Plantronics Announces First Quarter 2012 Financial Results

SANTA CRUZ, CA, Aug 01 (MARKET WIRE) --
Plantronics, Inc. (NYSE: PLT) today announced first quarter fiscal year
2012 net revenues of $175.6 million compared with net revenues of $170.7
million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011 and above the guidance
range of $168 million - $173 million provided on May 3, 2011.
Plantronics' GAAP diluted earnings per share was $0.56 in the first
quarter of fiscal year 2012 compared with $0.52 in the same quarter of
the prior year and guidance of $0.46 to $0.50. Non-GAAP diluted earnings
per share for the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 was $0.62, up 7%
compared with $0.58 in the same quarter of the prior year and higher than
previously provided guidance of $0.52 to $0.56. The difference between
GAAP and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of
fiscal year 2012 includes stock-based compensation charges and purchase
accounting amortization, both net of the associated tax impact.

"We started fiscal 2012 with strong year over year growth in our Office
and Contact Center ('OCC') business in all geographies, in part driven by
Unified Communications ('UC')," stated Ken Kannappan, President & CEO.
"Product revenues related to UC deployments grew by 91% compared with the
prior year quarter and we remain very optimistic about the UC market and
continue to invest accordingly."

"We finished the quarter with $386.3 million in cash, cash equivalents
and short & long term investments after spending $110 million on
repurchases of our common stock, inclusive of $100 million paid under the
accelerated share repurchase program we announced in May. We generated
approximately $19 million in cash flow from operations in the first
quarter of fiscal year 2012 and continue to have a very strong financial
position," stated Barbara Scherer, SVP Finance and Administration & CFO.

Improved economic conditions and the market trend toward UC products
drove an 11% increase in net revenues of OCC products in the first
quarter of fiscal 2012 compared to the same period in the prior year. OCC
net revenues were $131 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2012
compared with $117.6 million in the first quarter of fiscal year 2011.
Revenues of UC products were $18.8 million for the first quarter of
fiscal year 2012 compared with $9.8 million in the first quarter of
fiscal year 2011.

Mobile net revenues were $32.2 million in the first quarter of fiscal
year 2012, a decrease of 17% from $38.7 million in the first quarter of
fiscal year 2011 as a result of some market share loss in the U.S. and
overall weakness in the product category offset in part by international
revenue growth.

GAAP operating income in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012 was $35.0
million resulting in an operating margin of 20.0%. This compares to GAAP
operating income of $35.9 million and an operating margin of 21.0% in the
prior year quarter. Non-GAAP operating income in the first quarter of
fiscal year 2012 was $39.4 million which resulted in a non-GAAP operating
margin of 22.4% compared to previously provided guidance of non-GAAP
operating income of $34 million to $37 million.

On May 9, 2011, Plantronics announced that it entered into two separate
accelerated share repurchase agreements with Goldman, Sachs & Co.
("Goldman") to repurchase an aggregate of $100 million of Plantronics'
common stock under an accelerated share repurchase program ("ASR"), as
part of a 7 million share repurchase authorization announced on May 3,
2011. During the current quarter, Plantronics received approximately 2.1
million shares from Goldman and may receive additional shares or may be
required to make an additional payment or deliver shares to Goldman at
the completion of the program, which we expect to be in January 2012, but
may be sooner. Plantronics' diluted shares outstanding declined by 1.4
million shares sequentially, primarily as a result of the ASR, and actual
diluted shares outstanding were 48.1 million compared with guidance of
approximately 49 million. The guidance estimate for the first quarter of
fiscal 2012 did not include the benefit of shares received under the ASR.

Business Outlook

The following statements are based on our current expectations and many
of these statements are forward-looking. Actual results are subject to a
variety of risks and uncertainties and may differ materially from our
expectations.

The September quarter tends to be characterized by a slowdown in incoming
purchase orders during July which intensifies in August, but
historically, the level of incoming orders picks up strongly at the
beginning of September. This pattern tends to be particularly true in our
higher margin OCC business. This historical September quarter trend is
included in our model for forecasting the second quarter net revenues.

Plantronics' business is inherently difficult to forecast, particularly
with continuing uncertainty in global economic conditions, and there can
be no assurance that the incoming orders it expects to receive over the
balance of the current quarter will materialize.

Plantronics has a "book and ship" business model whereby it ships most
orders to customers within 48 hours of its receipt of those orders and,
therefore, the level of backlog does not provide reliable visibility into
potential future revenues.

Subject to the foregoing, we are currently expecting the following range
of financial results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2012:

-- Net revenues of $172 million - $177 million;
-- GAAP operating income of $32 million to $35 million;
-- Non-GAAP operating income of $37 million to $40 million;
-- Assuming approximately 47.4 million diluted average weighted shares
outstanding:
-- GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.51 to $0.56;
-- Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.58 - $0.63; and
-- Diluted earnings per share cost of stock-based compensation to be
approximately $0.07.

Plantronics does not intend to update these targets during the
quarter or to report on its progress toward these targets. Plantronics
will not comment on these targets to analysts or investors except by its
press release announcing its second quarter fiscal year 2012 results or
by other public disclosure. Any other statements speculating on the
progress of the second quarter fiscal year 2012 will not be based on
internal information and should be assessed accordingly by investors.

Dividend Announcement

Plantronics also announced that its Board of Directors declared a
quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share. The dividend will be payable on
September 9, 2011 to stockholders of record at the close of business on
August 19, 2011.

Conference Call Scheduled to Discuss Financial Results

Plantronics has scheduled a conference call to discuss first quarter
fiscal year 2012 results. The conference call will take place today,
August 1, 2011 at 2:00 PM (PDT). All interested investors and potential
investors in Plantronics stock are invited to participate. To listen to
the call, please dial in five to ten minutes prior to the scheduled
starting time and refer to the "Plantronics Conference Call."
Participants from North America should call (888) 301-8736 and other
participants should call (706) 634-7260.

A replay of the call with the conference ID #76926828 will be available
for 72 hours at (800) 642-1687 for callers from North America and at
(706) 645-9291 for all other callers. The conference call will also be
simultaneously webcast at www.plantronics.com under Investor Relations,
and the webcast of the conference call will remain available on the
Plantronics website for 30 days.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information

Plantronics has excluded non-recurring transactions and non-cash expenses
and charges including stock-based compensation expenses related to stock
options, restricted stock and employee stock purchases and purchase
accounting amortization from non-GAAP net income, non-GAAP earnings per
diluted share, non-GAAP operating income, non-GAAP gross profit, non-GAAP
operating margin and the non-GAAP effective tax rate. Plantronics
excludes these expenses from its non-GAAP measures primarily because
Plantronics does not believe they are reflective of ongoing operating
results and are not considered by management as part of Plantronics'
target operating model. Plantronics believes that the use of non-GAAP
financial measures provides meaningful supplemental information regarding
its performance and liquidity, and helps investors compare actual results
to its long-term target operating model goals. Plantronics believes that
both management and investors benefit from referring to these non-GAAP
financial measures in assessing its performance and when planning,
forecasting and analyzing future periods, but non-GAAP financial measures
are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for, or
superior to, operating income, net income or earnings per share prepared
in accordance with GAAP.

Safe Harbor

This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements
relating to (i) our outlook for the UC market (ii) our estimates of GAAP
and non-GAAP financial results for the second quarter of fiscal 2012,
including net revenues, operating income and diluted earnings per share;
(iii) our estimated diluted earnings per share cost of stock-based
compensation for the second quarter of fiscal 2012; (iv) our estimate of
the diluted weighted average shares outstanding in the second quarter of
fiscal 2012, (v) trends and our predictions regarding ordering patterns
for the second quarter of fiscal 2012, as well as other matters discussed
in this press release that are not purely historical data. Plantronics
does not assume any obligation to update or revise any such
forward-looking statements, whether as the result of new developments or
otherwise.

Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause
actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such
statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those contemplated are:

-- economic conditions in both the domestic and international markets;
-- our ability to realize our UC plans and to achieve the financial
results projected to arise from UC adoption could be adversely
affected by the following factors: (i) as UC becomes more widely
adopted, the risk that competitors will offer solutions that will
effectively commoditize our headsets which, in turn, will reduce the
sales prices for our headsets; (ii) UC solutions may not be adopted
with the breadth and speed in the marketplace that we currently
anticipate; (iii) the development of UC solutions is technically
complex and this may delay or obstruct our ability to introduce
solutions to the market on a timely basis and that are cost effective,
feature rich, stable and attractive to our customers; (iv) as UC
becomes more widely adopted we anticipate that competition for market
share will increase, and some competitors may have superior technical
and economic resources; (v) our plans are dependent upon adoption of
our UC solution by major platform providers such as Microsoft
Corporation, Cisco Systems, Inc., Avaya, Inc., Alcatel-Lucent, and
IBM, and we have a limited ability to influence such providers with
respect to the functionality of their platforms, their rate of
deployment, and their willingness to integrate their platforms with
our solutions, and our support expenditures may substantially increase
over time due to the complex nature of the platforms developed by the
major UC providers as these platforms continue to evolve and become
more commonly adopted; and (vi) the results and timing of our
accelerated share repurchase program;
-- failure to match production to demand given long lead times and the
difficulty of forecasting unit volumes and acquiring the component
parts and materials to meet demand without having excess inventory or
incurring cancellation charges;
-- volatility in prices from our suppliers, including our manufacturers
located in China, have and could negatively affect our profitability
and/or market share;
-- fluctuations in foreign exchange rates;
-- the bankruptcy or financial weakness of distributors or key customers,
or the bankruptcy of or reduction in capacity of our key suppliers;
and,
-- additional risk factors including: interruption in the supply of
sole-sourced critical components, continuity of component supply at
costs consistent with our plans, the inherent risks of our substantial
foreign operations, and problems which might affect our manufacturing
facilities in Mexico.

For more information concerning these and other possible risks,
please refer to Plantronics' Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on May 31, 2011, quarterly reports
filed on Form 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, as well as recent press releases. These filings can be
accessed over the Internet at
http://www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html.

Financial Summaries

The following related charts are provided:

-- Summary Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements
-- Unaudited GAAP to Non-GAAP Consolidated Statements of Operations
Reconciliations for the Three Months ended June 30, 2011 and June 30,
2010
-- Summary Unaudited Statements of Operations and Related Data on a
Non-GAAP Basis

About Plantronics

Plantronics is a global leader in audio communications for businesses and
consumers. We have pioneered new trends in audio technology for 50 years,
creating innovative products that allow people to simply communicate.
From Unified Communication solutions to Bluetooth headsets, we deliver
uncompromising quality, an ideal experience, and extraordinary service.
Plantronics is used by every company in the Fortune 100, as well as 911
dispatch, air traffic control and the New York Stock Exchange. For more
information, please visit www.plantronics.com or call (800) 544-4660.

Plantronics, the logo design, Simply Smarter Communications and Clarity
are trademarks or registered trademarks of Plantronics, Inc. The
Bluetooth name and the Bluetooth trademarks are owned by Bluetooth SIG,
Inc. and are used by Plantronics, Inc. under license. All other
trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

PLANTRONICS, INC.
SUMMARY CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
($ in thousands, except per share data)

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three Months Ended
June 30,
------------------------------
2011 2010
-------------- --------------

Net revenues $ 175,600 $ 170,685
Cost of revenues 81,542 81,237
-------------- --------------
Gross profit 94,058 89,448
Gross profit % 53.6% 52.4%

Research, development and engineering 16,906 14,901
Selling, general and administrative 42,116 38,686
-------------- --------------
Total operating expenses 59,022 53,587
-------------- --------------
Operating income 35,036 35,861
Operating income % 20.0% 21.0%

Interest and other income (expense), net 641 (382)
-------------- --------------
Income before income taxes 35,677 35,479
Income tax expense 8,946 9,533
-------------- --------------
Net income $ 26,731 $ 25,946
============== ==============

% of net revenues 15.2% 15.2%

Earnings per common share:
Basic $ 0.57 $ 0.54
Diluted $ 0.56 $ 0.52

Shares used in computing earnings per common
share:
Basic 46,688 48,128
Diluted 48,060 49,714

Effective tax rate 25.1% 26.9%

PLANTRONICS, INC.
SUMMARY CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
($ in thousands, except per share data)

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

June 30, March 31,
2011 2011
--------------- ---------------
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents $ 202,747 $ 284,375
Short-term investments 127,058 145,581
--------------- ---------------
Total cash, cash equivalents and short-
term investments 329,805 429,956
Accounts receivable, net 108,516 103,289
Inventory, net 57,697 56,473
Deferred income taxes 11,753 11,349
Other current assets 15,073 16,653
--------------- ---------------
Total current assets 522,844 617,720
Long-term investments 56,462 39,332
Property, plant and equipment, net 71,542 70,622
Goodwill and purchased intangibles, net 14,665 14,861
Other assets 2,056 2,112
--------------- ---------------
Total assets $ 667,569 $ 744,647
=============== ===============

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Accounts payable $ 27,311 $ 33,995
Accrued liabilities 53,769 59,607
--------------- ---------------
Total current liabilities 81,080 93,602
Deferred tax liability 3,550 3,526
Long-term income taxes payable 13,036 11,524
Other long-term liabilities 1,112 1,143
--------------- ---------------
Total liabilities 98,778 109,795
Stockholders' equity 568,791 634,852
--------------- ---------------
Total liabilities and stockholders'
equity $ 667,569 $ 744,647
=============== ===============

PLANTRONICS, INC.
UNAUDITED GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION
($ in thousands, except per share data)

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Months Ended
June 30, 2011
--------------------------------------------
GAAP Excluded Non-GAAP
------------ ------------ ------------

Net revenues $ 175,600 $ - $ 175,600
Cost of revenues 81,542 (671) (1) 80,871
------------ ------------ ------------
Gross profit 94,058 671 94,729
Gross profit % 53.6% 53.9%

Research, development and
engineering 16,906 (947) (2) 15,959
Selling, general and
administrative 42,116 (2,757) (1) 39,359
------------ ------------ ------------
Total operating expenses 59,022 (3,704) 55,318
------------ ------------ ------------
Operating income 35,036 4,375 39,411
Operating income % 20.0% 22.4%

Interest and other income
(expense), net 641 - 641
------------ ------------ ------------
Income before income taxes 35,677 4,375 40,052
Income tax expense 8,946 1,356 (3) 10,302
------------ ------------ ------------
Net income $ 26,731 $ 3,019 $ 29,750
============ ============ ============

% of net revenues 15.2% 16.9%

Diluted earnings per common
share $ 0.56 $ 0.62
Shares used in diluted
earnings per share
calculations 48,060 48,060

(1) Excluded amount represents stock-based compensation and
purchase accounting amortization.
(2) Excluded amount represents
stock-based compensation.
(3) Excluded amount represents tax benefit
from stock-based compensation and purchase accounting amortization.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
To supplement our consolidated
financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, Plantronics uses non-GAAP
measures of operating results, which are adjusted to exclude
non-recurring and non-cash expenses and charges, such as stock-based
compensation expenses related to stock options, restricted stock and
employee stock purchases, purchase accounting amortization, impairment of
goodwill and long-lived assets, tax benefits from the expiration of
certain statutes of limitations, and restructuring and other related
charges. Plantronics does not believe these expenses and charges are
reflective of ongoing operating results and are not part of our target
operating model. The non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered
a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in
accordance with GAAP, and the financial results calculated in accordance
with GAAP and the reconciliations to those financial statements should be
carefully evaluated. The non-GAAP financial measures used by Plantronics
may be calculated differently from, and therefore may not be comparable
to, similarly titled measures used by other companies.

PLANTRONICS, INC.
UNAUDITED GAAP TO NON-GAAP RECONCILIATION
($ in thousands, except per share data)

UNAUDITED CONSOLIDATED
STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three Months Ended
June 30, 2010
--------------------------------------------
GAAP Excluded Non-GAAP
------------ ------------ ------------

Net revenues $ 170,685 $ - $ 170,685
Cost of revenues 81,237 (753) (1) 80,484
------------ ------------ ------------
Gross profit 89,448 753 90,201
Gross profit % 52.4% 52.8%

Research, development and
engineering 14,901 (978) (1) 13,923
Selling, general and
administrative 38,686 (2,413) (1) 36,273
------------ ------------ ------------
Total operating expenses 53,587 (3,391) 50,196
------------ ------------ ------------
Operating income 35,861 4,144 40,005
Operating income % 21.0% 23.4%

Interest and other income
(expense), net (382) - (382)
------------ ------------ ------------
Income before income taxes 35,479 4,144 39,623
Income tax expense 9,533 1,178 (2) 10,711
------------ ------------ ------------
Net income $ 25,946 $ 2,966 $ 28,912
============ ============ ============

% of net revenues 15.2% 16.9%

Diluted earnings per common
share $ 0.52 $ 0.58
Shares used in diluted
earnings per share
calculations 49,714 49,714

(1) Excluded amount represents stock-based compensation and purchase
accounting amortization.
(2) Excluded amount represents tax benefit
from stock-based compensation and purchase accounting amortization.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Information
To supplement our consolidated
financial statements presented on a GAAP basis, Plantronics uses non-GAAP
measures of operating results, which are adjusted to exclude
non-recurring and non-cash expenses and charges, such as stock-based
compensation expenses related to stock options, restricted stock and
employee stock purchases, purchase accounting amortization, impairment of
goodwill and long-lived assets, tax benefits from the expiration of
certain statutes of limitations, and restructuring and other related
charges. Plantronics does not believe these expenses and charges are
reflective of ongoing operating results and are not part of our target
operating model. The non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered
a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures calculated in
accordance with GAAP, and the financial results calculated in accordance
with GAAP and the reconciliations to those financial statements should be
carefully evaluated. The non-GAAP financial measures used by Plantronics
may be calculated differently from, and therefore may not be comparable
to, similarly titled measures used by other companies.

Summary of Unaudited Statements of Operations and Related Data - Non-GAAP
($ in thousands, except
per share data)

Q111 Q211 Q311 Q411 Q112
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net revenues $170,685 $158,255 $181,585 $173,077 $175,600
Cost of revenues 80,484 71,519 84,990 80,394 80,871
-------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Gross profit 90,201 86,736 96,595 92,683 94,729
Gross profit % 52.8% 54.8% 53.2% 53.6% 53.9%

Research, development and
engineering 13,923 14,213 15,406 15,800 15,959
Selling, general and
administrative 36,273 34,191 40,604 42,095 39,359
Gain from litigation
settlement - - - (5,100) -
-------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Operating expenses 50,196 48,404 56,010 52,795 55,318

Operating income 40,005 38,332 40,585 39,888 39,411
Operating income % 23.4% 24.2% 22.4% 23.0% 22.4%

Income before income taxes 39,623 39,349 40,565 39,217 40,052
Income tax expense 10,711 11,020 7,983 9,681 10,302
Income tax expense as a
percent of income before
taxes 27.0% 28.0% 19.7% 24.7% 25.7%

Net income $ 28,912 $ 28,329 $ 32,582 $ 29,536 $ 29,750

Diluted earnings per share $ 0.58 $ 0.58 $ 0.66 $ 0.60 $ 0.62
Diluted shares outstanding 49,714 48,524 49,431 49,464 48,060

Net revenues from
unaffiliated customers:
Office and Contact
Center $117,580 $117,951 $122,949 $131,992 $130,999
Mobile 38,657 27,581 43,208 28,084 32,164
Gaming and Computer
Audio 9,325 8,179 10,544 8,688 7,395
Clarity 5,123 4,544 4,884 4,313 5,042
-------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Total net revenues $170,685 $158,255 $181,585 $173,077 $175,600
======== ======== ======== ======== ========

Net revenues by geographic
area from unaffiliated
customers: $103,992 $ 96,100 $104,299 $ 95,901 $100,291
Domestic
International 66,693 62,155 77,286 77,176 75,309
-------- -------- -------- -------- --------
Total net revenues $170,685 $158,255 $181,585 $173,077 $175,600
======== ======== ======== ======== ========

Balance Sheet accounts and
metrics:
Accounts receivable, net $ 96,850 $ 94,989 $111,514 $103,289 $108,516
Days sales outstanding
(DSO) 51 54 55 54 56
Inventory, net $ 78,224 $ 69,845 $ 64,032 $ 56,473 $ 57,697
Inventory turns 4.1 4.1 5.3 5.7 5.6

INVESTOR CONTACT:
Greg Klaben
Vice President of Investor Relations
(831) 458-7533

MEDIA CONTACT:
Russell Castronovo
Director of Global Communications
(831) 458-7598

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