Freescale ‘laser focused’ on deleveraging, cut $780 million of debt in past several years, says exec

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., Jan. 15 – Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. has taken out about $170 million of interest and about $780 million of total debt, on an annualized basis, over “the past couple of years,” said Chris Hartman, vice president of investor relations.

The company has done “significant deleveraging since the beginning of 2013,” and the company remains “laser focused” on deleveraging, Hartman said.

Hartman made his comments during a presentation on Thursday at the 17th Annual Needham Growth Conference in New York.

While Freescale still has a “significant amount” of debt, it has lowered its leverage ratios to the “upper fives” from the “upper sevens,” closer to the target of lower than four, according to Hartman.

At Oct. 3, Freescale had long-term debt of $5.6 billion and cash and cash equivalents totaling $737 million, according to a company news release.

Most of the debt is lower-cost term debt, according to Hartman, with “a lot of it not being due until 2020.”

Hartman was unable to comment on fourth-quarter results, pending Freescale’s release of earnings information later in the month.

The Austin, Texas-based semiconductor and microelectronics company currently has an undrawn revolver that “we don’t use right now,” he said.

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