Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Principles of consolidation

Principles of consolidation

The Consolidated Financial Statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated upon consolidation. Certain of the Company’s Vicor Custom Power entities are not majority owned by the Company. These entities are consolidated by the Company as management believes that the Company has the ability to exercise control over their activities and operations.

Use of estimates

Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingencies at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Such estimates relate to the useful lives of fixed assets and identified intangible assets, recoverability of long-lived assets, including goodwill, fair value of long-term investments, allowances for doubtful accounts, the net realizable value of inventory, potential reserves relating to litigation matters, accrued liabilities, accrued taxes, deferred tax valuation allowances, assumptions pertaining to share-based payments and other reserves. Actual results could differ from those estimates, and such differences may be material to the financial statements.

Revenue recognition

Revenue recognition

Product revenue is recognized in the period when persuasive evidence of an arrangement with a customer exists, the products are shipped and title has transferred to the customer, the price is fixed or determinable, and collection is considered probable. License fees are recognized as earned. The Company recognizes revenue on such arrangements only when the contract is signed, the license term has begun, all obligations have been delivered to the customer, and collection is probable. The Company evaluates revenue arrangements with potential multi-element deliverables to determine if there is more than one unit of accounting. A deliverable constitutes a separate unit of accounting when it has standalone value and there are no customer-negotiated refund or return rights for the undelivered elements. The selling price for each deliverable is based on vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) if available, third-party evidence (“TPE”) if VSOE is not available, or best estimate of selling price (“BESP”) if neither VSOE or TPE is available. The Company defers revenue and the related cost of sales on shipments to certain distributors until the distributors resell the products to their customers.

The Company enters into arrangements containing multiple elements which may include a combination of non-recurring engineering services (“NRE”), prototype units and production units. The Company has determined that the NRE and prototype units represent one unit of accounting and the production units a separate unit of accounting, based on an assessment of the respective standalone value. When possible, revenue is allocated to the elements based on VSOE or TPE for each element. For arrangements where VSOE or TPE cannot be established, the Company uses BESP for the allocation of arrangement consideration. The objective of BESP is to determine the price at which the Company would typically transact a standalone sale of the product or service. BESP is determined by considering a number of factors including the Company’s pricing policies, internal costs and gross margin objectives, current market conditions, information gathered from experience in customer negotiations and the competitive landscape. The Company defers revenue recognition for the NRE and prototype units until completion of the final milestone under the NRE arrangement. Recognition generally takes place within six to twelve months of the initiation of the arrangement. Revenue for the production units is recognized upon shipment, as for product revenue summarized above. For certain multiple-element arrangements entered into prior to January 1, 2009 which contained a combination of technical support services, NRE, minimum license payments and future royalties, separate units of accounting could not be established. Therefore, revenue under these arrangements is deferred and recognized over the term of the arrangement. During 2012, 2011 and 2010, revenue recognized under multi-element arrangements accounted for less than 3% of net revenues.

The Company has established distribution partnerships with two leading electronic components distributors. The agreements with these distributors allow the distributors to receive price adjustment credits to return qualifying products for credit, as determined by the Company, in order to reduce the amounts of slow-moving, discontinued or obsolete product from their inventory. Distributors are also granted price adjustment credits in the event of a price decrease subsequent to the date the product was shipped and billed to the distributor. Given the uncertainties associated with the levels of price adjustment credits to be granted to distributors, the sales price to the distributor is not fixed or determinable until the distributor resells the products to their customers. Therefore, the Company defers revenue and the related cost of sales on shipments to distributors until the distributors resell the products to their customers and so the Company’s revenue fully reflects end customer purchases and is not impacted by distributor inventory levels. These agreements limit such returns to a certain percentage of the value of the Company’s shipments to that distributor during the prior quarter. In addition, distributors are allowed to return unsold products if the Company terminates the relationship with the distributor. Title to the inventory transfers to the distributor at the time of shipment or delivery to the distributor, and payment from the distributor is due in accordance with the Company’s standard payment terms. These payment terms are not contingent upon the distributors’ sale of the products to their customers. Upon title transfer to distributors, inventory is reduced for the cost of goods shipped, the margin (sales less cost of sales) is recorded as “deferred income on shipments to distributors, net” and an account receivable is recorded. As of December 31, 2012, the Company had gross deferred revenue of approximately $625,000 and gross deferred cost of revenues of approximately $249,000 under these agreements. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had gross deferred revenue of approximately $176,000 and gross deferred cost of revenues of approximately $72,000 under these agreements.

Foreign currency translation

Foreign currency translation

The financial statements of Vicor Japan Company, Ltd. (“VJCL”), a majority owned subsidiary, for which the functional currency is the Japanese yen, have been translated into U.S. dollars using the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date for balance sheet amounts and the average exchange rates in effect during the year for income statement amounts. The gains and losses resulting from the changes in exchange rates from year to year have been reported in other comprehensive income.

Transaction gains and losses and translation gains (losses) resulting from the remeasurement of foreign currency denominated assets and liabilities of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries where the functional currency is the U.S. dollar are included in other income, net. Foreign currency gains (losses) included in other income, net, were approximately ($46,000), ($326,000), and ($158,000) in 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include funds held in checking and money market accounts, certificates of deposit and debt securities with maturities of less than three months at the time of purchase. Cash and cash equivalents are valued at cost which approximates market value. The Company’s money market securities, which are classified as cash equivalents on the balance sheet, are purchased and redeemed at par. The estimated fair value is equal to the cost of the securities and due to the nature of the securities there are no unrealized gains or losses at the balance sheet dates.

Long-term investments

Long-term investments

The Company’s principal sources of liquidity are its existing balances of cash and cash equivalents, as well as cash generated from operations. Consistent with the Company’s investment policy guidelines, the Company can invest, and has historically invested, its cash balances in demand deposit accounts, money market funds, brokered certificates of deposit and auction rate securities meeting certain quality criteria. All of the Company’s investments are subject to credit, liquidity, market, and interest rate risk.

The Company’s long-term investments are classified as either available-for-sale or trading securities. Available-for-sale securities are recorded at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, attributable to credit loss recorded through the statement of operations and unrealized gains and losses, net of tax, attributable to other non-credit factors recorded in “Accumulated other comprehensive loss,” a component of Total Equity. In determining the amount of credit loss, the Company compares the present value of cash flows expected to be collected to the amortized cost basis of the securities, considering, among other factors, credit default risk probabilities and changes in credit ratings as significant inputs. Trading securities are recorded at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses recorded through the Consolidated Statements of Operations each reporting period.

The amortized cost of debt securities is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity, the net amount of which, along with interest and realized gains and losses, is included in “Other income, net” in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. The Company periodically evaluates investments to determine if impairment is required, whether an impairment is other than temporary, and the measurement of an impairment loss. The Company considers a variety of impairment indicators such as, but not limited to, a significant deterioration in the earnings performance, credit rating, or asset quality of the investment.

Fair value measurements

Fair value measurements

The Company accounts for certain financial assets at fair value, defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability (i.e., an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. A three-level hierarchy is used to show the extent and level of judgment used to estimate fair value measurements:

Level 1	Inputs used to measure fair value are unadjusted quoted prices available in active markets for the identical assets or liabilities as of the reporting date.
Level 2	Inputs used to measure fair value, other than quoted prices included in Level 1, are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date through correlation with market data, including quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets and quoted prices in inactive markets. Level 2 also includes assets and liabilities valued using models or other pricing methodologies that do not require significant judgment since the input assumptions used in the models, such as interest rates and volatility factors, are corroborated by readily observable data from actively quoted markets for substantially the full term of the financial instrument.
Level 3	Inputs used to measure fair value are unobservable inputs supported by little or no market activity and reflect the use of significant management judgment. These values are generally determined using pricing models for which the assumptions utilize management’s estimates of market participant assumptions.

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable and accounts payable approximate fair value because of the short maturity of these financial instruments.

The Company uses the fair value option for certain financial assets, which allows an entity the irrevocable option to elect fair value for the initial and subsequent measurement for specified financial assets and liabilities on a case-by-case basis.

Allowance for doubtful accounts

Allowance for doubtful accounts

The Company maintains allowances for doubtful accounts for estimated losses resulting from the inability of its customers to make required payments, based on assessments of customers’ credit-risk profiles and payment histories. If the financial condition of the Company’s customers were to deteriorate, resulting in an impairment of their ability to make payments, additional allowances may be required. The Company does not require collateral from its customers.

Inventories

Inventories

Inventories are valued at the lower of cost (determined using the first-in, first-out method) or net realizable value. Fixed production overhead is allocated to the inventory cost per unit based on the normal capacity of the production facilities. Abnormal production costs, including fixed cost variances from normal production capacity, if any, are charged to cost of revenues in the period incurred. All shipping and handling costs incurred in connection with the sale of products are included in cost of revenues.

The Company provides reserves for inventories estimated to be excess, obsolete or unmarketable. The Company’s estimation process for assessing net realizable value is based upon its known backlog, projected future demand and expected market conditions. If the Company’s estimated demand and/or market expectation were to change or if product sales were to decline, the Company’s estimation process may cause larger inventory reserves to be recorded, resulting in larger charges to cost of revenues.

Concentrations of risk

Concentrations of risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, long-term investments and trade accounts receivable. The Company maintains cash and cash equivalents and certain other financial instruments with various large financial institutions. Generally, amounts invested with these financial institutions are in excess of FDIC insurance limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant credit risk. The Company’s long-term investments consist of highly rated (AAA/Aaa/A3) municipal and corporate debt securities in which a significant portion are invested in auction rate securities. As of December 31, 2012, the Company was holding a total of approximately $6,100,000 in auction rate securities, all of which are collateralized by student loans. Through December 31, 2012, auctions held for all of the Company’s auction rate securities have failed. The funds associated with auction rate securities that have failed auction may not be accessible until a successful auction occurs, a buyer is found outside of the auction process, the security is called, or the underlying securities have matured. If the credit rating of the issuer of any auction rate security held deteriorates, the Company may be required to adjust the carrying value of the investment for an other-than-temporary decline in value through an impairment charge. The Company’s investment policy, approved by the Board of Directors, limits the amount the Company may invest in any issuer, thereby reducing credit risk concentrations.

The Company’s products are sold worldwide to customers ranging from smaller, independent manufacturers of highly specialized electronic devices to larger original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”) and their contract manufacturers. The applications in which these products are used are in the higher-performance, higher-power segments of the power systems market, including, in alphabetical order, aerospace and defense electronics, enterprise and high performance computing, industrial automation, telecommunications and networking infrastructure, test and measurement instrumentation, and vehicles and transportation. While, overall, the Company has a broad customer base and sells into a variety of industries, the Company’s VI Chip subsidiary has derived a substantial portion of its revenue from one customer and the Company’s Picor subsidiary has derived a substantial portion of its revenue from a limited number of customers. This concentration of revenue is a reflection of the relatively early stage of adoption of the technologies, architectures and products offered by these subsidiaries, and their targeting of market leading innovators as initial customers. Concentrations of credit risk with respect to trade accounts receivable are limited due to the number of entities comprising the Company’s customer base. As of December 31, 2012, two customers accounted for approximately 12.7% and 10.6% of trade account receivables, respectively. For the year ended December 31, 2011, one customer accounted for approximately 15.4% of trade account receivables. Credit losses have consistently been within management’s expectations.

Components and materials used in the Company’s products are purchased from a variety of vendors. While most of the components are available from multiple sources, some key components for certain VI Chip and Picor products, in particular, are supplied by single vendors. In instances of single source items, the Company maintains levels of inventories management consider to be appropriate to enable meeting the delivery requirements of customers. If suppliers or subcontractors cannot provide their products or services on time or to the required specifications, the Company may not be able to meet the demand for its products and its delivery times may be negatively affected.

Long-lived assets

Long-lived assets

The Company reviews property, plant and equipment and finite lived intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of such assets may not be recoverable. Management determines whether the carrying value of an asset or asset group is recoverable based on comparison to the undiscounted expected future cash flows the assets are expected to generate over their remaining economic lives. If an asset is not recoverable, the impairment loss is equal to the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds its fair value, which is determined by either a quoted market price, if any, or a value determined by utilizing a discounted cash flow technique. Evaluation of impairment of long-lived assets requires estimates of future operating results that are used in the preparation of the expected future undiscounted cash flows. Actual future operating results and the remaining economic lives of our long-lived assets could differ from the estimates used in assessing the recoverability of these assets. These differences could result in impairment charges, which could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s results of operations.

Goodwill and other intangible assets

Goodwill and other intangible assets

Goodwill is subject to an annual impairment test, at the reporting unit level, or more frequently if indicators of potential impairment exist. The Company performs the annual test in the fourth quarter. While a qualitative option is available, the performance of the quantitative test involves a two-step process. The first step of the impairment test involves comparing the fair values of the reporting unit with its carrying value, including goodwill. The Company generally determines the fair value of the reporting unit using the income approach methodology of valuation that includes the discounted cash flow method, as well as other generally accepted valuation methodologies, which requires significant judgment by management. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value, management performs the second step of the goodwill impairment test to determine the amount of the impairment loss. The second step of the goodwill impairment test involves comparing the implied fair value of the affected reporting unit’s goodwill with the carrying value of that goodwill. The amount by which the carrying value of the goodwill exceeds its implied fair value, if any, is recognized as an impairment loss. These impairment tests may result in impairment losses that could have a material adverse impact on the Company’s results of operations.

Values assigned to patents are amortized using the straight-line method over periods ranging from three to twenty years.

Goodwill and other intangible assets are included in “Other assets” in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Other investments

Other investments

The Company accounts for its investment in Great Wall Semiconductor Corporation (“GWS”) under the equity method of accounting.

Advertising expense

Advertising expense

The cost of advertising is expensed as incurred. The Company incurred $1,910,000, $1,645,000 and $2,378,000 in advertising costs during 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Product warranties

Product warranties

The Company generally offers a two-year warranty for all of its products. The Company provides for the estimated cost of product warranties at the time product revenue is recognized. Factors that affect the Company’s warranty reserves include the number of units sold, historical and anticipated rates of warranty returns and the cost per return. The Company periodically assesses the adequacy of the warranty reserves and adjusts the amounts as necessary. Warranty obligations are included in “Accrued expenses” in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Net income (loss) per common share

Net income (loss) per common share

The Company computes basic earnings per share using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding and diluted earnings per share using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding plus the effect of outstanding dilutive stock options, if any. The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted income (loss) per share for the years ended December 31 (in thousands, except per share amounts):

	2012			2011		2010
Numerator:
Net income (loss) attributable to Vicor Corporation	$	(4,077	)	$	8,843	$	33,325
Denominator:
Denominator for basic income (loss) per share-weighted average shares (1)		41,811			41,797		41,700
Effect of dilutive securities:
Employee stock options (2)		—			59		72
Denominator for diluted income (loss) per share — adjusted weighted-average shares and assumed conversions (3)		41,811			41,856		41,772
Basic income (loss) per share	$	(0.10	)	$	0.21	$	0.80
Diluted income (loss) per share	$	(0.10	)	$	0.21	$	0.80

(1) Denominator represents weighted average number of Common Shares and Class B Common Shares outstanding.

(2) Options to purchase 545,345 shares of Common Stock in 2012 were not included in the calculation of net loss per share as the effect would have been antidilutive. Options to purchase 305,268 and 345,998 shares of Common Stock were outstanding in 2011 and 2010, respectively, but were not included in the computation of diluted income per share because the options’ exercise prices were greater than the average market price of the Common Stock and, therefore, the effect would have been antidilutive.

(3) Denominator represents weighted average number of Common Shares and Class B Common Shares outstanding for the year, adjusted to include the dilutive effect, if any, of outstanding options.

Income taxes

Income taxes

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and are measured using the enacted income tax rates and laws that are expected to be in effect when the temporary differences are expected to reverse. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Additionally, deferred tax assets and liabilities are separated into current and noncurrent amounts based on the classification of the related assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes or the expected reversal.

The Company follows a two-step process to determine the amount of tax benefit to recognize. First, the tax position must be evaluated to determine the likelihood that it will be sustained upon examination by a tax authority. If the tax position is deemed “more-likely-than-not” to be sustained, the tax position is then assessed to determine the amount of benefit to recognize in the financial statements. The amount of the benefit that may be recognized is the largest amount that has a greater than 50 percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. If the tax position does not meet the “more-likely-than-not” threshold then it is not recognized in the financial statements. Additionally, the Company accrues interest and penalties, if any, related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense.

Stock-based compensation

Stock-based compensation

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to calculate the grant-date fair value of stock option awards. The resulting compensation expense, net of expected forfeitures, for non performance-based stock options is recognized on a straight-line basis over the service period of the award, which is generally five years for stock options. For stock options with performance-based vesting provisions, recognition of compensation expense, net of expected forfeitures, commences if and when the achievement of the performance criteria is deemed probable. The compensation expense, net of expected forfeitures, for performance-based stock options is recognized over the relevant performance period. The unrecognized tax benefits, including accrued interest and penalties, if any, are included in “Long-term income taxes payable” in the accompanying Consolidated Balance Sheets.

Comprehensive income (loss)

Comprehensive income (loss)

The components of comprehensive income (loss) include, in addition to net income (loss), unrealized gains and losses on investments, net of tax and foreign currency translation adjustments related to VJCL.

Impact of recently issued accounting standards

Impact of recently issued accounting standards

The Company will be adopting new accounting guidance related to disclosures about offsetting assets and liabilities beginning January 1, 2013. The new accounting guidance amends ASC 210, Balance Sheet, to converge the presentation of offsetting assets and liabilities between U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (“U.S. GAAP”) and International Financial Reporting Standards (“IFRS”) and requires entities disclose both gross information and new information about both instruments and transactions eligible for offset in the statement of financial position and instruments and transactions subject to an agreement similar to a master netting arrangement. The adoption of this new guidance will require additional disclosures related to offsetting assets and liabilities, if any, but will not materially impact the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

Effective January 1, 2012, the Company adopted new accounting guidance related to the presentation of comprehensive income. Subsequently, additional guidance was issued for the reporting of amounts reclassified out of accumulated comprehensive income. This guidance requires an entity to report the effect of significant reclassifications out of accumulated other comprehensive income on the respective line items in net income if the amount being reclassified is required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified in its entirety to net income. For other amounts that are not required under U.S. GAAP to be reclassified in their entirety to net income in the same reporting period, an entity is required to cross-reference other disclosures required under U.S. GAAP that provide additional detail about those amounts. The new guidance is effective prospectively for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2012. The adoption of this new guidance is not expected to materially impact the Company’s financial position or results of operations.