VISHAY INTERTECHNOLOGY INC Revenue Disclosure

Revenue Recognition

The Company recognizes revenue from contracts with customers when it satisfies the performance obligations within the contract.  The Company has framework agreements with many of its customers that contain the terms and conditions of future sales, but do not create enforceable rights or obligations.  For revenue recognition purposes, the Company considers the combined purchase orders and the terms and conditions contained within such framework agreements to be contracts.

Payment terms for the Company's sales are generally less than ninety days.  Substantially all of the Company's receivables historically have been and are expected to continue to be collected within twelve months of the transfer of products to the customer and the Company expects this to continue going forward.  Accordingly, the Company does not recognize a financing component of the transaction price.

Revenue is measured based on the consideration specified in contracts with customers, and excludes any sales incentives and amounts collected on behalf of third parties.  The Company recognizes revenue when it satisfies its performance obligations.  The Company analyzes its contracts to determine whether the promise in the contract to construct and transfer goods to the customer is a performance obligation that will be satisfied over time or at a point in time.  When the Company's performance does not create an asset with an alternative use to the Company and the Company has an enforceable right to payment for performance completed to date, the Company transfers control of a good or service over time and, therefore, satisfies a performance obligation and recognizes revenue over time.  The Company has a limited number of contracts for custom products that meet the criteria to recognize revenue over time. 

The Company's contracts contain two performance obligations: delivery of products and warranty protection.  The Company does not sell separate, enhanced, or extended warranty coverage, but through its customary business practices, the Company has created implied service-type warranties, which are accounted for as separate performance obligations.  Revenue is allocated between these two performance obligations and recognized as the obligations are satisfied.  The allocation of revenue to warranty protection is based on an estimate of expected cost plus margin.  The delivery of products performance obligation is satisfied and product sales revenue is recognized when the customer takes control of the products.  Warranty revenue is deferred and the warranty protection performance obligation is satisfied and revenue is recognized over the warranty period, which is typically less than twenty four months from sale to end customer.  The warranty deferred revenue liability is recorded within Other Accrued Expenses and Other Liabilities on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.  The deferred revenue balance associated with the service-type warranty performance obligations and the components that comprise the change in the deferred revenue balance are not significant.

The Company has a broad line of products that it sells to original equipment manufacturers ("OEMs"), electronic manufacturing services ("EMS") companies, which manufacture for OEMs on an outsourcing basis, and independent distributors that maintain large inventories of electronic components for resale to OEMs and EMS companies.

The Company recognizes revenue on sales to distributors when the distributor takes control of the products ("sold-to" model).  The Company has agreements with distributors that allow distributors a limited credit for unsaleable products, which it terms a "scrap allowance." Consistent with industry practice, the Company also has a "stock, ship and debit" program whereby it considers requests by distributors for credits on previously purchased products that remain in distributors' inventory, to enable the distributors to offer more competitive pricing. In addition, the Company has contractual arrangements whereby it provides distributors with protection against price reductions initiated by the Company after product is sold by the Company to the distributor and prior to resale by the distributor.

The Company recognizes the estimated variable consideration to be received as revenue and records a related accrued expense for the consideration not expected to be received, based upon its estimate of product returns, scrap allowances, "stock, ship and debit" credits, and price protection credits that will be attributable to sales recorded through the end of the period.  The Company makes these estimates based upon sales levels to its distributors during the period, inventory levels at the distributors, current and projected market conditions, and historical experience under the programs. The Company utilizes a number of different methodologies and considers several factors when estimating the accruals.  Some of the factors considered include sales levels to distributors during the relevant period, inventory levels at the distributors, current and projected market trends and conditions, recent and historical activity under the relevant programs, changes in program policies, and open requests for credits. These procedures require the exercise of significant judgments.  The Company believes that it has a reasonable basis to estimate future credits under the programs.  See sales returns and allowances accrual activity in Note 9.

The Company pays commissions to external sales representatives on a per-sale basis.  Accordingly, these commissions are expensed as incurred because the future amortization period of the asset that the Company otherwise would have recognized is one year or less.  Internal staff are not paid commissions.

The Company has elected to account for shipping and handling as activities to fulfill the promise to transfer the product even if the shipping and handling activities are performed after the customer obtains control.  The Company does not evaluate whether shipping and handling activities are promised services to its customers.  If control transfers and revenue is recognized for the related products before the shipping and handling activities occur, the related costs of those shipping and handling activities is accrued.  The Company applies this accounting policy election consistently to similar types of transactions.

See disaggregated revenue information in Note 15.