Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Note 1 - Nature of the Business

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Note 1 - Nature of the Business
3 Months Ended
Mar. 29, 2020
Notes to Financial Statements  
Business Description and Basis of Presentation [Text Block]
1.
Nature of the business
 
SMTC Corporation (the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “SMTC”) is a provider of end-to-end electronics manufacturing services (“EMS”), including product design and engineering services, printed circuit board assembly (“PCBA”), production, enclosure, cable assembly, precision metal fabrication, systems integration and comprehensive testing services, configuration to order (“CTO”), build to order (“BTO”) and direct order fulfillment (“DOF”). SMTC has more than
50
manufacturing and assembly lines at strategically located facilities in the United States, Canada and Mexico that provide local support and manufacturing capabilities to our global customers. SMTC’s services extend over the entire electronic product life cycle from new product development and new product introduction (“NPI”) through to growth, maturity and end of life phases.
 
Our business operations have generally performed during the
first
quarter of
2020
as expected. However, the fast-developing coronavirus disease
2019
(“COVID-
19”
) pandemic presents significant uncertainty for the remainder of the year. During our
first
quarter, our business has
not
been significantly impacted by the COVID-
19
pandemic and demand from our customers did
not
change materially. The COVID-
19
pandemic could impact our customers and
may
result in unpredictable reductions or increases in demand across the industry sectors we service. We do anticipate COVID-
19
-related disruptions, including potential materials constraints for inventory sourced from certain regions, increased shipping costs and lead-times. As at
March 29, 2020,
the funds available to borrow under our PNC Facility (as described and defined below) after deducting the current borrowing base conditions was
$31,185
(
December 29, 2019 -
$21,644
).
         
             We are actively monitoring the global COVID-
19
pandemic and continuously communicating with our employees and union representatives, in addition to government and state representatives where our manufacturing facilities reside. We have initiated measures designed to protect our employees and we continue to adapt in order to maintain operations while providing a safe environment. We have experienced increased workplace absenteeism as illness, potential COVID-
19
exposure or personal commitments that restrict the ability of some employees to come to work. The Company has modified shift schedules and hired temporary labor to help address this situation and meet our customers’ product shipping schedules. We anticipate incurring higher direct labor charges in the
second
quarter of
2020
as a result of this. Decisions on further measures or the continuation of these measures will depend on the impact of the COVID-
19
pandemic on our operations and the requirements of each jurisdiction in which we operate.
 
During the
fourth
quarter of
2019
we ceased manufacturing in China and began to relocate the equipment used at our Chinese manufacturing facility to our other North American sites. During the
first
quarter of
2020
the Company completed final shipments for customers serviced at our Chinese manufacturing facility and completed the relocation of the equipment to our other North American sites. Customer concerns about uncertainties relating to the prolonged impact of tariffs and macro-economic factors caused a number of our customers to begin to re-evaluate demand for some of their products and reconsider where they outsource their manufacturing. Revenues attributable to production from SMTC’s manufacturing operations in China declined in
2019
as compared to
2018,
but more significant declines were anticipated in
2020
which would have resulted in negative operating margins from our China site. This ultimately resulted in the decision to close the manufacturing facility.
 
The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with the accounting principles and methods of application disclosed in the audited consolidated financial statements within the Company’s Form
10
-K for the fiscal period ended
December 29, 2019, (
“Form
10
-K”) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on
March 13, 2020.
The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements include adjustments of a normal, recurring nature that are, in the opinion of management, necessary for a fair statement of the consolidated financial statements under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”). These unaudited interim consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements contained in the Company’s Form
10
-K. The consolidated balance sheet at
December 29, 2019
was derived from the audited annual consolidated financial statements, but does
not
contain all of the footnote disclosures from the annual consolidated financial statements.
 
Unless otherwise specified or the context requires otherwise, all statements in these notes to the interim consolidated financial statements regarding financial figures are expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars.