Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Commitments and Contingencies

v3.7.0.1
Commitments and Contingencies
12 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2017
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
NOTE 13 — COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Employee Retention Commitments. In connection with the retention program adopted at the time the Company entered into the Merger Agreement with Lam Research, the Company has an estimated $20.8 million of employee-related retention commitments as of June 30, 2017 which are expected to be paid during the quarter ending December 31, 2017.
Factoring. KLA-Tencor has agreements (referred to as “factoring agreements”) with financial institutions to sell certain of its trade receivables and promissory notes from customers without recourse. The Company does not believe it is at risk for any material losses as a result of these agreements. In addition, the Company periodically sells certain letters of credit (“LCs”), without recourse, received from customers in payment for goods and services.
The following table shows total receivables sold under factoring agreements and proceeds from sales of LCs for the indicated periods:
 
Year ended June 30,
(In thousands)
2017
 
2016
 
2015
Receivables sold under factoring agreements
$
152,509

 
$
205,790

 
$
137,285

Proceeds from sales of LCs
$
48,780

 
$
21,904

 
$
6,920


Factoring and LC fees for the sale of certain trade receivables were recorded in other expense (income), net and were not material for the periods presented.
Facilities. KLA-Tencor leases certain of its facilities under arrangements that are accounted for as operating leases. Rent expense was $9.6 million, $8.7 million and $9.1 million for the fiscal years ended June 30, 2017, 2016 and 2015, respectively.
The following is a schedule of expected operating lease payments: 
Fiscal year ending June 30,
Amount
(In thousands)
2018
$
9,073

2019
5,768

2020
4,341

2021
2,486

2022
1,358

2023 and thereafter
2,489

Total minimum lease payments
$
25,515


Purchase Commitments. KLA-Tencor maintains commitments to purchase inventory from its suppliers as well as goods and services in the ordinary course of business. The Company’s liability under these purchase commitments is generally restricted to a forecasted time-horizon as mutually agreed upon between the parties. This forecasted time-horizon can vary among different suppliers. The Company’s estimate of its significant purchase commitments is approximately $432.8 million as of June 30, 2017 which are primarily due within the next 12 months. Actual expenditures will vary based upon the volume of the transactions and length of contractual service provided. In addition, the amounts paid under these arrangements may be less in the event that the arrangements are renegotiated or canceled. Certain agreements provide for potential cancellation penalties.
Cash Long-Term Incentive Plan. As of June 30, 2017, the Company had committed $163.1 million for future payment obligations under its Cash LTI Plan. The calculation of compensation expense related to the Cash LTI Plan includes estimated forfeiture rate assumptions. Cash LTI awards issued to employees under the Cash LTI Plan vest in to three or four equal installments, with one-third or one-fourth of the aggregate amount of the Cash LTI award vesting on each yearly anniversary of the grant date over a three or four-year period. In order to receive payments under a Cash LTI award, participants must remain employed by the Company as of the applicable award vesting date.
Warranties, Guarantees and Contingencies. KLA-Tencor provides standard warranty coverage on its systems for 40 hours per week for 12 months, providing labor and parts necessary to repair and maintain the systems during the warranty period. The Company accounts for the estimated warranty cost as a charge to costs of revenues when revenue is recognized. The estimated warranty cost is based on historical product performance and field expenses. Utilizing actual service records, the Company calculates the average service hours and parts expense per system and applies the actual labor and overhead rates to determine the estimated warranty charge. The Company updates these estimated charges on a regular basis. The actual product performance and/or field expense profiles may differ, and in those cases the Company adjusts its warranty accruals accordingly.
The following table provides the changes in the product warranty accrual for the indicated periods:
 
Year ended June 30,
(In thousands)
2017
 
2016
Beginning balance
$
34,773

 
$
36,413

Accruals for warranties issued during the period
50,616

 
39,175

Changes in liability related to pre-existing warranties
(5,133
)
 
(9,146
)
Settlements made during the period
(34,798
)
 
(31,669
)
Ending balance
$
45,458

 
$
34,773


The Company maintains guarantee arrangements available through various financial institutions for up to $25.3 million, of which $22.1 million had been issued as of June 30, 2017, primarily to fund guarantees to customs authorities for value-added tax (“VAT”) and other operating requirements of the Company’s subsidiaries in Europe and Asia.
KLA-Tencor is a party to a variety of agreements pursuant to which it may be obligated to indemnify the other party with respect to certain matters. Typically, these obligations arise in connection with contracts and license agreements or the sale of assets, under which the Company customarily agrees to hold the other party harmless against losses arising from, or provides customers with other remedies to protect against, bodily injury or damage to personal property caused by the Company’s products, non-compliance with the Company’s product performance specifications, infringement by the Company’s products of third-party intellectual property rights and a breach of warranties, representations and covenants related to matters such as title to assets sold, validity of certain intellectual property rights, non-infringement of third-party rights, and certain income tax-related matters. In each of these circumstances, payment by the Company is typically subject to the other party making a claim to and cooperating with the Company pursuant to the procedures specified in the particular contract.
This usually allows the Company to challenge the other party’s claims or, in case of breach of intellectual property representations or covenants, to control the defense or settlement of any third-party claims brought against the other party. Further, the Company’s obligations under these agreements may be limited in terms of amounts, activity (typically at the Company’s option to replace or correct the products or terminate the agreement with a refund to the other party), and duration. In some instances, the Company may have recourse against third parties and/or insurance covering certain payments made by the Company.
Subject to certain limitations, the Company is obligated to indemnify its current and former directors, officers and employees with respect to certain litigation matters and investigations that arise in connection with their service to the Company. These obligations arise under the terms of the Company’s certificate of incorporation, its bylaws, applicable contracts, and Delaware and California law. The obligation to indemnify generally means that the Company is required to pay or reimburse the individuals’ reasonable legal expenses and possibly damages and other liabilities incurred in connection with these matters.
In addition, the Company may in limited circumstances enter into agreements that contain customer-specific commitments on pricing, tool reliability, spare parts stocking levels, response time and other commitments. Furthermore, the Company may give these customers limited audit or inspection rights to enable them to confirm that the Company is complying with these commitments. If a customer elects to exercise its audit or inspection rights, the Company may be required to expend significant resources to support the audit or inspection, as well as to defend or settle any dispute with a customer that could potentially arise out of such audit or inspection. To date, the Company has made no significant accruals in its consolidated financial statements for this contingency. While the Company has not in the past incurred significant expenses for resolving disputes regarding these types of commitments, the Company cannot make any assurance that it will not incur any such liabilities in the future.
It is not possible to predict the maximum potential amount of future payments under these or similar agreements due to the conditional nature of the Company’s obligations and the unique facts and circumstances involved in each particular agreement. Historically, payments made by the Company under these agreements have not had a material effect on its business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.