Company's Board of Directors Authorizes Additional Share Repurchase Program of Up To 12 Million ADSs

ZHUHAI, China, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Actions Semiconductor Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACTS), one of China's leading fabless semiconductor companies that provides comprehensive mixed-signal system-on-a-chip (SoC) and multimedia digital signal processing (DSP) solutions for portable consumer electronics, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2008.

All financial results are reported on a U.S. GAAP basis.

Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $16.1 million, as compared to revenue of $27.3 million for the third quarter of 2008, and $32.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2007. Revenue for the year ended December 31, 2008 was $95.1 million, compared to revenue of $116.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2007.

Net income for the fourth quarter of 2008 was $0.5 million, or $0.01 per ADS, compared to $7.3 million, or $0.09 per ADS, for the third quarter of 2008, and compared to $19.4 million, or $0.23 per ADS, for the fourth quarter of 2007. Included in net income for the fourth quarter of 2007 was a $5.9 million tax refund, or $0.07 per ADS, resulting from a tax refund program Zhuhai Municipal Tax Bureau formed to encourage local business development of Foreign Invested Enterprises. There was no such income related to tax refund in the year 2008. Net income for the full year of 2008 was $26.1 million, compared to $51.6 million reported for the full year 2007. Net income per ADS was $0.31 for 2008, compared to the $0.60 per ADS reported for the full year 2007.

Actions Semiconductor reported gross margin of 44.7% for the fourth quarter of 2008. For the full year of 2008, gross margin was 50.1%. The Company ended the year with $45.5 million in cash and cash equivalents together with time deposits. Marketable securities and trading securities at the end of the year were $220.5 million.

In the fourth quarter the Company increased its equity ownership interest in a development stage enterprise, with a focus on the mobile digital TV and multimedia markets, from 14.42% to 19.82% through an additional cash investment of US$3 million. As a result of increasing its investment, Actions has representation on the board of directors of the invested enterprise and consequently the latter has been retroactively accounted for as an equity method investee. The comparative September 30th, 2008 and December 31st, 2007 balance sheets, income statements, and statements of cash flows have been restated to reflect the retroactive changes. The impact to the various statements is summarized in a table to follow.

The Company also reported that during the quarter it has significantly increased its repurchase on its American Depositary Shares (ADSs). As of December 31, 2008, the Company has invested approximately $16.0 million in the program, representing over 5.1 million ADSs. At the end of fiscal year 2008, the Company had approximately 81 million equivalent ADSs outstanding.

Furthermore, the board of directors approved an add-on share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to 12 million additional ADSs through December 31, 2010.

'Despite the unprecedented challenges in the macroeconomic environment in 2008, we were able to deliver on a number of our business objectives for the year. We maintained a solid balance sheet and strong cash position, further penetrated international markets, and enhanced our engineering resources. Unfortunately, the global financial crisis has impacted the consumer electronics market and the growth of our business,' stated Mr. Nan-Horng Yeh, CEO of Actions Semiconductor.

'Looking to 2009, we expect the operating environment to continue to be challenging. We have conducted a comprehensive review to identify additional operating efficiencies and we will continue to implement stringent expense controls. We believe we are well-positioned for the long-term given our strong balance sheet and market share. We remain committed to our continued product development efforts, aggressive share repurchase program, prudent management of our high level of cash, and conservative investment strategy which all complement our core business model and enable maximum operating flexibility.'

Business Outlook

The following statements are based upon management's current expectations. These statements are forward-looking, and actual results may differ materially. The company undertakes no obligation to update these statements.

For the first quarter of fiscal year 2009 ended March 31, 2009, Actions Semiconductor estimates revenue in the range of $8 to $11 million, gross margin of 30%-35%, and operating expenses relatively lower than 2008 annual average. The first quarter 2009 estimates include share-based compensation expense in the range of $1.1 to $1.2 million.

Conference Call Details

Actions Semiconductor's fourth quarter and full year 2008 teleconference and webcast is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time, on Wednesday, January 21, 2009. To participate in the live call, analysts and investors should dial 800-265-0241 (within U.S.) or 617-847-8704 (outside U.S.) and enter passcode 26795801 at least ten minutes prior to the call. Actions Semiconductor will also offer a live and archived webcast of the conference call, accessible from the 'Investor Relations' section of the company's website at www.actions-semi.com. An audio replay of the call will be available to investors through January 28, 2009, by dialing 888-286-8010 (within U.S.) or 617-801-6888 (outside U.S.) and entering the passcode 64308097.

About Actions Semiconductor

Actions Semiconductor is one of China's leading fabless semiconductor companies that provides mixed-signal and multimedia SoC solutions for portable consumer electronics. Actions Semiconductor products include SoCs, firmware, software, solution development kits, as well as detailed specifications of other required components and the providers of those components. Actions Semiconductor also provides total product and technology solutions that allow customers to quickly introduce new portable consumer electronics to the mass market in a cost effective way. The company is headquartered in Zhuhai, China, with offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. For more information, please visit the Actions Semiconductor website at http://www.actions-semi.com.

'Safe Harbor' Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995

Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements, as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements, including financial projections and forecasts, involve risks and uncertainties that could cause Actions Semiconductor's actual results to differ materially from our current expectations.