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Note 1 - Nature of Operations
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2020
Notes to Financial Statements  
Nature of Operations [Text Block]
(
1
)
NATURE OF OPERATIONS
 
We are a global supplier of precision-engineered solutions for use in manufacturing and testing across a wide range of markets including automotive, defense/aerospace, energy, industrial, semiconductor and telecommunications. We manage our business as
two
operating segments which are also our reportable segments: Thermal Products ("Thermal") and Electromechanical Semiconductor Products ("EMS"). Our Thermal segment designs, manufactures and sells our thermal test and thermal process products while our EMS segment designs, manufactures and sells our semiconductor test products. We manufacture our products in the U.S. Marketing and support activities are conducted worldwide from our facilities in the U.S., Germany, Singapore, the Netherlands and the U.K. The consolidated entity is comprised of inTEST Corporation and our wholly owned subsidiaries.
 
Our EMS segment sells its products to semiconductor manufacturers and
third
-party test and assembly houses (end user sales) and to automated test equipment (“ATE”) manufacturers (original equipment manufacturer (“OEM”) sales), who ultimately resell our equipment with theirs to both semiconductor manufacturers and
third
-party test and assembly houses. Our Thermal segment sells its products to many of these same types of customers; however, it also sells into a variety of other markets, including the automotive, defense/aerospace, energy, industrial and telecommunications markets. As a result of the acquisition of Ambrell Corporation (“Ambrell”) in
May 2017,
our Thermal segment also sells into the consumer products packaging, fiber optics and other sectors within the broader industrial market, and into the wafer processing sector within the broader semiconductor market.
 
Both of our operating segments have multiple products that we design, manufacture and market to our customers. Due to a number of factors, our products have varying levels of gross margin. The mix of products we sell in any period is ultimately determined by our customers' needs. Therefore, the mix of products sold in any given period can change significantly from the prior period. As a result, our consolidated gross margin can be significantly impacted in any given period by a change in the mix of products sold in that period.
 
Historically, we have referred to our markets as “Semiconductor” (which includes both the broader semiconductor market as well as the more specialized ATE and wafer processing sectors within the broader semiconductor market), and “Non-Semiconductor” (which includes all of the other markets we serve). Starting in the
second
quarter of
2019,
we began referring to the broader semiconductor market, including the ATE and wafer processing sectors within that market, as the “Semi Market.” All other markets are designated as “Multimarket.” The Semi Market, which is the principal market in which we operate, is characterized by rapid technological change, competitive pricing pressures and cyclical as well as seasonal market patterns. This market is subject to significant economic downturns at various times. Our financial results are affected by a wide variety of factors, including, but
not
limited to, general economic conditions worldwide and in the markets in which we operate, economic conditions specific to the Semi Market and the other markets we serve, our ability to safeguard patented technology and intellectual property in a rapidly evolving market, downward pricing pressures from customers, and our reliance on a relatively few number of customers for a significant portion of our sales. In addition, we are exposed to the risk of obsolescence of our inventory depending on the mix of future business and technological changes within the markets that we serve. We also continue to implement an acquisition strategy that
may
cause us to incur substantial expense in reviewing and evaluating potential transactions. We
may
or
may
not
be successful in locating suitable businesses to acquire and in closing acquisitions of businesses we pursue. In addition, we
may
not
be able to successfully integrate any business we do acquire with our existing business and we
may
not
be able to operate the acquired business profitably. As a result of these or other factors, we
may
experience significant period-to-period fluctuations in future operating results.  
 
COVID-
19
Pandemic
 
In early
January 2020,
a human infection originating in China was traced to a novel strain of coronavirus, referred to as COVID-
19.
COVID-
19
has subsequently spread to other parts of the world, including the U.S. and Europe, and has caused unprecedented disruptions in the global economy as efforts to contain the spread of COVID-
19
 have intensified. On
March 11, 2020,
the World Health Organization (“WHO”) officially declared COVID-
19
 a pandemic. Our business has been, and will continue to be, adversely affected by the COVID-
19
pandemic. Since
March 17, 2020,
several states, including all of the states in which we have manufacturing facilities, have instituted “shelter-in place” orders as well as guidance in response to the COVID-
19
pandemic and the need to contain it. Currently, all of our operations have been deemed “critical and essential business operations” under the various governmental COVID-
19
mandates which has allowed us to continue to operate our business with certain modifications as discussed below.

The impact of the COVID-
19
pandemic on our operations is intensified because it is occurring at a time when our business operations have already been negatively affected by a global downturn in the Semi Market. The Semi Market, from which approximately half of our net revenues are derived, has been in a cyclical downturn since the beginning of
2019.
This downturn has resulted in significant declines in our net revenues from the Semi Market and contributed to the net loss we recorded in the
first
quarter of
2020
of
$1,143.
Our net revenues from the Semi Market for the
first
quarter of
2020
totaled
$5,011
compared to
$10,111
in the
first
quarter of
2019,
when the downturn began. We had started to see indications that the downturn was coming to an end and that the beginning of the next cyclical upturn in the Semi Market was imminent, but the COVID-
19
pandemic appears to be impacting this timing. We currently expect that the recovery in the Semi Market
may
be delayed by as many as
two
or more quarters. During
2019,
we made adjustments to reduce our fixed cost structure, which included staff reductions and limits on all discretionary spending. As a result of the expected delay in the Semi Market recovery, we have been evaluating additional actions to further reduce our fixed cost structure with the goal of limiting future losses and maintaining an adequate level of liquidity to operate our business. To date, these additional actions have included further staff reductions, the temporary shutdown of our EMS manufacturing facility in Fremont, California in late
March
and the temporary closure of our Thermal segment manufacturing facility in Mansfield, Massachusetts for a
two
-week period at the beginning of
April.
As discussed further in Notes
8
and
13,
on
April 10, 2020,
we entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Agreement”) with M&T Bank (“M&T”). Under the terms of the Agreement, M&T has provided us with a
$7,500
revolving credit facility. This revolving credit facility was put in place to provide us with additional liquidity in response to the current business environment as a result of the COVID-
19
pandemic.
 
As of the date of this filing, our facilities in California and Massachusetts have re-opened and all our other facilities, with the exception of our sales office in Singapore, have remained open. While we do
not
currently have any further plans for facility closures, if the current pace of the COVID-
19
pandemic cannot be sufficiently slowed and the spread of the virus is
not
contained, our business operations could be delayed or interrupted. In addition, the aftermarket service and support that we provide to our customers has been, and we expect will continue to be, impacted by the COVID-
19
pandemic due to travel restrictions and limitations on visitors allowed into customer facilities, which has resulted in some of these activities being reduced or suspended.  Therefore, the net revenues associated with these aftermarket service and support activities, which typically range from
8%
to
10%
of our consolidated net revenues,
may
decline. We expect that government and health authorities
may
announce new or extend existing restrictions, which could require us to make further adjustments to our operations in order to comply with any such restrictions. These adjustments to our operations could include additional facility closures in the future if demand slows down, which could have a material negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition. The funds we
may
draw down from our revolving credit facility under the Agreement
may
not
be sufficient to prevent the need to take further actions such as staff reductions, facility closures or other salary and benefits adjustments for remaining employees. To the extent that the COVID-
19
pandemic
may
have a negative impact on our operations, as a result of our current level of working capital as well as the availability of the revolving credit facility under the Agreement, we currently expect to have sufficient liquidity to operate our business throughout the balance of
2020,
as further described in this report.
 
Generally, global supply chains and the timely availability of products have been, and will continue to be, materially disrupted by quarantines, factory slowdowns or shutdowns, border closings and travel restrictions resulting from the COVID-
19
pandemic. We have experienced, and expect that we
may
continue to experience, price increases and/or lack of availability from our normal suppliers for the materials needed to produce our products in a timely manner and/or with the level of margins we typically expect to achieve. We are working to mitigate and address these delays and price increases, but there can be
no
assurance that we will
not
experience delays or price increases in the future which could have a material negative impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition.
 
We have implemented workplace safeguards to protect and ensure the health and well-being of our employees. A significant number of employees have been authorized to work from home and have been provided with the tools and technology necessary to do so. However, the process of working remotely
may
result in these employees
not
being as effective or responsive to our customers’ needs as they would be under more normal conditions. This could result in lost business opportunities or have other negative impacts on our business. Remaining employees in our facilities are following WHO and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) recommended safety practices, as well as state and local directives, but there can be
no
assurances that we can successfully avoid
one
of our employees contracting COVID-
19
and entering our facilities while infected. Should this occur, or should we have employees who become ill or otherwise are unable to work, we
may
experience limitations in employee resources or
may
be required to close affected facilities for a time to clean and disinfect appropriately.
 
The duration of any business disruption and related financial impact cannot be reasonably estimated at this time but
may
materially affect our ability to operate our business and result in additional costs. The extent to which the COVID-
19
pandemic
may
impact our operating results, financial condition, and liquidity will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted as of the time of this filing, including new information that
may
emerge concerning the severity of COVID-
19
and steps taken to contain COVID-
19
or treat its impact, among others. The adverse effects of the COVID-
19
pandemic on our business could be material in future periods.