10-K 1 d10k.htm FORM 10-K Form 10-K

 

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

 


 

FORM 10-K

 


 

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

 

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003

 

OR

 

¨ 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 0-27978

 


 

POLYCOM, INC.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

 


 

Delaware   94-3128324

(State or other jurisdiction of

incorporation or organization)

 

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification No.)

4750 Willow Road, Pleasanton, California   94588
(Address of principal executive offices)   (Zip Code)

 

(925) 924-6000

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code

 


 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

None

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

 

Common Stock, $0.0005 par value, per share

Preferred Share Rights (currently attached to and trading only with Common Stock)

 

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.    Yes  x    No  ¨

 

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.  ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  x    No  ¨

 

As of June 30, 2003, the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter, there were 98,711,312 shares of the Registrant’s common stock outstanding and the aggregate market value of such shares held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, based on the closing sale price of such shares on the Nasdaq National Market on June 30, 2003, was approximately $1,365,963,818. Shares of Common Stock held by each executive officer and director and by each person who beneficially owns 5% or more of the outstanding Common Stock have been excluded in that such persons may under certain circumstances be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of executive officer or affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

 

99,747,187 shares of the Registrant’s Common Stock were outstanding as of February 27, 2004.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE.

 

Portions of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for the 2004 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Such Proxy Statement will be filed within 120 days of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 



SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

Some of the statements under the sections entitled “Business,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” and “Other Factors Affecting Future Operations,” and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and in the documents incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, constitute forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terms such as “may,” “could,” “would,” “might,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “continue” or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and situations, including those disclosed in “Other Factors Affecting Future Operations” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, that may cause our or our industry’s actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these statements.

 

Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

 

PART 1

 

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

 

GENERAL

 

We develop, manufacture, market and service a comprehensive line of high-quality, easy-to-use video, voice, data and web conferencing collaboration solutions. We provide an end-to-end solution that includes enterprise video and voice communications end-points, network infrastructure, management products, product maintenance and other professional services. Our enterprise video and voice communications products enable businesses and other organizations to easily communicate with employees, customers, and partners, regardless of location. Our network infrastructure and management products include bridges, network management software and call processing servers that enable communications across and between different types of networks and end-points. The breadth of our product offering enables us to provide our customers with a comprehensive, end-to-end communications solution, which spans the desktop, meeting room and enterprise or service provider network.

 

Our products are unified under The Polycom Accelerated Communications Architecture, a framework of common technology principles and objectives for intelligent, standards-based communications. This architecture is designed to facilitate interoperability among systems in a multi-vendor environment, leverage common features across a variety of products and streamline management processes. Because it is based on open standards and supports a wide range of communications protocols, the architecture helps our customers protect their existing and future investments in a converged communications infrastructure. The Polycom Accelerated Communications Architecture serves as the enabling platform for The Polycom Office, our corporate vision of a unified communications environment for employees, customers and partners to communicate in a dispersed workplace.

 

Our business operates in two segments, Communications and Network Systems. Our Communications segment includes videoconferencing collaboration products, voice communications products, and a wide range of service and support offerings to our resellers and directly to some end-user customers. Our Network Systems segment includes our MGC series of media servers, PathNavigator call processing server, WebOffice webconferencing software application, network management and scheduling software and portfolio of professional and maintenance services. In addition, we acquired Voyant Technologies, Inc. in January 2004. Voyant’s audio bridging product will be included in our Network Systems segment in 2004. See Recent Developments below. See Note 17 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for further information on our segments, including a summary of our segment net revenues, segment contribution margin, segment inventory and revenue by geography. A discussion of factors potentially affecting our operations is set forth in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Other Factors Affecting Future Operations,” in Item 7.

 

In January 2003, we sold to Verilink Corporation (Verilink) certain fixed assets and intellectual property rights relating to our network access product line, including Polycom’s line of NetEngine integrated devices, for a total of up to $3.0 million in cash, of which (i) $1.0 million was paid to us at closing, (ii) $0.25 million was paid to us on the first anniversary of the closing, in January 2004, and (iii) up to $1.75 million will be paid to Polycom quarterly based on ten percent of Verilink’s revenues related to the sale of NetEngine products, of which Verilink paid $0.4 million in 2003. Our consolidated financial statements reflect our network access product line as discontinued operations in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 144, or SFAS 144. The results of operations of our network access product line have been classified as discontinued, and prior periods have been reclassified, including the reallocation of general overhead charges to our two remaining reporting segments. Unless otherwise indicated, the following discussion relates to our continuing operations.

 

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We have established partnerships with leading communications and technology firms to assist us in developing, marketing, distributing and manufacturing our products. For example, we have agreements with Alcatel, Cisco Systems and 3Com to develop and market voice-over-IP, or VoIP, communications products. We have formed other strategic relationships with leading companies such as Avaya to jointly develop IP telephony-enabled video solutions and for Avaya to sell and service other Polycom products globally. We sell our products through a broad network of channel partners, including leading communications service providers, value-added resellers, distributors and retailers. In late 2002 and 2003, we implemented changes to our channel partner contracts and changes to our channel partner strategy, mainly in North America, which resulted in a smaller number of channel partners, a change in the mix of our channel partners and a shift to a model with more direct interaction between us and our end-user customers. In 2004, we plan to expand this channel partner strategy globally which we expect will result in a smaller number of international partners, a change in the mix of our international channel partners and a shift to a model with more direct interaction between us and our end-user customers. We manufacture our products through a low-cost, outsourced model optimized for quality, reliability and fulfillment agility.

 

We were incorporated in December 1990 in Delaware. Our principal executive offices are located at 4750 Willow Road, Pleasanton, California 94588, and our telephone number at this location is (925) 924-6000. Our Internet Website address is www.polycom.com. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K, and amendments to such reports are available, free of charge, on our Internet website under “Investor Relations—Financial and SEC Filings,” as soon as reasonably practicable after we file electronically such material with, or furnish it to, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC. Information on our website does not constitute a part of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The public may also read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 450 Fifth Street, N.W., Washington D.C. 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC also maintains an Internet site (www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information regarding us that we file electronically with the SEC.

 

Polycom and the Polycom logo are registered trademarks of Polycom, Inc. This Annual Report on Form 10-K also includes other trade names, trademarks and service marks of ours and of other companies.

 

MARKETS AND PRODUCTS

 

Communications Segment

 

Video Communications

 

Government and enterprise entities are increasingly seeking technologies to facilitate more natural and effective one-on-one and group communications among people separated by distance. Several trends are driving the need for improved collaboration, including the following:

 

  proliferation of branch offices;

 

  time, cost and other concerns of long-distance travel;

 

  homeland security and other global government applications and initiatives;

 

  distance learning and healthcare applications;

 

  increased telecommuting;

 

  adoption of the extended enterprise, which includes the supply chain, customer channels and other key linkages;

 

  potential for greater productivity; and

 

  heightened importance of regular interaction among companies with their employees, customers and partners.

 

Video communication is rapidly emerging as a preferred method of collaboration among individuals separated by distance. However, the ability to conduct successful video communication in the past has been hindered by low bandwidth connections and equipment that was difficult to use, unreliable, expensive or otherwise ineffective. With the increasing availability of broadband services, enterprise migration to IP networks and advances in video communications technology, many enterprises and government entities are now seeking communications equipment capable of utilizing available bandwidth to enable real-time and on-demand video communications.

 

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We offer a family of videoconferencing collaboration products that facilitate high-quality video communications. Our ViewStation product family and our recently announced VSX 7000 comprise a line of high-performance, cost-effective and easy-to-use group videoconferencing systems. Our iPower products utilize a PC-based architecture, optimized for intensive collaboration in conjunction with videoconferencing. Our ViaVideo II desktop video communications appliance integrates a multimedia processor, camera and our patented full-duplex Acoustic Clarity Technology for two-way video, voice and data transmission in a single, low-cost device. Our Visual Concert family of peripherals allows users of our ViewStation and VSX 7000 products to more easily incorporate data, documents and audiovisual effects into their videoconferencing sessions. All of our video communications products are compatible with international standards and are in use in more than 30 countries.

 

To assist our end-user customers in implementing and managing their video communications applications on a global basis, we offer a portfolio of additional professional and maintenance services. Our training program provides our resellers and end-user customers with educational services to ensure effective operation of our products. For the ongoing support of our end-user customers’ video communication systems, we provide maintenance services, including telephone support, parts exchange, on-site assistance and direct access to our support engineers for real-time troubleshooting of our products. Our services are sold both directly to end-user customers and through our resellers.

 

Video Communications
Products


  

Key Features


   Typical US List Price

Polycom Executive

     

High performance video system

   $49,999-$77,999

Collection

     

Integrated high fidelity audio

    
       

Premium plasma displays

    

iPower Series

      Multi-purpose videoconferencing and collaborations    $15,499-$19,999
        H.264 advanced video compression for highest quality video at lower call data rates     
        High-quality, enhanced video delivered at 30 frames per second and up to 60 fields, and Siren 14 CD-like audio     
        Embedded Intel-based PC capable of running stand-alone PC applications (such as MS Office, Web access, database access)     
        IP and ISDN connectivity     
        Up to 4-site multipoint capability (IP); optional 12-site multipoint capability (IP)     

ViewStation Series

      High-quality, enhanced video and voice delivered at 30 frames per second and up to 60 fields per second    $3,999-$16,499
        Easy to use graphical interface and hand-held remote control     
        Embedded Web functionality and data sharing     
        IP and ISDN connectivity     
        Up to 4-site multipoint capability with cascading (IP, ISDN and mixed)     

VSX 7000

      High-quality, enhanced video and voice delivered at 30 frames per second and up to 60 fields per second, and Siren 14 CD-like audio    $5,999
        Easy to use graphical interface and hand-held remote control     
        Embedded Web functionality and data sharing     
        IP and ISDN connectivity     
        Up to 4-site multipoint capability with cascading (IP, ISDN and mixed)     
        H.264 advanced video compression for highest quality video at lower call data rates     

Visual Concert Series

      Visual Concert video peripherals used to incorporate live PC data, documents and visual effects into a videoconferencing session    $1,499
        Dynamic dual stream capability, People + Content, allows user to present content while maintaining face-to-face contact     

ViaVideo II

  

   Business-quality video communications appliance for the desktop personal computer    $599
        Full motion video delivered at up to 30 frames per second and 512k bps     
        Easy integration with existing IP networks     

 

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Voice Communications

 

From desktop to large integrated auditorium systems, or from analog to digital to IP networks with multiple protocols, our voice communications products enhance business communications. A majority of Polycom’s voice products feature our patented Acoustic Clarity Technology which allows simultaneous conversations (full duplex) and minimizes background noise, echoes, word clipping and distortion. In 2003, we introduced the SoundStation VTX 1000, which automatically adapts to each meeting environment, providing high fidelity voice quality for all participants whether they are 2-feet or 20-feet away from the microphone. This wideband conference phone delivers twice the bandwidth of a normal telephone over an ordinary telephone line for life-like sound quality.

 

Our Vortex series of rack-mounted voice conferencing products provide solutions for larger, high-end conference rooms, training rooms, courtrooms, classrooms and other permanent installations. These solutions can be used as a stand alone audio system or can be used in combination with a video system to significantly enhance the audio quality and microphone pick up. Our Vortex systems feature advanced acoustics technologies, including multi-channel full-duplex acoustic echo cancellation, noise reduction, automatic gain control, automatic microphone mixing, matrix mixing, room equalization and telephony interfaces. All of our voice end-points are compatible with international standards and are in use in more than 30 countries.

 

The convergence of voice and data networks is allowing VoIP telephony systems to address many needs of today’s enterprises, including reducing costs, new productivity enhancing applications, simplifying network management and converging voice and data networks. VoIP telephony systems enable corporations to distribute a single network across multiple offices or remote locations, and reduce the cost of managing communications networks by allowing remote modification. These converged systems also provide a platform for enterprises to rapidly build applications to meet specific business demands. In response to these trends, we have utilized our expertise in acoustic technology to offer our SoundStation IP and SoundPoint IP products for applications in the conference room and on the desktop for IP technology solutions. We have established relationships with Avaya, Broadsoft, Cisco Systems, Interactive Intelligence, 3Com, Shoreline Communications, Sphere Communications, Sylantro and Vocal Data to collaborate in the development, marketing and distribution of our VoIP conferencing and handset products.

 

To assist our end-user customers in implementing and managing their voice communication products, we offer a portfolio of additional professional and maintenance services. For the ongoing support of our end-user customers’ voice systems, we provide maintenance services, including telephone support, parts exchange, on-site assistance and direct access to our support engineers for real-time troubleshooting of our products. Our services are sold both directly to end-user customers and through our resellers.

 

Voice Communication
Products


  

Key Features


   Typical US List Price

Vortex EF 2241

Vortex EF 2280

  

   Multi-channel acoustic echo and noise cancellation for installed conferencing applications    $3,995-$4,615
    

   Built in “phone add” to bring telephone calls into the conference room, depending on model     
    

   Integrated, automatic mixing of up to 8 microphones and 4 auxiliary audio sources, depending on model     

Vortex EF 2210

Vortex EF 2211

  

   Single channel acoustic echo and noise cancellation for installed conferencing applications    $1,995-$2,695

 

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SoundStation VTX 1000

  

  

Simultaneous natural conversation

Extensive room coverage

   $1,499-$1,799
    

   Download new software remotely through the telephone line     
    

   Independent input and output, Bass/Treble controls and internal microphone and speaker control for configuration flexibility     
    

   Wideband high-fidelity audio     

SoundStation Premier and SoundStation Premier EX

  

   All the features of the SoundStation    $999-$1,599
    

  

High-fidelity speaker for larger rooms

    
    

   Intelligent microphones that track the person speaking     
    

   Active noise reduction and automatic gain control to remove background noise from PC’s, projectors and HVAC systems     
    

   Direct connectivity with digital PBX protocols     

SoundStation and SoundStation EX

  

   High-quality voice conferencing speakerphone    $499-$1,099
    

   Full duplex and echo cancellation capabilities that facilitate natural conversations without clipping or distortion     
    

   Optional extended microphones for additional room coverage     

SoundStation IP

  

   VoIP-enabled version of the SoundStation    $999
    

   Supports multiple IP protocols     
    

   Graphical LCD display for ease-of-use     

SoundPoint IP

  

   Full-featured, standards based Voice over IP desktop telephone, with professional full duplex hands free communication and handset capabilities    $259-$435
    

   Supports multiple IP protocols     
    

   High resolution graphical LCD display for applications and ease of use     

VoiceStation 100

  

   High-quality voice conferencing product for smaller offices    $299

SoundPoint Pro

  

   Integrated, high-quality speakerphone with handset feature    $199-$299
    

   Multi-functional handset, with professional hands free communication capabilities     

 

Network Systems Segment

 

As enterprises, educational institutions, government agencies and other organizations look to provide video and voice applications to their employees and communicate with individuals outside their organizations, they face the challenge of interconnecting various network types, network protocols, transmission speeds and end-points in a secure, reliable and high quality environment. These customers require network systems designed to resolve these complex interoperability, multipoint connectivity and security issues. The service provider market will become increasingly important to our business as end-user customers use service providers to solve these complex problems. Today, service providers provide voice and video services to a growing number of users and with the acquisition of Voyant we have acquired large service providers as customers. Network systems must also ensure a consistent level of high quality service by intelligently matching end-user applications to available network resources. Further, network systems must satisfy end-users who demand video, voice, data and web communications sessions that are easy to establish and manage.

 

Our network systems products provide a broad range of video, voice, data and web communication capabilities to businesses, telecommunications service providers, and government and educational institutions. Our MGC-25, MGC-50 and MGC-100 media servers provide seamless network connectivity across packet-based broadband networks and traditional circuit-switched networks for both video and voice multipoint conferencing. The advanced transcoding capabilities of our MGC systems enable reliable and optimal communication among end-points with different video, voice and data parameters and bandwidth capabilities. In addition, the MGC products combine fully featured voice conferencing and fully featured video conferencing on the same platform supported by a common management system. In addition, we acquired Voyant Technologies, Inc. in January 2004. Voyant’s audio bridging product will be included in our Network Systems segment in 2004. See Recent Developments below.

 

Our line of network systems products also includes a suite of software products that enable the easy integration and management of the network and endpoints and allows for easy web collaboration. PathNavigator offers powerful network management capabilities that simplify the use of enterprise video throughout a converged network, ensures reliability and security and effectively manages network bandwidth. The Polycom Global Management System is a web-based system management software solution for IT professionals to manage their enterprise-wide video communications network. Global Management System has the ability to manage the iPower products in addition to the ViewStation, VSX 7000, ViaVideo II, PathNavigator, WebCommander and any third-party video

 

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communication products with an embedded web server. The Polycom Conference Suite, or PCS schedules conferences by providing users with the ability to invite guests, book rooms, and select necessary equipment, all from within Microsoft Outlook or through a Web interface. PCS also allows IT professionals to proactively monitor, control, track, and adjust the network by utilizing an easy-to-use graphical web interface, as needed, from any location. It also gives administrators the ability to control conference room equipment at a remote location. WebOffice Conferencing Portal provides a web-based virtual office, enabling users to conduct online meetings, or share documents, applications or desktops in a secure, interactive environment on an ad-hoc or scheduled basis. WebOffice users can also conduct instant message sessions with colleagues and launch voice and video conferencing from their WebOffice interface.

 

To assist our end-user customers in implementing and managing their network systems products, we offer a portfolio of additional professional and maintenance services. For the ongoing support of our end-user customers’ network systems, we provide maintenance services, including telephone support, parts exchange, on-site assistance and direct access to our support engineers for real-time troubleshooting of our products. Our services are sold both directly to end-user customers and through our resellers.

 

Network Systems Products


  

Key Features


  

Typical US List Price


MGC-50 and MGC-100

      Multipoint control units for service providers, enterprises, education and government institutions and workgroups    $63,000-$525,500
        Voice, video and data conferencing bridge     
        Embedded multi-network, multi-protocol gateway     
        Supports multiple standards for video, voice and data     
        Supports end-points at up to 2 Mbps and can connect up to 650 sites for 325 simultaneous sessions     
        Interfaces with 10/100 Ethernet, E-1 or T-1 lines     

MGC-25

      Supports IP and ISDN video conferencing, video gateway applications, PSTN and IP voice conferencing as well as Polycom’s new unified conferencing    $22,000-$79,950
        Supports Polycom Office features such as H.264, People + Content, Pro-Motion Video, and Siren 14 wideband audio     

Polycom Conference Suite

      Schedule conferences, rooms and resources through Microsoft Outlook or a Web browser interface    $2,199-$324,999
        Manage third party conferencing equipment     
        Reduce conferencing deployment costs through management     

Global Management System

      Real-time, Web-based monitoring and management of video equipment enables cost-effective support for IT managers    $249-$49,999
        Centralized address book server application provides easy access for users     

PathNavigator

      Advanced Gatekeeper for IP and ISDN video calls    $1,249-$49,999
        Intelligent routing engine, greatly simplifying how a call is processed through a conferencing network     
        Polycom OneDial makes video calls easier for end-users     

WebOffice

      Web-based collaborative virtual office software with browser interface    $200 per user
        Enables anytime, online meetings or application sharing in a secure environment     
        Allows users to instantly start point-to-point or multipoint audio or video calls directly from an Instant Message interface.     
        Allows users to Instant Message with colleagues from their virtual office     

 

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COMPETITION

 

We face significant competition for the products in our Communications segment, which is subject to rapid technological change. In video communications, our major competitors include Tandberg and a number of other companies including Aethra, ClearOne Communications, Huawei, NEC, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, VCON and VTEL, as well as various smaller or new industry entrants. Some of these companies have substantial financial resources and production, marketing, engineering and other capabilities with which to develop, manufacture, market and sell their products. We believe we will face increasing competition from alternative video communications solutions that employ new technologies or new combinations of technologies from companies such as 3Com, Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Microsoft, Nortel Networks, RealNetworks and WebEx, that enable web-based or network-based video and collaboration communications. The market for voice communications equipment, including voice conferencing and desktop equipment, is highly competitive and also subject to rapid technological change, regulatory developments and emerging industry standards. We expect competition to persist and increase in the future in this area. In voice communications, our major competitors include Aethra, ClearOne Communications, Konftel, Mitel, Soundgear and other companies that offer lower cost, full-duplex speakerphones. In the VoIP desktop space, there are several low cost manufacturers in Asia and Europe that are emerging. In addition, there are notable PBX and IP Call Manager manufacturers that compete in the standards based IP space including Cisco, Mitel and Siemens. Furthermore, all major telephony manufacturers produce hands-free speakerphone units that cost less than our voice communications products. Our Network Systems segment has significant competition from RADVISION, and a number of other companies, including Avaya, Cisco Systems, First Virtual, Huawei and Tandberg. For a discussion of risks potentially affecting our operations, please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7, including “Other Factors Affecting Future Operations”, in particular risks related to “If we fail to compete successfully, our business and results of operations would be significantly harmed” and “We face risks related to our dependence on channel partners to sell our products”.

 

TECHNOLOGY

 

We intend to continue to invest in and leverage our core technologies to develop, enhance and market our Communications and Network Systems segment’s, products and product enhancements. Our core technologies include the following:

 

Video System Architectures. With the introduction of the VSX 7000 we have introduced an array of major architectural innovations in our video conferencing products. The VSX 7000 incorporates a versatile and powerful software and hardware platform that will enable fast development of innovative new features and improvements. We also continue to build on the advantages of our flexible iPower, ViaVideo II and ViewStation system architectures, which allow for a complete spectrum of video communication products ranging from high-end large room systems to single-user appliances.

 

Enhanced Wideband Audio. Because of the critical role speech plays in remote communications on all media, we have made significant investments in the development of key audio technologies to provide improved fidelity in conferencing and point-to-point environments. We currently provide wideband audio, using our industry-developed standard, G.722.1, in our voice, video and MGC products. Most recently, our continued investment in audio technology has yielded key elements of our new VTX technology, which makes wideband audio available over the telephone network.

 

IP Protocols and Telephony. We continue to invest heavily in the technologies that enable IP communications and telephony. The multiple protocols, such as Session Initiation Protocol, or SIP, Media Gateway Control Protocol, or MGCP, and H.323, applications, feature sets, and environments of IP telephony all require significant attention and innovative new solutions to operate flawlessly with a communications link that is fundamentally different from the traditional analog telephone line. Commonly experienced IP issues such as lost data, erratic transmission times, incompatible compression algorithms, and unreliable connections each require explicit attention to produce a speech channel with smooth, reliable operation.

 

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Multimedia Bridging. By developing new architectures, algorithms and techniques, we are extending our base of bridging products. Our focus on a strong basic architecture continues to reap rewards in configuration flexibility, product function, cost, and the applicability of design elements in multiple products and environments.

 

Web Collaboration Technology. Application of numerous proprietary, enabling technologies is resulting in increased capabilities for our web-enabled collaboration products. Coupling a user-friendly interface with a tool set for exchange of visual images in multiple environments such as web collaboration and application sharing, this technology provides a versatile and growing set of features for the multimedia conferencing market.

 

Industry Standards Leadership. We continue our role in industry leadership in numerous standards activities. Our technical expertise and management contributions are exemplary in our roles as editor, contributor and other capacities in world and regional standards committees. These include ITU-T Study Group 16, Internet Engineering Task Force, International Multimedia Telecommunications Consortium and Telecommunications Industry Association, and also cover emerging technology areas such as media coding, communications protocols, endpoint requirements, and industry interoperation. Among our activities, we have been instrumental in the development of the H.264 next-generation video compression standard and the G.722.1 audio compression standard, the VTX wideband audio-over POTS protocol, and also continue to work on new advancements in many fields, including Session Initiation Protocol, or SIP, which is a signaling protocol for Internet video and voice conferencing, telephony, presence, events notification and instant messaging.

 

Digital Acoustic Processing. We have been enhancing and developing our advanced acoustic processing technologies since the 1992 introduction of the industry-defining SoundStation voice conferencing system. Building on this legacy, we are developing a new breed of advanced generation full-duplex audio algorithms. As most recently demonstrated in the SoundStation VTX1000, these continuing investments are resulting in improvements in naturalness, range, sensitivity and trouble-free usability. We are also developing robust algorithms and techniques to improve our media performance in a broad range of room environments. These extend from the local, personal environment of the desktop, through the medium-sized conference rooms that are commonly used in the tabletop conference terminals, to the large versatile spaces that are often best served by integrated room audio systems and more sophisticated control mechanisms.

 

Conferencing Integration and Management. As systems become more capable and complex, the need for enhanced tools to manage multiple endpoints and sessions becomes more keenly felt. We are continuing our investment in a new generation of integrated system management tools that increase the security, reliability, and ease of operation of the elements of its systems. Our Global Management System, or GMS, is a versatile client/server system for meeting and device coordination and management via integrated network control. This improves the reliability and accessibility of network systems and helps assure completeness and uniformity among users, which is especially useful to corporate users and IT organizations. InstantDesigner, PathNavigator, the Polycom Network Aware Scheduler and the Video Network Manager are further examples of our continuing commitment to this critical need.

 

SALES AND DISTRIBUTION

 

We market and sell our products through a broad worldwide network of channel partners, which includes leading communications service providers, value-added resellers, distributors and retailers. Our channel partners include Avaya, Cisco, Daito Electronics, Digital China Technology, Cornet, France Telecom, GBH, Genedis, Hitachi Densen Shoji Ltd, Imago Micro, Ingram Micro, IVCI, Inc., Jenne, Nanjing Postel, Princeton, Review Video, SBC, SKC Communications, Sprint, T2 Supply, Tech Data, Verizon and Wire One Technologies. Many of these resellers sell a variety of communication products and/or services and, with our products, offer a complete product portfolio. We believe that it is important to maintain a close working relationship with these customers in order to meet their demands for sales and support on a multinational basis. We plan to continue to focus on the federal, state and local government opportunities working with new and existing channel partners. To complement our sales efforts, we advertise in trade and general business print media, participate in a wide array of trade shows and public relations activities and lease sales offices in strategic metropolitan areas on a worldwide basis.

 

        In late 2002 and 2003, we began to implement a new direct-touch strategy in concert with a realignment of our channel partner strategy. This strategy enables us to have more direct interaction with our end-user customers. This strategy shift includes channel certifications for certain network systems and video products that we believe will yield a higher level of end-user customer satisfaction. As part of this new channel partner strategy and a result of the recent economic downturn, the channel inventory model has changed to reduce channel inventories at those channel partners that stock product and to move some channel partners to a drop shipment method for their end-user customers as opposed to having these partners carry inventory. We believe this inventory model improvement, along with our increased staff of direct-touch sales force that sells hand-in-hand with our channel partners, enables us to better sell the benefits of our end-to-end video, voice, data, and web collaboration solutions. In addition, in 2003 we made significant changes in sales management and the sales organization, including adding a new manager to lead government sales and the promotion of one individual to the role of general manager of Asia Pacific. This change in sales management has resulted in changes to our channel partner contracts in North America which in turn has led to a smaller number of channel partners, a change in the mix of our channel partners and a shift to a model with even more direct interaction between us and our end-user customers. These new contracts have, and could continue to, upset some of our channel partners to the extent that some of our channel partners have added, and more could add, competitive products to their portfolios or shift more emphasis to selling our competitor’s products. We are planning to implement new channel partner contracts in Europe, Asia and Latin America in 2004, which may result in a smaller number of channel partners, a change in the mix of our channel partners and a shift to a model with even more direct interaction between us and our end-user customers in those regions and may cause the same channel upset we have already experienced in North America. These changes may cause additional disruptions in our channels and negatively impact revenue growth in the near term.

 

9


We typically ship products within a short time after we receive an order and, therefore, backlog has not been a good indicator of future net revenues. Net revenues for any particular quarter are difficult to predict with any degree of certainty. As of December 31, 2003, we did end the quarter with $22.7 million of order backlog as compared to $3.5 million at December 31, 2002, principally as a result of our new channel strategy, the establishment of product lead times to maximize our inventory efficiency and our focus on operational efficiencies in the logistics area. For factors affecting our ability to maintain this level of backlog please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7, including “Other Factors Affecting Future Operations”, in particular risks related to “Because a disproportionate amount of our sales occur at the end of a quarter, our operating results are unpredictable”.

 

We have historically focused our sales efforts in regions of the world where we believe customers have begun to invest significantly in conferencing equipment and services. These regions currently include North America, Europe, Asia Pacific and the Caribbean and Latin America. See Note 17 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for selected financial information by geography. The principal international resellers of our products currently include Adcom, Advance Networks, Daito Electronics, Digital China Technology, France Telecom, Genedis, Giro, Hitachi Densen Shoji Ltd, Imago Micro, Latin Telecom, Nanjing Postel, Princeton and Unitronics.

 

We have established product distribution centers in the European and Asian markets in order to better serve our international customers, which have increased the costs associated with our international operations. For risks associated with our international sales please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7, including “Other Factors Affecting Future Operations”, in particular risks related to “We face risks related to our international operations and sales”.

 

A majority of our revenues are from value-added resellers, distributors, service providers and retailers. No customer accounted for more than 10% of our total net revenues or Communication segment revenues in 2003, 2002 or 2001. In 2003 and 2002, our Network Systems segment had two channel partners that, together, represented approximately 21% and 20%, respectively, of Network Systems segment revenues. We believe it is unlikely that the loss of one or both of these channel partners would have a material adverse affect on the net revenues of this segment as we believe end-users would likely purchase our network systems products from a different channel partner. For risks associated with our ability to generate revenues in the future, please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7, including “Other Factors Affecting Future Operations”, in particular risks related to “General economic conditions may reduce our revenues and harm our business”, “We face risk related to our dependence on channel partners to sell our products”, “We experience seasonal fluctuations in our revenues” and “If we fail to compete successfully, our business and results of operations would be significantly harmed”.

 

 

10


 

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT

 

We believe that service and support are critical components of customer satisfaction. Although our resellers maintain and provide technical support to their end-user customers, we provide a wide range of service and support offerings to our resellers and directly to some end-user customers. Service revenues for voice, non-iPower video and network systems products are recorded in product revenues for Voice, Video and Network Systems. iPower revenue has historically been reported separately. See Note 17 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

We provide warranty support for all of our products. The warranty period is generally one to three years for hardware products and ninety days for software media and repaired parts. In addition to warranty, we provide other service offerings. These offerings include consulting, education, project management and traditional maintenance services. Consulting services consist of planning and needs analysis for end-users; design services, such as room design and custom solutions, providing customized videoconferencing solutions to meet each end-user’s unique requirements; and project management, installation and training which provide end-users with effective implementation of videoconferencing systems. All services are sold both directly to end-user customers and through our resellers. Service programs for local and international resellers range from reselling our service offerings to providing back-end support for servicing end-users. All maintenance services are delivered on a worldwide basis from several integrated support centers located in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore and Japan. Spare parts are stocked around the world to meet response time commitments to customers and

 

11


resellers. We utilize direct field service staff as well as resellers and third-party service providers to perform installation and on-site repairs. We deliver all other services through a combination of in-house personnel as well as outside contractors. In addition, a technical service center hotline provides a full range of telephone support to our resellers and to end-user customers and we offer electronic support via the World Wide Web. We maintain contracts with a number of different vendors throughout the world to provide certain services, including front line technical telephone support in North America, on-site field support and logistics.

 

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

 

We believe that our future success depends in part on our ability to continue to enhance existing products and to develop new products that maintain technological competitiveness. Our current development efforts focus principally on our Communications and Network Systems product families. We intend to expand upon these product platforms through the development of software options, upgrades and future product generations. In addition, we plan to allocate more of our resources to the integration of our products with those of other companies and on joint initiatives with our strategic partners. However, we cannot assure you that these products will be made commercially available as expected or otherwise on a timely and cost-effective basis or that, if introduced, these products will achieve market acceptance. Furthermore, we cannot assure you that these products will not be rendered obsolete by changing technology or new product announcements by other companies.

 

Research and development expenses were approximately $72.6 million in 2003, $72.5 million in 2002 and $52.3 million in 2001. We believe that significant investments in research and development are required to remain competitive since technological competitiveness is key to our future success. We intend to continue to make substantial investments in product and technology development. We also intend to continue to participate in the development of various teleconferencing industry standards, which are or may be incorporated into our products. For risks surrounding our technology please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7, including “Other Factors Affecting Future Operations”, in particular risks related to “We face risks associated with our products and product development, including new product introductions and transitions”.

 

 

MANUFACTURING

 

We subcontract the manufacture of our voice and video product lines to Celestica, a third-party contract manufacturer. We use Celestica’s facilities in Thailand, China and Singapore. Further, our network systems products are manufactured in Israel, although we do have the capability to perform some testing and final assembly in Atlanta, Georgia. For risks associated with our manufacturing strategy please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7, including “Other Factors Affecting Future Operations”, in particular risks related to “We face risks related to our international operations and sales”, “We have limited supply sources for some key components of our products, and our operations could be harmed by supply interruptions, component defects or unavailability of these components”, “Manufacturing disruption or capacity constraints would harm our business” and “Business interruptions could adversely affect our operations”.

 

12


INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND OTHER PROPRIETARY RIGHTS

 

While we rely on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark and trade secret laws and confidentiality procedures to protect our proprietary rights, we believe that factors such as technological and creative skills of our personnel, new product developments, frequent product enhancements, name recognition and reliable product maintenance are more essential to establishing and maintaining a technology leadership position. We currently have one hundred three United States patents issued covering our conferencing products. The expiration of these patents range from 2005 to 2020. In addition, we currently have two hundred foreign patents issued whose expirations range from 2005 to 2020. Further, we have eighty-six United States patents pending covering our conferencing and our network systems products and ninety-eight foreign patent applications pending. Polycom, Polyspan, SoundStation Premier, ShowStation, SoundPoint, SoundStation, ViewStation, Polycom logos and others are registered trademarks of Polycom, and, WebStation, MeetingSite, ViaVideo, iPower, VoiceStation, SoundStation Premier Satellite, iPriority, Clarity by Polycom, SoundStation product configuration and others are

 

13


trademarks of Polycom in the U.S. and various countries. According to federal and state law, Polycom’s trademark protection will continue for as long as we continue to use our trademarks in connection with the products and services of Polycom. For risks associated with our intellectual property and other proprietary rights please see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in Item 7, including “Other Factors Affecting Future Operations”, in particular risks related to “If we have insufficient proprietary rights or if we fail to protect these rights we have, our business would be materially impaired”. Also see Item 3. Legal Proceedings for a description of our current legal proceedings.

 

We have licensing agreements with various suppliers for software incorporated into our products. For example, we license video communications source code from ADTRAN, EBSNet, Mitsubishi, Omnitel, RADVISION and Telesoft, video algorithm protocols from Ezenia! and Real Networks, development source code from Avaya, Cisco Systems, Hughes Software Systems, Ltd. and Philips Semiconductor, audio algorithms from Lucent Technologies, Nortel Networks and Texas Instruments, communication software from DataBeam and Windows software from Microsoft. These third-party software licenses may not continue to be available to us on commercially reasonable terms, if at all. The termination or impairment of these licenses could result in delays or reductions in new product introductions or current product shipments until equivalent software could be developed, licensed and integrated, if at all possible, which would harm our business and results of operations.

 

In March 2000, Polycom and VTEL Corporation, or VTEL, entered into a cross license agreement pursuant to which we obtained non-exclusive license rights under three VTEL patents, and VTEL obtained non-exclusive license rights to a patent for our videoconferencing technology. These licenses were written off in 2001 with the acquisition of PictureTel as the technology was deemed to have no future benefit. See Note 12 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

 

EMPLOYEES

 

As of December 31, 2003, we employed a total of 1,183 persons, including 471 in sales, marketing and customer support, 415 in product development, 134 in manufacturing and 163 in finance and administration. Of these, 431 were outside of North America. We have experienced no work stoppages and believe our relationship with our employees is good.

 

We believe that our future success will depend in part on our continued ability to hire, assimilate and retain qualified personnel. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we may not be successful in attracting or retaining such personnel. The loss of any key employee, the failure of any key employee to perform in his or her current position or our inability to attract and retain skilled employees, particularly technical and management, as needed, could harm our business. The loss of the services of any executive officer or other key technical or management personnel could harm our business.

 

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

 

On January 5, 2004, we completed our acquisition of Voyant Technologies, Inc., a Delaware corporation, or Voyant pursuant to the terms of an Agreement and Plan of Merger, or Merger Agreement, dated as of November 21, 2003. Voyant designs and delivers group voice communication solutions. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Voyant shareholders received $109.3 million in cash. Approximately $12.9 million of the cash was placed into escrow to be held as security for losses incurred by us in the event of certain breaches of the

 

14


representations and warranties covered in the Merger Agreement or certain other events. Voyant shareholders may receive an additional $35 million of consideration over a two-year period, payable in cash or, at our option, to certain stockholders in Polycom stock, based on the achievement of certain financial milestones relating to the sale of Voyant products. In addition, upon completion of the merger, options to acquire shares of Voyant common stock outstanding under the terms of the Voyant stock plans were assumed and converted into approximately 1.3 million options to acquire shares of Polycom common stock. If additional consideration is earned and we choose to issue shares of Polycom stock to certain stockholders of Voyant in lieu of cash, the shares of our common stock issued pursuant to the merger will not be registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, in reliance upon the exemption provided by Section 4(2) under the Securities Act. Voyant will be reported as part of our Network Systems segment.

 

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ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

 

We are currently headquartered in an approximately 50,000 square foot leased facility in Pleasanton, California. This facility accommodates our executive and administrative operations. Our facility in Milpitas, California houses research and development, manufacturing, marketing, sales and customer support operations for our voice communications business. This leased facility is approximately 102,000 square feet.

 

The majority of our video communications and service operations are located in an approximately 321,000 square foot leased facility in Andover, Massachusetts and an approximately 64,000 square foot leased facility in Austin, Texas. Our network systems operations occupy approximately 40,000 square feet in Petach Tikva, Israel and 32,000 square feet in Atlanta, Georgia, which is also shared with our installed voice business. Also, we recently acquired leases in an 83,600 square foot facility located in Westminster, Colorado and a 55,765 foot facility in Nashua, New Hampshire in conjunction with our acquisition of Voyant. In addition, we lease space in North Vancouver, Canada for our VoIP development operation and in Burlington, Massachusetts for our advanced voice development operations. See Note 12 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

The Andover, Massachusetts lease was amended in November 2003. The original term of this lease, which ended in 2014, was amended to allow us to exit approximately one-third of the space in this facility (which is currently unoccupied) in November 2006 for a cash payment of $5.0 million, to exit an additional approximately one-third of the space (which is currently unoccupied) in this facility in November 2007 for an additional cash payment of $5.0 million, and to allow us the option of exiting the remaining one-third of this facility (which is currently occupied) in November 2008. The amendment also gives the landlord the right, until November 2008 to require us to exit the occupied space with six months notice. If we, either voluntarily or as required by the landlord, exit the occupied space, we will make a final $5.0 million payment to the landlord and we would begin to amortize our remaining leasehold improvements (net book value of $2.0 million at December 31, 2003) over six months. The lease agreement was also amended to allow the landlord to sublet the unoccupied space earlier than November 2006 and November 2007. If the landlord is successful in releasing us from our space earlier than the amendment provides, we would make the related cash payments noted above and, as regards to the currently unoccupied space only, additional cash payments pertaining to fifty percent of the cash savings related to us no longer having to pay rent and common area maintenance charges on that portion of the building.

 

16


We lease an approximately 55,000 square foot facility in Tracy, California for our North American and Latin American distribution center. Further, we utilize space at our manufacturing contractor in Thailand and our European distribution contractor in the United Kingdom and Netherlands to provide Asian and European distribution and repair centers.

 

Within the U.S., we lease office space, primarily for sales offices in various metropolitan locations, including: Atlanta, Georgia; Chicago, Illinois; Silver Spring, Maryland; New York, New York; Plano, Texas and Redmond, Washington. Outside of the U.S, we lease offices in several countries, including Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Singapore, Spain and U.K. Our facilities are leased pursuant to agreements that expire beginning in December 2004 and extend out to 2014.

 

As a result of the acquisition of PictureTel completed in October 2001, we have identified redundant facilities that we intend to terminate or sublease or have terminated or subleased. For example, we have an approximately 152,000 square foot building which is fully subleased to a third party for which the sublease runs concurrent with our lease obligation. As a result, we are not currently showing a lease obligation related to this facility. See Note 5 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

We believe that our current facilities are adequate to meet our needs for the foreseeable future, and that suitable additional or alternative space will be available in the future on commercially reasonable terms as needed.

 

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

 

From time to time, we are subject to various legal proceedings that arise from the normal course of business activities. In addition, from time to time, third parties assert patent or trademark infringement claims against us in the form of letters and other forms of communication. We do not believe that any of these legal proceedings or claims are likely to have a material adverse effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

On September 23, 2002, a suit captioned Collaboration Properties, Inc. v. Polycom, Inc. was filed in the United States Court in the Northern District of California. The complaint alleges that our ViewStation, ViaVideo, iPower, WebOffice and Path Navigator products infringe 4 U.S. Patents owned by plaintiff. The complaint seeks unspecified compensatory and exemplary damages for past and present infringement and to permanently enjoin us from infringing on the patents in the future. On November 14, 2002 we filed an answer asserting, among other things, no infringement and that plaintiff’s patents are invalid and unenforceable. We believe that we have meritorious defenses and counterclaims and intend to vigorously defend this action.

 

ITEM 4. SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS

 

Not applicable.

 

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

 

Our executive officers and their ages and positions as of February 29, 2004, are as follows:

 

Name


   Age

  

Position(s)


Robert C. Hagerty*

   52    Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer and President

Michael R. Kourey*

   44    Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration, Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Director

Sunil K. Bhalla

   47    Senior Vice President and General Manager, Voice Communications

Pierre-Francois Catte

   47    Senior Vice President, Corporate Operations

Kathleen M. Crusco

   38    Vice President, Worldwide Controller

James E. Ellett

   44    Senior Vice President and General Manager, Video Communications

Philip B. Keenan

   41    Senior Vice President and General Manager, Network Systems

Kim Niederman

   52    Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales

* Member of the Board of Directors.

 

Mr. Hagerty joined us in January 1997 as our President and Chief Operating Officer and as a member of our Board of Directors. In July 1998, Mr. Hagerty was named Chief Executive Officer. In March 2000, Mr. Hagerty was named Chairman of our Board of Directors. Prior to joining us, Mr. Hagerty served as President of Stylus Assets, Ltd., a developer of software and hardware products for fax, document management and Internet communications. He also held several key management positions with Logitech, Inc., including Operating Committee Member to the Office of the President, and Senior Vice President/General Manager of Logitech’s retail division and worldwide operations. In addition, Mr. Hagerty’s career history includes positions as Vice President, High Performance Products for Conner Peripherals, Director of Manufacturing Operations and General Manager for Signal Corporation, and Operations Manager for Digital Equipment Corporation. Mr. Hagerty holds a B.S. in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering from the University of Massachusetts, and an M.A. in Management from St. Mary’s College of California.

 

Mr. Kourey has been one of our directors since January 1999. Mr. Kourey has served as our Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration since January 1999 and as our Chief Financial Officer since January 1995. He also served as Vice President, Finance and Administration from January 1995 to January 1999, Vice President, Finance and Operations from July 1991 to January 1995 and serves as our Treasurer. Mr. Kourey currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of WatchGuard Technologies, Inc. and 2Wire, Inc. and serves on the Advisory Board of the Business School at Santa Clara University. Prior to joining us, he was Vice President, Operations of Verilink Corporation. Mr. Kourey holds a B.S. in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis, and an M.B.A. from Santa Clara University.

 

Mr. Bhalla joined us in February 2000 as our Senior Vice President, Voice Communications. Before joining us, Mr. Bhalla served as Vice President and General Manager of Polaroid Corporation’s Internet Business and also served as Polaroid’s Vice President and General Manager, Worldwide Digital Imaging Business. Previously, Mr. Bhalla also held posts as Director of Strategic Marketing at Computervision Corporation, as well as senior management positions with Digital Equipment Corporation. Mr. Bhalla holds a M.S. in Mechanical/Systems Engineering and CAD/CAM from Lehigh University.

 

Mr. Catte joined us in November 2001 as our Senior Vice President, Corporate Operations. Prior to joining us, Mr. Catte worked at Hewlett-Packard Company, where he had been since 1980. He served as the Vice President and General Manager of Hewlett-Packard’s VeriFone Division from December 1997 to November 2001 and as General Manager of Hewlett-Packard’s CONVEX Division from March 1996 to December 1997. Prior to that, Mr. Catte held several positions within Hewlett-Packard, including General Manager, Systems Manufacturing and Delivery Operation, General Manager, Exeter Computer Manufacturing Operation and others. Mr. Catte holds an M.B.A in Finance from Ecole Superieure De Commerce de Lyon in France.

 

Ms. Crusco joined us in January 2002 as Vice President, Worldwide Controller. In August 2002, Ms. Crusco was appointed Principal Accounting Officer. Before joining us, Ms. Crusco was Vice President, Worldwide Controller at Documentum, Inc. from April 1999 to January 2002 and Director of Finance at Adaptec, Inc. from June 1997 to April 1999. Ms. Crusco also had various positions for over ten years at Price Waterhouse, LLP, including Senior Audit Manager. Ms. Crusco holds a B.S. in Accounting from California State University of Chico.

 

Mr. Ellett joined us in February 2003 as Senior Vice President and General Manager, Video Communications. Before joining us, Mr. Ellett served as Vice President and General Manager of the Client Business Unit of Advanced Micro Devices. Prior to Advanced Micro Devices, Mr. Ellett held various general manager positions at Compaq Computer Corporation from November 1996 through February 2001. In addition, Mr. Ellett held positions at Cyrix Corporation, Digital Equipment Corporation and spent six years at Dell Computer Corporation, in various positions in the Desktop Systems, Consumer Products and Portable Systems groups. Mr. Ellett holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronic Engineering from University of Texas.

 

Mr. Keenan served as our Senior Vice President and General Manager, Network Systems, from March 2001 to January 2002. From January 2002 to January 2003, Mr. Keenan served as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Marketing. In January 2003, Mr. Keenan was named Senior Vice President and General Manager, Network Systems. Prior to joining us, Mr. Keenan served as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Marketing of Accord Networks Ltd. from April 1998 until February 2001. Mr. Keenan served as the Vice President of International Sales for VideoServer, Inc. from May 1994 until February 1998. Mr. Keenan holds an honors degree in Mining Geology from Cardiff University in the United Kingdom.

 

Mr. Niederman joined us in January 2003 as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales. Prior to joining Polycom, Mr. Niederman served as President, CEO and founder of LongBoard, Inc., the leader in software-based IP Services Platforms. Mr. Niederman also served as President and CEO of Magellan Network Systems during 1999, Vice President, Worldwide Sales with start-up RadioLAN, Inc. from 1997 through 1999, and Vice President of Sales with FORE Systems, Inc. from 1995 through 1997. Mr. Niederman also held various positions at Cisco Systems from 1990 through 1995, including Director, Worldwide Sales of Cisco’s first business unit, Director, Central Operations and Region Manager, Central Area. Mr. Niederman holds a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Denver.

 

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PART II

 

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON STOCK AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

 

Price Range of Common Stock

 

The following table presents the high and low sale prices per share for our common stock as reported by the Nasdaq National Market, under the symbol PLCM, for the periods indicated.

 

     High

   Low

Year Ended December 31, 2002:

             

First Quarter

   $ 39.09    $ 21.23

Second Quarter

     26.50      11.37

Third Quarter

     12.80      6.44

Fourth Quarter

     12.04      6.84

Year Ended December 31, 2003:

             

First Quarter

   $ 11.95    $ 7.67

Second Quarter

     15.13      7.98

Third Quarter

     17.91      13.40

Fourth Quarter

     22.31      16.35

Year Ending December 31, 2004:

             

First Quarter (through February 27, 2004)

   $ 24.17    $ 19.38

 

On February 27, 2004, the last reported sale price of our common stock as reported on the Nasdaq National Market was $22.06 per share. As of December 31, 2003, there were approximately 1,931 holders of record of our common stock. Because many of our shares of common stock are held by brokers and other institutions on behalf of stockholders, we are unable to estimate the total number of stockholders represented by these record holders.

 

Dividend Policy

 

We have never declared or paid any cash dividend on our capital stock and do not anticipate, at this time, paying any cash dividends on our capital stock in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain any future earnings for use in our business, future acquisitions or future repurchases of our common stock.

 

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ITEM 6. SELECTED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

 

The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto and with Management’s Discussion and Results of Operations, which are included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

 

     Year Ended December 31,

 
     2003

    2002

    2001

    2000

    1999

 
     (in thousands, except per share data)  

Consolidated Statement of Operations Data:

                                        

Net revenues

   $ 420,423     $ 452,091     $ 366,831     $ 343,626     $ 219,424  

Cost of net revenues

     165,577       187,513       145,245       142,258       95,629  
    


 


 


 


 


Gross profit

     254,846       264,578       221,586       201,368       123,795  
    


 


 


 


 


Operating expenses:

                                        

Sales and marketing

     101,884       97,105       71,844       67,572       43,009  

Research and development

     72,638       72,487       52,331       36,831       23,009  

General and administrative

     31,334       29,947       21,564       20,702       12,511  

Acquisition-related costs

     386       3,699       24,077       4,768       1,633  

Purchased in-process research and development

     —         900       52,642       —         —    

Amortization of purchased intangibles

     17,591       17,135       3,905       —         —    

Amortization of goodwill

     —         —         2,114       —         —    

Restructure costs

     5,029       1,657       —         —         —    

Grant repayment

     —         —         —         5,876       —    

Litigation settlement

     —         (257 )     —         6,500       —    

Litigation reserve release

     —         —         —         (1,843 )     —    
    


 


 


 


 


Total operating expenses

     228,862       222,673       228,477       140,406       80,162  
    


 


 


 


 


Operating income (loss)

     25,984       41,905       (6,891 )     60,962       43,633  

Interest income, net

     8,451       9,492       12,755       8,419       1,612  

Loss on strategic investments

     (737 )     (7,465 )     (3,178 )     (5,854 )     —    

Other income (expense), net

     (1,774 )     527       (608 )     8       (31 )
    


 


 


 


 


Income from continuing operations before provision for income taxes

     31,924       44,459       2,078       63,535       45,214  

Provision for income taxes

     8,958       11,675       20,379       24,931       13,616  
    


 


 


 


 


Income (loss) from continuing operations

     22,966       32,784       (18,301 )     38,604       31,598  

Loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes

     (695 )     (6,024 )     (9,399 )     (1,141 )     (1,881 )

Gain from sale of discontinued operations, net of taxes

     552       —         —         —         —    
    


 


 


 


 


Net income (loss)

   $ 22,823     $ 26,760     $ (27,700 )   $ 37,463     $ 29,717  
    


 


 


 


 


Basic net income (loss) per share:

                                        

Income (loss) per share from continuing operations

   $ 0.23     $ 0.33     $ (0.22 )   $ 0.51     $ 0.48  

Loss per share from discontinued operations, net of taxes

     (0.01 )     (0.06 )     (0.11 )     (0.01 )     (0.03 )

Gain per share from sale of discontinued operations, net of taxes

     0.01       —         —         —         —    
    


 


 


 


 


Basic net income (loss) per share

   $ 0.23     $ 0.27     $ (0.33 )   $ 0.50     $ 0.45  
    


 


 


 


 


Diluted net income (loss) per share:

                                        

Income (loss) per share from continuing operations

   $ 0.23     $ 0.33     $ (0.22 )   $ 0.46     $ 0.40  

Loss per share from discontinued operations, net of taxes

     (0.01 )     (0.06 )     (0.11 )     (0.01 )     (0.02 )

Gain per share from sale of discontinued operations, net of taxes

     0.01       —         —         —         —    
    


 


 


 


 


Diluted net income (loss) per share

   $ 0.23     $ 0.27     $ (0.33 )   $ 0.45     $ 0.38  
    


 


 


 


 


Weighted average shares outstanding for basic net income (loss) per share

     99,244       99,324       85,123       75,264       65,475  

Weighted average shares outstanding for diluted net income (loss) per share

     100,752       100,696       85,123       83,828       77,848  

 

19


     December 31,

     2003

   2002

   2001

   2000

   1999

     (in thousands)

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data:

                                  

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments

   $ 228,265    $ 193,861    $ 150,180    $ 241,798    $ 66,554

Working capital

     190,329      202,913      201,649      325,969      97,006

Total assets

     1,103,790      1,076,874      821,165      503,708      185,219

Mandatory redeemable convertible preferred stock

     —        —        —        —        25,916

Total stockholders’ equity

     929,279      903,743      643,986      422,783      100,810

 

20


ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

 

YOU SHOULD READ THE FOLLOWING DISCUSSION IN CONJUNCTION WITH OUR CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND RELATED NOTES. EXCEPT FOR HISTORICAL INFORMATION, THE FOLLOWING DISCUSSION CONTAINS FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF SECTION 27A OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 AND SECTION 21E OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934. THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, INCLUDING, AMONG OTHER THINGS, STATEMENTS REGARDING OUR ANTICIPATED PRODUCTS, CUSTOMER AND GEOGRAPHIC REVENUE LEVELS AND MIX, GROSS MARGINS AND OPERATING COSTS AND EXPENSES, INVOLVE RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES. OUR ACTUAL RESULTS MAY DIFFER SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THOSE PROJECTED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. FACTORS THAT MIGHT CAUSE FUTURE RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE DISCUSSED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, THOSE DISCUSSED IN “OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING FUTURE OPERATIONS” IN THIS DOCUMENT AS WELL AS OTHER INFORMATION FOUND ELSEWHERE IN THIS ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K.

 

Overview

 

We are a leading global provider of a line of high-quality, easy-to-use communications equipment that enables enterprise users to more effectively conduct video, voice, data and web communications. Our offerings are organized along four product lines; Video Communications, Voice Communications, Network Systems, and Services. For reporting purposes, we aggregate Video Communications and Voice Communications into one segment named Communications and report Network Systems as a separate segment. Services are allocated amongst Communications and Network Systems.

 

On October 18, 2001, we acquired all of the outstanding stock of PictureTel Inc., a supplier of video communication products. As a result, the fluctuations in our operating results and our segments in fiscal 2002 as compared to the historical 2001 results are due generally to the acquisition of PictureTel. The historical results below present a discussion of our consolidated operating results using the historical results of Polycom prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for the years ended December 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001, including PictureTel’s results of operations from October 18, 2001 (the acquisition date).

 

In January 2003, we sold to Verilink Corporation or Verilink certain fixed assets and intellectual property rights relating to our network access product line, including our line of NetEngine integrated devices, for a total of up to $3.0 million in cash, of which (i) $1.0 million was paid to us at closing, (ii) $0.25 million was paid to us on the first anniversary of the closing, in January 2004, and (iii) up to $1.75 million will be paid to us quarterly based on ten percent of Verilink’s revenues related to the sale of NetEngine products. In 2003, Verilink paid us $0.4 million related to ten percent of Verilink’s revenues from the sale of NetEngine products during this period. Our consolidated financial statements reflect our network access product line as discontinued operations in accordance with SFAS 144. The results of operations of our network access product line have been classified as discontinued, and prior periods have been reclassified, including the reallocation of general overhead charges to our two remaining reporting segments. Unless otherwise indicated, the following discussion relates to our continuing operations.

 

On January 5, 2004, we completed our acquisition of Voyant Technologies, Inc., or Voyant, pursuant to the terms of an Agreement and Plan of Merger, or Merger Agreement, dated as of November 21, 2003. Voyant designs and delivers group voice communication solutions and will be a part of our Network Systems segment. See Recent Developments in Item 1 for further information. Voyant’s results of operations are not included in our results of operations presented below as the acquisition was completed subsequent to December 31, 2003.

 

During fiscal 2002, and to a lesser extent during the first quarter of fiscal 2003, our performance, and that of the industry as a whole, was impacted negatively by the global economic downturn and uncertainty in technology spending. While the economic environment remains challenging, technology spending showed signs of improvement and there were indications of an improving economic outlook by the end of fiscal 2003.

 

Net revenues were $420.4 million in fiscal 2003 as compared to $452.1 million in fiscal 2002. The decrease in net revenue primarily reflects reduced sales of our iPower and network systems products and related services. In addition, during fiscal 2003, we generated approximately $100.8 million in cash flow from operating activities and increased our cash and cash equivalents by approximately $57.4 million.

 

We intend the discussion of our financial condition and results of operations that follows to provide information that will assist in understanding our financial statements, the changes in certain key items in those financial statements from year to year, and the primary factors that accounted for those changes, as well as how certain accounting principles, policies and estimates affect our financial statements.

 

21


Results of Operations for the Three Years Ended December 31, 2003

 

The following table sets forth, as a percentage of net revenues, consolidated statements of operations data for the periods indicated.

 

    

Year Ended

December 31,


 
     2003

    2002

    2001

 

Net revenues

   100 %   100 %   100 %

Cost of net revenues

   39 %   42 %   40 %
    

 

 

Gross profit

   61 %   58 %   60 %
    

 

 

Operating expenses:

                  

Sales and marketing

   24 %   21 %   20 %

Research and development

   18 %   16 %   14 %

General and administrative

   8 %   7 %   6 %

Acquisition-related costs

   0 %   1 %   7 %

Purchased in-process research and development

   0 %   0 %   14 %

Amortization of purchased intangibles

   4 %   4 %   1 %

Amortization of goodwill

   0 %   0 %   0 %

Restructure costs

   1 %   0 %   0 %

Litigation settlement

   0 %   0 %   0 %
    

 

 

Total operating expenses

   55 %   49 %   62 %
    

 

 

Operating income (loss)

   6 %   9 %   (2 )%

Interest income, net

   2 %   2 %   3 %

Loss on strategic investments

   0 %   (1 )%   0 %

Other income (expense), net

   (1 )%   0 %   0 %
    

 

 

Income from continuing operations before provision for income taxes

   7 %   10 %   1 %

Provision for income taxes

   2 %   3 %   6 %
    

 

 

Income (loss) from continuing operations

   5 %   7 %   (5 )%

Loss from discontinued operations, net of taxes

   0 %   (1 )%   (2 )%

Gain from sale of discontinued operations, net of taxes

   0 %   0 %   0 %
    

 

 

Net income (loss)

   5 %   6 %   (7 )%
    

 

 

 

Net Revenues

 

Net revenues decreased 7% in 2003 over 2002. Net revenues in the Communications and Network Systems segments, decreased 6% and 9%, respectively in 2003 over 2002. The decrease in Communications was due primarily to decreased sales of iPower video product and service revenue related to the iPower product. Partially offsetting these decreases was increased sales volume of our voice communications products and our video communications products other than iPower.

 

Total video communications net revenues decreased to $241.6 million in 2003 from $258.9 million in 2002. ViewStation product revenues, including revenues from our newly launched VSX 7000 in the fourth quarter of 2003, increased sequentially in each quarter of 2003. iPower net revenues decreased in 2003 over 2002, however, iPower video product revenue increased sequentially in each quarter of 2003 with the exception of the fourth quarter. Net revenues related to service revenue associated with the iPower-related product decreased to $20.2 million in 2003 compared to $29.3 million reported in 2002. iPower service revenue remained flat from the third quarter to the fourth quarter of 2003, but declined from revenues for the first half of 2003. Voice communications net revenues increased to $77.6 million in 2003 from $74.6 million in 2002. Voice communications revenue increased primarily as a result of increases in sales of our installed voice products and circuit switched products, and to a lesser extent increases in our Voice-over-IP products.

 

Also contributing to the overall decrease in net revenues in 2003 from 2002 was a decrease in our Network Systems segment revenues to $81.0 million in 2003 from $89.3 million in 2002. This decrease was a result of a reduction in the sales volume of our network systems hardware products and mix shifts to lower end systems with lower average selling prices. These decreases were partially offset by increases in our upgrade, software and services revenue. Service revenue is included in product revenues for voice, non-iPower video and network systems.

 

22


Net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2002 increased 23% over the same period of 2001. Net revenues for the year ended December 31, 2002, in the Communications and Network Systems segments, increased 29% and 3%, respectively. The increase in Communications was due primarily to increased sales volume of our video communications products and iPower-related services.

 

Our video communications products net revenues increased to $258.9 million for 2002 from $201.7 million in 2001. Although the ViewStation product line contributed to the increase in video communications net revenues, this growth was primarily due to the addition of the iPower video product line through the acquisition of PictureTel in October 2001. Due to the timing of this acquisition, iPower product revenue is reflected in the prior year numbers only for the fourth quarter of 2001. Although overall in 2002, video revenue grew, we experienced sequential quarterly revenue decreases in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2002, primarily related to declines in our video communications product revenue in both the ViewStation and iPower product lines. The iPower-related services net revenues was $29.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2002 compared to $5.9 million reported in the same period of 2001, as this revenue stream was also added through the acquisition of PictureTel.

 

Voice communications revenue also increased as a result of an increase in sales of our voice over IP and installed voice products, offset by decreases in sales volumes of our circuit switch voice communications products. The installed voice products were added through our acquisition of a company, ASPI, in the fourth quarter of 2001. Our Network Systems segment also contributed to the increase in net revenues with an increase in service revenue related to our network systems products for 2002 when compared to 2001.

 

In the Communications segment in 2002, we began to implement a new direct-touch strategy in concert with a realignment of our channel partner strategy. As part of this new channel partner strategy and a result of the recent economic downturn, the channel inventory model has changed to reduce channel inventories at those channel partners that stock product and to move some channel partners to a drop-shipment method for their end-user customers as opposed to having these partners carry inventory. During the second quarter of 2003, we believe that we essentially completed our channel inventory reduction program and we believe that, in aggregate, we will see only minor variations, upwards or downwards, in channel inventory weeks within product lines or regions moving forward. During the third and fourth quarters of 2002 and the first half of 2003, we believe our channel partners’ video and voice inventory decreased over the respective prior periods. In the third quarter of 2003, channel inventories remained stable. Voice channel inventories decreased in the fourth quarter of 2003, although we did see a slight increase in video channel inventories, primarily as a result of advance purchases of video inventory related to some specific end-user opportunities in the first quarter of 2004 in the Asia Pacific region. The decrease in channel inventories in the last half of 2002 was due largely to this shift in channel partner strategy resulting in us shipping fewer video and voice units to channel partners in the third and fourth quarter of 2002, as well as our channel partners lowering inventory levels as a result of lower end-user demand. In the first and second quarters of 2003, we believe that sales of our products by our channel partners to end-user customers exceeded the number of units that we shipped to the channel as a result of increased end-user demand, thereby decreasing overall inventory at our channel partners.

 

The decreased channel inventory levels had less impact on sales of iPower video units and our Network Systems segment products, which are not typically carried in inventory by our channel partners. In fact, sales of our network systems products for the third and fourth quarters of 2003 increased 21% sequentially in each quarter.

 

On a regional basis, North America, Europe, and Latin America revenues decreased 13%, 12% and 22%, respectively, in 2003 over 2002 while Asia Pacific revenues increased 17% during this same period. North America revenues decreased as a result of decreased revenues in the Communications segment, including decreases in voice and video communication product revenue and service revenue related to the iPower product line, and decreased revenues in the Network Systems segment. Europe revenues decreased as a result of decreased revenues in the Communications segment partially offset by increased revenues in the Network Systems segment. The decreased revenues in the Communications segment were primarily a result of decreased revenue in the video communications product and service revenues related to the iPower product line partially offset by increased revenue in voice communication products. Latin America revenues decreased as a result of decreased revenues in the Communications segment, including decreases in both voice and video communication product revenues, partially offset by increases in service revenues related to the iPower product. The decreased revenues in the Communications segment were partially offset by increased revenues in the Network Systems segment. Asia revenues increased as a result of increased revenues in the Communications segment, including increases in both voice and video communication product revenues, partially offset by decreases in the service revenue related to iPower products, and increased revenues in the Network Systems segment.

 

No customer accounted for more than 10% of our total net revenues or our Communications segment revenues in 2003, 2002 or 2001. In 2003 and 2002, our Network systems segment had two channel partners that, together, represented approximately 21% and 20%, respectively, of Network Systems segment revenues. We believe it is unlikely that the loss of any or all of these channel partners would have a material adverse affect on the net revenues of the segment as we believe end-users would likely purchase our products from a different channel partner.

 

Our business is subject to the risks arising from domestic and global economic conditions. The domestic and global economic downturn in 2001 and global economic uncertainty and the continued downturn in technology spending in 2002 and the first half of

 

23


2003, slowed overall spending to the point where industries delayed or reduced technology purchases. In addition, in the first quarter of 2003, we noted a greater decrease in revenue from products with higher average selling prices, such as our network systems products. While there has been some improvement in technology spending and the global economy in the second half of 2003, constraints in technology capital spending still exist and could have an adverse impact on 2004. If our channel partners delay or reduce orders for our products, we may fall short of our revenue expectations in 2004, as we did in the second and third quarters of 2002 and the first quarter of 2003. Further, if these conditions recur in 2004, our business and financial performance would be negatively affected as they were in the first half of 2003, and the second half of 2002. For example, in the first quarter of 2003, these conditions resulted in sequentially weaker network systems product revenues compared to the fourth quarter of 2002. Network systems revenue had another small sequential decrease in revenue in the second quarter of 2003. Although there was some improvement in technology spending and the global economy in the second half of 2003, the extent of any recurrence of any adverse economic conditions or uncertainty in technology spending in 2004 is difficult to predict at this time, which represents a significant uncertainty with respect to our operating results in 2004.

 

In October 2003, we launched a new video product offering, the VSX 7000. While we believe we have taken the appropriate measures to educate and train our channel partners, there is a risk that the launch of this low end video product could cause confusion among our channel partners and end-users, thereby causing them to delay purchases of any video product until they determine if the VSX 7000 is a more desirable product than our existing video products or purchase this lower end video product instead of our higher end video products, including the ViewStation EX and FX. Such delays in purchases or purchases of the VSX 7000 instead of our higher end video products, could adversely affect our revenues, gross margins and operating results. In addition, weakness in the end-user market for any of our products could negatively affect the revenue and cash flow of our channel partners who could, in turn, delay orders and delay paying their obligations to us. This could harm our revenues, profitability, financial condition and cash flow. In addition, we recently made significant changes in sales management and the sales organization. These changes may result in further changes to our channel partner strategy which may result in a smaller number of channel partners, a change in the mix of our channel partners and a shift to a model with even more direct interaction between us and our direct end-user customers. These changes may cause additional disruptions in our channels and negatively impact revenue growth in the near term. In addition, the acquisition of Voyant adds a level of complexity to our operations and we may not obtain the revenue synergies we are anticipating as Voyant has a revenue concentration with a few large customers and the loss of one or more of these customers could negatively impact our revenues. In addition, the majority of Voyant’s orders are received in the last month of a quarter, typically the last few weeks of that quarter, thus the unpredictability of the receipt of these orders could negatively impact our future results.

 

We anticipate that international sales will continue to account for a significant portion of total net revenues for the foreseeable future, and we plan to continue our expansion in Asia and Europe. International sales, however, are subject to certain inherent risks, including potential economic weakness in international markets, quarantines or other restrictions associated with a recurrence of SARS, or other similar events, political instability, any adverse economic impact of terrorist attacks and incidents and any military response to those attacks, war or other hostilities, changes in foreign government regulations and telecommunications standards, export license requirements, tariffs and taxes, other trade barriers, fluctuations in currency exchange rates, difficulty in staffing and managing foreign operations, longer payment cycles, and difficulty in collecting accounts receivable. Significant adverse changes in currency exchange rates, as happened in the European market in 2000 and in the Asian market in late 1997, could cause our products to become relatively more expensive to customers in a particular country, leading to a reduction in revenue or profitability in that country. Additionally, international net revenues may fluctuate as a percentage of net revenues in the future as we introduce new products since we expect to initially introduce these products in North America, and also, because of the additional time required for product homologation and regulatory approvals of new products in international markets. To the extent we are unable to expand international sales in a timely and cost-effective manner, especially in our core European markets of France, Germany and the United Kingdom, our business could be harmed. We cannot make assurances that we will be able to maintain or increase international market demand for our products. Additionally, to date, a substantial majority of our international sales have been denominated in U.S. currency. However, if our international sales were denominated in local currencies in the future, these transactions would be subject to currency fluctuation impacts which could adversely affect our financial results.

 

We typically ship products within a short time after we receive an order therefore backlog has not been a good indicator of future net revenues. Net revenues for any particular quarter are difficult to predict with any degree of certainty. As of December 31, 2003, we did end the quarter with $22.7 million of order backlog as compared to $3.5 million at December 31, 2002, principally as a result of our new channel strategy, the establishment of product lead times to maximize our inventory efficiency and our focus on operational efficiencies in the logistics area. We believe that the current level of backlog, as a percent of net revenues, is potentially maximized as a result of established product lead times; therefore there is no assurance that we will be able to maintain and it is unlikely that we will grow this level of backlog in future quarters, which is dependent in part on the ability of our sales force to generate orders linearly throughout the quarter and our ability to forecast revenue mix and plan our manufacturing requirements accordingly. In addition, orders from our channel partners are based on the level of demand from end-user customers. Any decline or uncertainty in end-user demand could negatively impact end-user orders which in turn could negatively affect orders from our channel partners in any given quarter. As a result, our backlog could decline to more historical levels or to zero.

 

24


Cost of Net Revenues

 

     Year Ended December 31,

    Increase
(Decrease) From
Prior Year


 

$ in thousands


   2003

    2002

    2001

    2003

    2002

 

Cost

   $ 165,577     $ 187,513     $ 145,245     (12 )%   29 %

% of Net Revenues

     39 %     42 %     40 %   (3 )pts   2 pts

 

Cost of net revenues consists primarily of contract manufacturer costs, including material and direct labor, our manufacturing organization, tooling depreciation, warranty expense, freight expense, royalty payments and an allocation of overhead expenses, including facilities and IT costs. Generally, our Network Systems segment has higher gross margin than our Communications segment. Our service gross margins, which are included in both of our segments, are lower than our product gross margins. Overall, gross margins increased in 2003 as compared to 2002 as a result of more favorable margins in the Communications segment partially offset by decreases in the gross margins of our Network Systems segment. Video and voice communications products margins were favorably impacted due to product mix, while service revenues gross margins declined as a result of relatively fixed costs on lower revenues. Network Systems had a decrease in volume and a mix shift to lower margin systems. Overall, 2002 margins decreased over 2001 as a result of less favorable margins in the Communications segment partially offset by increases in the gross margins of our Network Systems segment. Communications segment margins in 2002 decreased from 2001 in both voice and video communications products primarily as a result of product mix and service margins decreased as a result of the acquisition of PictureTel. Network systems margins increased in 2002 over 2001 as a result of product mix.

 

Forecasting future gross margin percentages is difficult, and there are a number of risks associated with maintaining our current gross margin levels. For example, uncertainties surrounding revenue levels and related production level variances, competition, changes in technology, changes in product mix, manufacturing efficiencies of subcontractors, manufacturing and purchased part variances, warranty costs and timing of sales over the next few quarters can cause our cost of net revenues percentage to vary significantly. Further, in 2003 we began including one year of service with some of our video products which has lowered our product gross margins, for those products, as a result of allocating a portion of our product revenue to deferred service revenue. Service gross margins however will be favorably impacted when the deferred revenue is recorded as revenue. In the future, most, if not all, of our future products may also have one year of service included with the product, thereby potentially impacting product gross margins negatively, depending on the pricing model established. Additionally, our iPower products, VoIP products and other desktop products have a significantly higher cost of net revenue percentage than our network systems, ViewStation and SoundStation products. Accordingly, any significant revenue growth in our iPower, VoIP and other desktop products, or a decline in revenue associated with network systems, ViewStation and SoundStation products will have a negative effect on our cost of net revenues percentages. Also, we may reduce prices on our products in the future for competitive reasons, as a result of a difficult economy, or to stimulate demand, such as occurred in the first quarter of 2003 with certain SoundStation products, which could increase our cost of net revenues percentage. There is the risk that any of these potential price reductions would not offset competitive pressures or stimulate demand. In addition, cost variances associated with the manufacturing ramp of new products, or the write-off of initial inventory purchases due to product launch delays or the lack of market acceptance of our new products such as our VSX 7000, iPower 9000 series, VoicePlus bridging solution, VoIP telephony products, VTX 1000, ViewStation EX, MGC 25 or any other new product under development could occur, which would increase our cost of net revenues percentage in any quarter. In addition to the uncertainties listed above, cost of net revenues as a percentage of net revenues may increase due to a change in our mix of distribution channels and the mix of international versus North American revenues. We don’t expect that the Voyant acquisition will have a significant impact on our gross margins in 2004.

 

Sales and Marketing Expenses

 

     Year Ended December 31,

    Increase From
Prior Year


 

$ in thousands


   2003

    2002

    2001

    2003

    2002

 

Expenses

   $ 101,884     $ 97,105     $ 71,844     5 %   35 %

% of Net Revenues

     24 %     21 %     20 %   3 pts   1 pt

 

Sales and marketing expenses consist primarily of salaries and commissions for our sales force, advertising and promotional expenses, product marketing, and an allocation of overhead expenses, including facilities and IT costs. Sales and marketing expenses are not allocated to our segments. The increase in sales and marketing expense as a percentage of net revenues in 2003 as compared to 2002 was due to the decrease in revenues during that same period of time and increased marketing costs. The increase in absolute dollars in 2003 over 2002 was due primarily to the overall expansion of our marketing efforts, including the addition of a Chief Marketing Officer, who subsequently left us at the end of the third quarter, and related staffing and increased allocations of facilities and infrastructure as a result of the increased headcount. This increase was partially offset by cost containment measures and expense controls we implemented in the second half of 2002 and the first half of 2003 due to the global economic uncertainty and continued downturn in technology spending. The 35% increase in absolute dollars in 2002 over 2001 was due primarily to the increase in headcount in our sales force and increased product sales driven largely by the PictureTel acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2001 and to a lesser

 

25


extent our focus on the public sector market. As a result, we had increases in salaries, commissions and headcount-related expenses, such as travel. Also contributing to the absolute dollar increase was our overall efforts to expand our marketing initiatives, including the addition of a Chief Marketing Officer and related staffing, increased spending on promotional materials, trade shows, and outside consultants. This increase was partially offset by cost containment measures and expense controls implemented in the second half of 2002 due to the continued economic downturn and uncertainty in technology spending.

 

Due to the innovative nature of our products and the effect of competing with much larger companies with much greater resources, such as Cisco and Microsoft, we believe we will incur increased expenses, especially advertising, to expand the overall market for, drive market penetration of, and increase the adoption rate of our technology and products and to educate potential end-users as to the desirability of these products over competing products. We expect to continue to increase our sales and marketing expenses in absolute dollar amounts as we expand North American and international markets, market new products and expand the public sector. Also the acquisition of Voyant which, was closed in the first quarter of 2004, will increase our sales and marketing expense.

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

     Year Ended December 31,

    Increase From
Prior Year


 

$ in thousands


   2003

    2002

    2001

    2003

    2002

 

Expenses

   $ 72,638     $ 72,487     $ 52,331     0 %   39 %

% of Net Revenues

     18 %     16 %     14 %   2 pts   2 pts

 

Research and development expenses consist primarily of compensation costs, outside services, expensed materials, depreciation and an allocation of overhead expenses, including facilities and IT costs. Research and development expenses remained flat in absolute dollar amounts in 2003 compared to 2002, as a result of cost containment measures and expense controls implemented in the second half of 2002 and the first half of 2003 due to the global economic uncertainty and continued downturn in technology spending.

 

Increases in research and development expenses occurred for the Network Systems segment in 2003 as compared to the same period in the prior year, while research and development expenses decreased for the Communications segment over the prior year. The increase in research and development expense as a percentage of net revenues in 2003 as compared to 2002 is primarily due to the decrease in revenues during that same period of time. We continue to make investments in improving our existing products, integrating all of our existing and acquired products and developing new products, many of which we launched in 2003. In 2003, our Network Systems segment development expenditures accounted for the majority of the slight increase in absolute dollars over 2002. This increase was partially offset by decreases in our Communications segment, primarily in video product development which accounted for the majority of the offset while voice product development expenditure decreases contributed to a lesser extent.

 

We are currently investing research and development resources to enhance and upgrade our Polycom Office suite of products, which encompasses products in both our segments. These products include our ViewStation, VSX 7000, ViaVideo II, iPower, GMS, MGC, PCS, WebOffice, PathNavigator, SoundStation, VoiceStation and Vortex. We anticipate expending a greater proportion of our research and development expenses towards the development of our software and infrastructure products, included in the Network Systems segment, to enhance the integration and interoperability of our entire product suite. In all periods presented, all research and development costs have been expensed as incurred.

 

Increases in research and development expenses occurred for all product lines in 2002 over 2001. The 2 point increase in research and development expense as a percentage of net revenues in 2002, reflected our continued investments in our existing products as well as additional investments in our iPower products, which were acquired through the PictureTel acquisition, investments in integrating all of our existing and acquired products and developing new products which were launched in the first quarter of 2003. This increase was partially offset by cost containment measures and expense controls implemented in the second half of 2002 due to the continued economic downturn and uncertainty in technology spending. In 2002, our Communications segment, principally our video product development expenditures accounted for the majority of the total increase due to the addition of the PictureTel research and development team for the full year versus just part of the fourth quarter in 2001, while voice product development expenditures and our Network Systems segment product development expenditures accounted for a lesser portion of the increase.

 

We believe that technological leadership is critical to our success and we are committed to continuing a high level of research and development to develop new technologies and combat competitive pressures. Also, continued investment in new product initiatives will require significant research and development spending. We expect that research and development expenses in absolute dollars will increase in the future, especially as a result of additional expenses for products resulting from the acquisition of Voyant in the first quarter of 2004. Voyant will be reflected in our Network Systems segment.

 

26


General and Administrative Expenses

 

     Year Ended December 31,

    Increase
From Prior
Year


 

$ in thousands


   2003

    2002

    2001

    2003

    2002

 

Expenses

   $ 31,334     $ 29,947     $ 21,564     5 %   39 %

% of Net Revenues

     8 %     7 %     6 %   1 pt   1 pt

 

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of compensation costs, professional service fees, allocation of overhead expenses, including facilities and IT costs, patent litigation costs and bad debt expense and are not allocated to our segments. As a percentage of net revenues, general and administrative expenses increased 1 percentage point in 2003 over 2002 and in 2002 over 2001. The increase as a percent of revenue in 2003 over the comparable prior year is primarily due to the decrease in revenues during that same period of time. The increase in spending in absolute dollars in general and administrative expenses in 2003 over the prior year was primarily the result of higher costs associated with accrued bonuses, increased infrastructure costs and outside services, including increased costs associated with new regulatory requirements, patent litigation and increased insurance costs. These costs were partially offset by a decrease in bad debt expense and recruiting/relocation expense. In 2003, increases in salaries and related costs accounted for $1.9 million of the increase, increased infrastructure costs accounted for $0.5 million and outside services accounted for $2.0 million of the increase. These increases were partially offset by a $2.7 million decrease in bad debt expense and $0.4 million decrease in recruiting/relocation expense. The remaining change related to numerous smaller items. The increase in absolute dollars spending in general and administrative in 2002 over 2001 was primarily the result of higher costs associated with increased infrastructure costs, outside services, including increased costs associated with regulatory requirements, and an increase in bad debt expense. The increase in infrastructure costs accounted for $2.0 million of the total increase, outside services accounted for $3.2 million of the total increase, bad debt expense accounted for $2.3 million of the total increase, with the remaining increase related to numerous smaller items. This increase was partially offset by cost containment measures and expense controls implemented in the second half of 2002 due to the continued economic downturn and uncertainty in technology spending.

 

Significant charges due to uncollectability of our receivables or to costs associated with our patent litigation could increase our general and administrative expenses and negatively affect our profitability in the quarter they are recorded. Additionally, predicting the timing of bad debt expense associated with uncollectible receivables is difficult. Future quarter general and administrative expense increases or decreases in absolute dollars are difficult to predict due to visibility of costs, timing of revenue and other factors. We believe that our general and administrative expenses will likely continue to increase in absolute dollar amounts in the future primarily as a result of expansion of our administrative staff and costs related to supporting a larger company, increased costs associated with regulatory requirements and our continued investments in international regions. However, we do not believe that the acquisition of Voyant will add significant costs to our general and administrative expense.

 

Acquisition-related Costs

 

We recorded charges to operations of $0.4 million in 2003, $3.7 million in 2002 and $24.1 million in 2001 for acquisition-related costs. The charges in 2003 primarily related to professional services costs to integrate and liquidate the international PictureTel and Accord legal entities and to begin the integration of our acquisition of Voyant which closed in January 2004. For 2002, the acquisition-related charges related primarily to the acquisition of PictureTel and consisted primarily of professional services costs to complete the integration of us and PictureTel. In 2001, these costs were associated with the acquisitions of Accord, Circa, PictureTel and ASPI. The 2001 costs consisted of $3.7 million of restructuring charges related to facility closings and severance costs, $6.7 million of asset impairment charges and $13.7 million of other acquisition costs including outside financial advisory, legal, accounting and consulting services. If we acquire additional businesses in the future, we may incur material acquisition expenses related to these transactions. See Note 5 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

Purchased In-process Research and Development

 

In 2002 and 2001, we incurred charges totaling $0.9 million and $52.6 million, respectively, for in-process research and development. This research and development was acquired in 2002 as part of the acquisition of MeetU.com, Inc. and in 2001 as part of the acquisitions of PictureTel, Circa and ASPI, and comprised $49.3 million, $2.4 million and $0.9 million for each of these respective acquisitions. See Note 3 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. The amounts allocated to purchased in-process research and development were determined by management, after considering among other factors, the results of an independent appraisal based on established valuation techniques in the high-technology communications industry and were expensed upon acquisition because technological feasibility had not been established and no future alternative uses existed for these in-process research and development projects. The cost approach, which uses the concept that replacement cost is an indicator of fair value, was the primary technique utilized in valuing the in-process research and development acquired in the MeetU transaction. The cost approach is based on the premise that a

 

27


prudent investor would pay no more for an asset than the cost to replace that asset with a new one. Replacement cost was based on total costs, net of the unrealized income tax deduction benefit, spent developing the in-process technology from MeetU’s inception through the date the valuation was performed. The income approach, which includes an analysis of the markets, cash flows and risks associated with achieving such cash flows, was the primary technique utilized in valuing the developed technology and in-process research and development in 2001. The estimated net cash flows from the products are based upon estimates of revenue, cost of revenue, research and development costs, sales and marketing costs and income taxes from such projects and were discounted at rates ranging from 30 to 40 percent in relation to the stage of completion and the technical risks associated with achieving technological feasibility. Our efforts to develop the purchased in-process research and development into commercially viable products principally relate to the completion of all planning, designing, prototyping and testing activities that are necessary to establish that the products can be produced to meet its design specifications including function, features and technical performance requirements. It is reasonably possible that the development of this technology could fail because of either prohibitive cost, inability to perform the required efforts to complete the technology or other factors outside of our control such as a change in the market for the resulting developed products. In addition, at such time that the project is completed it is reasonably possible that the completed products do not receive market acceptance or that we are unable to produce and market the product effectively. If we acquire additional businesses in the future, we may incur material purchased in-process research and development expenses related to such transactions

 

The following are the values assigned to each acquired PictureTel in-process research and development project at the time of acquisition and the estimated completion percentages, expected technology lives and estimated time and costs to complete as of December 31, 2003 (in thousands):

 

In process research and

development project


  

Value assigned to

in process project


  

Percentage

complete


   

Expected life

of technology


  

Estimated time

to complete


  

Estimated cost

to complete


Project A

   $ 5,161    100 %   4 years    Complete    $—  

Project B

     12,250    100 %   5 years    Complete    —  

Project C

     24,750    —       5 years    Terminated    —  

Other projects

     7,131    90 %   3-5 years    9-12 months    300
    

                  

Total

   $ 49,292                    $300
    

                  

 

During 2002, we completed and shipped products associated with Projects A, B and two of the Other projects. The costs to complete these projects were consistent with our expectations. We terminated one of the Other projects in 2002. During 2003, we terminated Project C and scaled back the scope of one of the Other projects.

 

Amortization of Purchased Intangibles

 

In 2003, 2002 and 2001, we recorded $17.6 million, $17.1 million and $3.9 million in amortization of purchased intangibles acquired in our acquisitions, respectively. Purchased intangible assets are being amortized to expense over their estimated useful lives of three years. Under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142 “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” (SFAS 142), purchased intangibles no longer meeting the criteria to be recorded separately from goodwill must be reclassified to goodwill, and purchased intangibles deemed to have indefinite lives must no longer be amortized. In the first quarter of 2002, we reclassified approximately $0.5 million of unamortized acquired workforce recorded as part of the purchase price allocation of the Circa acquisition as it did not meet the criteria to be recorded separately from goodwill. This resulted in a permanent reduction in amortization expense of $58,300 per quarter through the first quarter of 2004. Also under SFAS 142, intangible assets with indefinite lives are no longer amortized. As a result, we determined that a previously recorded trade name intangible has an indefinite life. Consequently, the trade name intangible is no longer amortized, resulting in a permanent reduction in amortization expense of $25,000 per quarter through April 2011. In June 2002, we completed the transitional purchased intangible impairment test outlined under SFAS 142 which required the assessment of purchased intangibles for impairment as of January 1, 2002, and in October 2002 and during the fourth quarter of 2003, we completed our annual impairment tests. The assessment of purchased intangibles impairment was conducted by comparing the fair value of the purchased intangible with its carrying amount as of that date. Based on the results of these impairment tests, we determined that our purchased intangible assets were not impaired as of January 1, 2002 or during 2002 or 2003.

 

Amortization of Goodwill

 

In the year ended December 31, 2001, we recorded $2.1 million of amortization of goodwill related to the Circa acquisition. Beginning January 1, 2002, under SFAS 142, we no longer amortize goodwill related to the Circa acquisition. This resulted in a permanent decrease in goodwill amortization expense of approximately $0.7 million per quarter through the first quarter of 2004. Under the transition rules of SFAS 142, business combinations completed after July 1, 2001, but prior to January 1, 2002, were accounted for in accordance with SFAS 142, and consequently, goodwill balances from the PictureTel, ASPI and MeetU acquisitions have never been amortized. In June 2002, we completed the transitional goodwill impairment test outlined under SFAS 142 which required the assessment of goodwill for

 

28


impairment as of January 1, 2002, and in October 2002 and the fourth quarter of 2003, we completed our annual impairment tests. All of these tests were conducted by determining and comparing the fair value of our reporting units, as defined in SFAS 142, to the reporting unit’s carrying value as of that date. Based on the results of these impairment tests, we determined that our goodwill assets were not impaired as of January 1, 2002 or during 2002 or 2003. We plan to conduct our annual impairment tests in the fourth quarter of every year, unless impairment indicators exist sooner. Screening for and assessing whether impairment indicators exist or if events or changes in circumstances have occurred, including market conditions, operating fundamentals, competition and general economic conditions, requires significant judgment. Additionally, changes in the high-technology industry occur frequently and quickly. Therefore, there can be no assurance that a charge to operations will not occur as a result of future goodwill impairment tests.

 

Restructure costs

 

In 2002, we approved restructuring actions in response to the global economic uncertainty and continued downturn in technology spending and to improve our overall cost structure by prioritizing resources in strategic areas of the business and reducing operating expenses. We recorded a restructuring charge of $1.7 million in 2002 as a result of these actions. This charge consisted of severance and other employee termination benefits related to a workforce reduction of approximately six percent of our employees worldwide. As of December 31, 2003, we had paid all of this charge.

 

In the first and second quarters of 2003, we approved additional restructuring actions primarily in connection with the sale of the network access product line to Verilink and in response to the global economic uncertainty and continued downturn in technology spending. These actions were meant to improve our overall cost structure by prioritizing resources in strategic areas of the business and reducing operating expenses. We recorded a restructuring charge of $5.0 million in 2003 as a result of these actions. The charge consisted of severance and other employee termination benefits related to a workforce reduction of approximately 12 percent of our employees worldwide. The restructuring charge related to the Network Systems and Communications segments amounted to $0.1 million and $0.7 million, respectively. The balance of the restructuring charge related to operating activities which are separately managed at the corporate level and not allocated to segments. As of December 31, 2003, we had paid approximately $4.9 million of the $5.0 million charge. The remaining amount is to be paid by the end of the second quarter of 2004 and is recorded in Other Accrued Liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets.

 

We expect that, due to these restructuring actions, operating expenses in absolute dollars will grow at a much smaller rate than what otherwise would have been, as the headcount affected by the restructuring will be added back over time as our operations expand in connection with the growth of our business. If the economic downturn and uncertainty in technology spending recurs in 2004, we may take additional restructuring actions to reduce our operating expenses, while simultaneously implementing additional cost containment measures and expense control programs. Such restructuring actions are subject to significant risks, including delays in implementing expense control programs or workforce reductions and the failure to meet operational targets due to the loss of employees or a decrease in employee morale, all of which would impair our ability to achieve anticipated cost reductions. If we do not achieve the anticipated cost reductions our business could be harmed.

 

Litigation Settlement

 

During the first quarter of 2002, we reached a settlement with a former PictureTel customer. The dispute involved certain services provided by PictureTel in 2001 and amounts owed to us for providing these services. The amount received was net of legal fees incurred to litigate and settle the case.

 

Interest Income, Net

 

Interest income, net consists of interest earned on our cash, cash equivalents and investments less bank charges resulting from the use of our bank accounts and imputed interest expense related to the present value of costs associated with closing facilities as part of the PictureTel acquisition and related integration plan. Imputed interest expense was $2.3 million for 2003, $1.8 million for 2002 and $40,000 for 2001. Interest income, net of interest expense, was $8.5 million in 2003, $9.5 million in 2002 and $12.8 million in 2001. Interest income decreased in 2003 over 2002 due primarily to interest rate reductions resulting from the monetary policy actions taken by the United States Federal Reserve Board to stimulate economic growth in the United States. Partially offsetting this negative effect was an increase in our average cash and investment balances which was primarily due to cash generated from operations. Average interest rate returns on our cash and investments were 2.02% in 2003 compared to 2.60% in 2002.

 

Interest income decreased in 2002 over the 2001 due primarily to the imputed interest expense related to facility closings and interest rate reductions resulting from the monetary policy actions taken by the United States Federal Reserve Board to stimulate economic growth in the United States during 2001 and 2002. Partially offsetting these negative effects was an increase in our average cash and investment balances, which was due primarily to our common stock offering which raised $237.5 million in the first quarter of 2002. The average interest rate return on our cash and cash equivalents was 1.86% and on our investments was 3.01% in 2002 compared to 3.07%

 

29


and 4.80%, respectively, for 2001. Interest income, net could fluctuate for 2004 due to movement in our cash balances and changes in interest rates related to monetary policy actions, if any, taken by the United States Federal Reserve Board to stimulate economic growth in the United States.

 

Loss on Strategic Investments

 

For strategic reasons we have made various investments in private companies, and in limited circumstances, public companies. The private company investments are carried at cost less any impairment write-downs and are recorded in “Other assets” in our consolidated balance sheets. We review these investments for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that impairment may exist, and make appropriate reductions in carrying value, if necessary. At December 31, 2002, these investments had no carrying value. We made additional investments of $1.4 million in two private companies in 2003 which had a carrying value of $0.9 million as of December 31, 2003. Our aggregate investments have been permanently written down a total of $12.5 million from original cost, including $0.5 million in 2003, $3.0 million in 2002 and $3.1 million in 2001 which is reflected in “Loss on strategic investments” in the consolidated statements of operations.

 

The public company investments are recorded in “Short-term investments” and “Long-term investments” in our consolidated balance sheets and are marked to market each period through unrealized gains and losses recorded as a component of stockholders’ equity, except our warrants to purchase publicly traded equity securities which are marked to market through the statement of operations. Realized gains and losses on these strategic investments in public company investments are reflected in “Loss on strategic investments” in the consolidated statements of operations. We recorded losses totaling $0.2 million in 2003, $4.4 million in 2002 and $0.1 million in 2001 related to the sale of our strategic investments in equity securities of publicly traded companies, impairment of equity securities of publicly traded companies and the write-down of warrants to purchase publicly traded equity securities.

 

Provision for Income Taxes

 

The provision for income taxes, including taxes related to discontinued operations, was $8.9 million, $10.2 million, and $14.7 million in 2003, 2002 and 2001, respectively. The decrease in the provision for income taxes in 2003 over 2002 was primarily attributable to a decrease in worldwide profit before taxes. The decrease in the provision for income taxes in 2002 over 2001 was primarily attributable to a decrease in nondeductible acquisition-related costs and an increase in foreign earnings subject to relatively lower tax rates.

 

As of December 31, 2003, we had approximately $78.3 million in net operating loss carryforwards, $11.6 million in tax credit carryovers and $9.0 million in capital loss carryforwards as well as other deferred tax assets arising from temporary differences. See Note 16 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

As of December 31, 2003, our principal sources of liquidity included cash and cash equivalents of $212.6 million, short-term investments of $15.7 million and long-term investments of $368.0 million. Short-term and long-term investments consisted primarily of U.S. government securities, state and local government securities and corporate debt and equity securities of which $0.1 million was invested in equity securities of publicly traded companies. See Note 7 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements. In addition, we have a $25.0 million line of credit with a bank which was unused at December 31, 2003, however we do have outstanding letters of credit totaling approximately $0.9 million which are secured by this line of credit.

 

We generated cash from operating activities totaling $100.8 million in 2003, $81.5 million in 2002 and $76.7 million in 2001. The increase in cash provided from operating activities in 2003 over 2002 was due primarily to decreases in deferred taxes, increases in other accrued liabilities, and increases in accounts payable. Offsetting these positive effects were smaller net income, smaller non-cash expenses, larger increases in prepaids and other assets, smaller decreases in accounts receivable and inventories and smaller increases in taxes payable. The increase in cash provided from operating activities in 2002 over 2001 was due primarily to larger decreases in trade receivables, larger increases in taxes payable and a smaller increase in prepaids and other current assets offset partially by smaller reductions in inventories, increases in deferred taxes and larger decreases in accounts payable and other accrued liabilities over the comparable period.

 

The total net change in cash and cash equivalents for the year ended 2003 was an increase of $57.4 million. The primary uses of cash during this period were $28.5 million of net purchases of investments, $14.8 million for purchases of property and equipment, $6.9 million for the repurchase of common stock, $3.5 million for purchase of licensed technology and $0.5 million for purchase of a convertible note receivable. The primary sources of cash were $100.8 million from operating activities, $9.4 million associated with the exercise of stock options and purchases under the employee stock purchase plan and $1.4 million from proceeds from sale of discontinued operations. The positive cash from operating activities was primarily the result of net income, adjusted for non-cash expenses (such as depreciation, amortization, the provision for doubtful accounts, inventory write-downs for excess and obsolescence,

 

30


gain from sales of discontinued operations, amortization of unearned stock-based compensation, loss on strategic investments and the tax benefits from the exercise of employee stock options), reductions in trade receivables, inventories and deferred taxes and net increases in accounts payable, taxes payable and other accrued liabilities. Offsetting the positive effect of these items were net increases in prepaid expenses and other current assets. Over the past several quarters, our days sales outstanding, or DSO, metrics have improved significantly. The Company reduced DSOs from 59 days at December 31, 2002 to 33 days at December 31, 2003. There is no assurance that the current level of DSO will be maintained and in all likelihood DSO metrics will increase as revenues increase or as a result of fluctuations in revenue linearity. In addition, inventory turns at December 31, 2003 had increased significantly. Inventory turns improved from 5.2 turns at December 31, 2002 to 7.1 turns at December 31, 2003. The positive cash impact due to net trade receivables and inventory reductions will likely not recur in 2004 as it did in 2003 and 2002.

 

On January 5, 2004, we completed our acquisition of Voyant Technologies, Inc., or Voyant. See “Recent Developments” in Item 1 above for further information. We paid $109.3 million in cash to the Voyant shareholders in connection with this acquisition. Approximately $12.9 million of the cash was placed into escrow to be held as security for losses incurred by us in the event of certain breaches of the representations and warranties covered in the Merger Agreement or certain other events. Voyant shareholders may receive an additional $35 million of consideration over a two-year period, payable in cash or, at our option, in Polycom stock, based on the achievement of certain financial milestones relating to the sale of Voyant products. Voyant’s results of operations are not included in our results of operations presented below as the acquisition was completed subsequent to December 31, 2003.

 

In February 2002, we completed a public offering in which we sold 8,050,000 shares of our common stock, including an over-allotment option of 1,050,000 shares exercised by the underwriters, at a price of $31.20 per share. Our net proceeds from this offering were approximately $237.5 million after taking into account underwriting discounts and commissions and our expenses. We have used the net proceeds from this sale primarily for general corporate purposes, including working capital and capital expenditures, as well as for acquisitions of complementary businesses or technologies.

 

In June 2002, the Board of Directors approved a plan to repurchase up to 3.5 million shares of our common stock in the open market or privately negotiated transactions. As of December 31, 2002, we had repurchased approximately 1,483,000 shares in the open market, for cash of $15.9 million. During 2002, we retired and reclassified these shares of common stock as authorized and unissued. During the year ended December 31, 2003, we repurchased 755,000 additional shares, in the open market, for cash of $6.9 million, which have been retired and reclassified as authorized and unissued. We may continue to repurchase shares in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. As of December 31, 2003, we are authorized to repurchase up to an additional approximately 1.3 million shares under the June 2002 repurchase plan. In 2004, we may continue to repurchase shares under our current board authorization and may seek and obtain approval from our Board of Directors for an additional amount of shares to repurchase.

 

At December 31, 2003, we had open purchase orders related to our contract manufacturers and other contractual obligations of approximately $24.5 million primarily related to inventory purchases. We also have commitments that consist of obligations under our operating leases. In the event that we decide to cease using a facility and seek to sublease such facility or terminate a lease obligation through a lease buyout or other means, we may incur a material cash outflow at the time of such transaction, which will negatively impact our operating results and overall cash flows. In addition, if facilities rental rates decrease or if it takes longer than expected to sublease these facilities, we could incur a significant further charge to operations and our operating and overall cash flows could be negatively impacted in the period that these changes or events occur.

 

In November 2003, we entered into a lease amendment for one of our facilities in Andover, Massachusetts, for which we had previously provided a restructuring reserve. The original term of this lease, which ended in 2014, was amended to allow us to exit approximately one-third of the space in this facility (which is currently unoccupied) in November 2006 for a cash payment of $5.0 million, to exit an additional approximately one-third of the space (which is currently unoccupied) in November 2007 for an additional cash payment of $5.0 million, and to allow us the option of exiting the remaining one-third of the building in November 2008 (which is currently occupied). The amendment also gives the landlord the right, until November 2008 to require us to exit the occupied space with six months notice. If we, either voluntarily, or as required by the landlord, exit the occupied space, we will make a final $5.0 million payment to the landlord and we would begin to amortize our remaining leasehold improvements (net book value of $2.0 million at December 31, 2003) over six months. The lease agreement was also amended to allow the landlord to sublet the unoccupied space earlier than November 2006 and November 2007. If the landlord is successful in releasing us from the space earlier than the amendment provides, we would make the related cash payments noted above and additional cash payments pertaining to fifty percent of the cash savings related to us no longer having to pay rent and common area maintenance charges on that portion of the building.

 

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These purchase commitments and lease obligations are reflected in our consolidated financial statements once goods or services have been received or at such time when we are obligated to make payments related to these goods or services. In addition, our bank has issued letters of credit to secure the leases on some of our offices. These letters of credit total approximately $0.9 million and are secured by our credit facilities or cash deposits with our banks.

 

As of December 31, 2003, the following future minimum lease payments under our current lease obligations are shown net of estimated sublease income. For example, we have an approximately 152,000 square foot building which is fully subleased to a third party for which the sublease runs concurrent with our lease obligation. As a result we are not currently showing a lease obligation related to this facility. If this sublease were to be terminated, or if the tenant defaulted on payment, we would incur additional lease payments that would negatively impact our operating results and overall cash flows. In addition to these minimum lease payments, we are contractually obligated under the majority of our operating leases to pay certain operating expenses during the term of the lease such as maintenance, taxes and insurance. This table also shows other contractual obligations as of December 31, 2003.

 

     Other
Long-Term
Liabilities


   Purchase
Commitments


   Minimum
Lease
Payments


   Projected
Annual
Operating
Costs


Year ending December 31,

                           

2004

   $ —      $ 24,494    $ 13,255    $ 4,923

2005

     5,164      —        11,400      4,117

2006

     9,720      —        10,877      4,014

2007

     8,209      —        6,559      3,358

2008

     334      —        3,405      1,533

Thereafter

     5,406      —        14,614      7,106
    

  

  

  

Total payments

   $ 28,833    $ 24,494    $ 60,110    $ 25,051
    

  

  

  

 

We believe that our available cash, cash equivalents, investments and bank line of credit will be sufficient to meet our operating expenses and capital requirements for the foreseeable future. However, we may require or desire additional funds to support our operating expenses and capital requirements or for other purposes, such as acquisitions, competitive reasons or to continue the availability of components or product from sole source suppliers, and may seek to raise such additional funds through public or private equity financing or from other sources. We cannot assure you that additional financing will be available at all or that, if available, such financing will be obtainable on terms favorable to us and would not be dilutive. Our future liquidity and cash requirements will depend on numerous factors, including the introduction of new products and potential acquisitions of related businesses.

 

Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

As of December 31, 2003, we did not have any off-balance-sheet arrangements, as defined in Item 303(a)(4)(ii) of SEC Regulation S-K.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

Management’s discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our consolidated financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. We review the accounting policies used in reporting our financial results on a regular basis. The preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our process used to develop estimates, including those related to product returns, accounts receivable, inventories, investments, intangible assets, income taxes, warranty obligations, restructuring, contingencies and litigation. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates due to actual outcomes being different from those on which we based our assumptions. These estimates and judgments are reviewed by management on an ongoing basis and by internal audit and the Audit Committee at the end of each quarter prior to the public release of our financial results. We believe the following critical accounting policies affect our more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements. See Note 1 to Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for discussion of our accounting policies.

 

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Revenue Recognition and Product Returns

 

We recognize hardware product revenue using the guidance from SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 104, “Revenue Recognition” and Statement of Financial Accounting Standards, or SFAS, No. 48, “Revenue Recognition When Right of Return Exists” and EITF Issue No. 00-21 “Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables.” We recognize software revenue in accordance with the AICPA Statement of Position No. 97-2, or SOP 97-2, “Software Revenue Recognition, as amended by SOP 98-9, Modification of SOP 97-2, Software Revenue Recognition, with Respect to Certain Transactions.” Under these guidelines, we defer revenue recognition on transactions where persuasive evidence of an arrangement does not exist, title has not transferred, product payment is contingent upon performance of installation or service obligations, the price is not fixed or determinable or payment is not reasonably assured. In addition, we estimate what future product returns may occur based upon actual historical return rates and reduce our revenues by these estimated future returns. If the historical data we use to calculate these estimates does not properly reflect future returns, these estimates could be revised. In addition, we defer revenue associated with long-term customer maintenance contracts. Revenue on these contracts is recognized ratably over the length of the customer contract.

 

Channel Partner Programs and Incentives

 

We record estimated reductions to revenues for channel partner programs and incentive offerings including special pricing agreements, trade-in credits, promotions and other volume-based incentives. If market conditions were to decline further, we may take actions to increase channel partner incentive offerings possibly resulting in an incremental reduction of revenues at the time the incentive is offered.

 

Warranty

 

We provide for the estimated cost of hardware and software product warranties at the time revenue is recognized. Our warranty obligation is affected by product failure rates, material usage and service delivery costs incurred in correcting a product failure. Should actual product failure rates, material usage or service delivery costs differ from our estimates, revision of the estimated warranty liability would be required.

 

Allowance for Doubtful Accounts

 

We maintain allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of our customers to make required payments. If the financial condition of our customers or channel partners were to deteriorate resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, as was the case with Global Crossing and WorldCom in 2002 and MCSi in 2003, additional allowances may be required.

 

Excess and Obsolete Inventory

 

We write down our excess and obsolete inventory equal to the difference between the cost of inventory and the estimated fair value based upon assumptions about future product life-cycles, product demand and market conditions. If actual product life cycles, product demand and market conditions are less favorable than those projected by management, additional inventory write-downs may be required.

 

Deferred and Refundable Taxes

 

We estimate our actual current tax exposure together with our temporary differences resulting from differing treatment of items, such as deferred revenue, for tax and accounting purposes. These temporary differences result in deferred tax assets and liabilities. We must then assess the likelihood that our deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income and to the extent we believe that recovery is not likely, we must establish a valuation allowance against these tax assets. Significant management judgment is required in determining our provision for income taxes, our deferred tax assets and liabilities and any valuation allowance recorded against our net deferred tax assets. To the extent we establish a valuation allowance in a period, we must include and expense the allowance within the tax provision in the consolidated statement of operations. As of December 31, 2003, we have $77.1 million in net deferred tax assets. In order to fully utilize these deferred tax assets we need to generate sufficient amounts of future U.S. taxable income. We believe that it is more likely than not that we will generate sufficient future taxable income to utilize these assets and therefore, as of December 31, 2003, we have not established a valuation allowance against these assets.

 

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Fair Value of Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed in Purchase Combinations

 

The purchase combinations completed require us to identify and estimate the fair value of the assets acquired, including intangible assets other than goodwill, and liabilities assumed in the combinations. These estimates of fair value are based on our business plan for the entities acquired including planned redundancies, restructuring, use of assets acquired and assumptions as to the ultimate resolution of obligations assumed for which no future benefit will be received. For example, in the PictureTel acquisition, we identified vacated or redundant facilities that we intended to sublease or negotiate a lease termination settlement. For all material acquisitions the allocation period, as defined in Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 38, “Accounting for Preacquisition Contingencies of Purchased Enterprises”, has been completed. Therefore, if actual costs exceed our estimates these charges would be recognized in our consolidated statements of operations. If actual costs are less than our estimates, these charges would continue to be recognized as an adjustment to goodwill.

 

Goodwill and Purchased Intangibles

 

We assess the impairment of goodwill and other identifiable intangibles annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. Some factors we consider important which could trigger an impairment review include the following:

 

  significant underperformance relative to projected future operating results;

 

  significant changes in the manner of our use of the acquired assets or the strategy for our overall business;

 

  significant negative industry or economic trends.

 

If we determine that the carrying value of goodwill and other identified intangibles may not be recoverable based upon the existence of one or more of the above indicators of impairment, we would typically measure any impairment based on a projected discounted cash flow method using a discount rate determined by us to be commensurate with the risk inherent in our current business model. In accordance with SFAS 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets,” we accounted for the PictureTel, ASPI and MeetU acquisitions, all of which were completed after July 1, 2001, under the new guidance, and on January 1, 2002, we ceased to amortize goodwill arising from the Circa acquisition which was completed prior to July 1, 2001.

 

In June 2002, we completed our transitional goodwill and purchased intangibles impairment tests outlined under SFAS 142 which required the assessment of goodwill and purchased intangibles for impairment as of January 1, 2002 and in the fourth quarter of 2003 and 2002, we completed our annual impairment tests. The assessment of goodwill impairment was conducted by determining and comparing the fair value of our reporting units, as defined in SFAS 142, to the reporting unit’s carrying value as of that date. The assessment of purchased intangibles impairment was conducted by comparing the fair value of the purchased intangible with its carrying amount as of that date. Based on the results of these impairment tests, we determined that our goodwill assets and purchased intangible assets were not impaired as of January 1, 2002 or during 2003 or 2002. We plan to conduct our annual impairment tests in the fourth quarter of every year, unless impairment indicators exist sooner. Screening for and assessing whether impairment indicators exist or if events or changes in circumstances have occurred, including market conditions, operating fundamentals, competition and general economic conditions, requires significant judgment. Additionally, changes in the high-technology industry occur frequently and quickly. Therefore, there can be no assurance that a charge to operations will not occur as a result of future goodwill impairment tests.

 

Non-marketable Securities

 

We periodically make strategic investments, or have acquired these investments through business acquisitions, in companies whose stock is not currently traded on any stock exchange and for which no quoted price exists. The cost method of accounting is used to account for these investments as we hold a non-material ownership percentage. We review these investments for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets might not be recoverable. Examples of events or changes in circumstances that may indicate to us that an impairment exists may be a significant decrease in the market value of the company, poor or deteriorating market conditions in the public and private equity capital markets, significant adverse changes in legal factors or within the business climate the company operates, and current period operating or cash flow losses combined with a history of operating or cash flow losses or projections and forecasts that demonstrate continuing losses associated with the company’s future business plans. Impairment indicators identified during the reporting period could result in a significant write down in the carrying value of the investment if we believe an investment has experienced a decline in value that is other than temporary. These investments had a carrying value of $0.9 million as of December 31, 2003, and have been permanently written down by a total of $12.5 million from original cost.

 

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Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In April 2002, the FASB issued SFAS No. 145, (SFAS 145) “Rescission of FASB Statements No. 4, 44, and 64, Amendment of FASB Statement No. 13, and Technical Corrections.” Among other provisions, SFAS 145 rescinds SFAS No. 4, (SFAS 4) “Reporting Gains and Losses from Extinguishment of Debt.” Accordingly, gains or losses from extinguishment of debt shall not be reported as extraordinary items unless the extinguishment qualifies as an extraordinary item under the criteria of Accounting Principles Board (“APB”) Opinion No. 30, “Reporting the Results of Operations—Reporting the Effects of Disposal of a Segment of a Business, and Extraordinary, Unusual and Infrequently Occurring Events and Transactions.” Gains or losses from extinguishment of debt that do not meet the criteria of APB No. 30 should be reclassified to income from continuing operations in all prior periods presented. We adopted SFAS 145 effective January 1, 2003 and the adoption did not have any effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

In June 2002, the FASB issued SFAS No. 146, (SFAS 146) “Accounting for Costs Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities.” SFAS 146 provides guidance related to accounting for costs associated with disposal activities covered by SFAS 144 or with exit or restructuring activities previously covered by EITF Issue No. 94-3, “Liability Recognition for Certain Employee Termination Benefits and Other Costs to Exit an Activity (including Certain Costs Incurred in a Restructuring).” SFAS 146 supercedes EITF Issue No. 94-3 in its entirety. SFAS 146 requires that costs related to exiting an activity or to a restructuring not be recognized until the liability is incurred. SFAS 146 was applied to exit or disposal activities that are initiated after December 31, 2002. The adoption of SFAS 146 did not have a material effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

In November 2002, the FASB issued Financial Interpretation No. 45 (“FIN 45”), “Guarantor’s Accounting and Disclosure Requirements for Guarantees, Including Indirect Guarantees of Indebtedness of Others.” FIN 45 requires that a liability be recorded in the guarantor’s balance sheet upon issuance of a guarantee. In addition, FIN 45 requires disclosures about the guarantees that an entity has issued, including a rollforward of the entity’s product warranty liabilities. We have applied the recognition provisions of FIN 45 to guarantees issued from January 1, 2003. The Company has adopted FIN 45 disclosure requirements. The adoption of FIN 45 did not have a material impact on our consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

In November 2002, the EITF reached a consensus on Issue No. 00-21, “Revenue Arrangements with Multiple Deliverables.” EITF Issue No. 00-21 provides guidance on how to account for arrangements that involve the delivery or performance of multiple products, services and/or rights to use assets. The provisions of EITF Issue No. 00-21 will apply to revenue arrangements entered into in fiscal periods beginning after June 15, 2003. The adoption of EITF Issue No. 00-21 did not have a material effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

In December 2002, the FASB issued SFAS No. 148, (SFAS 148) “Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation, Transition and Disclosure.” SFAS 148 provides alternative methods of transition for a voluntary change to the fair value based method of accounting for stock-based employee compensation. SFAS 148 also requires that disclosures of the pro forma effect of using the fair value method of accounting for stock-based employee compensation be displayed more prominently and in a tabular format. Additionally, SFAS 148 requires disclosure of the pro forma effect in interim financial statements. We adopted these disclosure requirements beginning with our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 18, 2003.

 

In January 2003, the FASB issued Financial Interpretation No. 46 (“FIN 46”), “Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, an Interpretation of ARB No. 51.” FIN 46 requires certain variable interest entities to be consolidated by the primary beneficiary of the entity if the equity investors in the entity do not have the characteristics of a controlling financial interest or do not have sufficient equity at risk for the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties. FIN 46 is effective for all new variable interest entities created or acquired after January 31, 2003. For variable interest entities created or acquired prior to February 1, 2003, the provisions of FIN 46 were originally to be applied for the first interim or annual period beginning after June 15, 2003. In September 2003, the FASB deferred the adoption of FIN 46 for variable interest entities acquired prior to February 1, 2003 until the end of the first interim or annual period ending after December 15, 2003. The adoption of FIN 46 did not have any effect on our consolidated results of operations, financial condition or cash flows.

 

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OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING FUTURE OPERATIONS

 

Investors should carefully consider the risks described below before making an investment decision. The risks described below are not the only ones we face. Additional risks we are not presently aware of or that we currently believe are immaterial may also impair our business operations. Our business could be harmed by any or all of these risks. The trading price of our common stock could decline significantly due to any of these risks, and investors may lose all or part of their investment. In assessing these risks, investors should also refer to the other information contained or incorporated by reference in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our consolidated financial statements and related notes.

 

Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly and are not a good indicator of future performance.

 

Our quarterly operating results have fluctuated significantly in the past and may vary significantly in the future as a result of a number of factors, many of which are out of our control. These factors include:

 

  market acceptance and transition of new product introductions, including the VSX 7000, other new products launched in 2003, new products launched in the future, and product enhancements by us or our competitors;

 

  difficult general economic conditions, as has been the case with the recent global economic uncertainty and downturn in technology spending, and specific economic conditions prevailing in the communications industry and other technology industries;

 

  the prices and performance of our products and those of our competitors;

 

  further changes to our channel partner contracts and channel partner strategy, including changes to our channel partner contracts in North America which has led to, a change in the number and mix of channel partners, which has resulted in a smaller number of channel partners and to some of our channel partners adding our competitors’ products to their portfolio and could lead to more doing so; changes to our channel partner contracts in Europe, Asia and Latin America which could lead to a change in the number and mix of channel partners, to a smaller number of channel partners and could lead to the same channel upset already experienced in North America;

 

  recent changes in our sales management and sales organization which could result in disruptions among our channel partners;

 

  the timing and size of the orders for our products;

 

  our distribution channels reducing their inventory levels;

 

  slowing sales by our channel partners to their customers which places further pressure on our channel partners to minimize inventory levels and reduce purchases of our products;

 

  the level and mix of inventory that we hold to meet future demand;

 

  the near and long-term impact of the military action in Iraq or other hostilities;

 

  the near and long-term impact of terrorist attacks and incidents and any military response or uncertainty regarding any military response to those attacks;

 

  the impact of the unstable political situation in Israel and military action by the Israeli government and other hostilities in the Middle East and their impact on our Israeli operations;

 

  the shift in sales mix of products we sell to lower margin products;

 

  the shift in revenues to upgrade revenues as opposed to full systems in our Network Systems segment, which could lead to lower revenues;

 

  fluctuations in the level of international sales and our exposure to international currency fluctuations in both revenues and expenses;

 

  the cost and availability of components;

 

  manufacturing costs;

 

  the level and cost of warranty claims;

 

  the impact of disruptions at the sites of our primary manufacturing partners in Thailand, China, Singapore and Israel or raw material suppliers to these primary manufacturing partners, for any reason, including the recurrence of SARS or other similar event;

 

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  the impact of disruptions in our operations, for any reason, including the recurrence of SARS or other similar event;

 

  the impact of seasonality on our various product lines and geographic regions;

 

  the introduction of web collaboration solutions that compete with our web collaboration or video solutions;

 

  adverse outcomes to intellectual property claims particularly the Collaboration Properties, Inc. litigation; and

 

  the level of royalties we must pay to third parties.

 

We experienced sequential quarterly revenue growth from 1998 through 2000. Since that time we have experienced fluctuations in our quarterly operating results due to these or other factors. These and other factors could further prevent us from attaining or sustaining sequential quarterly growth or meeting our expectations regarding our operating results, and investors should not use our past results to predict future operating margins and results. For example, although we experienced sequential quarterly revenue increases in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2003, primarily related to increases in our video and network systems product revenues, we experienced sequential quarterly revenue decreases in the first quarter of 2003, and the second, third and fourth quarters of 2002, primarily related to declines in our combined video communications and network systems product revenue. In addition, we incurred a significant net loss in 2001 due to charges related to acquisitions completed in that year, as well as a net loss in the first quarter of 2003.

 

As a result of these and other factors, we believe that period-to-period comparisons of our historical results of operations are not a good predictor of our future performance. If our future operating results are below the expectations of stock market securities analysts or investors, our stock price will likely decline.

 

We face risks associated with our products and product development, including new product introductions and transitions.

 

Our success depends on our ability to assimilate new technologies in our products and to properly train our channel partners in the use of those products.

 

The markets for video and voice communications and network systems products are characterized by rapidly changing technology, evolving industry standards and frequent new product introductions. The success of our new products depends on several factors, including proper new product definition, product cost, timely completion and introduction of new products, proper positioning of new products in relation to our total product portfolio and their relative pricing, differentiation of new products from those of our competitors and market acceptance of these products. Additionally, properly addressing the complexities associated with compatibility issues, channel partner training, technical and sales support as well as field support are also factors that may affect our success in this market. When we take any significant actions regarding our product offerings, or acquire new product offerings, it is important to educate and train our channel partners to avoid any confusion as to the desirability of the new product offering compared to our existing product offerings. In October 2003, we launched a new video product offering, the VSX 7000. While we believe we have taken the appropriate measures to educate and train our channel partners, there is a risk that the launch of this low end video product could cause confusion among our channel partners and end-users, thereby causing them to delay purchases of any video product until they determine if the VSX 7000 is a more desirable product than our existing video products or purchase this lower end video product instead of our higher end video products, including the ViewStation EX and FX. Such delays in purchases or purchases of the VSX 7000 instead of our higher end video products, could adversely affect our revenues, gross margins and operating results in the period of the delay. In addition, in 2003 we launched new voice, video and network systems products. These new product launches, or any new product launch in the future, could also cause confusion amongst our channel partners as we educate and train them on, and as they take time to evaluate, these new product offerings. Further, the shift in communications from circuit-switched to IP-based technologies over time may require us to add new channel partners, enter new markets, such as the service provider market, and gain new core technological competencies. We are attempting to address these needs, including developing a service provider strategy, and the need to develop new products through our internal development efforts, joint developments with other companies and through acquisitions. We may not identify successful new product opportunities and develop and bring products to market in a timely manner or be successful in developing a service provider strategy. Additionally, we cannot assure you that competing technologies developed by others will not render our products or technologies obsolete or noncompetitive. Further, as we introduce new products that can or will obsolete existing products, these product transition cycles may not go smoothly, causing an increased risk of inventory obsolescence and relationship issues with our channel partners. The failure of our new product development efforts, any inability to service or maintain the necessary third-party interoperability licenses, our inability to properly manage product transition and our inability to enter new markets, such as the service provider market, would harm our business and results of operations.

 

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We may experience delays in product introductions and our products may contain defects which could adversely affect market acceptance for these products and our reputation and seriously harm our results of operations.

 

We intend to continue to introduce new products, such as our VSX 7000, Visual Concert products, Via Video II, SoundSation VTX 1000, ViewStation EX, MGC 25, Vortex EF2241, PathNavigator, PCS and WebOffice products. However, we cannot assure you that new product releases will be timely or that they will be made at all. For example, the ViewStation FX and ViaVideo were delayed from their original release dates which we believe negatively affected our net revenues in 2000. The VSX 7000 was also delayed from its original release date.

 

Our video communications product development group is located in Massachusetts and Texas, our voice communications product development group is dispersed among California, Georgia and Canada and our network systems product development group is dispersed among Colorado, Georgia and Israel. Therefore, we may experience product delays in the future, due to communications, logistics or other issues involved in coordinating a large geographically separated product development group.

 

In the past, we have experienced other delays in the introduction of certain new products and enhancements, and we believe that such delays may occur in the future. For instance, we experienced delays in introducing the VSX 7000, ViewStation MP and WebStation from their original expected release dates due to unforeseen technology and/or manufacturing ramping issues. Similar delays occurred during the introduction of the ShowStation, ShowStation IP and SoundStation Premier which affected the first customer ship dates of these products. We also had delays in introducing our SoundStation IP product which we believe negatively impacted our sales revenue in the first quarter of 2001. Further, our SoundPoint IP product introduction was delayed which we believe negatively impacted our sales in the third and fourth quarters of 2001. Any similar delays in the future for other new product offerings currently under development could adversely affect market acceptance for these products and our reputation, and seriously harm our results of operations.

 

We face risks related to the adoption rate of new technologies.

 

We have invested significant resources developing products that are dependent on the adoption rate of new technologies. For example, our SoundStation IP and SoundPoint IP products are dependent on the roll out of voice-over-IP, or VoIP, technologies. In addition, VoIP products are traditionally sold through service providers. Our strategy surrounding selling our VoIP products and developing our Service Provider network is just being initiated and there can be no guarantee that we will be successful in developing such a strategy or establishing a successful service provider network. The success of our ViaVideo II product depends on the increased use of desktop video collaboration technologies. The success of our WebOffice product is dependent on the increased use and acceptance of web collaboration technologies in concert with audio and video conferencing. The success of all of our products is also dependent on how quickly SIP is deployed as a new technology standard and how quickly we adopt and integrate this new standard into our existing and future products. If the use of new technologies that our current and future products are based on does not occur, or the development of suitable sales channels does not occur, or occurs more slowly than expected, we may not be able to sell certain of our products in significant volumes and our business may be harmed.

 

Lower than expected market acceptance of our products, price competition and other price decreases would negatively impact our business.

 

If the market does not accept our products, including the new products launched in 2003, our profitability could be harmed. Our profitability could also be negatively affected in the future as a result of continuing competitive price pressures in the sale of video and voice conferencing equipment and network systems which could cause us to reduce the prices for any of these products or discontinue one product with the intent of simplifying our product offering and enhancing sales of a similar product. Further, we have reduced prices in the past in order to expand the market for our products, and in the future, we may further reduce prices, introduce new products that carry lower margins in order to expand the market or stimulate demand for our products, or discontinue existing products in the hope of stimulating growth in a similar product. While we cannot assure you that these actions would have the desired result, any of these actions could have an adverse impact on our product margins and profitability.

 

Product obsolescence, excess inventory and other asset impairment can negatively affect our results of operations.

 

We operate in a high technology industry which is subject to rapid and frequent technology and market demand changes. These changes can often render existing or developing technologies obsolete. In addition, the introduction of new products and any related actions to discontinue existing products can cause existing inventory to become obsolete. These obsolescence issues can require write-downs in inventory value when it is determined that the recorded value of existing inventory is greater than its fair market value. For example, this situation occurred in the third quarter of 2003 as we wrote down inventories of a product in development as a result of a delay in the product introduction. Also, our ViewStation product and iPower products offer certain comparable functionality and may compete with each other for customers. In addition, we launched several new products in 2003. If sales of one of these products have a negative effect on sales of another of our products, it could significantly increase the inventory levels of the negatively impacted product. The potential for new products to render existing products obsolete, cause inventories of existing products to increase, cause us to discontinue a product or reduce the demand for existing products exists for every one of our products.

 

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We purchased several businesses in 2001 and 2002 which included goodwill valued at approximately $290 million and other purchased intangible assets valued at approximately $15 million as of December 31, 2003. This represents a significant portion of our recorded assets. Generally accepted accounting principles related to goodwill and other intangibles changed with the issuance of Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 142, or SFAS 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” which we adopted effective January 1, 2002. Under SFAS 142, goodwill and indefinite lived intangible assets are no longer amortized, but must be reviewed for impairment at least annually or sooner under certain circumstances. Other intangible assets that are deemed to have finite useful lives will continue to be amortized over their useful lives, but must be reviewed for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of these assets may not be recoverable. Screening for and assessing whether impairment indicators exist, or if events or changes in circumstances have occurred, including market conditions, operating fundamentals, competition and general economic conditions, requires significant judgment. Additionally, changes in the high-technology industry occur frequently and quickly. Therefore, we cannot assure you that a charge to operations will not occur as a result of future goodwill impairment tests. If impairment is deemed to exist, we would write down the recorded value of these intangible assets to their fair values which could result in a full write-off of their book value. If these write-downs do occur, they could harm our business and results of operations.

 

In addition, we have made investments in private companies which we classify as “Other assets” in our balance sheets. The value of these investments is influenced by many factors, including the operating effectiveness of these companies, the overall health of these companies’ industries, the strength of the private equity markets and general market conditions. Due to these and other factors, we have recorded charges against earnings totaling $12.5 million from fiscal 2000 through 2003 associated with the impairment of these investments, which has been reflected in “Loss on strategic investments” in the statements of operations. As of December 31, 2003, our investments in private companies are valued at $0.9 million. We may make additional investments in private companies which would be subject to similar impairment risks, and these impairment risks may cause us to write down the recorded value of any such investments. Further, we cannot assure you that future inventory, investment, license, fixed asset or other asset write-downs will not happen. If future write-downs do occur, they could harm our business and results of operations.

 

Failure to adequately service and support our products could harm our results of operations.

 

Our recent growth has been due in large part to an expansion into products with more complex technologies, including our network systems products, new video product offerings and our software products. This has increased the need for product warranty and service capabilities. If we cannot develop and train our internal support organization or maintain our relationship with our outside technical support provider, it could harm our business.

 

In addition, we are including service support with the recent launch of the VSX 7000 product. We view this service offering, and other service offerings, to be a key success factor in our business. We are currently reorganizing our service organization to, among other things, more fully integrate the service businesses of our recent acquisitions. As part of this effort, we are also implementing a new customer relationship management system, which we expect to provide better information for us to provide improved customer support. If we do not manage this difficult reorganization properly, we could alienate our customers or channel partners which could harm our business and results of operations.

 

General economic conditions may reduce our revenues and harm our business.

 

As our business has grown, we have become increasingly exposed to adverse changes in general economic conditions which can result in reductions in capital expenditures by end-user customers for our products, longer sales cycles, deferral or delay of purchase commitments for our products and increased competition. These factors adversely impacted our operating results in 2001, where we experienced a sequential revenue decrease in each of the first two quarters. We also experienced sequential revenue decreases in the second, third and fourth quarters of 2002 and the first quarter of 2003 due in part to these factors. While there has been some improvement in technology spending and the global economy, constraints in technology capital spending still exist and could have an adverse impact on 2004. In addition, in the first quarter of 2003, we noted a greater decrease in revenue from products with higher average selling prices, such as our network systems products, which we believe resulted from adverse economic conditions.

 

We implemented restructuring actions in 2002 and the first and second quarters of 2003 to reduce our overall cost structure. As a result of these actions, we recorded restructuring charges of $1.7 million in 2002 and $5.0 million in 2003. These charges consisted of severance and other employee termination benefits related to workforce reductions. If we do not achieve the anticipated cost reductions our business could be harmed. In addition, these restructuring actions may not be sufficient and additional actions may need to be taken in the future.

 

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In addition, we also face the risk that some of our channel partners have inventory levels in excess of future anticipated sales growth. If such sales growth does not occur in the time frame anticipated by these channel partners for any reason, including a recurrence in 2004 of the recent global economic uncertainty and downturn in technology spending, these channel partners may substantially decrease the amount of product they order from us in subsequent periods, or product returns may exceed historical or predicted levels which would harm our business. For example, our channel partners reduced their inventory levels during 2001 in anticipation of lower end-user demand. Also, in 2002 and 2003, we began to implement a new direct-touch strategy in concert with a realignment of our channel partner strategy. This strategy enables us to have more direct interaction with our end-user customers. This strategy shift includes channel certifications for certain network systems and video products that we believe will yield a higher level of end-user customer satisfaction. As part of this new channel partner strategy and a result of the recent economic downturn, the channel inventory model has changed to reduce channel inventories at those channel partners that stock product and to move some channel partners to a drop shipment method for their end-user customers as opposed to having these partners carry inventory. During the second quarter of 2003, we believe that we essentially completed our channel inventory reduction program and we believe that, in aggregate, we will see only minor variations, upwards or downwards, in channel inventory weeks within product lines or regions moving forward. During the third and fourth quarters of 2002 and the first half of 2003 we believe our channel partners’ video and voice inventory decreased over the respective prior periods. In the third quarter of 2003, channel inventories remained stable. Voice channel inventories decreased in the fourth quarter of 2003, although we did see a slight increase in video channel inventories, primarily as a result of advance purchases of video inventory related to some specific end-user opportunities in the first quarter of 2004 in the Asia Pacific region. The decrease in channel inventories in the last half of 2002 was due largely to this shift in channel partner strategy resulting in us shipping fewer video and voice units to channel partners in the third and fourth quarter of 2002 and our channel partners lowering inventory levels as a result of lower end-user demand. In the first and second quarters of 2003, we believe that sales of our products by our channel partners to end-user customers exceeded the number of units that we shipped to the channel as a result of increased end-user demand, thereby decreasing overall inventory at our channel partners. The decreased channel inventory levels had less impact on sales of iPower video units and products in our Network Systems segment, which are not typically carried in inventory by our channel partners. In fact, sales of our network systems products for the third and fourth quarters of 2003 increased 21% sequentially, in each quarter.

 

If we fail to compete successfully, our business and results of operations would be significantly harmed.

 

We face significant competition in the communications industry which is subject to rapid technological change. In video communications, our major competitors include Tandberg and a number of other companies including Aethra, ClearOne Communications, Huawei, NEC, Panasonic, Philips, Sony, VCON and VTEL, as well as various smaller or new industry entrants. Some of these companies have substantial financial resources and production, marketing, engineering and other capabilities with which to develop, manufacture, market and sell their products. In addition, with advances in telecommunications standards, connectivity and video processing technology and the increasing market acceptance of video communications, other established or new companies may develop or market products competitive with our video communications products or may partner with companies which have more substantial financial resources and production, marketing, engineering and other capabilities with which to develop, manufacture, market or sell their products. For example, Cisco Systems recently announced a strategic relationship with Tandberg, our major competitor in the video communications market. We believe we will face increasing competition from alternative video communications solutions that employ new technologies or new combinations of technologies from companies such as Cisco Systems, 3Com, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Microsoft, Nortel Networks, RealNetworks and WebEx, that enable web-based or network-based video and collaboration communications. The market for voice communications equipment, including voice conferencing and desktop equipment, is highly competitive and also subject to rapid technological change, regulatory developments and emerging industry standards. We expect competition to persist and increase in the future in this area. In voice communications, our major competitors include Aethra, ClearOne Communications, Konftel, Mitel, Soundgear and other companies that offer lower cost, full-duplex speakerphones. In the VoIP desktop space, there are several low cost manufacturers in Asia and Europe that are emerging. In addition, there are notable PBX and IP Call Manager manufacturers that compete in the standards based IP space including Avaya, Cisco, Mitel and Siemens. Furthermore, all major telephony manufacturers produce hands-free speakerphone units that are lower cost than our voice communications products. Our network systems business has significant competition from RADVISION, and a number of other companies, including Avaya, Cisco Systems, First Virtual, Huawei and Tandberg. In addition, it is possible that we will see increased competition in all of our product lines to the extent that one or more of our competitors join together either through mutual agreement or acquisitions to form new partnerships to compete against us. These competitors on a stand-alone basis or on a combined basis could have more substantial financial resources and production, marketing, engineering and other capabilities with which to develop, manufacture, market and sell their products.

 

We cannot assure you that we will be able to compete successfully against our current or future competitors. We expect our competitors to continue to improve the performance of their current products and to introduce new products or new technologies that provide improved performance characteristics. New product introductions by our competitors could cause a significant decline in sales or loss of market acceptance of our existing products and future products. We believe that the possible effects from ongoing competition may be the reduction in the prices of our products and our competitors’ products, the introduction of additional lower priced competitive products or the introduction of new products or product platforms that render our existing products or technologies obsolete. We expect this increased competitive pressure may lead to intensified price-based competition, resulting in lower prices and gross margins which would significantly harm our results of operations.

 

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Because a disproportionate amount of our sales occur at the end of a quarter, our operating results are unpredictable.

 

The timing of our channel partner orders and product shipments can harm our operating results.

 

Our quarterly revenues and operating results depend upon the volume and timing of channel partner orders received during a given quarter and the percentage of each order that we are able to ship and recognize as revenue during each quarter, each of which is extremely difficult to forecast. Moreover, the majority of our orders in a given quarter historically have been shipped in the last month of that quarter and sometimes in the last few weeks of the quarter. In 2003, we did end the third and fourth quarters with a more significant amount of order backlog than our historical experience, principally as a result of our new channel strategy, the establishment of product lead times to maximize our inventory efficiency and our focus on operational officiencies in the logistics area. We believe that the current level of backlog, as a percent of current quarters net revenues, is potentially maximized as a result of established product lead times; therefore there is no assurance that we will be able to maintain and it is unlikely that we will grow this level of backlog in future quarters, which is dependent in part on the ability of our sales force to generate orders linearly throughout the quarter and our ability to forecast revenue mix and plan our manufacturing accordingly. In addition, orders from our channel partners are based on the level of demand from end-user customers. Any decline or uncertainty in end-user demand could significantly negatively impact end-user orders which could in turn negatively affect orders from our channel partners in any given quarter. As a result, our backlog could decline to more historical levels or even to zero. The return to historical linearity levels or any failure or delay in the closing of orders during the last part of a quarter would materially harm our operating results, as occurred in the first quarter of 2003 and the second and third quarters of 2002. Furthermore, we may be unable to ship products in the period we receive the order, due to these or other factors, which would have an adverse impact on our operating results. In such events, the price of our common stock would decline.

 

Difficulty in estimating channel partner orders can harm our operating results, the establishment of product lead times to maximize our inventory efficiency and our focus on operations efficiency in the logistics area.

 

Net revenues for any particular quarter are extremely difficult to predict, with any degree of certainty. We typically ship products within a short time after we receive an order and therefore, backlog is not a good indicator of future net revenues. In 2003, we did end the third and fourth quarters with a more significant amount of order backlog than our historical experience, principally as a result of our new channel strategy, the establishment of product lead times to maximize our inventory efficiency and our focus on operational officiencies in the logistics area. There is no assurance that we will be able to maintain and it is unlikely that we will grow this level of backlog in future quarters, which is dependent in part on the ability of our sales force to generate orders linearly throughout the quarter and our ability to forecast revenue mix and plan our manufacturing accordingly. In addition, orders from our channel partners are based on the level of demand from end-user customers. Any decline or uncertainty in end-user demand could negatively impact end-user orders which could in turn significantly negatively affect orders from our channel partners in any given quarter. Accordingly, our expectations for both short and long-term future net revenues are based almost exclusively on our own estimate of future demand and not on firm channel partner orders. Our expense levels are based largely on these estimates. Because we historically have received a majority of our channel partner orders in the last month of a quarter and often in the last few weeks of the quarter, we are limited in our ability to reduce expenses quickly if for any reason orders and net revenues do not meet our expectations in a particular period. Accordingly, any significant shortfall in demand for our products in relation to our expectations would have an adverse impact on our operating results.

 

We face risks related to our dependence on channel partners to sell our products.

 

We are subject to risks associated with our channel partners’ product inventories and product sell-through.

 

We sell a significant amount of our products to channel partners who maintain their own inventory of our products for sale to dealers and end-users. If these channel partners are unable to sell an adequate amount of their inventory of our products in a given quarter to dealers and end-users or if channel partners decide to decrease their inventories for any reason, such as a recurrence of the recent global economic uncertainty and downturn in technology spending, the volume of our sales to these channel partners and our net revenues would be negatively affected. For example, the economic downturn negatively affected our business and operating results in 2001, and the global economic uncertainty and downturn in technology spending negatively affected our business and operating results in 2002 and the first quarter of 2003. While there has been some improvement in technology spending and the global economy, constraints in technology capital spending still exist and if these conditions recur in the future, our business and operating results will continue to be negatively affected. In addition, if channel partners decide to purchase more inventory, due to product availability or other reasons, than is required to satisfy end-user demand or if end-user demand does not keep pace with the additional inventory purchases, channel inventory could grow in any particular quarter which could adversely affect product revenues in the subsequent quarter. Moreover, if we choose to eliminate or reduce special cost or stocking incentive programs, quarterly revenues may fail to meet our expectations or be lower than historical levels. In addition, as a result of changes in sales management and our sales organization, we have implemented changes to our partner strategy in North America and plan to continue to implement changes, internationally to our channel partner strategy and contracts which may continue to result in a smaller number of channel partners, a change in the mix of our channel partners and a shift to a model with even more direct interaction between us and our direct end-user customers. In addition, this channel strategy has and could continue to upset our channel partners to the extent that they could add competitive products to their portfolios or shift more emphasis to selling our competitors products. These changes may continue to cause disruptions in our channels and negatively impact revenue growth in the near term.

 

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Our revenue estimates are based largely on end-user sales reports that our channel partners provide to us on a monthly basis. To date, we believe this data has been generally accurate. To the extent that this sales-out and channel inventory data is inaccurate, we may not be able to make revenue estimates for future periods.

 

We are subject to risks associated with the success of the businesses of our channel partners.

 

Many of our channel partners that carry multiple Polycom products, and from whom we derive significant revenues, are undercapitalized. The failure of these businesses to establish and sustain profitability or obtain financing could have a significant negative effect on our future revenue levels and profitability and our ability to collect our receivables. Further, while there has been some improvement in technology spending and the global economy, constraints in technology capital spending still exist and could cause more of our channel partners’ businesses to suffer or fail, which would harm our business.

 

Our business has been harmed and could be harmed further if our large channel partners continue to be affected by the recurrence of global economic uncertainty and a downturn in technology spending. For example, we have experienced a decline in revenues from WorldCom, Global Crossing and MCSi due to their financial troubles. This drop in the amount of orders we have received from these three channel partners negatively affected our revenues and profitability in the past.

 

To avoid confusion among our channel partners regarding our product offerings, we need to devote significant resources to educating and training them.

 

When we take any significant actions regarding our product offerings, or acquire new product offerings, it is important to educate and train our channel partners to avoid any confusion on the desirability of the new product offering in relation to our existing product offerings. In October 2003, we launched a new video product offering, the VSX 7000. While we believe we have taken the appropriate measures to educate and train our channel partners, there is a risk that the launch of this low end video product could cause confusion among our channel partners and end-users, thereby causing them to delay purchases of any video product, such as the ViewStation EX and FX, until they determine if the VSX 7000 is a more desirable product than our existing video products. Such delays in purchases could adversely affect our net revenues, gross margins and operating results in the period of the delay. In addition, in 2003 we launched new voice, video and network systems products. These new product launches, or any new product launch in the future, could cause confusion amongst our channel partners as we educate and train them on, and as they take time to evaluate, these new product offerings.

 

Integrating PictureTel’s product offerings with ours has created confusion among our channel partners. We will need to continue to devote significant resources to educate and train our channel partners about our combined product offerings. Channel confusion could also occur if we do not adequately train or educate the channel on our product families especially in the cases where we simplify our product offerings by discontinuing one product in order to stimulate growth of a similar product. Ongoing confusion may lead to delays in ordering our products which would negatively affect our revenues.

 

Conflicts with our channel partners could hurt sales of our products.

 

We have various OEM agreements with major telecommunications equipment manufacturers, such as Avaya, Cisco Systems and Nortel Networks, whereby we manufacture our products to work with the equipment of the OEM. These relationships can create conflicts with our other channel partners who directly compete with our OEM partners, or could create conflicts among our OEM partners who compete with each other, which could adversely affect revenues from these other channel partners or our OEM partners. Conflicts among our OEM partners could also make partnering with these OEM partners increasingly difficult. Because many of our channel partners also sell equipment that competes with our products, these channel partners could devote more attention to these other products which could harm our business. For example, a significant amount of our network systems revenues in 2001 were generated from sales to Tandberg, Sony and VCON, which compete with us in the video communications product market. We believe that because of this conflict, they significantly reduced their orders of our network systems products in 2002 and 2003, which has impacted our sales of this product line. Further, other channel conflicts could arise which cause channel partners to devote resources to other non-Polycom communications equipment which would negatively affect our business or results of operations.

 

Some of our current and future products are directly competitive with the products of our channel and strategic partners. For example, we have an agreement with Cisco Systems under which we ship SoundStation IP conference phones for resale by Cisco Systems. In addition, Cisco sells a network systems product which is in direct competition with our network systems offerings and has just announced a partnership with Tandberg, one of our major competitors in the video communications business. As a consequence of conflicts such as these, there is the potential for our channel and strategic partners to significantly reduce their orders of our products

 

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or design our technology out of their products. In addition, competition with our partners in all of the markets in which we operate is likely to increase, potentially resulting in strains on our existing relationships with these companies. Any such strain could limit the potential contribution of our strategic relationships to our business, restrict our ability to form strategic relationships with these companies in the future and create additional competitive pressures on us, including downward pressure on our average selling prices which would result in a decrease in both revenues and gross margins, any of which could harm our business.

 

Our channel partner contracts are typically short-term and early termination of these contracts may harm our results of operations.

 

We do not typically enter into long-term contracts with our channel partners, and we cannot be certain as to future order levels from our channel partners. When we do enter into a long-term contract, the contract is generally terminable at the convenience of the channel partner. In the event of an early termination by or loss of one of our major channel partners, we believe that the end-user customer would likely purchase from another one of our channel partners. If this did not occur and we were unable to rapidly replace that revenue source its loss would harm our results of operations.

 

We experience seasonal fluctuations in our revenues.

 

Sales of some of our products have experienced seasonal fluctuations which have affected sequential growth rates for these products, particularly in our third and first quarters. For example, there is generally a slowdown for sales of our products in the European region in the third quarter of each year and sales to government entities typically slow in our fourth quarter and to a greater extent in our first quarter. In addition, sales of our video communications products have typically declined in the first quarter of the year compared to the fourth quarter of the prior year. Seasonal fluctuations could negatively affect our business, which could cause our operating results to fall short of anticipated results for such quarters, as they did in the first quarter of 2003.

 

Difficulties we may encounter managing a substantially larger business could adversely affect our operating results.

 

Some of our officers and key personnel have worked together for only a short period of time or have only recently joined us.

 

Some of our officers and key personnel have worked together for only a short period of time. In addition, some of our executive officers have recently assumed significant new responsibilities. For example, in the first quarter of 2003, we hired a new Senior Vice President and General Manager, Video Communications, and a new Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, and reorganized our sales force and our video communications division. The sales force reorganization has resulted in the hiring of a significant amount of new senior sales management, including a new focus on government sales, and the movement of other senior sales management to new roles and responsibilities, including the promotion of one individual to the role of general manager of Asia Pacific. These new management changes could disrupt our sales, which in turn could result in reduced sales, confusion with our channel partners, and delayed introduction of new or upgraded products. The failure to successfully integrate new senior management could divert management’s attention from other ongoing business concerns.

 

If we fail to successfully attract and retain qualified personnel, our business will be harmed.

 

Our future success will depend in part on our continued ability to hire, assimilate and retain qualified personnel. Competition for such personnel is intense, and we may not be successful in attracting or retaining such personnel, especially in light of our recent additions of senior management, reorganizations and restructurings. The loss of any key employee, the failure of any key employee to perform in his or her current position or our inability to attract and retain skilled employees, particularly technical and management, as needed, could harm our business. In addition, as we add more complex software product offerings, it will become increasingly important to retain and attract individuals who are skilled in managing and developing these complex software product offerings. Further, many of our key employees in Israel, who are responsible for development of our network systems products, are obligated to perform annual military reserve duty and may be called to active duty at any time under emergency conditions. The loss of the services of any executive officer or other key technical or management personnel could harm our business.

 

We experienced significant growth in our business and operations due to internal expansion and business acquisitions during the last five years, and if we do not appropriately manage this growth and any future growth, our operating results will be negatively affected.

 

Our business has grown in recent years through both internal expansion and business acquisitions, and continued growth may cause a significant strain on our infrastructure, internal systems and managerial resources. For example, our annual revenues increased from $52 million in 1997 to $420 million in 2003, and during the past twelve fiscal quarters, we acquired Accord, Circa, PictureTel, ASPI and MeetU. Further, our headcount increased from 175 employees at December 31, 1997 to 526 employees at December 31, 1999 and to 1,183 employees at December 31, 2003. To manage our growth effectively, we must continue to improve and expand our infrastructure, including information technology and financial operating and administrative systems and controls, and continue managing headcount, capital and processes in an efficient manner. Our productivity and the quality of our products may be adversely

 

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affected if we do not integrate and train our new employees quickly and effectively and coordinate among our executive, engineering, finance, marketing, sales, operations and customer support organizations, all of which add to the complexity of our organization and increase our operating expenses. In addition, our information technology systems may not grow at a sufficient rate to keep up with the processing and information demands place on them by a much larger company. The efforts to continue to expand our information technology systems or our inability to do so could harm our business. Further, revenues may not grow at a sufficient rate to absorb the costs associated with a larger overall headcount.

 

Our future growth may require significant additional resources. We cannot assure you that resources will be available when we need them or that we will have sufficient capital to fund these potential resource needs. Also, as we assess our resources following our acquisitions, we will likely determine that redundancy in certain areas will require consolidation of these resources. Any organizational disruptions associated with the consolidation process could require further management attention and financial expenditures. If we are unable to manage our growth effectively, if we experience a shortfall in resources or if we must take additional restructuring charges, our results of operations will be harmed.

 

Difficulties in integrating our acquisitions could adversely impact our business.

 

Difficulties in integrating past or future acquisitions could adversely affect our business.

 

We completed the acquisition of PictureTel in October 2001 and Voyant in January 2004. The complex process of integrating Voyant has required and will continue to require significant resources and has been and will continue to be time consuming, expensive and disruptive to our business. This integration has resulted in the diversion of management and financial resources from our core business objectives. Failure to achieve the anticipated benefits of this acquisition or to successfully integrate the operations of Voyant could harm our business, results of operations and cash flows. We may not realize the benefits we anticipate from this acquisition because of the following significant challenges:

 

  potentially incompatible cultural differences between the two companies;

 

  revenue concentration with a few large service provider customers;

 

  majority of orders received in the last month of a quarter, typically the last few weeks of that quarter and the unpredictability of receipt of orders;

 

  incorporating Voyant’s technology and products into our current and future product lines;

 

  geographic dispersion of operations;

 

  generating marketing demand for an expanded product line;

 

  integrating Voyant’s products with our business, as we have limited experience in the service provider market;

 

  the difficulty in leveraging Voyant’s and our combined technologies and capabilities across all product lines and customer bases; and

 

  our inability to retain previous Voyant customers or employees.

 

The PictureTel acquisition is the largest acquisition we have completed, and the complex process of integrating PictureTel has required significant resources. We continue to face ongoing business challenges that include principally the geographic dispersion of our operations and generating market demand for an expanded product line that includes PC-based systems and collaboration-intensive applications.

 

In addition, we have incurred significant costs and committed significant management time integrating PictureTel’s operations, technology, development programs, products, information systems, customers and personnel. Although the integration of PictureTel is complete, we will continue to incur cash outflows and additional costs in completing the integration process, such as:

 

  fees and expenses of professionals and consultants involved in dissolving legal entities no longer being used;

 

  costs associated with vacating, subleasing and closing facilities and terminating leases;

 

  employee severance costs, including any further reorganization of the service business; and

 

  upgrading our customer service information systems to accommodate PictureTel’s larger customer service function.

 

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We have spent and will continue to spend significant resources identifying and acquiring businesses. The efficient and effective integration of our acquired businesses into our organization is critical to our growth. In addition to Voyant and PictureTel, we acquired the following businesses in our prior fiscal years: Accord Networks Ltd., or Accord, in February 2001, Circa Communications, Ltd., or Circa, in April 2001, Atlanta Signal Processors, Incorporated, or ASPI, in November 2001, and MeetU.com, Inc., or MeetU, in June 2002. These and any future acquisitions involve numerous risks including difficulties in integrating the operations, technologies and products of the acquired companies, the diversion of our management’s attention from other business concerns and the potential loss of key employees of the acquired companies. Failure to achieve the anticipated benefits of these and any future acquisitions or to successfully integrate the operations of the companies we acquire could also harm our business, results of operations and cash flows. Additionally, we cannot assure you that we will not incur material charges in future quarters to reflect additional costs associated with past acquisitions or any future acquisitions we may make.

 

Our failure to implement our restructuring plan related to PictureTel facilities could adversely impact our business.

 

We have a significant liability of approximately $25.7 million at December 31, 2003 related to vacant and redundant facilities in connection with our acquisition of PictureTel which is net of estimated sublease income we expect to generate. Our estimate of sublease income is based on current comparable rates for leases in the respective markets. If actual sublease income is lower than our estimates for any reason, if it takes us longer than we estimated to sublease these facilities, or if the associated cost of subleasing or terminating our lease obligations for these facilities is greater than we estimated, we would incur additional charges to operations which would harm our business, results of operations and cash flows. For example, we have an approximately 152,000 square foot building which is fully subleased to a third party for the length of our lease obligation. If this tenant were unable to fulfill, for any reason, their contractual obligations under the sublease, we would incur additional charges to operations which would harm our business. In addition, until our vacated and redundant facilities are subleased or the lease obligations for these facilities are terminated, we will continue to pay the contractual lease and facility operating expense obligations without any sublease income to offset these costs. Further, in the event that we agree to sublease a facility or terminate a lease obligation through a lease buyout or other means, we may incur a material cash outflow up to and potentially exceeding our recorded liability at the time of such transaction, which would harm our operating cash flows. To the extent that any such cash outflows or additional costs exceed the amount of our recorded liability related to the sublease or termination of these lease obligations, we could incur a charge to operations which would harm our business and adversely impact our results of operations.

 

In November 2003, we entered into a lease amendment for one of our facilities for which we had previously provided a restructuring reserve. The original term of this lease, which ended in 2014, was amended to allow us to exit approximately one-third of the space in this facility (which is currently unoccupied) in November 2006 for a cash payment of $5.0 million, to exit an additional approximately one-third of the space in this facility (which is currently unoccupied) in November 2007 for an additional cash payment of $5.0 million, and to allow us the option of exiting the remaining one-third of this facility (which is currently occupied) in November 2008. The amendment also gives the landlord the right, until November 2008 to require us to exit the occupied space with six months notice. If we, either voluntarily, or as required by the landlord, exit the occupied space we will make a final $5.0 million payment to the landlord and we would begin to amortize our remaining leasehold improvements (net book value of $2.0 million at December 31, 2003) over six months. Should we or the landlord terminate our lease on the occupied space we would have six months to plan for and relocate these operations. This relocation could disrupt our operations and harm our operating results. The lease agreement was also amended to allow the landlord to sublet the unoccupied space earlier than November 2006 and November 2007. If the landlord is successful in releasing us from the space earlier than the amendment provides, we would make the related cash payments noted above, as regards to the currently unoccupied space only, and additional cash payments pertaining to fifty percent of the cash savings related to us no longer having to pay rent and common area maintenance charges on that portion of the building. To the extent that we or the landlord exercise their rights under this amendment, we will incur significant cash outflows.

 

We face risks related to our international operations and sales.