Rambus Reports First Quarter Financial Results

First Quarter Fiscal 2011 Business and Financial Highlights

• Signed five-year patent license agreements with Panasonic Corporation and Toshiba Corporation.
• Demonstrated differential signaling for SoC-to-memory interfaces to 20 Gbps and extended single-ended signaling to 12.8 Gbps.
• Introduced FlexMode™ interface technology, which enables both differential and single-ended memory systems to be implemented in a single SoC package design with no extra pins.
• Revenue of $62.5 million; non-GAAP customer licensing income of $68.7 million.
• GAAP diluted loss per share of $0.04.
• Non-GAAP diluted income per share of $0.09.

Sunnyvale, California, United States  - April 21, 2011   - Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ:RMBS), one of the world’s premier technology licensing companies, today reported financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2011.

GAAP Financial Results

Revenue for the first quarter of 2011 was $62.5 million, down 31% sequentially from the fourth quarter of 2010 primarily due to one-time catch up revenue from the Elpida and Renesas license agreements in the fourth quarter of 2010. As compared to the first quarter of 2010, revenue was down 61% primarily due to revenue recognized from agreements signed with Samsung during the first quarter of 2010.

Total operating costs and expenses for the first quarter of 2011 were $54.2 million, which included general litigation expenses of $9.2 million and a credit from gain from settlement of $6.2 million. This is compared to total operating costs and expenses for the fourth quarter of 2010 of $48.0 million, which included general litigation expenses of $5.8 million and a credit from gain from settlement of $10.3 million. Total operating costs and expenses (recoveries) in the first quarter of 2010 were a recovery of $40.3 million, which included general litigation expenses of $7.0 million and a credit from gain from settlement of $95.9 million.

Net loss for the first quarter of 2011 was $4.2 million as compared to a net income of $33.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and a net income of $150.9 million in the first quarter of 2010. Diluted net loss per share for the first quarter of 2011 was $0.04 as compared to a net income per share of $0.29 in the fourth quarter of 2010 and a net income per share of $1.28 in the first quarter of 2010.

Non-GAAP Financial Results (1)

Customer licensing income in the first quarter of 2011 was $68.7 million as compared to $101.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $257.8 million in the first quarter of 2010.

Non-GAAP operating costs and expenses in the first quarter of 2011 were $49.9 million as compared to $48.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $46.2 million in the first quarter of 2010.

Non-GAAP operating income in the first quarter of 2011 was $18.8 million as compared to $52.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $211.6 million in the first quarter of 2010.

Non-GAAP net income in the first quarter of 2011 was $10.2 million as compared to $32.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2010 and $134.3 million in the first quarter of 2010.

Other Financial Highlights

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities as of March 31, 2011 were $508.6 million, a decrease of approximately $3.4 million from December 31, 2010. The decrease was primarily due to cash used in operations and for purchases of property, plant and equipment during the quarter.

During the quarter ended March 31, 2011, the Company paid withholding taxes of approximately $4.2 million. As the Company continues to maintain a valuation allowance against its U.S. deferred tax assets, the Company’s tax provision is based on a projected annual effective tax rate consisting of state, foreign and withholding taxes applied to year-to-date pretax income results for the quarter.

The conference call discussing 2011 first quarter results will be webcast and can be accessed via Rambus' web site at http://investor.rambus.com at 2:00pm Pacific Time today. A replay will be available following the call on Rambus' Investor Relations web site or for one week at the following numbers: (800) 642-1687 (domestic) or (706) 645-9291 (international) with ID#58589190.

Financial Tables

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About Rambus Inc.

Rambus is one of the world’s premier technology licensing companies. Founded in 1990, the Company specializes in the invention and design of architectures focused on enriching the end-user experience of electronic systems. Additional information is available at www.rambus.com.