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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 29, 2012
Commitments and Contingencies

10. Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

The Company leases its facilities in North America, Europe and Asia under operating lease agreements expiring at various dates through March 2017. Certain facilities leases contain predetermined price escalations and in some cases renewal options. The Company recognizes the lease costs using a straight line method based on total lease payments. The Company also received certain leasehold improvement incentives totaling $0.7 million for its headquarters facilities in the U.S. These leasehold improvement incentives have been recorded as deferred rent and are being amortized as a reduction to rent expense on a straight-line basis over the life of the lease. As of September 29, 2012 and December 31, 2011, rent expense accrued in excess of the amount paid aggregated $0.8 million and $0.3 million, respectively, and is classified in other liabilities in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The Company also leases automobiles in Europe that are classified as operating leases and expire at various dates through June 2015. The majority of these leases are non-cancelable. The Company also has capital leases outstanding for office equipment all of which are non-cancelable.

Future minimum lease payments under operating and capital leases for each of the following fiscal years ending on or about December 31 are (in thousands):

 

     As of September 29, 2012  
     Operating
Leases
     Capital
Leases
     Total  

2012 (balance of year)

   $ 1,394       $ 16       $ 1,410   

2013

     5,058         59         5,117   

2014

     3,712         26         3,738   

2015

     1,956         10         1,966   

2016

     1,725         10         1,735   

Thereafter

     345         8         353   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

   $ 14,190       $ 129       $ 14,319   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Rental expense related to operating leases was $1.2 million and $3.3 million for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2012, respectively, and $1.0 million and $2.8 million for the three and nine months ended October 1, 2011, respectively. The Company currently has five capital leases related to office equipment. These leases have interest rates ranging from 4.5% to 6.6% per year and mature on various dates from December 2012 through October 2017.

Employee Retirement Savings Plan

In fiscal year 1996, the Company adopted the Masimo Retirement Savings Plan, or the Plan, which is a 401(k) plan covering all of the Company’s full-time U.S. employees who meet certain eligibility requirements. In general, the Company matches 100% of an employee’s contribution up to 3% of the employee’s compensation, subject to a maximum amount. The Company may also contribute to the Plan on a discretionary basis. The Company contributed $0.4 million and $1.0 million to the Plan for the three and nine months ended September 29, 2012, respectively, and $0.3 million and $0.9 million to the Plan for the three and nine months ended October 1, 2011, respectively.

Employment and Severance Agreements

As of September 29, 2012, the Company had an employment agreement with one of its key employees that provides for an aggregate annual base salary with annual increases at the discretion of the Compensation Committee of the board. The employment agreement provides for an annual bonus based on the Company’s attainment of certain objectives and goals. The agreement has an initial term of three years, with automatic daily renewal, unless either the Company or the executive notifies the other party of non-renewal of the agreement. Also, under this employment agreement, the key employee may be entitled to receive certain salary, equity, tax, medical and life insurance benefits if he is terminated by the Company, if he terminates his employment for good reason under certain circumstances or if there is a change in control of the Company.

As of September 29, 2012, the Company had severance plan participation agreements with three of its executive officers. The participation agreements, or Agreements, are governed by the terms and conditions of the Company’s 2007 Severance Protection Plan, or Severance Plan, which became effective on July 19, 2007 and was amended effective December 31, 2008. Under the Agreements, each executive officer may be entitled to receive certain salary, equity, medical and life insurance benefits if he is terminated by the Company without cause or terminates his employment for good reason under certain circumstances. The executive officers are also required to give the Company six months advance notice of their resignation under certain circumstances.

As of September 29, 2012, the Company had limited severance plan participation agreements with three of its executive officers. These limited participation agreements, or Limited Agreements, are governed by the terms and conditions of the Severance Plan. Under the Limited Agreements, 50% of the executive officer’s unvested and outstanding stock options will immediately vest if the executive officer is terminated by the Company upon a change in control under certain circumstances. The executive officers are also required to give the Company six months advance notice of their resignation under certain circumstances.

Purchase Commitments

Pursuant to contractual obligations with vendors, the Company had $41.5 million of purchase commitments as of September 29, 2012, which are expected to be purchased within one year. These purchase commitments were made for certain inventory items to secure better pricing and to ensure the Company will have raw materials when necessary.

Concentrations of Risk

The Company is exposed to credit loss for the amount of cash deposits with financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. The Company invests its excess cash deposits in U.S. Treasury bills and money market accounts with major financial institutions. As of September 29, 2012, the Company had $43.4 million of bank balances, of which $20.3 million was covered by either the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation limit or foreign countries’ deposit insurance organizations. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had $60.8 million of bank balances, of which $25.7 million was covered by either the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation limit or foreign countries’ deposit insurance organizations.

While the Company and its contract manufacturers rely on sole source suppliers for certain components, steps have been taken to minimize the impact of a shortage or stoppage of shipments, such as maintaining a safety stock of inventory and designing products that may be easily modified to use a different component. However, there can be no assurance that a shortage or stoppage of shipments of the materials or components that the Company purchases will not result in a delay in production, or adversely affect the Company’s business.

The Company’s ability to sell its products to U.S. hospitals depends in part on its relationships with GPOs. Many existing and potential customers for the Company’s products become members of GPOs. GPOs negotiate pricing arrangements and contracts, sometimes exclusively, with medical supply manufacturers and distributors, and these negotiated prices are made available to a GPO’s affiliated hospitals and other members. During the three and nine months ended September 29, 2012, revenue from the sale of the Company’s products to U.S. hospitals that are members of GPOs amounted to $62.3 million and $188.0 million, respectively. During the three and nine months ended October 1, 2011, revenue from the sale of the Company’s pulse oximetry products to U.S. hospitals that are members of GPOs amounted to $55.2 million and $166.7 million, respectively.

As of September 29, 2012, two different just-in-time distributors each represented 10% and 9% of the accounts receivable balance. As of December 31, 2011, one just-in-time distributor represented 5% of the accounts receivable balance.

For the three months ended September 29, 2012, the Company had sales through two just-in-time distributors, which each represented 15% and 11% of the total revenue, respectively. For the nine months ended September 29, 2012, the Company also had sales through two just-in-time distributors, which also each represented 14% and 12% of the total revenue, respectively. For the three months ended October 1, 2011, the Company had sales through two just-in-time distributors, each of which represented 14% and 10% of the total revenue, respectively. For the nine months ended October 1, 2011, the Company had sales through two just-in-time distributors, each of which represented 14% and 10% of the total revenue, respectively. For both periods, the just-in-time distributors took and fulfilled orders from the Company’s direct customers, many of whom have signed long-term sensor agreements with the Company.

Litigation

On February 3, 2009, the Company filed a patent infringement suit against Philips Electronics North America Corporation and Philips Medizin Systeme Böblingen GmbH related to Philips’ FAST pulse oximetry technology and certain of Philips patient monitors. The suit was brought in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. Two patents originally asserted in this suit, related to the Company’s measure-through motion technology, were successfully enforced in the Company’s previous suit against Nellcor. On June 15, 2009, Philips Electronics North America Corporation and Philips Medizin Systeme

Böblingen GmbH answered the Company’s complaint and Philips Electronics North America Corporation filed antitrust and patent infringement counterclaims against the Company as well as counterclaims seeking declaratory judgments of invalidity on the patents asserted by the Company against Philips. On July 9, 2009, the Company filed its answer denying Philips’ counterclaims and asserting various defenses. The Company also asserted counterclaims against Philips for fraud, intentional interference with prospective economic advantage and for declaratory judgments of noninfringement and invalidity with respect to the patents asserted by Philips against the Company. Philips later added a claim for infringement of one additional patent. Subsequently, the Court bifurcated Philips’ antitrust claims and its patent misuse defense, as well as stayed the discovery phase on those claims pending trial in the patent case. On October 4, 2010, the Court limited the number of patents to be construed to four for the Company and three for Philips. Further, on October 6, 2010, the Court denied Philips’ motion to bifurcate and stay damages in the patent case. In December 2010, the Court held a hearing regarding the construction of the patent claims and the Magistrate Judge issued a Report and Recommendation on claim construction on February 18, 2011. On January 17, 2012, the District Court Judge issued a claim construction order, adopting the Report and Recommendation of the Magistrate Judge, except with respect to one construction on one of the Company’s patents to which it had objected. With respect to this one claim construction, the District Court Judge did not adopt the recommendation from the Magistrate Judge and adopted the construction proposed by the Company. The Company believes that it has good and substantial defenses to the antitrust and patent infringement claims asserted by Philips. There is no guarantee that the Company will prevail in this suit or receive any damages or other relief if it does prevail.

From time to time, the Company may be involved in other litigation relating to claims arising out of its operations in the normal course of business. The Company believes that it currently is not a party to any other legal proceedings which, individually or in the aggregate, would have a material adverse effect on its consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.