblies, high-current low voltage flexible power cabling systems and powder coated bus bars that are used in various markets and applications, including aerospace, computers, industrial and power conversion, inverters and battery systems, insulated gate bipolar transistor solutions, military, telecommunications, and transportation.
The Other segment includes a designer and manufacturer of magnetic torque sensing products, and independent laboratories that provide services for qualification testing and certification, and analysis of electronic and optical components.
Financial results by segment are summarized in Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements.
Sales. The following table reflects the percentage of net sales of the segments of the Company for the last three fiscal years.
Year Ended
April 28,
2012
April 30,
2011
May 1,
2010
Automotive
58.0
%
52.8
53.4
Interconnect
27.7
32.4
33.3
Power Products
11.3
11.8
10.8
Other
3.0
2.5
Our sales activities are directed by sales managers who are supported by field application engineers and other engineering personnel who work with customers to design our products into their systems. Our field application engineers also help us identify emerging markets and new products. Our products are sold through in-house sales staff and through independent manufacturers’ representatives with offices throughout the world. Information about our sales and operations in
different geographic regions is summarized in Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements. Sales are made primarily to OEMs, either directly or through their tiered suppliers as well as selling partners and distributors.
Sources and Availability of Materials. Principal materials that we purchase include application-specific integrated circuits, coil and bar stock, ferrous and copper alloy sheets, glass, light-emitting diode (LED) displays, plastic molding materials, precious metals, and silicon die castings. All of these items are available from several suppliers and we generally rely on more than one supplier for each item. We normally do not carry inventories of raw materials or finished products in excess of those reasonably required to meet production and shipping schedules. We experienced price increases on some resins as well as silver in fiscal 2012, however copper prices remained constant. In fiscal 2011, we experienced some shortages for specific electrical components. Additionally in fiscal 2011, we experienced significant price increases for copper, precious metals and petroleum-based raw materials. We did not experience significant price increases in fiscal 2010.
Patents; Licensing Agreements. We have numerous United States and foreign patents and license agreements covering certain of our products and manufacturing processes, several of which are considered significant to our business. Our ability to compete effectively with other companies depends, in part, on our ability to maintain the proprietary nature of our technology. Although we have been awarded, have filed applications for, or have been licensed under numerous patents in the United States and other countries, there can be no assurance concerning the degree of protection afforded by these patents or the likelihood that pending patents will be issued.
Seasonality. A significant portion of our business is dependent on automotive sales and the vehicle production schedules of our customers. The automotive market is cyclical and depends on general economic conditions, interest rates, fuel prices and consumer spending patterns.
Material Customers. During the fiscal year ended April 28, 2012, shipments to Ford Motor Company (“Ford”) and General Motors Corporation (“GM”), or their tiered suppliers, represented 18.7% and 18.5%, respectively, of consolidated net sales. Such shipments included a wide variety of our automotive component products.
Backlog. Our backlog of orders was approximately $87.9 million at April 28, 2012, and $82.2 million at April 30, 2011. We expect that most of the backlog at April 28, 2012 will be shipped within fiscal 2013.
Competitive Conditions. The markets in which we operate are highly competitive and characterized by rapid changes due to technological improvements and developments. We compete with a large number of other manufacturers in each of our product areas; many of these competitors have greater resources and sales. Price, service and product performance are significant elements of competition in the sale of our products.
Research and Development. We maintain a research and development program involving a number of professional employees who devote a majority of their time to the enhancement of existing products and to the development of new products and processes. Senior management of our Company participates directly in the program. Expenditures for such activities amounted to $20.4 million, $19.5 million and $18.4 million for fiscal 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.
Environmental Matters. Compliance with foreign, federal, state and local provisions regulating the discharge of materials into the environment has not materially affected our capital expenditures, earnings or our competitive position. Currently, we do not have any environmental related lawsuits or material administrative proceedings pending against us. Further information as to environmental matters affecting us is presented in Note 9 to our consolidated financial statements.
Employees. At April 28, 2012 and April 30, 2011, we had 3,143 and 2,743 employees, respectively. We also from time to time employ part-time employees and hire independent contractors. As of April 28, 2012, our employees from our Malta and Mexico facilities, which account for approximately 64% of our total number of employees, are represented by collective bargaining agreements. We have never experienced a work stoppage and we believe that our employee relations are good.
Segment Information and Foreign Sales. Information about our operations by segment and in different geographic regions is summarized in Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements.
Available Information. We are subject to the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act) and file periodic reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Such reports may be obtained by visiting the Public Reference Room of the SEC at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549, or by calling the SEC at (800) SEC-0330. In addition, the SEC maintains an internet site(www.sec.gov) that contains periodic reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding Methode.
Financial and other information can also be accessed on the investor relations section of our website at www.methode.com. We make available, free of charge, copies of our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act as soon as reasonably practicable after filing such material electronically or otherwise furnishing it to the SEC. Also posted on our website are the Company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, Code of Conduct and the charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Technology Committee. Copies of these documents are also available free of charge by sending a request to Methode Electronics, Inc., 7401 West Wilson Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60706, Attention: Investor Relations Department. Information on our website is not incorporated into this Form 10-K or our other securities filings and is not a part of them.
Certifications. As required by the rules and regulations of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”), we delivered to the NYSE a certification signed by our Chief Executive Officer, Donald W. Duda, certifying that Mr. Duda was not aware of any violation by the Company of the NYSE’s corporate governance listing standards as of October 20, 2011.
As required by the rules and regulations of the SEC, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 302 certifications regarding the quality of our public disclosures are filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Certain statements in this report are forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. We undertake no duty to update any such forward-looking statements to conform to actual results or changes in our expectations. Our business is highly dependent upon two large automotive customers and specific makes and models of automobiles. Our results will be subject to many of the same risks that apply to the automotive, appliance, computer and communications industries, such as general economic conditions, interest rate fluctuations, consumer spending patterns and technological changes. Other factors which may result in materially different results for future periods include the following risk factors. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known or that our management currently believe to be insignificant may also adversely affect our financial condition or results of operations. These risk factors should be considered in connection with evaluating the forward-looking statements contained in this report because these factors could cause our actual results and condition to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this report are subject to the safe harbor protection provided under the securities laws and are made as of the date of this report.