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Coherent

cohr · NASDAQ Technology
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Sector Technology
Industry Hardware, Equipment & Parts
Employees 5001-10,000
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FY2013 Annual Report · Coherent
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14JAN201416185898

Notice of Annual Meeting
of Stockholders

February 26, 2014
8:30 a.m.
Silicon Valley Capital Club, 50 West San Fernando, San Jose, California 95113

MATTERS TO BE VOTED ON:

1.

2.

3.

4.

To elect the seven directors named in the proxy statement;

To  ratify  the  appointment  of  Deloitte  &  Touche  LLP  as  the  Company’s  independent  registered  public
accounting firm for the fiscal year ending September 27, 2014;

Advisory vote to approve executive officer compensation; and

To  transact  such  other  business  as  may  properly  be  brought  before  the  meeting  and  any  adjournment(s)
thereof.

The foregoing items of business are more fully described in the Proxy Statement accompanying this Notice.

Stockholders of record at the close of business on January 9, 2013, are entitled to notice of and to vote at the meeting and at any adjournments
or postponements thereof.

All stockholders are cordially invited to attend the meeting. However, to assure your representation at the meeting, you are urged to mark, sign,
date  and  return  the  enclosed  proxy  card  as  promptly  as  possible  in  the  postage-prepaid  envelope  enclosed  for  that  purpose  or  follow  the
instructions on the enclosed proxy card to vote by telephone or via the Internet. Any stockholder of record attending the meeting may vote in
person even if he or she has returned a proxy. Please note, however, that if your shares are held of record by a broker, bank or other nominee and
you wish to vote at the meeting, you must obtain a proxy issued in your name from that record holder.

Santa Clara, California
January 23, 2014

Sincerely,

13JAN201423125288
John R. Ambroseo
President and Chief Executive Officer

Important Notice Regarding the Availability of Proxy Materials for the Stockholder Meeting to Be Held
on February 26, 2014

The proxy statement and annual report to stockholders are available at www.proxyvote.com.

YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT

In order to assure your representation at the meeting, you are requested to complete, sign and date the enclosed proxy card as promptly as possible
and  return  it  in  the  enclosed  envelope  or  follow  the  instructions  on  the  enclosed  proxy  card  to  vote  by  telephone  or  via  the  Internet.  Any
stockholder attending the Annual Meeting may vote in person even if he or she returned a proxy card.

Table of Contents

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE MEETING

PROPOSAL ONE

Election of Directors

PROPOSAL TWO

Ratification of the Appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP
as Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

PROPOSAL THREE

Advisory Vote to Approve Executive Officer Compensation

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

SUMMARY COMPENSATION AND EQUITY TABLES

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PERSON TRANSACTIONS

REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OTHER MATTERS

3

6

14

15

16

17

18

27

33

33

34

35

PROXY STATEMENT

General Information About the Meeting

General

The enclosed Proxy is solicited on behalf of the Board of Directors
(the  ‘‘Board’’)  of  Coherent,  Inc.  for  use  at  the  Annual  Meeting  of
Stockholders  (the  ‘‘Annual  Meeting’’  or  ‘‘meeting’’)  to  be  held  at
8:30  a.m.,  local  time,  on  February  26,  2014  at  the  Silicon  Valley
Capital Club, 50 West San Fernando, San Jose, California 95113, and

at any adjournment(s) thereof, for the purposes set forth herein and in
the  accompanying  Notice  of  Annual  Meeting  of  Stockholders.  Our
telephone  number  is  (408)  764-4000.  These  proxy  solicitation
materials  were  first  mailed  on  or  about  January  23,  2014  to  all
stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting.

Who May Vote at the Meeting?

You are entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting if our records show that you held your shares as of the close of business of our record date, January 9,
2014 (the ‘‘Record Date’’). On the Record Date, 24,839,166 shares of our common stock, $0.01 par value, were issued and outstanding.

What Does Each Share of Common Stock I Own Represent?

On all matters, each share has one vote, unless, with respect to Proposal 1 regarding the election of directors, cumulative voting is in effect. See
‘‘Election of Directors-Vote Required’’ for a description of cumulative voting rights with respect to the election of directors.

How Does a Stockholder Vote?

Whether or not you plan to attend the Annual Meeting, we urge you
to vote by proxy to ensure your vote is counted. If you are entitled to
vote, you may do so as follows:

(cid:129) Through your broker: If your shares are held through a broker,
bank  or  other  nominee  (commonly  referred  to  as  held  in  ‘‘street
name’’),  you  will  receive  instructions  from  them  that  you  must
follow to have your shares voted. If you want to vote in person, you
will need to obtain a legal proxy from your broker, bank or other
nominee and bring it to the meeting.

(cid:129) In person: Attend the Annual Meeting and, if you request, we will
give  you  a  ballot  at  the  time  of  voting.  If  you  have  previously
submitted a proxy card, you must notify us at the Annual Meeting
that you intend to cancel your prior proxy and vote by ballot at the
meeting.

Matters to be Presented at the Meeting

We are not aware of any matters to be presented at the meeting other
than those described in this proxy statement. If any other matter is
properly presented at the Annual Meeting, your proxy holders (one of
the  individuals  named  on  your  proxy  card)  will  vote  your  shares  in
their discretion. The cost of this solicitation will be borne by us. We
may  reimburse  brokerage  firms  and  other  persons  representing

(cid:129) Returning  a  Proxy  Card: Simply  complete,  sign  and  date  the
enclosed  proxy  card  and  return  it  promptly  in  the  envelope
provided. If your signed proxy card is received before the Annual
Meeting, the designated proxies will vote your shares as you direct.

(cid:129) Using  the  Telephone: Dial  toll-free  1-800-690-6903  using  a
touch-tone phone and follow the recorded instructions. You will be
asked to provide the control number from the enclosed proxy card.

(cid:129) Through the Internet: go to www.proxyvote.com to complete an
electronic  proxy  card.  You  will  be  asked  to  provide  the  control
number from the enclosed proxy card.

For  telephone  or  Internet  use,  your  vote  must  be  received  by
11:59 P.M. Eastern Time on February 25, 2014 to be counted.

If  you  return  a  signed  and  dated  proxy  card  without  marking  any
voting  directions,  your  shares  will  be  voted  ‘‘for’’  the  election  of  all
seven nominees for director and ‘‘for’’ all other proposals.

beneficial  owners  of  shares  for  their  expenses  in  forwarding
solicitation  material  to  such  beneficial  owners.  In  addition,  proxies
may  be  solicited  by  certain  of  our  directors,  officers  and  regular
employees,  without  additional  compensation,  personally  or  by
telephone or facsimile.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 3

GENERAL INFORMATION

Revoking Your Proxy

If  you  hold  your  shares  in  street  name,  you  must  follow  the
instructions  of  your  broker,  bank  or  other  nominee  to  revoke  your
voting instructions. If you are a holder of record and wish to revoke
your proxy instructions, you must (i) advise the Corporate Secretary

in writing at 5100 Patrick Henry Dr., Santa Clara, California 95054
before the proxies vote your shares at the meeting, (ii) timely deliver
later-dated proxy instructions or (iii) attend the meeting and vote your
shares in person.

Attendance at the Annual Meeting

All  stockholders  of  record  as  of  the  Record  Date  may  attend  the
Annual  Meeting.  Please  note  that  cameras,  recording  devices  and
similar  electronic  devices  will  not  be  permitted  at  the  Annual
Meeting.  No  items  will  be  allowed  into  the  Annual  Meeting  that
might pose a concern for the safety of those attending. Additionally, to
attend  the  meeting  you  will  need  to  bring  identification  and  proof

sufficient to us that you were a stockholder of record as of the Record
Date or that you are a duly authorized representative of a stockholder
of record as of the Record Date. For directions to attend the Annual
Meeting  or  other  questions,  please  contact  Investor  Relations  by
telephone at (408) 764-4110 no later than 5:00 p.m. (California time)
on February 25, 2014.

Quorum; Abstentions; Broker Non-Votes

Our bylaws provide that stockholders holding a majority of the shares
of common stock issued and outstanding and entitled to vote on the
Record Date constitute a quorum at meetings of stockholders. Votes
will be counted by the inspector of election appointed for the Annual
Meeting,  who  will  separately  count  ‘‘For’’  and  ‘‘Against’’  votes,
abstentions and broker non-votes.

A  ‘‘broker  non-vote’’  occurs  when  a  nominee  holding  shares  for  a
beneficial  owner  does  not  vote  because  the  nominee  does  not  have
discretionary voting power with respect to the proposal and has not

received instructions with respect to the proposal from the beneficial
owner. Abstentions will not be taken into account in determining the
outcome  of  the  election  of  directors  and  will  have  no  effect  on  the
outcome of Proposals Two and Three. We intend to separately report
abstentions  and  our  Compensation  and  H.R.  Committee  will
generally view abstentions as neutral when considering the results of
Proposal  Three.  Broker  non-votes  represented  by  submitted  proxies
will  not  be  taken  into  account  in  determining  the  outcome  of  any
proposal.

Deadline for Receipt of Stockholder Proposals

In order to submit stockholder proposals for the fiscal 2014 annual
meeting for inclusion in the Company’s proxy statement pursuant to
Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (‘‘SEC
Rule  14a-8’’),  written  materials  must  be  received  by  the  Corporate
Secretary at the Company’s principal office in Santa Clara, California
no later than September 25, 2014.

Stockholder proposals must otherwise comply with the requirements
of SEC Rule 14a-8.

Proposals must be addressed to: Bret DiMarco, Corporate Secretary,
Coherent,  Inc.,  5100  Patrick  Henry  Dr.,  Santa  Clara,  California
95054. Simply submitting a proposal does not guarantee its inclusion.

Section  2.15  of  the  Company’s  bylaws  also  establishes  an  advance
notice  procedure  with  regards  to  director  nominations  and
stockholder  proposals  that  are  not  submitted  for  inclusion  in  the
proxy  statement,  but  that  a  stockholder  instead  wishes  to  present
directly from the floor at any Annual Meeting. To be properly brought
before the fiscal 2014 Annual Meeting, a notice of the nomination or
the matter the stockholder wishes to present at the meeting must be
delivered  to  the  Corporate  Secretary  (see  above),  no  later  than  the
close of business on the 45th day (December 9, 2014), nor earlier than
the close of business on the 75th day (November 9, 2014), prior to the
one year anniversary of the date these proxy materials were first mailed
by  us  unless  the  annual  meeting  of  stockholders  is  held  prior  to
January 27, 2015 or after April 27, 2015, in which case, the proposal
must  be  received  by  us  not  earlier  than  the  120th  day  prior  to  the

4 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

annual meeting and not later than the later of the 90th day prior to the
annual meeting and the tenth day following public announcement of
the date the annual meeting will be held and must otherwise be in
compliance  with  applicable  laws  and  regulations  in  order  to  be
considered  for  inclusion  in  the  proxy  statement  and  form  of  proxy
relating to that meeting. We have not received any notice regarding
any such matters to be brought at our fiscal 2013 meeting.

If a stockholder who has notified us of his or her intention to present a
proposal at an Annual Meeting does not appear to present his or her
proposal at such meeting, we need not present the proposal for vote at
such  meeting.  The  Chair  of  the  Annual  Meeting  has  the  final
discretion whether or not to allow any matter to be considered at the
meeting  which  did  not  timely  comply  with  all  applicable  notice
requirements.

If  a  stockholder  wishes  only  to  recommend  a  candidate  for
consideration  by  the  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  as  a
potential  nominee  for  the  Company’s  Board,  see  the  procedures
discussed in ‘‘Proposal One—Election of Directors—Board Meetings
and  Committees—Process 
to  Recommend
Candidates for Election to the Board of Directors.’’

for  Stockholders 

The  attached  proxy  card  grants  to  the  proxyholders  discretionary
authority  to  vote  on  any  matter  raised  at  the  Annual  Meeting,
including proposals which are timely raised at the meeting, but did
not meet the deadline for inclusion in this proxy statement.

Eliminating Duplicative Proxy Materials

To reduce the expense of delivering duplicate voting materials to our
stockholders  who  may  hold  shares  of  Coherent  common  stock  in
more than one stock account, we are delivering only one set of the
proxy  solicitation  materials  to  certain  stockholders  who  share  an
address, unless otherwise requested. A separate proxy card is included
in the voting materials for each of these stockholders.

We will promptly deliver, upon written or oral request, a separate copy
of  the  annual  report  or  this  proxy  statement  to  a  stockholder  at  a
shared address to which a single copy of the documents was delivered.
To obtain an additional copy, you may write us at 5100 Patrick Henry
Drive,  Santa  Clara,  California  95054,  Attn:  Investor  Relations,  or
contact  our  Investor  Relations  department  by  telephone  at
(408) 764-4110.

Electronic Delivery of Proxy Materials

GENERAL INFORMATION

Similarly, if you share an address with another stockholder and have
received multiple copies of our proxy materials, you may contact us at
the address or telephone number specified above to request that only a
single  copy  of  these  materials  be  delivered  to  your  address  in  the
future. Stockholders sharing a single address may revoke their consent
to receive a single copy of our proxy materials in the future at any time
by  contacting  our  distribution  agent,  Broadridge,  either  by  calling
toll-free  at  1-800-542-1061,  or  by  writing 
to  Broadridge,
Householding  Department,  51  Mercedes  Way,  Edgewood,
NY  11717.  Broadridge  will  remove  such  stockholder  from  the
Householding  program  within  30  days  of  receipt  of  such  written
notice,  after  which  each  such  stockholder  will  receive  an  individual
copy of our proxy materials.

In an effort to reduce paper mailed to your home and help lower printing and postage costs, we are offering stockholders the convenience of
viewing online proxy statements, annual reports and related materials. With your consent, we can stop sending future paper copies of these
documents. To participate during the voting season, registered stockholders may follow the instructions when voting online.

Incorporation by Reference

To the extent that this proxy statement has been or will be specifically
incorporated by reference into any other filing of Coherent with the
Securities  and  Exchange  Commission  (‘‘SEC’’),  the  sections  of  this
proxy  statement  entitled  ‘‘Report  of  the  Audit  Committee  of  the

Board of Directors’’ (to the extent permitted by the rules of the SEC)
and ‘‘Compensation Discussion and Analysis’’ shall not be deemed to
be so incorporated (other than in our annual report on Form 10-K),
unless specifically provided otherwise in such filing.

FURTHER INFORMATION

We will provide without charge to each stockholder solicited by these proxy solicitation materials a copy of our annual report on Form 10-K for
the fiscal year ended September 28, 2013 without exhibits and any amendments thereto on Form 10-K/A upon request of such stockholder made
in writing to Coherent, Inc., 5100 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa Clara, California 95054, Attn: Investor Relations. We will also furnish any exhibit
to the annual report on Form 10-K if specifically requested in writing. You can also access our SEC filings, including our annual reports on
Form 10-K, and all amendments thereto filed on Form 10 K/A, on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR THE STOCKHOLDER
MEETING TO BE HELD ON FEBRUARY 26 2014:

The proxy statement and annual report to stockholders are available at www.proxyvote.com.

Stockholder List

A list of stockholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting will be available for examination by stockholders of record at the Annual Meeting.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 5

PROPOSAL ONE

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Nominees

Seven (7) members of our Board of Directors are to be elected at the
Annual Meeting. Unless otherwise instructed, the proxy holders will
vote  the  proxies  received  by  them  for  the  nominees  named  below.
Each  nominee  has  consented  to  be  named  a  nominee  in  the  proxy
statement  and  to  continue  to  serve  as  a  director  if  elected.  If  any
nominee  becomes  unable  or  declines  to  serve  as  a  director,  if
additional persons are nominated at the meeting or if stockholders are
entitled to cumulate votes, the proxy holders intend to vote all proxies
received by them in such a manner (in accordance with cumulative
voting) as will ensure the election of as many of the nominees listed
below as possible, and the specific nominees to be voted for will be
determined by the proxy holders.

We are not aware of any reason that any nominee will be unable or will
decline to serve as a director. The term of office of each person elected

as  a  director  will  continue  until  the  next  Annual  Meeting  of
Stockholders  or  until  a  successor  has  been  elected  and  qualified  or
until  his  or  her  earlier  resignation  or  removal.  There  are  no
arrangements  or  understandings  between  any  director  or  executive
officer and any other person pursuant to which he or she is or was to
be selected as a director or officer.

The  names  of  the  nominees,  all  of  whom  are  currently  directors
standing  for  re-election,  and  certain  information  about  them  as  of
December 31, 2013 are set forth below. All of the nominees have been
unanimously recommended for nomination by the Board acting on
the unanimous recommendation of the Governance and Nominating
Committee  of  the  Board.  The  committee  consists  solely  of
independent members of the Board. There are no family relationships
among directors or executive officers of Coherent.

Name
John R. Ambroseo
Jay T. Flatley(3)
Susan M. James(1)(2)
L. William Krause(2)(3)
Garry W. Rogerson(1)(2)
Steve Skaggs(1)
Sandeep Vij(3)

Age Director Since
2002
2011
2008
2009
2004
2013
2004

52
61
67
71
61
51
48

Principal Occupation
President and Chief Executive Officer
President and Chief Executive Officer of Illumina, Inc.
Retired Audit Partner, Ernst & Young
President of LWK Ventures
Chief Executive Officer of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc.
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Atmel Corporation
Former President and Chief Executive Officer of MIPS Technologies, Inc.

(1) Member of the Audit Committee.

(2) Member of the Governance and Nominating Committee.

(3) Member of the Compensation and H.R. Committee.

Except as set forth below, each of our directors has been engaged in his
or her principal occupation set forth above during the past five years.

John R. Ambroseo. Mr. Ambroseo has served as our President and Chief
Executive Officer as well as a member of the Board of Directors since
October 2002. Mr. Ambroseo served as our Chief Operating Officer
from June 2001 through September 2002. Mr. Ambroseo served as
our Executive Vice President and as President and General Manager of
the Coherent Photonics Group from September 2000 to June 2001.
From September 1997 to September 2000, Mr. Ambroseo served as
our Executive Vice President and as President and General Manager of
the  Coherent  Laser  Group.  From  March  1997  to  September  1997,
Mr. Ambroseo served as our Scientific Business Unit Manager. From
August 1988, when Mr. Ambroseo joined us, until March 1997, he
served  as  a  Sales  Engineer,  Product  Marketing  Manager,  National
Sales Manager and Director of European Operations. Mr. Ambroseo
received  a  Bachelor  degree  from  SUNY-College  at  Purchase  and  a
PhD in Chemistry from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr.  Ambroseo’s  status  as  our  Chief  Executive  Officer,  his  over  25  year
tenure  with  Coherent,  his  extensive  knowledge  of  our  products,
technologies and end markets and his over a decade of service as a director
of Coherent make him an invaluable member of our Board of Directors.

Jay T. Flatley. Since 1999 Mr. Flatley has served as President, Chief
Executive  Officer  and  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of
Illumina, Inc., a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of life
science  tools  and  integrated  systems  for  the  analysis  of  genetic
variation  and  function.  Prior  to  joining  Illumina,  Mr.  Flatley  was

6 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

co-founder, President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of the
Board of Directors of Molecular Dynamics, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed
life sciences company focused on genetic discovery and analysis, from
1994 until its sale to Amersham Pharmacia Biotech Inc. in 1998. He
served  in  various  other  positions  with  that  company  from  1987  to
1994. From 1985 to 1987, he was Vice President of Engineering and
Vice  President  of  Strategic  Planning  at  Plexus  Computers,  a  UNIX
computer  company.  Mr.  Flatley  holds  a  B.A.  in  Economics  from
Claremont  McKenna  College  and  a  B.S.  and  M.S.  in  Industrial
Engineering from Stanford University.

Mr. Flatley’s years of executive and management experience in the high
technology  industry,  including  serving  as  the  chief  executive  officer  of
several public companies, his service on the board of another publicly held
company,  and  his  service  as  a  director  of  Coherent  make  him  an
invaluable member of our Board of Directors.

Susan M. James. Ms. James originally joined Ernst & Young, a global
leader in professional services, in 1975, serving as a partner from 1987
until her retirement in June 2006, and as a consultant from June 2006
to December 2009. During her tenure with Ernst & Young, she was
the  lead  partner  or  partner-in-charge  for  the  audit  work  for  a
significant  number  of  technology  companies, 
including  Intel
Corporation,  Sun  Microsystems,  Amazon.com,  Autodesk,  Inc.  and
the  Hewlett-Packard  Company,  as  well  as  for  the  Ernst  &  Young
North  America  Global  Account  Network.  She  also  served  on  the
Ernst  &  Young  Americas  Executive  Board  of  Directors  from
January 2002 through June 2006. She is a certified public accountant
(inactive) and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public

Accountants.  Ms.  James  also  serves  on  the  boards  of  directors  of
Applied  Materials,  Inc.,  a  manufacturing  equipment,  services  and
software company, Yahoo! Inc., an Internet technology company, and
Tri-Valley  Animal  Rescue,  a  non-profit  corporation  dedicated  to
providing  homes  for  homeless  pets.  Ms.  James  holds  Bachelor’s
degrees in Mathematics from Hunter College and Accounting from
San Jose State University.

Ms.  James’  years  in  the  public  accounting  industry,  her  service  on  the
boards and committees of a number of other publicly held companies and
her five years of service as a director of Coherent make her an invaluable
member of our Board of Directors.

L. William Krause. Mr. Krause has been President of LWK Ventures, a
private investment firm, since 1991. In addition, Mr. Krause served as
Chairman of the Board of Caspian Networks, Inc., an IP networking
systems provider, from April 2002 to September 2006 and as Chief
Executive Officer from April 2002 until June 2004. He also served as
President and Chief Executive Officer of 3Com Corporation, a global
data networking company, from 1981 to 1990 and as its Chairman
from 1987 to 1993 when he retired. Mr. Krause currently serves as a
director  of  Brocade  Communications  Systems,  Inc.,  a  networking
solutions  and  services  company,  CommScope  Inc.,  a  networking
infrastructure company and Core-Mark Holdings, Inc., a distributor
of  packaged  consumer  goods.  Mr.  Krause  previously  served  as  a
director  for  the  following  public  companies:  Packeteer,  Inc.,
Sybase, Inc. and TriZetto Group, Inc. Mr. Krause holds a B.S. degree
in  electrical  engineering  and  received  an  honorary  Doctorate  of
Science from The Citadel.

Mr. Krause’s years of executive and management experience in the high
technology  industry,  including  serving  as  the  chief  executive  officer  of
several companies, his service on the boards and committees of a number of
other publicly held companies, and his four years of service as a director of
Coherent make him an invaluable member of our Board of Directors.

Garry W. Rogerson. Mr. Rogerson has served as Coherent’s Chairman
of the Board since June 2007. Since August 2011, Mr. Rogerson has
been Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors
of Advanced Energy Industries, Inc., a provider of power and control
technologies for thinfilm manufacturing and solar-power generation.
He was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Varian, Inc., a major
supplier of scientific instruments and consumable laboratory supplies,
vacuum  products  and  services,  from  February  2009  and  2004,
respectively until the purchase of Varian by Agilent Technologies, Inc.
in  May  2010.  Mr.  Rogerson  served  as  Varian’s  Chief  Operating
Officer  from  2002  to  2004,  as  Senior  Vice  President,  Scientific
Instruments  from  2001  to  2002,  and  as  Vice  President,  Analytical
Instruments from 1999 to 2001. Mr. Rogerson received an honours
degree  and  Ph.D.  in  biochemistry  as  well  as  an  honorary  doctoral
science degree from the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Mr. Rogerson’s years of executive and management experience in the high
technology  industry,  including  serving  as  the  chief  executive  officer  of
several public companies, his service on the board of another publicly held

Director Independence

PROPOSAL ONE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

company, and his nine years of service as a director of Coherent make him
an invaluable member of our Board of Directors.

Steve Skaggs. Mr. Skaggs currently serves as Senior Vice President and
Chief  Financial  Officer  of  Atmel  Corporation,  a  leading  designer,
developer and supplier of microcontrollers. Mr. Skaggs joined Atmel
in September 2010 and has more than 20 years of experience in the
semiconductor industry. From 2008 to September 2010, Mr. Skaggs
was employed as an independent management consultant, providing
strategic  advisory  and  consulting  services  to  clients.  From  2005  to
2008,  Mr.  Skaggs  served  as  Chief  Executive  Officer  of  Lattice
Semiconductor, a supplier of programmable logic devices and related
software, and also served as President of Lattice from 2003 to 2005
and as Chief Financial Officer of Lattice from 1996 to 2003. He was
also previously a member of the Board of Directors of Lattice. Prior to
Lattice,  Mr.  Skaggs  was  employed  by  Bain  &  Company,  a  global
management consulting firm, where he specialized in high technology
product 
corporate
and 
restructurings.  Mr.  Skaggs  holds  an  MBA  degree  from  the  Harvard
Business School and a BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the
University of California, Berkeley.

strategy,  mergers 

acquisitions 

and 

Mr.  Skaggs’  years  of  executive  and  management  experience  in  the  high
technology  industry,  including  serving  as  the  chief  executive  officer  and
chief financial officer of other public companies, his prior service on the
board of another publicly held company and his service as a director of
Coherent  make  him  an  invaluable  member  of  our  Board  of  Directors.
Mr. Skaggs was identified as a potential director by the Governance and
Nominating Committee’s independent search firm.

Sandeep  Vij. Mr.  Vij  is  a  private  investor.  Previously,  he  held  the
position  of  President  and  Chief  Executive  Officer  of  MIPS
Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of processor architectures and
cores, from January 2010 until its sale in February 2013. In addition,
Mr.  Vij  had  been  the  Vice  President  and  General  Manager  of  the
Broadband  and  Consumer  Division  of  Cavium  Networks,  Inc.,  a
leading  provider  of  highly  integrated  semiconductor  products  from
May 2008 to January 2010. Prior to that, he held the position of Vice
President  of  Worldwide  Marketing,  Services  and  Support  for
Xilinx Inc., a digital programmable logic device provider, from 2007
to  April  2008.  From  2001  to  2006,  he  held  the  position  of  Vice
President of Worldwide Marketing at Xilinx. From 1997 to 2001, he
served as Vice President and General Manager of the General Products
Division at Xilinx. Mr. Vij joined Xilinx in 1996 as Director of FPGA
Marketing. He is a graduate of General Electric’s Edison Engineering
Program and Advanced Courses in Engineering. He holds an MSEE
from Stanford University and a BSEE from San Jose State University.

Mr.  Vij’s  years  of  executive  and  management  experience  in  the  high
technology  industry,  including  serving  as  the  chief  executive  officer  of
another public company, his service on the board of another publicly held
company, and his nine years of service as a director of Coherent make him
an invaluable member of our Board of Directors.

The  Board  has  determined  that,  with  the  exception  of  Mr.  Ambroseo,  all  of  its  current  members  and  all  of  the  nominees  for  director  are
‘‘independent directors’’ as that term is defined in the marketplace rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 7

PROPOSAL ONE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Board Meetings and Committees

The Board held a total of five (5) meetings during fiscal 2013. During
fiscal  2013,  the  Board  had  three  standing  committees:  the  Audit
Committee;  the  Compensation  and  H.R.  Committee;  and  the
Governance  and  Nominating  Committee.  From  time  to  time,  the
Board may create limited ad hoc committees, service on which does
not provide additional compensation. In the past, the Board has also
established special committees, which did provide compensation for
services. No director serving during fiscal 2013 attended fewer than
75% of the aggregate of all meetings of the Board and the committees
of the Board upon which such director served. All of the members of
each  standing  committee  are  ‘‘independent’’  as  defined  under  the
applicable rules established by the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Audit Committee
The Audit Committee, which has been established in accordance with
Section 3(a)(58)(A) of the Exchange Act, consists of directors James,
Rogerson,  Skaggs  and  Tomlinson.  The  Audit  Committee  held
thirteen (13) meetings during fiscal 2013. The Board has determined
that  directors  James,  Rogerson,  Skaggs  and  Tomlinson  are  ‘‘audit
committee financial experts’’ as that term is defined in the rules of the
SEC.  Among  other  things,  the  Audit  Committee  has  the  sole
authority for appointing and supervising our independent registered
public accounting firm and is primarily responsible for approving the
services performed by our independent registered public accounting
firm and for reviewing and evaluating our accounting principles and
our system of internal accounting controls.

Compensation and H.R. Committee
During fiscal 2013, the Compensation and H.R. Committee of the
Board  consists  of  directors  Krause,  Flatley  and  Vij.  Mr.  Tomlinson

served on the committee until January 1, 2013. All of the members of
the  Compensation  and  H.R.  Committee  are  ‘‘independent’’  as
defined under the marketplace rules of the Nasdaq Stock Market. The
Compensation and H.R. Committee held eight (8) meetings during
fiscal 2013. The Compensation and H.R. Committee, among other
things, reviews and approves our executive compensation policies and
programs,  and  makes  equity  grants  to  our  employees,  including
officers,  pursuant  to  our  equity  plans.  This  committee  has  the  sole
authority delegated to it by the Board to make employee equity grants,
which must be done at a meeting rather than by written consent. For
additional 
the  committee’s  processes  and
procedures  for  the  consideration  and  determination  of  executive
compensation, see ‘‘Compensation Discussion and Analysis’’.

information  about 

Governance and Nominating Committee
The  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  consists  of  directors
James,  Krause  and  Rogerson.  The  Governance  and  Nominating
Committee  held  five  (5)  meetings  during  fiscal  2013.  The
Governance and Nominating Committee, among other things, assists
the  Board  by  making  recommendations  to  the  Board  on  matters
concerning  director  nominations  and  elections,  board  committees
and corporate governance and compensation for directors. For fiscal
2013,  the  committee  retained  an 
independent  compensation
consultant to advise it on Board compensation.

Copies of the charters for each of our committees may be found on
our website at www.coherent.com under ‘‘Investor Relations.’’

Attendance at Annual Meeting of Stockholders by the members of the Board of Directors

All directors are encouraged, but not required, to attend our annual meeting of stockholders. At our annual meeting held on February 27, 2013,
all members of the Board attended in person.

Process for Stockholders to Recommend Candidates for Election to the Board of Directors

The Governance and Nominating Committee will consider nominees
properly recommended by stockholders. A stockholder that desires to
recommend  a  candidate  for  election  to  the  Board  must  direct  the
recommendation in writing to us at our principal offices (Attention:
Bret DiMarco, Corporate Secretary) and must include the candidate’s
name,  age,  home  and  business  contact  information,  principal
occupation or employment, the number of shares beneficially owned
by the nominee, whether any hedging transactions have been entered
into by the nominee or on his or her behalf, information regarding
any  arrangements  or  understandings  between  the  nominee  and  the
stockholder nominating the nominee or any other persons relating to
the nomination, a written statement by the nominee acknowledging
that the nominee will owe a fiduciary duty to Coherent if elected, a
written  statement  of  the  nominee  that  such  nominee,  if  elected,
intends  to  tender,  promptly  following  such  nominee’s  election  or
re-election, an irrevocable resignation effective upon such nominee’s

failure to receive the required vote for re-election at the next meeting
at which such nominee would face re-election and upon acceptance of
such  resignation  by  the  board  of  directors,  in  accordance  with  the
corporation’s  guidelines  or  policies,  and  any  other  information
required  to  be  disclosed  about  the  nominee  if  proxies  were  to  be
solicited to elect the nominee as a director.

For  a  stockholder  recommendation  to  be  considered  by  the
Governance and Nominating Committee as a potential candidate at
an  annual  meeting,  nominations  must  be  received  on  or  before  the
deadline for receipt of stockholder proposals for such meeting. In the
event a stockholder decides to nominate a candidate for director and
solicits proxies for such candidate, the stockholder will need to follow
the  rules  set  forth  by  the  SEC  and  in  our  bylaws.  See  ‘‘General
Information About The Meeting-Deadline for Receipt of Stockholder
Proposals.’’

8 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

The  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee’s  criteria  and  process
for  evaluating  and  identifying  the  candidates  that  it  approves  as
director nominees are as follows:

(cid:129) the Governance and Nominating Committee regularly reviews the

current composition and size of the Board;

(cid:129) the  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  reviews 

the
qualifications  of  any  candidates  who  have  been  properly
recommended  by  a  stockholder,  as  well  as  those  candidates  who
have  been  identified  by  management,  individual  members  of  the
Board  or, 
if  the  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee
determines, a search firm. Such review may, in the Governance and
Nominating  Committee’s  discretion,  include  a  review  solely  of
information  provided  to  the  Governance  and  Nominating
Committee or may also include discussions with persons familiar
with the candidate, an interview with the candidate or other actions
that the committee deems proper;

(cid:129) the  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  evaluates  the
performance  of  the  Board  as  a  whole  and  evaluates  the
qualifications  of  individual  members  of  the  Board  eligible  for
re-election at the annual meeting of stockholders;

(cid:129) the  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  considers  the
suitability of each candidate, including the current members of the
Board, in light of the current size and composition of the Board.
Except  as  may  be  required  by  rules  promulgated  by  the  Nasdaq
Stock Market or the SEC, it is the current belief of the Governance
and Nominating Committee that there are no specific, minimum
qualifications that must be met by any candidate for the Board, nor
are there specific qualities or skills that are necessary for one or more
of  the  members  of  the  Board  to  possess.  In  evaluating  the
qualifications of the candidates, the Governance and Nominating
Committee considers many factors, including, issues of character,
judgment,  independence,  age,  expertise,  diversity  of  experience,
length of service, other commitments and the like. While Coherent
does not have a formal policy with regard to the consideration of
diversity in identifying director nominees, as noted above, diversity
of experience is one of many factors that the committee considers;

PROPOSAL ONE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

(cid:129) the Governance and Nominating Committee evaluates such factors,
among  others,  and  does  not  assign  any  particular  weighting  or
priority to any of these factors. The Governance and Nominating
Committee  considers  each  individual  candidate  in  the  context  of
the  current  perceived  needs  of  the  Board  as  a  whole.  While  the
Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  has  not  established
specific  minimum  qualifications  for  director  candidates,  the
committee  believes  that  candidates  and  nominees  must  reflect  a
Board  that  is  comprised  of  directors  who  (i)  are  predominantly
independent, (ii) are of high integrity, (iii) have qualifications that
will  increase  the  overall  effectiveness  of  the  Board,  and  (iv)  meet
other requirements as may be required by applicable rules, such as
financial  literacy  or  financial  expertise  with  respect  to  audit
committee members;

(cid:129) in  evaluating  and  identifying  candidates,  the  Governance  and
Nominating Committee has the authority to retain and terminate
any  third  party  search  firm  that  is  used  to  identify  director
candidates and has the authority to approve the fees and retention
terms of any search firm; and

(cid:129) after  such  review  and  consideration,  the  Governance  and
Nominating  Committee  recommends  the  slate  of  director
nominees to the full Board for its approval.

The Governance and Nominating Committee will endeavor to notify,
or  cause  to  be  notified,  all  director  candidates,  including  those
recommended  by  a  stockholder,  of  its  decision  as  to  whether  to
nominate such individual for election to the Board.

Our corporate governance guidelines require that upon a member of
the Board turning 72 years old, he or she shall submit a conditional
resignation to the Governance and Nominating Committee effective
upon the next annual meeting of stockholders. The committee then
determines whether to recommend to the Board acceptance of such
resignation.  Mr.  Tomlinson  is  retiring  from  the  Board  at  the
upcoming  annual  meeting  after  serving  on  the  Board  since  2003
pursuant to the Board’s retirement age policy.

Majority Voting and Conditional Resignations from the Board of Directors

Upon  the  recommendation  of  the  Governance  and  Nominating
Committee  the  Board  of  Directors  amended  our  bylaws,  effective
December 1, 2013, to change the voting standard for the election of
directors that are not Contested Elections (as defined below) from a
plurality to a majority of the votes cast. A majority of the votes cast
means the number of votes cast ‘‘for’’ a director’s election exceeds the
number  of  votes  cast  against  that  director’s  election  (with
‘‘abstentions’’ and ‘‘broker non-votes’’ not counted as a vote cast either
‘‘for’’ or ‘‘against’’ that director’s election). However, if the number of
nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected (a ‘‘Contested
Election’’), the directors shall be elected by a plurality of the votes cast.

In  connection  with  the  amendment  to  the  Bylaws  establishing  a
majority vote standard for the election of directors in elections that are

not Contested Elections, the Board also adopted a director election
policy to (i) establish procedures under which any incumbent director
who fails to receive a majority of the votes cast in an election that is
not  a  Contested  Election  shall  tender  his  or  her  resignation  to  the
Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  for  consideration;  and
(ii)  provide  that  the  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  will
make recommendations to the Board regarding the actions to be taken
with respect to all such offers to resign. The Board shall act on the
resignation  within  90  days  following  certification  of  the  election
results. In the event that the Board does not accept such resignation,
then such director shall continue to serve until such time as his or her
successor is elected.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 9

PROPOSAL ONE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

Stockholder Communication with the Board of Directors

While the Board believes that management speaks for Coherent, any
stockholder may contact any of our directors by writing to them by
mail at our principal executive offices (c/o Corporate Secretary), the
address  of  which  appears  on  the  inside  back  cover  of  this  proxy
statement.

Any  stockholder  may  report  to  us  any  complaints  regarding
accounting,  internal  accounting  controls,  or  auditing  matters.  Any
stockholder who wishes to so contact us should send such complaints
to  the  Audit  Committee  c/o  Corporate  Secretary,  at  our  principal
executive offices, the address of which appears on the inside back cover
of this proxy statement.

Any stockholder communications that the Board is to receive will first
go to our Corporate Secretary, who will log the date of receipt of the

Independent Chair and Board Leadership

communication as well as the identity and contact information of the
correspondent in our stockholder communications log.

Our Corporate Secretary will review, summarize and, if appropriate,
investigate  the  complaint  under  the  direction  of  the  appropriate
committee of the Board in a timely manner. In the case of accounting
or auditing related matters, a member of the Audit Committee, or the
Audit  Committee  as  a  whole,  will  then  review  the  summary  of  the
communication,  the  results  of  the  investigation,  if  any,  and,  if
appropriate, the draft response. The summary and response will be in
the  form  of  a  memo,  which  will  become  part  of  the  stockholder
communications  log  that  the  Corporate  Secretary  maintains  with
respect to all stockholder communications.

Our Board leadership structure consists of an independent Chairman,
who  is  elected  by  the  independent  directors,  and  independent
committee  chairs.  We  separate  the  positions  of  Chief  Executive
Officer and Chairman in recognition of the differences between the
two  roles.  The  Board  believes  this  structure  provides  independent
Board leadership and engagement.

Given that our Chairman is an independent director, the Board does
not  feel  the  need  for  a  separate  ‘‘lead  independent  director,’’  as  our
independent Chairman performs that function. The Board takes its
independence seriously and reinforces this standard with seven of its
eight members (with six of seven following the Annual Meeting) being
independent.

The Role of the Board and its Committees in Risk Oversight

The  Board  oversees  Coherent’s  risk  profile  and  management’s
processes for assessing and managing risk, both as a whole Board and
through  its  committees,  with  our  Governance  and  Nominating
Committee  delegated  the  responsibility  for  assigning  oversight
responsibilities  to  each  committee  and  the  Board  as  a  whole.  Our
senior executive team provides regular updates to the Board and each
committee  regarding  our  strategies  and  objectives  and  the  risks
inherent with them.

Each  regular  meeting  of  the  Board  includes  a  discussion  of  risks
related  to  the  Company’s  financial  results  and  operations  and  each
committee  schedules  risk-related  presentations  regularly  throughout
the year. In addition our directors have access to our management to
discuss any matters of interest, including those related to risk. Those
members  of  management  most  knowledgeable  of  the  issues  attend
Board and committee meetings to provide additional insight on the
matters  being  discussed,  including  risk  exposures.  Our  Chief
Financial  Officer  and  General  Counsel  both  report  directly  to  our
Chief Executive Officer, providing him with further visibility to our
risk  profile.  A  Vice  President,  Finance  is  the  designated  officer
overseeing our enterprise risk management program and works closely
with both our Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel on these
matters.

These  regular  meetings  also  provide  our  Board  members  the
opportunity to discuss issues of concern directly with management. In
general  the  Board  and  its  committees  oversee  the  following  risk
categories:

(cid:129) The Board oversees generally the Company’s overall enterprise risk
management  process  and  specifically  with  regards  to  the  areas  of
strategy, mergers and acquisitions, communications and operations;

(cid:129) The Audit Committee generally oversees risks primarily related to
financial  controls,  IT,  accounting,  tax,  treasury,  capital,  legal,
regulatory and compliance;

(cid:129) The  Compensation  and  H.R.  Committee  generally  oversees  our
compensation  programs  so  that  they  do  not  incentivize  excessive
risk taking as well as overseeing human resources related risks; and

(cid:129) The  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee  oversees  the
assignment of risk oversight categories by each particular committee
and/or  the  Board  as  a  whole  as  well  as  those  risks  related  to
compensation of members of the Board, succession planning for the
Board and Chief Executive Officer.

the  Company’s 

In the fall of 2013, management presented an assessment of the risks
associated  with 
compensation  plans.  The
Compensation and H.R. Committee agreed with the conclusion that
the  risks  were  within  our  ability  to  effectively  monitor  and  manage
and that these risks are not reasonably likely to have a material adverse
effect on the Company.

10 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

Additional Governance Matters

On  December  12,  2013,  the  Board  of  Directors  (acting  on  the
recommendation  of  the  Governance  and  Nominating  Committee)
approved  the  updated  Corporate  Governance  Guidelines,  which
include,  among  other  items  (in  addition  to  those  items  described
elsewhere in this proxy):

(cid:129) At  each  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors  the  independent
directors will also meet in executive session without the presence of
management;

(cid:129) To  avoid  ‘‘over-boarding’’  the  Company  maintains  the  following

limits on service on other boards:

(cid:129) CEO-No  more  than  one  (1)  other  public  company  board  of

directors in addition to the Company;

Fiscal 2013 Director Compensation

PROPOSAL ONE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

(cid:129) Independent  Directors-No  more  than  four  (4)  other  public

company board of directors in addition to the Company;

(cid:129) Audit Committee members-No more than three (3) other public

company audit committees in addition to the Company;

(cid:129) Each independent member of the Board of Directors must within
five  years  acquire  and  thereafter  maintain  a  minimum  value  of
Company stock equal to three times such director’s annual Board
cash retainer (exclusive of any cash retainer for service as Chair or
committee service);

(cid:129) The Board is responsible for reviewing the Company’s succession
planning and senior management development on an annual basis.

During fiscal 2013, we paid our non-employee directors an annual retainer (depending upon position) and for service on the Board as follows:

Position
Board Member
Board Chair
Audit Committee Chair
Compensation and H.R. Comm. Chair
Governance & Nominating Comm. Chair
Audit Committee member (non-Chair)
Compensation and H.R. Committee member (non-Chair)
Governance and Nominating Committee member (non-Chair)

Annual Retainer
40,000
40,000
34,000
16,000
10,750
12,500
8,500
6,500

$
$
$
$
$
$
$
$

Beginning  in  the  second  quarter  of  fiscal  year  2013,  the  annual
retainer for the Board Chair was increased to $40,000. The increase
was approved by the Governance and Nominating Committee after a
review  of  the  compensation  of  the  Board  of  Directors  by  the
committee’s  independent  compensation  consultant,  Compensia.  In

particular,  Compensia  noted  that  the  Chair  annual  retainer  was
significantly  below  the  median  compensation  measured  against  the
Company’s peer group (which was the same group used for comparing
compensation for the named executive officers).

The  chart  below  summarizes  the  gross  cash  amounts  earned  by  non-employee  directors  for  service  during  fiscal  2013  on  the  Board  and  its
committees (all amounts in dollars):

Name
Jay T. Flatley
Susan M. James
L. William Krause
Garry W. Rogerson
Lawrence Tomlinson
Sandeep Vij

Annual Board
Service
40,000
40,000
40,000
74,000(1) $
40,000
$
40,000

$

$
$
$
$
$
$

Audit
Committee

— $

34,000

— $

12,500
12,500

$
— $

Compensation
and H.R.
Committee
8,500

Nominating
and Governance
Committee

8,500

— $
$
— $

2,125(2)
16,000

6,500
6,500
10,750

— $
$
$
$
— $
— $

Total
48,500
80,500
55,000
97,250
54,625
56,000

(1)

Includes Mr. Rogerson’s service as Chairman of the Board. Effective January 1, 2013, Mr. Rogerson’s service fee as Chairman of the Board was increased to $40,000.

(2) Effective January 1, 2013, Mr. Tomlinson was no longer a member of the Compensation Committee.

*

Note that Mr. Skaggs was appointed to the Board at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2014 and, accordingly, is not reflected in any of the fiscal 2013-related Board
tables.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 11

PROPOSAL ONE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

The  chart  below  presents  information  concerning  the  total  compensation  of  our  directors  for  services  (including  both  Board  and,  where
applicable, committee service) provided during the fiscal year ended September 28, 2013:

Name
Jay T. Flatley
Susan M. James
L. William Krause
Garry W. Rogerson
Lawrence Tomlinson
Sandeep Vij

Fees Paid in
Cash ($)(1)
48,500
80,500
55,000
97,250
54,625
56,000

($)(2)(3)
201,460
201,460
201,460
201,460
201,460
201,460

Stock Awards Option Awards
($)(4)

Total ($)
— 249,960
— 281,960
— 256,460
— 298,710
— 256,085
— 257,460

(1) These amounts are the amounts earned by non-employee directors for service (including both Board and, where applicable, committee service) during fiscal 2013

(2) These amounts do not reflect compensation actually received. Rather, these amounts represent the aggregate grant date fair value computed in accordance with ASC 718,
for restricted stock units (‘‘RSUs’’) and stock options which were granted in fiscal 2013. The assumptions used to calculate the value of these stock units and stock options
are set forth in Note 12. ‘‘Employee Stock Option and Benefit Plans’’ of the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
year ended September 28, 2013.

(3) The directors’ aggregate RSU grants as of September 28, 2013 were as follows:

Name
Jay T. Flatley
Susan M. James
L. William Krause
Garry W. Rogerson
Lawrence Tomlinson
Sandeep Vij

Shares(a)

5,500(b)
3,500(c)
3,500(c)
3,500(c)
3,500(c)
3,500(c)

(a) The shares underlying the RSUs will vest to the extent an individual is a member of the Board of Directors on the applicable vesting date.

(b) 3,500 shares vest on February 15, 2014 and 2,000 shares vest on September 20, 2014.

(c) 3,500 shares vest on February 15, 2014.

(4) No stock option awards were granted to members of the Board during fiscal 2013. The directors’ aggregate holdings of stock option awards (both vested and unvested) as

of September 28, 2013 were as follows:

Name
Jay T. Flatley
Susan M. James
L. William Krause
Garry W. Rogerson
Lawrence Tomlinson
Sandeep Vij

The following table shows equity grants received by non-employee directors in fiscal 2013:

Name
Jay T. Flatley
Susan M. James
L. William Krause
Garry W. Rogerson
Lawrence Tomlinson
Sandeep Vij

Shares
24,000
—
30,000
—
—
—

Restricted Stock Units
Granted in Fiscal 2013
(# shares)
3,500
3,500
3,500
3,500
3,500
3,500

Our  stockholders  approved  the  adoption  of  our  2011  Equity
Incentive Plan at our annual meeting held in March 2011 (the ‘‘2011
Plan’’).

The Board has adopted resolutions automatically granting under the
2011  Plan  each  non-employee  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors
3,500 RSUs upon such member’s reelection to the Board, with vesting
on February 15 of the following year. Effective in December 2011, the
Board  determined  that  upon  the 
initial  appointment  of  a
non-employee member to the Board, such new director will receive a

grant of 3,500 RSUs, which vest over two years (fifty percent on each
anniversary of grant).

For  option  grants  held  by  a  director  who  retires  after  at  least  eight
years of service on the Board which are outstanding under the 1998
Director Plan, such grants will fully vest and the director will have the
right to exercise his or her option as to both vested and unvested shares
as of such date. The option will remain exercisable for the lesser of
(i)  two  (2)  years  following  the  date  of  such  director’s  retirement  or
(ii) the expiration of the option’s original term. This provision was not
adopted for option grants under the 2011 Plan.

12 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

PROPOSAL ONE ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

With the adoption of our 2011 Plan, the 1998 Director Plan has been
terminated  other  than  for  outstanding  historical  grants  made
thereunder.  As  of  September  28,  2013,  548,000  shares  have  been

issued upon the exercise of options and the vesting of RSUs under the
1998 Director Plan.

Option Exercises and Stock Vested at 2013 Fiscal Year-End

The table below sets forth certain information for each non-employee director regarding the exercise of options and the vesting of stock awards
during the year ended September 28, 2013, including the aggregate value realized upon such exercise or vesting.

Name
Jay T. Flatley
Susan M. James
L. William Krause
Garry W. Rogerson
Lawrence Tomlinson
Sandeep Vij

Option Awards

Stock Awards

Number of Shares
Acquired on
Exercise
(#)
—
18,000
—
6,000
18,000
—

Value Realized
on Exercise
($)(1)
—
466,840
—
84,360
334,032
—

Number of Shares
Acquired on
Vesting
(#)
3,500
5,500
5,500
5,500
5,500
5,500

Value Realized
on Vesting
($)(2)
209,965
322,665
322,665
322,665
322,665
322,665

(1) Reflects the difference between the exercise price of the option and market price of our Common Stock on the exercise date.

(2) Reflects the market price of our Common Stock on the vesting date.

Vote Required

Every stockholder voting for the election of directors may cumulate
such  stockholder’s  votes  and  give  one  candidate  a  number  of  votes
equal  to  the  number  of  directors  to  be  elected  multiplied  by  the
number  of  votes  to  which  the  stockholder’s  shares  are  entitled.
Alternatively,  a  stockholder  may  distribute  his  or  her  votes  on  the
same principle among as many candidates as the stockholder thinks
fit,  provided  that  votes  cannot  be  cast  for  more  than  seven
(7) candidates. However, no stockholder will be entitled to cumulate
votes  for  a  candidate  unless  (i)  such  candidate’s  name  has  been
properly  placed  in  nomination  for  election  at  the  Annual  Meeting
prior to the voting and (ii) the stockholder, or any other stockholder,
has given notice at the meeting prior to the voting of the intention to
cumulate the stockholder’s votes. If cumulative voting occurs at the

meeting  and  you  do  not  specify  how  to  distribute  your  votes,  your
proxy  holders  (the  individuals  named  on  your  proxy  card)  will
cumulate votes in such a manner as will ensure the election of as many
of the nominees listed above as possible, and the specific nominees to
be voted for will be determined by the proxy holders.

If a quorum is present, the seven (7) nominees receiving the highest
number  of  votes  will  be  elected  to  the  Board.  See  ‘‘Information
Concerning  Solicitation  and  Voting-Quorum;  Abstentions;  Broker
Non-Votes.’’

The  Board  recommends  that  Stockholders  vote
‘‘FOR’’ the seven nominees presented herein.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 13

PROPOSAL TWO

RATIFICATION OF
THE APPOINTMENT OF
DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP
AS INDEPENDENT
REGISTERED PUBLIC
ACCOUNTING FIRM

The  Audit  Committee  of  the  Board  has  selected  Deloitte  &
Touche  LLP,  an  independent  registered  public  accounting  firm,  to
audit our financial statements for the fiscal year ending September 27,
2014, and recommends that stockholders vote for ratification of such
appointment.  Deloitte  &  Touche  LLP  has  audited  our  financial
statements since the fiscal year ended September 25, 1976. Although
ratification  by  stockholders  is  not  required  by  law,  the  Audit
Committee has determined that it is desirable to request ratification of
this  selection  by  the  stockholders  as  a  matter  of  good  corporate
practice. Notwithstanding its selection, the Audit Committee, in its
discretion,  may  appoint  a  new  independent  registered  public
accounting firm at any time during the year if the Audit Committee

Principal Accounting Fees and Services

believes that such a change would be in the best interest of Coherent
and its stockholders. If the stockholders do not ratify the appointment
of Deloitte & Touche LLP, the Audit Committee may reconsider its
selection. The Audit Committee selected Deloitte & Touche LLP to
audit our financial statements for the fiscal year ended September 28,
2013, which was ratified by our stockholders.

Representatives of Deloitte & Touche LLP are expected to be present
at  the  meeting  and  will  be  afforded  the  opportunity  to  make  a
statement if they desire to do so. The representatives of Deloitte &
Touche LLP are also expected to be available to respond to appropriate
questions.

The following table sets forth fees for services provided by Deloitte & Touche LLP, the member firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and their
respective affiliates (collectively, ‘‘Deloitte’’) during fiscal years 2013 and 2012:

2012
Audit fees(1)
1,725,000
Audit-related fees(2)
172,632
Tax fees(3)
—
All other fees(4)
2,200
Total
1,899,832
(1) Represents fees for professional services provided in connection with the integrated audit of our annual financial statements and internal control over financial reporting
and review of our quarterly financial statements, advice on accounting matters that arose during the audit and audit services provided in connection with other statutory or
regulatory filings.

2013
1,818,000
79,126
135,337
2,200
2,034,663

$

$

$

$

(2) For fiscal 2013, represents $79,126 in fees for due diligence associated with our acquisition activities in fiscal 2013. For fiscal 2012, represents $146,874 in fees for due

diligence associated with our acquisition activities in fiscal 2012 and $25,578 for services related to the review of our XBRL filings.

(3) Represents tax compliance and related services.

(4) Represents the annual subscription for access to the Deloitte Accounting Research Tool, which is a searchable on-line accounting database.

Pre-Approval of Audit and Non-Audit Services

The Audit Committee has determined that the provision of non-audit
services  by  Deloitte  is  compatible  with  maintaining  Deloitte’s
independence. In accordance with its charter, the Audit Committee
approves in advance all audit and non-audit services to be provided by
Deloitte. In other cases, the Chairman of the Audit Committee has

the delegated authority from the Committee to pre-approve certain
additional services, and such pre-approvals are communicated to the
full  Committee  at  its  next  meeting.  During  fiscal  years  2013  and
2012,  100%  of  the  services  were  pre-approved  by  the  Audit
Committee in accordance with this policy.

Vote Required

The affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast will be required to
ratify  the  selection  of  Deloitte  &  Touche  LLP  as  our  independent
registered  public  accounting  firm  for  the  fiscal  year  ending
September 27, 2014.

The Audit Committee and the Board recommends that
‘‘FOR’’  the  ratification  of  the
Stockholders  vote 
appointment  of  Deloitte  &  Touche  LLP  as  our
independent  registered  public  accounting  firm  for  the
fiscal year ending September 27, 2014.

14 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

PROPOSAL THREE

ADVISORY VOTE
TO APPROVE EXECUTIVE
OFFICER COMPENSATION

At our Annual Meeting in March 2011, our stockholders indicated
that  they  would  like  to  have  an  annual  advisory  vote  on  executive
compensation.  Accordingly,  our  Board  of  Directors  proposes  that
stockholders  provide  advisory  (non-binding)  approval  of  the
compensation of our named executive officers, as disclosed pursuant
to  the  compensation  disclosure  rules  of  the  SEC,  including  the
Compensation  Discussion  and  Analysis,  the  Fiscal  2013  Summary
Compensation Table and related tables and disclosure.

As described in our Compensation Discussion and Analysis, we have
adopted an executive compensation philosophy designed to provide
alignment  between  executive  pay  and  performance  and  to  focus
executives on making decisions that enhance our stockholder value in
both  the  short  and  long  term.  Executives  are  compensated  in  a
manner  consistent  with  Coherent’s  strategy,  competitive  practices,
stockholder 
interest  alignment,  and  evolving  compensation
governance standards.

Vote Required

Under our bylaws the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of
the votes cast is required to approve the compensation of our named
executive  officers  disclosed  in  this  proxy  statement.  The  vote  is  an
advisory  vote,  and  therefore  not  binding.  Our  Board  of  Directors
values the opinions of our stockholders and to the extent there is any

significant vote against the named executive officer compensation as
disclosed in this proxy statement, we will consider our stockholders’
concerns and the Compensation and H.R. Committee will evaluate
whether any actions are necessary to address those concerns.

Recommendation

The  Board  of  Directors  unanimously  recommends  that  Stockholders  vote  ‘‘FOR’’  the  approval  of  our
Executive Officer Compensation disclosed in this proxy statement.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 15

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN
BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The  following  table  sets  forth,  as  of  December  31,  2013,  certain
information  with  respect  to  the  beneficial  ownership  of  common
stock by (i) any person (including any ‘‘group’’ as that term is used in
Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act known by us to be the beneficial
owner of more than 5% of our voting securities, (ii) each director and
each nominee for director, (iii) each of the executive officers named in
the  Summary  Compensation  Table  appearing  herein,  and  (iv)  all

executive  officers  and  directors  as  a  group,  based  on  information
available to the Company as of filing this proxy statement. We do not
know of any arrangements, including any pledge by any person of our
securities, the operation of which may at a subsequent date result in a
change  of  control.  Unless  otherwise  indicated,  the  address  of  each
stockholder  in  the  table  below  is  c/o  Coherent,  Inc.,  5100  Patrick
Henry Drive, Santa Clara, California 95054.

Name and Address
Eagle Asset Management, Inc.(2)
880 Carillon Parkway
St. Petersburg, FL 33716

Blackrock Fund Advisors(2)
400 Howard St.
San Francisco, CA 94105
Vanguard Group Inc.(2)
P.O. Box 2600
Valley Forge, PA 19482

John R. Ambroseo

Helene Simonet
Paul Sechrist(3)
Bret DiMarco

Mark Sobey
Jay T. Flatley(4)
Susan M. James(5)
L. William Krause(6)
Garry W. Rogerson(7)
Steve Skaggs
Lawrence Tomlinson(8)
Sandeep Vij(9)
All directors and executive officers as a group (13 persons)(10)
*

Represents less than 1%.

Number
of Shares

Percent of
Total(1)

2,085,024

8.39%

1,950,642

7.85%

1,477,907

154,334

23,767

35,349

12,842

9,470

23,000

8,000

44,500

19,500

—

7,000

11,400

373,036

5.95%

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

1.5%

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Based upon 24,839,166 shares of Coherent common stock outstanding as of December 31, 2013. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules of the
SEC and generally includes voting or investment power with respect to the securities. In computing the number of shares beneficially owned by a person and the
percentage ownership of that person, each share of Coherent common stock subject to options held by that person that are currently exercisable or will be exercisable
within 60 days of December 31, 2013 and all RSUs which will vest within 60 days of December 31, 2013, are deemed outstanding. In addition, such shares, are not
deemed outstanding for the purpose of computing the percentage ownership of any other person.

Based on the institutional holding report provided by NASDAQ, which reflects the most recent Schedule 13D, 13F or 13G (or amendments thereto) filed by such person
with the SEC, or a Schedule 13D, 13F or 13G filing made after our receipt of this report.

Includes 8,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options held by Mr. Sechrist which were exercisable or would become exercisable within 60 days of December 31, 2013.

Includes 16,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options held by Mr. Flatley which were exercisable and 3,500 shares issuable upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of
December 31, 2013.

Includes 3,500 shares issuable upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of December 31, 2013 held by Ms. James.

Includes 30,000 shares issuable upon exercise of options held by Mr. Krause which were exercisable and 3,500 shares issuable upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of
December 31, 2013.

Includes 3,500 shares issuable upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of December 31, 2013 held by Mr. Rogerson.

Includes 3,500 shares issuable upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of December 31, 2013 held by Mr. Tomlinson.

Includes 3,500 shares issuable upon vesting of RSUs within 60 days of December 31, 2013 held by Mr. Vij.

(10)

Includes an aggregate of 68,000 options and 21,000 shares issuable upon vesting of RSU’s which were exercisable or would become exercisable or vested, as the case may
be, within 60 days of December 31, 2013.

16 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the ‘‘Exchange
Act’’) requires our officers and directors, and persons who own more
than  ten  percent  of  a  registered  class  of  our  equity  securities  to  file
reports of ownership and changes in ownership with the SEC. Such
officers,  directors  and  ten-percent  stockholders  are  also  required  by
SEC rules to furnish us with copies of all forms that they file pursuant

to  Section  16(a).  Based  solely  on  our  review  of  the  copies  of  such
forms  received  by  us,  and  on  written  representations  from  certain
reporting  persons  that  no  other  reports  were  required  for  such
persons,  we  believe  that,  during  fiscal  2013,  our  officers,  directors
and,  to  our  knowledge,  greater  than  ten  percent  stockholders
complied with all applicable Section 16(a) filing requirements.

OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The name, age, position and a brief account of the business experience of our Chief Executive Officer and each of our other executive officers as of
December 31, 2013 are set forth below:

Name

John R. Ambroseo
Helene Simonet
Mark Sobey
Paul Sechrist
Luis Spinelli
Bret DiMarco

Age

52
61
53
54
65
45

Please  see  heading  ‘‘Nominees’’  under  Proposal  One  above  for
Mr. Ambroseo’s biographical information.

Helene  Simonet. Ms.  Simonet  has  served  as  our  Executive  Vice
President and Chief Financial Officer since April 2002. Ms. Simonet
served as Vice President of Finance of our former Medical Group and
Vice President of Finance, Photonics Division from December 1999
to April 2002. Prior to joining Coherent, she spent over twenty years
in  senior  finance  positions  at  Raychem  Corporation’s  Division  and
Corporate  organizations,  including  Vice  President  of  Finance  of
Raynet  Corporation.  Ms.  Simonet  has  both  Master’s  and  Bachelor
degrees from the University of Leuven, Belgium.

Mark  Sobey. Mr.  Sobey  was  appointed  Executive  Vice  President  of
Coherent and General Manager of Specialty Laser Systems (SLS) in
April  2010.  He  had  previously  served  as  Senior  Vice  President  and
General Manager for the SLS Business Group, which primarily serves
the Microelectronics and Research markets, since joining Coherent in
July 2007 until April 2010. Prior to Coherent, Mr. Sobey has spent
over  20  years  in  the  Laser  and  Fiber  Optics  Telecommunications
industries, 
including  roles  as  Senior  Vice  President  Product
Management at Cymer from January 2006 through June 2007 and
prior to that as Senior Vice President Global Sales at JDS Uniphase
through October 2005. He received his PhD in Engineering and BSc
in Physics, both from the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.

Paul  Sechrist. Mr.  Paul  Sechrist  was  appointed  Executive  Vice
President, Worldwide Sales and Service in March 2011. He has over
30 years of experience with Coherent, including roles as Senior Vice
President  and  General  Manager  of  Commercial  Lasers  and
Components from October 2008 to March 2011, Vice President and

Office Held

President and Chief Executive Officer
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Executive Vice President and General Manager, Specialty Laser Systems
Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales and Service
Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

General Manager of Specialty Laser Systems, Santa Clara from March
2008 to October 2008 and Vice President for Components from April
2005 to October 2008. Mr. Sechrist received an AA degree from San
Jose City College, with Physics studies at California State University,
Hayward.

Luis Spinelli. Mr. Spinelli has served as our Executive Vice President
and  Chief  Technology  Officer  since  February  2004.  Mr.  Spinelli
joined  the  Company  in  May  1985  and  has  since  held  various
engineering  and  managerial  positions,  including  Vice  President,
Advanced  Research  from  April  2000  to  September  2002  and  Vice
President,  Corporate  Research  from  September  2002  to  February
2004.  Mr.  Spinelli  has  led  the  Advanced  Research  Unit  from  its
inception in 1998, whose charter is to identify and evaluate new and
emerging technologies of interest for us across a range of disciplines in
the laser field. Mr. Spinelli holds a degree in Electrical Engineering
from  the  University  of  Buenos  Aires,  Argentina  with  post-graduate
work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Bret  M.  DiMarco. Mr.  DiMarco  has  served  as  our  Executive  Vice
President and General Counsel since June 2006 and our Corporate
Secretary since February 2007. From February 2003 until May 2006,
Mr. DiMarco was a member and from October 1995 until January
2003 was an associate at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., a
law  firm.  Mr.  DiMarco  received  a  Bachelor’s  degree  from  the
University of California at Irvine and a Juris Doctorate degree from
the Law Center at the University of Southern California. He is also an
adjunct  professor  of  law  at  the  University  of  California  Hastings
College  of  the  Law,  teaching  corporate  law  and  mergers  &
acquisitions.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 17

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Introduction

In this section, we describe the material components of our executive
compensation  program  for  our  ‘‘Named  Executive  Officers’’  or
‘‘NEOs’’:

Name

John R. Ambroseo
Helene Simonet
Mark Sobey

Paul Sechrist

Bret DiMarco

Title

President and Chief Executive Officer
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Executive Vice President and General Manager,
Specialty Laser Systems
Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales
and Service
Executive Vice President, General Counsel
and Corporate Secretary

We  also  provide  an  overview  of  our  executive  compensation
philosophy,  principal  compensation  policies  and  practices  by  which
the  Compensation  and  H.R.  Committee  arrives  at  its  decisions
regarding NEO compensation.

Stockholder Feedback

The  committee  carefully  considers  feedback  from  our  stockholders
regarding our executive compensation program, including the results
of  our  annual  advisory  vote  on  executive  compensation,  which  (as
seen  below)  has  historically  been  strongly  supported  by  our
stockholders. All stockholders are invited to express their views to the
committee as described in this proxy under the heading ‘‘Stockholder
Communication with the Board of Directors.’’ We strongly urge our
stockholders  to  read  this  Compensation  Discussion  and  Analysis  in
conjunction with the advisory vote under Proposal Three.

Executive Summary

Our Business

Founded in 1966, we are a world leader in providing photonics based
solutions  to  the  commercial  and  scientific  research  markets.  Our
common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market and is
part of the Russell 2000 and Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Index.
For more information about our business, please read ‘‘Business’’ and
‘‘Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and
Results of Operations’’ sections in our Annual Report on Form 10-K
filed with SEC on November 27, 2013.

Selected Business Highlights

Fiscal 2013 saw Coherent maintain its strong financial performance.
This  financial  performance  allowed  us  to  continue  to  invest  in  the
development of new technologies and to prudently return money to
our  stockholders  through  a  one-time  $24  million  special  dividend.
These  results,  however,  did  not  fully  meet  the  performance
requirements  under  our  executive  compensation  programs  and  you

18 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

will  see  in  the  coming  pages  that  our  executive  variable  cash
compensation program had a significantly lower payout than targeted.

Set forth below are tables reflecting several performance metrics from
the last three fiscal years.

Our revenue decreased 4% from fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2012 and grew
5% from fiscal 2012 to fiscal 2013 (dollars in millions):

Our  pro  forma  EBITDA%  decreased  from  19.5%  to  18.4%  from
fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2012 and decreased to 17.8% in fiscal 2013:

14JAN201422040425

Our non-GAAP earnings per share declined 11% from fiscal 2011 to
fiscal 2012 and grew 9% from fiscal 2012 to fiscal 2013:

16JAN201414504405

16JAN201414504213

For  a  reconciliation  table  of  earnings  per  share  on  a  GAAP  basis  and
EBITDA % to net income as a percentage of revenue, please refer to the
‘‘Reconciliation Table’’ at the end of this section.

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

officer  during  fiscal  2013  at  target,  maximum  and  actual  can  be
illustrated as follows (*) (dollars in thousands):

Compensation Overview

Compensation  Philosophy. Our  approach  to  compensating  our
executives  is  to  tie  total  compensation  to  stockholder  value  by  our
results of operations and the comparative performance of our stock
price. This approach provides strong alignment between executive pay
and  performance  and  focuses  executives  on  making  decisions  that
enhance our stockholder value in both the short and long-term. We
design our executive compensation program to achieve the following
goals:

(cid:129) Pay 

for  Performance,  with  both  short  and 

long-term
measurements—A significant portion of the annual compensation
of  our  executives  is  designed  to  vary  with  annual  business
performance  and  the  relative  performance  of  Coherent’s  trading
price in comparison to the Russell 2000 Index.

(cid:129) Tie  compensation  to  performance  of  the  core  business—Our
fiscal 2013 annual cash bonus plan was dependent upon Coherent’s
achievement against two thresholds: adjusted EBITDA dollars and
revenue. The committee felt these were the most effective metrics
for  tying  management’s  compensation  directly  to  Coherent’s  core
operating results.

(cid:129) Retain  and  Hire  Talented  Executives—Executives  should  have
market competitive compensation and the committee positions the
midpoint  of  our  target  total  compensation  ranges  near  the
50th  percentile  of  our  peer  group  (as  noted  below),  with  actual
compensation  falling  above  or  below  depending  upon  Coherent’s
financial performance.

(cid:129) Align 

stockholder 

compensation  with 

interests—Our
stockholders benefit from continued strong operating performance
by  the  Company  and  the  committee  believes  that  having  a
significant portion of compensation tied to equity with both time
and  performance-based  vesting  requirements  directly  aligns
management to stockholder returns. Grants of performance-based
RSUs in fiscal 2013 have a single vesting date three years from grant
solely  dependent  upon  the  performance  of  Coherent’s  common
stock price measured against the Russell 2000 Index. For each 1%
Coherent’s common stock exceeds the performance of the Russell
2000  Index  for  the  trailing  90  trading  days  from  the  vesting
measurement date against the comparable period from the date of
grant, the grant recipient will get a 2% increase in the number of
shares above target (up to a maximum cap), and for each 1% below
the Russell 2000 Index’s performance, a 2% decrease in the number
of shares (down to zero). The maximum achievable amounts under
the performance-based RSUs make up the largest potential portion
of the equity grants for our chief executive officer.

Elements  of  Executive  Compensation. During  fiscal  2013,  the
compensation  of  our  NEOs  primarily  consisted  of  (A)  base  salary,
(B) participation in our annual variable cash incentive plan (referred
to  below  as  our  ‘‘cash  bonus  plan’’  or  ‘‘VCP’’),  and  (C)  long-term
equity  incentive  awards  divided  between  time-based  RSUs  and
performance-based RSUs. For fiscal 2013, on average, approximately
78% of our NEO’s target compensation and approximately 86% of
our CEO’s target compensation was delivered in the form of variable
annual cash bonus plan and long-term equity incentives.

As a demonstration of how closely executive cash compensation is tied
to  company  performance,  the  cash  pay  mix  for  our  chief  executive

14JAN201422035507
You  will  note  that  our  CEO’s  cash  compensation  was  significantly
below target since the Company did not fully meet the performance
criteria under our annual variable cash compensation plan.

‘‘Pay  for  performance’’  has  been  and
Compensation  Governance.
remains  at  the  core  of  Coherent’s  executive  compensation  coupled
with  appropriately  managing  risk  and  aligning  our  compensation
programs  with  long-term  stockholder  interests.  We  accomplish  this
primarily by having a majority of the NEOs’ potential compensation
being ‘‘at risk’’ through a combination of (i) a fiscal year variable cash
bonus  program  tied  to  achievement  of  operating  metrics  and
(ii) equity grant vesting tied to achievement of a performance metric.
The  committee  monitors  and  considers  evolving  governance
approaches and standards in executive compensation.

As more fully discussed below, recent examples of how this philosophy
is applied and changes made pursuant to compensation practices as
well as governance practices in effect during fiscal 2013, include:

(cid:129) In fiscal 2013, the payouts of our annual cash bonus plan to our

NEOs were approximately 38% as compared to target;

(cid:129) As  a  result  of  the  performance  criteria  of  our  annual  cash  bonus
plan, in fiscal 2012 the payouts to our NEOs were approximately
19.9% as compared to target, including no payout in the second
half of the year due to a failure to meet the threshold conditions;

(cid:129) We  have  a  claw-back  policy  for  our  Chief  Executive  Officer  and

Chief Financial Officer in certain circumstances;

(cid:129) We  have  minimum  share  ownership  requirements  for  our  Chief

Executive Officer and members of the Board of Directors;

(cid:129) Our  performance-based  RSU  program  is  measured  by  the
Company’s stock price achievement against the Russell 2000, which
the committee believes is a direct connection to total stockholder
return;

(cid:129) Our performance-based RSU grants to our NEOs when measured
in fiscal 2013 for performance achievement vested below target;

(cid:129) The  committee  is  composed  entirely  of  directors  who  satisfy  the
standards  of  independence  in  Coherent’s  Corporate  Governance
Guidelines and NASDAQ listing standards;

(cid:129) Executive  incentive  compensation  programs  include  limits  on

maximum payouts to contain the risk of excessive payouts;

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 19

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

(cid:129) Our change-of-control plan provides for payment only in ‘‘double-
trigger’’ circumstances-namely a change-of-control coupled with a
termination of employment; and

(cid:129) None of our executive officers have employment contracts.

but  leave  the  meetings  when  matters  potentially  affecting  them  are
discussed.

The  committee  makes  decisions 
compensation without him present.

regarding  Mr.  Ambroseo’s

Our stockholders recognized our corporate governance and executive
compensation  structure  by  overwhelmingly  approving  our  ‘‘say  on
pay’’ advisory votes in each of the last three years (with abstentions
significantly out-numbering ‘‘no’’ votes in two of the past three years):

In 2011, voting 19,684,002 shares (92%) in favor compared to only
591,602 shares (3%) against, with 1,204,275 shares (5%) abstaining;

In 2012, voting 20,764,535 shares (99%) in favor compared to only
187,670 shares (1%) against, with 24,577 shares (0%) abstaining;

In 2013, voting 18,999,148 shares (88%) in favor compared to only
1,137,010 shares (5%) against, with 1,439,307 (7%) abstaining.

Role of Management
The  committee  regularly  meets  with  Mr.  Ambroseo,  our  Chief
Executive  Officer,  to  obtain  recommendations  with  respect  to  the
compensation  programs,  practices  and  packages  for  our  Named
Executive  Officers  other 
than  Mr.  Ambroseo.  Additionally,
Ms.  Simonet,  our  Executive  Vice  President  and  Chief  Financial
Officer,  Mr.  DiMarco,  our  Executive  Vice  President  and  General
Counsel  and  members  of  our  human  resources  department  are
regularly invited to meetings of the committee or otherwise asked to
assist the committee.

The  assistance  of  these  individuals  include  providing  financial
information  and  analysis  for  the  committee  and  its  compensation
consultant, taking minutes of the meeting or providing legal advice,
developing compensation proposals for consideration, and providing
insights  regarding  our  employees  (executive  and  otherwise)  and  the
business  context  for  the  committee’s  decisions.  Named  Executive
Officers will attend portions of committee meetings when requested,

Role of the Committee’s Compensation
Consultant
The  committee  is  committed  to  utilizing  the  services  of  an
independent  compensation  consultant  and  in  fiscal  2013,  engaged
Compensia as its independent compensation consultant. Compensia
assisted the committee by:

(cid:129) Reviewing and analyzing our executive compensation program; and

(cid:129) Providing market data and ranges for fiscal 2013 compensation.

Additionally,  in  fiscal  2013,  Compensia  was  retained  by  the
Governance and Nominating Committee to review, analyze and make
recommendations regarding compensation for service on the Board of
Directors and its committees.

The independent compensation consultant serves at the discretion of
the committee and is not permitted to do other work for Coherent
unless  expressly  authorized  by  the  committee.  Since  retention,
Compensia has not performed any work for Coherent other than its
work with the committee, the Board of Directors or other committees
of the Board of Directors. The committee is focused on maintaining
the  independence  of  its  compensation  consultant  and,  accordingly,
does not anticipate having its consultant perform any other work for
the Company in addition to its direct work for the committee or the
Board. The committee has assessed the independence of Compensia
and concluded that no conflict of interest exists.

We  also  participate  in  and  maintain  a  subscription  to  the  Radford
Global Technology Survey. This survey provides benchmark data and
compensation practices reports to assist us with regards to employee
compensation generally.

Pay Positioning Strategy and Benchmarking of Compensation

Philosophically  the  committee  initially  orients  the  midpoint  of  our
target  total  compensation  ranges  for  our  NEOs  generally  near  the
50th percentile of our peers, resulting in targeted total compensation
that  is  competitive  for  performance  that  meets  the  objectives
established  by  the  committee.  A  Named  Executive  Officer’s  actual
incentive  compensation  opportunity  and  equity
salary,  cash 
compensation grant value may fall below or above the target position
based  on  the  individual’s  experience,  seniority,  skills,  knowledge,
performance  and  contributions.  These 
factors  are  weighed
individually by the committee in its judgment, and no single factor
takes precedence over others nor is any formula used in making these
decisions.  For  fiscal  2013  compensation  of  the  Chief  Executive
Officer, based on the Company’s performance and the structure of his
equity grant being two-thirds solely performance-based (i.e. no shares
will  vest  unless  the  threshold  performance  criteria  is  met),  the
committee asked Compensia to provide information at the 50th and
75th  percentile  and  oriented  his  compensation  target  closer  to  the
75th percentile.

The Chief Executive Officer’s review of the performance of the other
Named Executive Officers is considered by the committee in making

individual pay decisions. With respect to the Chief Executive Officer,
the committee additionally considered the performance of Coherent
as a whole and the views of the Board of Directors regarding the Chief
Executive Officer’s performance. Actual realized pay is higher or lower
than the targeted amounts for each individual based primarily on the
Company’s performance.

In  analyzing  our  executive  compensation  program  relative  to  this
target  market  positioning,  the  committee  reviews  information
provided by its independent compensation consultant, which includes
an analysis of data from peer companies’ proxy filings with respect to
similarly situated individuals at the peer companies and the Radford
Global  Technology  Survey,  which  is  a  broad  cross-section  of
technology companies of similar size to Coherent. It is important to
note  that  these  are  the  peers  selected  by  the  committee.  The
committee  uses  criteria  as  described  below  in  determining  the
appropriate group. There are proxy advisory services which use their
own  criteria  to  select  peers  for  the  Company  and,  accordingly,
stockholders should be aware that these advisory services do not, in
fact, follow the same methodology of the committee and there may be
wide  variances  between  the  different  peer  groups  used  by  these

20 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

services. Any comparison of company performance or market data for
executive compensation using a completely different peer group will,
therefore,  naturally  result  in  a  different  analysis.  We  encourage  our

stockholders to consider the peer group used in any comparisons and
direct any questions to the committee regarding such comparisons or
any other matters when considering how to vote on Proposal Three.

For pay decisions made in fiscal 2013, after consulting with our independent compensation consultant, the committee determined that the
following companies comprise the peer group for fiscal 2013:

Cabet Microelectronics (CCMP)
Cymer Inc. (CYMI)
Emulex (ELX)
Entegris (ENTG)
FEI Company (FEIC)
Finisar Corp. (FNSR)
FLIR Systems, Inc. (FLIR)
Harmonic (HLIT)

Infinera (INFN)
JDS Uniphase (JDSU)
MKS Instruments (MKSI)
National Instruments (NATI)
Newport Corporation (NEWP)
Plantronics (PLT)
PMC-Sierra, Inc. (PMCS)
Polycom (PLCM)

The  committee  made  the  following  changes  to  the  group  of  peer
companies  from  fiscal  2012  primarily  as  a  result  of  filtering  such
companies through the selection criteria noted below:

Removed: 
Opnext, Inc. and Trimble Navigation.

Integrated  Device  Technology,  Novellus  Systems,

(cid:129) Revenue level (primarily companies with annual revenues between

0.5x-2.0x that of Coherent);

Secondary Criteria

(cid:129) Annual revenue growth of greater than 5%;

Added: For fiscal 2013, no new peer group companies were added.

(cid:129) Market capitalization between 0.5 and 2.0x of Coherent; and

Several  factors  are  considered  in  selecting  the  peer  group,  the  most
important of which are:

Primary Criteria

(cid:129) Industry  (primarily  companies  in  the  Electronic  Equipment  and
Semiconductor  sub-industry  classifications  defined  by  the  Global
Industry Classification Standard (GICS) system);

(cid:129) Market capitalization as a multiple of revenues of greater than 1.5x.

The committee reviews the composition of the peer group annually to
ensure it is the most relevant set of companies to use for comparison
purposes.

Components of Our Executive Compensation Program

The principal components of our executive officer compensation and
employment arrangements during fiscal 2013 included:

(cid:129) Base salary;

(cid:129) Variable cash bonus program;

(cid:129) Equity awards; and

(cid:129) Other benefits.

These components were selected because the committee believes that
a combination of salary, incentive pay and benefits is necessary to help
us attract and retain the executive talent on which Coherent’s success
depends. The following table shows at target the components of total
direct compensation for our named executive officers as a group for
fiscal 2013.

Base Salary

14JAN201422035731

Base salary is the foundation to providing an appropriate total direct
compensation package. We use base salary to fairly and competitively
compensate our executives for the jobs we ask them to perform. This
is the most stable component of our executive compensation program,
as  this  amount  is  not  at  risk.  The  committee  reviewed  market  data
information provided by Compensia with respect to similarly situated
individuals to assist it in determining the base salary for each Named

Executive  Officer,  depending  upon  the  particular  executive’s
experience  and  historical  performance.  There  were  no  increases  to
salary in fiscal 2012 for any of our Named Executive Officers. In fiscal
2013,  only  one  of  our  Named  Executive  officers,  Mr.  Sechrist,
received a salary increase based on the market data reviewed by the
committee.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 21

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Variable Cash Incentive Compensation

A  substantial  portion  of  each  individual’s  potential  short-term
compensation  is  in  the  form  of  variable  incentive  pay  tied  to
committee-established goals. In fiscal 2013, Coherent maintained one
incentive cash program under which executive officers were eligible to
receive  bonuses,  the  2013  Variable  Compensation  Plan  (‘‘2013
VCP’’).

2013 VCP

The  2013  VCP  was  designed  as  an  ‘‘at  risk’’  bonus  compensation
program to promote a focus on Coherent’s growth and profitability. It
provided  incentive  compensation  opportunity  in  line  with  targeted
market rates to our Named Executive Officers. Under the 2013 VCP,
participants  were  eligible  to  receive  bi-annual  bonuses  (with
measurement periods for the first half and the second half of the 2013
fiscal year). In setting the performance goals at the beginning of the
fiscal  year,  the  committee  assessed  the  anticipated  difficulty  and
importance to the success of Coherent of achieving the performance
goals.

The actual awards (if any) payable for each semi-annual period varied
depending on the extent to which actual performance met, exceeded
or fell short of the goals approved by the committee. The 2013 VCP
goals  were  tied  to  Coherent  achieving  varying  levels  of  adjusted
EBITDA  dollars  (‘‘adjusted  EBITDA  $’’),  with  a  requirement  of
achieving two thresholds for each payment period: (1) at least 80%
of  the  Board-approved  budgeted  revenue  and  (2)  a  minimum  of  a
certain adjusted EBITDA $, without giving effect to any 2013 VCP
payments. Adjusted EBITDA was defined as earnings before interest,
taxes,  depreciation,  amortization  and  certain  other  non-operating
income and expense items and other items, such as the fiscal impact of
stock option expensing under Financial Accounting Standards Board,
or FASB, Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC 718, amounts
earned under the 2013 VCP, impairment or restructuring charges, and
the impact of acquisitions made during the fiscal year.

Each  measurement  period  had  the  same  range  of  between  zero  and
200%, with target at 100% of the executive’s participation rate.

Fiscal 2013 Variable Compensation Plan Scale for Named Executive Officers

Revenue  exceeded  the  80%  threshold  and  Adjusted  EBITDA$
Achievement  for  the  First  Half  FY  2013  was  $67.3M,  with  a
corresponding payout of approximately 43.62% of Target

First Half FY 2013 VCP Scale

Adjusted EBITDA $(in millions)
$62.8 (threshold)

$67.3 (actual)

$70.6
$78.4
$84.9
$91.4 (and above)
Revenue Threshold $314.2 million

Payout

—%

43.62% (actual)

50%
100%
150%
200%

Revenue  exceeded  the  80%  threshold  and  Adjusted  EBITDA$
Achievement  for  the  Second  Half  FY  2013  was  $76.9M,  with  a
corresponding payout of approximately 25.08% of Target

Second Half FY 2013 VCP Scale

Adjusted EBITDA $(in millions)

$73.7 (threshold)

$76.9 (actual)

$83.0
$92.2
$98.7
$105.2
Revenue Threshold $336.4 million

Payout

—%

25.08% (actual)

50%
100%
150%
200%

The  tables  below  describe  for  each  Named  Executive  Officer  under
the 2013 Variable Compensation Plan (i) the target percentage of base
salary, (ii) the potential award range as a percentage of base salary, and
(iii)  the  actual  award  earned  for  the  measurement  period  in  fiscal
2013.

First Half of Fiscal Year 2013

Named
Executive
Officer

John Ambroseo
Helene Simonet
Mark Sobey
Paul Sechrist
Bret DiMarco

Payout
Target Percentage
Range of
Salary

Percentage
of Salary

Actual
Award as a
Actual Percentage of
Target
Award
Award(2)
($)(1)

100%
70%
65%
50%
50%

0-200% 136,317
0-140% 61,834
0-130% 51,036
0-100% 38,168
0-100% 36,532

43.62%
43.62%
43.62%
43.62%
43.62%

Second Half of Fiscal Year 2013

Named
Executive
Officer

Payout
Target Percentage
Range of
Salary

Percentage
of Salary

Actual
Award as a
Actual Percentage of
Target
Award
Award(2)
($)(1)

100%
John Ambroseo
70%
Helene Simonet
65%
Mark Sobey
50%
Paul Sechrist
50%
Bret DiMarco
(1) Reflects amounts earned during the applicable half of fiscal 2013.

0-200% 78,377
0-140% 35,552
0-130% 29,344
0-100% 21,945
0-100% 21,005

25.08%
25.08%
25.08%
25.08%
25.08%

(2) This reflects the aggregate bonuses earned by the Named Executive Officers for

the applicable half of fiscal 2013 under the 2013 VCP.

22 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Equity Awards

We believe that equity awards provide a strong alignment between the
interests of our executives and our stockholders. We seek to provide
equity award opportunities that are consistent with our compensation
philosophy,  with  the  potential  for  increase  for  exceptional  financial
performance,  consistent  with  the  reasonable  management  of  overall
equity  compensation  expense  and  stockholder  dilution.  Finally,  we
believe that long-term equity awards are an essential tool in promoting
executive retention. For fiscal 2013, our long-term incentive program
included the grant of time-based RSUs and performance-based RSUs.
These components provide a reward for past corporate and individual
performance  and  as  an  incentive  for  future  performance.  Our
performance-based  RSUs  grants  are  tied  to  the  Company’s
performance and, as a result, may fluctuate from no vesting to vesting
which is above target. When making its compensation decisions, the
committee  reviews  a  compensation  overview  prepared  by 
its
independent  compensation  consultant  which  reflects  potential
realizable  value  under  current  short  and  long-term  compensation
arrangements for each Named Executive Officer.

Fiscal 2013 Equity Grants

For fiscal 2013, the committee determined to base the equity program
on  a  combination  of  time-based  and  performance-based  RSUs.  In
particular, the committee determined to measure achievement for the
performance  grants  by  the  relative  performance  of  Coherent’s  stock

price  in  comparison  to  the  Russell  2000  Index.  The  committee
believed that using the Russell 2000 Index (in which Coherent is a
member)  as  a  proxy  of  total  stockholder  return  directly  aligns
executive  compensation  with  stockholder  interest.  The  committee
determined  that  both  the  performance-based  and  time-based  RSU
grants provide a further retention tool in that the time-based grants
vest  over  two  years  with  pro  rata  annual  vesting  and,  for  the
performance-based  grants,  a  single  measurement  period  three  years
from the date of grant with three-year cliff vesting shortly thereafter if
such  grants  vest  at  all  since  such  grants  vest  purely  based  on
performance.

Performance-based RSU grants in fiscal 2013 vest solely dependent
upon the performance of Coherent’s common stock price measured
against  the  Russell  2000  Index.  For  each  1%  Coherent’s  common
stock  exceeds  the  performance  of  the  Russell  2000  Index  for  the
trailing 90 trading days from the vesting measurement date against the
comparable period from the date of grant, the grant recipient will get a
2% increase in the number of shares above target (up to a maximum
cap), and for each 1% below the Russell 2000 Index’s performance, a
2% decrease in the number of shares (down to zero). The maximum
achievable amounts under the performance-based RSUs make up the
largest potential portion of the equity grants for our Chief Executive
Officer. The following table summarizes some of the key attributions
of our 2013 equity grants:

Fiscal 2013 Equity Grants 

Type 
Vesting for RSUs 
Vesting for PSUs 

PSU Metrics 

RSUs and PSUs 
50% each grant anniversary 
Single vesting date three years from grant 
100% tied to Russell 2000 Index 
Minimum vest: zero 
Target vest: even with Russell 2000 Index 
Maximum vest: 200% of target 

15JAN201417045803

The  following  chart  shows  the  aggregate  composition  of  equity
grants  for  fiscal  2013  to  our  Chief  Executive  Officer  assuming  the
maximum achievement under the performance-based grants:

For our Chief Executive Officer, our goal is that at the end of three
years, he will receive greater than half of his total equity awards in
performance-based equity awards at target achievement. Accordingly,
for our Chief Executive Officer, at target, approximately 66% of his
equity awards are performance-based and at maximum achievement
that percentage increases to approximately 80%.

In the event of a change of control of the Company, the performance-
based grants will be measured, with respect to performance periods
not yet completed, by the relative stock performance of Coherent in
comparison to the Russell 2000 Index through the date of the change
of control and such performance-based shares would, subject to the
terms  of  the  Change  of  Control  Severance  Plan,  then  convert  to
time-based  vesting  with  a  single  vesting  date  at  the  three  year
anniversary of the grant.

14JAN201422035286

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 23

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

The following tables reflect the equity grants to the Named Executive
Officers during the first quarter of fiscal 2013:

Named
Executive
Officer

Time-Based
RSU Grants

Performance-Based Performance-Based
RSU Grants
Range

RSU Grants
at Target

John Ambroseo
Helene Simonet
Mark Sobey
Paul Sechrist
Bret DiMarco

24,000
11,100
10,400
8,900
7,400

47,000
5,500
5,200
4,400
3,700

0 – 94,000
0 – 11,000
0 – 10,400
0 –  8,800
0 –  7,400

Equity Award Practices

Equity  grants  to  our  employees  are  driven  by  our  annual  review
process. Grant guidelines are based on competitive market practices.
Typically, an eligible employee is granted equity at the first committee
meeting after beginning employment and may be eligible for periodic
grants thereafter. Eligibility for and the size of grants are influenced by
the  then-current  guidelines  for  non-executive  officer  grants  and  the
individual’s  performance  or  particular  requirements  at  the  time  of
hire.

In fiscal 2013 the committee granted an aggregate of 446,604 shares
subject to time-based and performance-based restricted stock units (at
maximum),  representing  approximately  1.83%  of  Coherent’s
outstanding  common  stock  as  of  September  28,  2013  (excluding

automatic  and  initial  grants  to  directors).  The  committee  did  not
grant  any  stock  options  during  fiscal  2013  to  employees.  With  the
assistance of Compensia, the committee has reviewed this burn rate
relative to peer practices and guidance from Institutional Shareholder
Services (ISS) and found that the total dilution was consistent with
the median of peer practices and complied with ISS guidelines.

During fiscal 2013 equity grants were only made at meetings of the
committee.

Chief Executive Officer Minimum Stock
Ownership Guidelines

During  fiscal  2012,  the  committee  adopted  mandatory  stock
ownership guidelines for our Chief Executive Officer. Our guidelines
require that the Chief Executive Officer hold shares with a value of at
least  three  times  base  salary,  without  counting  vested  or  unvested
option grants or unvested grants of RSUs. Compliance is measured as
of the date of each year’s annual meeting based on the stock price of
the  shares  as  of  the  date  of  their  acquisition.  In  the  event  that  our
Chief Executive Officer does not satisfy the minimum requirements,
then  25%  of  the  net  after-tax  shares  (e.g.  exercised  options/shares
received on the vesting of RSUs) must be held until the guidelines are
met.  As  of  December  31,  2013,  Mr.  Ambroseo  held  stock  worth
approximately 18 times his base salary and, accordingly, significantly
exceeded the minimum stock ownership guideline.

Other Benefits

Retirement Plans

Executive officers are eligible to participate in our 401(k) Retirement
Plan on the same terms as all other U.S. employees, including a 4%
Company matching contribution. Our 401(k) Retirement Plan is a
tax-qualified plan and therefore is subject to certain Internal Revenue
Code  limitations  on  the  dollar  amounts  of  deferrals  and  Company
contributions that can be made to plan accounts. These limitations
apply  to  our  more  highly-compensated  employees  (including  the
Named Executive Officers).

We  maintain  a  Deferred  Compensation  Plan  for  certain  employees
and members of the Board. The Deferred Compensation Plan permits
eligible participants to defer receipt of compensation pursuant to the
terms  of  the  plan.  The  Deferred  Compensation  Plan  permits
participants to contribute, on a pre-tax basis, up to 75% of their base
salary earnings, up to 100% of their bonus pay and commissions and
up to 100% of directors’ annual retainer earned in the upcoming plan
year.  We  provide  no  matching  or  other  additional  contributions  to
such  Deferred  Compensation  Plan.  Plan  participants  may  invest
deferrals  in  a  variety  of  different  deemed  investment  options.  To
preserve the tax-deferred status of deferred compensation plans, the
IRS  requires  that  the  available  investment  alternatives  be  ‘‘deemed
investments.’’ Participants do not have an ownership interest in the
funds they select; the funds are only used to measure the gains or losses
that are attributed to the participant’s deferral account over time.

The  committee  considers  the  Deferred  Compensation  Plan  to  be  a
reasonable  and  appropriate  program  because  it  promotes  executive
officer  retention  by  offering  a  deferred  compensation  plan  that  is

24 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

comparable to and competitive with what is offered by our peer group
of companies.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

Our  stockholders  have  approved  an  employee  stock  purchase  plan
whereby  employees  can  purchase  shares  for  a  discount,  subject  to
various participation limitations. As employees, our Named Executive
Officers are eligible to participate in this plan.

Severance and Change of Control
Arrangements

Our  Change  of  Control  Severance  Plan  (the  ‘‘Change  of  Control
Plan’’) provides certain benefits in the event of a change of control of
Coherent  for  certain  executives,  including  each  of  our  Named
Executive  Officers.  Benefits  are  provided  if  there  is  a  change  in
ownership of Coherent, a change in effective control of Coherent, or a
change in ownership of a substantial portion of Coherent’s assets (in
each case as construed under Section 409A of the Internal Revenue
Code  and  the  regulations  thereunder)(a  ‘‘change  of  control’’)  and
within two years thereafter (or within two months prior thereto) the
participant’s employment is terminated without cause or is voluntarily
termination  event.  The
terminated 
committee believes the Change of Control Plan serves as an important
retention tool in the event of a pending change of control transaction.

following  a  constructive 

The Change of Control Plan was amended and restated in the first
quarter of fiscal 2013. Among the amendments made to the plan in
fiscal  2013  were:  eliminating  outplacement  assistance  and  adding  a

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

time-limited protection against terminations made in anticipation of a
change  of  control  as  well  as  changes  to  the  definition  of  ‘‘Good
Reason.’’

with  the  opportunity  to  revise  the  plan  consistent  with  corporate
governance  best  practices,  evolving  peer  group  practices  and
regulatory changes.

The committee reviews the provisions of the Change of Control Plan
at  a  minimum  every  two  years  at  or  immediately  prior  to  the
termination of the plan. The committee believes that reviewing the
Change of Control Plan every two years allows for the right balance in
providing certainty for the participants while providing the committee

The committee does not consider the potential payments and benefits
under these arrangements when making compensation decisions for
our NEOs. These arrangements serve specific purposes unrelated to
the  determination  of  the  NEOs’  total  direct  compensation  for  a
specific year.

Tax and Accounting Considerations

(cid:129) Accounting  for  Stock-Based  Compensation—We  account  for  stock-
based compensation in accordance with the requirements of ASC
718. We also take into consideration ASC 718 and other generally
accepted accounting principles in determining changes to policies
and practices for our stock-based compensation programs.

(cid:129) Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code—This section limits the
deductibility of compensation for our Chief Executive Officer and
our four other most highly compensated Named Executive Officers
unless  the  compensation  is  less  than  $1  million  during  any  fiscal
year  or  is  ‘‘performance-based’’  under  Section  162(m).  Our  2001
Stock Plan and 2011 Plan are designed to permit option grants and
certain performance-based full value awards thereunder to be fully
tax-deductible. Cash compensation (including both base salary and

payments under our 2013 VCP) and time-based full-value awards are
‘‘performance-based’’  compensation  under
not  qualified  as 
Section 162(m). We may from time to time pay compensation to
our executive officers (including under our VCP) that may not be
deductible when, for example, we believe that such compensation is
appropriate and in the best interests of the stockholders after taking
various  factors  into  consideration,  including  business  conditions
and the performance of such executive officer.

(cid:129) Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code—Section 409A imposes
additional  significant  taxes  in  the  event  that  an  executive  officer,
director or service provider received ‘‘deferred compensation’’ that
does  not  satisfy  the  requirements  of  Section  409A.  We  consider
Section 409A in the design and operation of any plans.

Other Compensation Policies

To  further  align  our  executive  compensation  program  with  the
interests of our stockholders, at the end of fiscal 2009, a committee of
the  Board  approved  a  recoupment  policy.  The  recoupment  policy
provides that, in the event that there is an accounting restatement and
there is a finding by the Board that such restatement was due to the
gross  recklessness  or  intentional  misconduct  of  the  Chief  Executive
it  caused  material
Officer  or  Chief  Financial  Officer  and 

noncompliance  with  any  financial  reporting  requirement,  then
Coherent shall seek disgorgement of any portion of the bonus or other
incentive  or  equity  based  compensation  related  to  such  accounting
restatement received by such individual during the 12-month period
following the originally filed financial document. Under our Insider
Trading  Policy,  no  employees  or  directors  are  allowed  to  hedge  or
pledge Coherent securities.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

During fiscal 2013, the Compensation and H.R. Committee of the
Board  consisted  of  Messrs.  Vij  (Chair),  Krause,  Flatley,  and  until
January 1, 2013, Tomlinson. None of the members of the committee
has  been  or  is  an  officer  or  employee  of  Coherent.  None  of  our
executive  officers  serve  on  the  board  of  directors  or  compensation

committee of a company that has an executive officer that serves on
our  Board  or  Compensation  and  H.R.  Committee.  No  member  of
our Board is an executive officer of a company in which one of our
executive  officers  serves  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  directors  or
compensation committee of that company.

Committee Independence

Each of the members of the committee qualifies as (i) an ‘‘independent director’’ under the requirements of The NASDAQ Stock Market, (ii) a
‘‘non-employee  director’’  under  Rule  16b-3  of  the  Securities  Exchange  Act  of  1934  (the  ‘‘1934  Act’’),  (iii)  an  ‘‘outside  director’’  under
Section 162(m) of the Code and (iv) an ‘‘independent outside director’’ as that term is defined by ISS.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 25

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Compensation and H.R. Committee Report

The Compensation and H.R. Committee of the Board has reviewed
and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis required by
Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K with management and, based on such
review  and  discussions,  the  Compensation  and  H.R.  Committee
recommended to the Board that the Compensation Discussion and
Analysis be included in this Proxy Statement.

Respectfully submitted by the Compensation and H.R. Committee

Sandeep Vij, Chair
Jay Flatley
L. William Krause

RECONCILIATION TABLE—NON-GAAP EARNINGS PER SHARE

GAAP NET INCOME PER DILUTED SHARE
Stock based compensation
Intangible amortization
R&D tax (benefit)/expense
Gain on Finland dissolution
Scotland valuation adjustment
Goodwill impairment
Inventory step-up
NON-GAAP NET INCOME PER DILUTED SHARE

RECONCILIATION TABLE—PRO FORMA EBITDA%

NET INCOME % OF REVENUE
Income tax expense (benefit)
Interest and other income (expense), net
Depreciation and amortization
Purchase accounting step up
Restructuring and one time benefits/charges
Stock based compensation

PRO FORMA EBITDA % OF REVENUE

September 28, 2013

Year Ended
September 29, 2012

October 1, 2011

$2.70
0.55
0.32
—
—
(0.06)
—
0.05
$3.56

$2.62
0.48
0.19
—
—
(0.18)
0.18
—
$3.28

$3.66
0.36
0.24
(0.38)
(0.26)
0.06
0.02
—
$3.70

Fiscal Year

2013

2012

2011

8.2%
2.1%
0.5%
4.5%
0.2%
—%
2.3%

8.2%
3.6%
0.1%
3.9%
—%
0.5%
2.1%

17.8%

18.4%

11.6%
3.8%
(1.2)%
3.6%
—%
0.1%
1.6%

19.5%

26 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

SUMMARY COMPENSATION AND EQUITY TABLES

Fiscal 2013 Summary Compensation Table

The  table  below  presents  information  concerning  the  total  compensation  of  our  Named  Executive  Officers  for  the  fiscal  years  ended
September 28, 2013, September 29, 2012 and October 1, 2011.

Name and Principal Position
John Ambroseo,

Chief Executive Officer
and President
Helene Simonet,

Executive Vice President
and Chief Financial Officer

Mark Sobey,

Executive Vice President
General Manager, SLS

Paul Sechrist,

Executive Vice President
Worldwide Sales, Service and Marketing

Bret DiMarco,

Executive Vice President
and General Counsel

Fiscal
Year
2013(1)
2012
2011
2013(1)
2012
2011
2013(1)
2012
2011
2013(1)
2012
2011
2013(1)
2012
2011

Salary ($)
625,019
625,019
612,901
405,018
405,018
395,587
360,006
360,006
343,856
345,194
325,000
306,573
335,005
333,985
325,580

Stock Awards
($)(2)
3,293,280
3,860,280
2,452,700
735,948
891,644
660,675
691,808
832,201
616,630
589,604
713,314
570,055
492,248
594,429
440,450

(1) Reflects the dollar amount of salary earned in fiscal year 2013.

Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)(3)
214,694
124,629
1,628,675
97,386
56,532
738,776
80,380
43,071
562,863
60,113
32,403
423,443
57,537
33,400
436,478

All Other
Compensation
($)(4)
33,623
34,591
46,841
20,774
33,532
41,183
12,147
11,852
27,277
10,822
12,233
16,357
12,934
27,543
33,405

Total ($)
4,166,616
4,644,519
4,741,117
1,259,126
1,386,725
1,836,221
1,144,341
1,247,130
1,550,626
1,005,733
1,082,950
1,316,428
897,724
989,357
1,235,913

(2) Amounts shown reflect the grant date fair value of awards granted in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification
(ASC) Topic 718. Reflects unvested time-based and performance-based restricted stock units; there is no guaranty that the recipients will ultimately receive this amount, or
any amount. No stock options were granted to the named executive officers in fiscal years 2011, 2012 and 2013.

(3) Reflects the dollar amounts earned under the Variable Compensation Plan (VCP) during fiscal 2013, fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2011.

(4) As previously noted, effective January 1, 2011, the Compensation and H.R. Committee announced the elimination and phasing out of executive perquisites. Prior to its
elimination, the automobile benefit was administered by the Company on a December-to-November calendar year basis, which was different than the Company’s fiscal
year. Because of this difference, even though Mr. Ambroseo did not receive an automobile benefit during fiscal 2013, consistent with the past reporting practice of
determining the benefit amount as of each November, we included $8,083 for Mr. Ambroseo under ‘‘All Other Compensation’’ for fiscal 2013 with respect to the phased
out automobile benefit. No other ‘‘perquisites’’ are included for any named executive officers in the summary compensation table for fiscal 2013. Executives continue to
receive certain ‘‘other compensation’’ other than perquisites, such as the regular Company-provided employee 401(k) Plan contribution match (subject to applicable IRS
rule  limitations).  During  fiscal  2013,  the  named  executive  officers  received  the  following  contribution  matches:  Ambroseo  ($10,192),  Simonet  ($11,246),  Sobey
($10,200), Sechrist ($9,408) and DiMarco ($11,723). During fiscal 2013, we discovered that we had historically over-imputed income on the value of Company-provided
life  insurance  to  certain  employees,  including  each  of  the  named  executive  officers.  Accordingly,  in  fiscal  2013  we  made  a  one-time  payment  to  these  employees
representing our estimate of the resulting impact on each individual (the ‘‘One-Time Payment’’). The One-Time Payments are included under ‘‘All Other Compensation’’
for fiscal 2013 for each of our Named Executive Officers as follows: Ambroseo ($10,038), Simonet ($7,820), Sobey ($1,136), Sechrist ($452) and DiMarco ($584).

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 27

SUMMARY COMPENSATION AND EQUITY TABLES

Grants of Plan-Based Awards in Fiscal 2013

Except as set forth in the footnotes, the following table shows all plan-based equity and non-equity incentive awards granted to our Named
Executive Officers during fiscal 2013. Our Named Executive Officers have not received any option awards during fiscal 2013.

Estimated Future Payouts
Under Non-Equity Incentive
Plan Awards

Thresh-
Grant Date hold($)(2)
11/14/2012
11/14/2012

Target
($)

Actual
Payouts
Under
Non-Equity
Incentive
Maxi- Plan Awards Thresh-
hold
mum
0

($)(3)

Estimated Future Payouts
Under Equity Incentive
Plan Awards

Target
(#)
47,000

Maxi-
mum
94,000

All Other
Stock
Awards:
# of
Securities
Underlying
Options
(#)

Grant
Date Fair
Value
($)(1)
$ 2,278,560
24,000 $ 1,014,720

11/14/2012
11/14/2012

11/14/2012
11/14/2012

11/14/2012
11/14/2012

11/14/2012
11/14/2012

0

312,510

625,019

136,317

312,510

0
625,019
0 625,020 1,250,038

78,377
214,694

0

141,756

283,512

61,834

0
141,756
0 283,512

283,512
567,024

35,552
97,386

0

117,002

234,004

51,036

0
117,002
0 234,004

234,004
468,008

29,344
80,380

0

87,500

175,000

38,168

0
87,500
0 175,000

175,000
350,000

21,945
60,113

0

83,751

167,502

36,532

0

5,500

11,000

$
11,100 $

266,640
469,308

0

5,200

10,400

$
10,400 $

252,096
439,712

0

4,400

8,800

$
8,900 $

213,312
376,292

0

3,700

7,400

$
7,400 $

179,376
312,872

Name
John Ambroseo

Helene Simonet

Mark Sobey

Paul Sechrist

Bret DiMarco

Type
PRSU
RSU
1st semi-annual
bonus
2nd semi-annual
bonus
Total

PRSU
RSU
1st semi-annual
bonus
2nd semi-annual
bonus
Total

PRSU
RSU
1st semi-annual
bonus
2nd semi-annual
bonus
Total

PRSU
RSU
1st semi-annual
bonus
2nd semi-annual
bonus
Total

PRSU
RSU
1st semi-annual
bonus
2nd semi-annual
bonus
Total

0
83,751
0 167,502

167,502
335,004
(1) Reflects the dollar amount recognized for financial statement reporting purposes (disregarding an estimate of forfeitures related to service-based vesting conditions) for
fiscal 2013 in accordance with ASC 718, and includes grants made in fiscal 2013. The assumptions used in the valuation of these awards are set forth in Note 14
‘‘Employee Stock Option and Benefits Plans’’ of the Financial Statements in the Annual Report on Form 10-K. For informational purposes, if the maximum level of
performance for the PRSU awards was achieved, the value, calculated by multiplying the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant by the number
of  shares  issuable  upon  achievement  of  the  maximum  level  of  performance  under  the  PRSU,  is  $4,557,120,  $533,280,  $504,192,  $426,624  and  $358,752,  for
Mr. Ambroseo, Ms. Simonet, Mr. Sobey. Mr. Sechrist and Mr. DiMarco, respectively. These amounts do not correspond to the actual value, if any, that will be recognized
by the Named Executive Officers. See ‘‘Compensation Discussion and Analysis-Equity Awards’’ for a description of the PRSUs.

21,005
57,537

(2) Failure to meet a minimum level of performance would have resulted in no bonus paid out under the 2013 Variable Compensation Plan.

(3) Reflects the amount earned under the 2013 Variable Compensation Plan during the 2013 fiscal year.

28 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

SUMMARY COMPENSATION AND EQUITY TABLES

Option Exercises and Stock Vested at 2013 Fiscal Year-End

The table below sets forth certain information for each Named Executive Officer regarding the exercise of options and the vesting of stock awards
during the year ended September 28, 2013, including the aggregate value realized upon such exercise or vesting.

Option Awards

Stock Awards

John Ambroseo
Helene Simonet
Mark Sobey
Paul Sechrist
Bret DiMarco
(1) Reflects the difference between the exercise price of the option and market price of our Common Stock on the exercise date.

Number
of Shares
Acquired on
Exercise (#)
121,853
27,651
4,000
26,500
7,000

Value Realized
on Exercise ($)(1)
2,751,660
887,410
131,572
809,945
236,880

Number
of Shares
Acquired on
Vesting (#)
40,734
14,241
12,936
10,393
9,884

Value Realized
on Vesting ($)(2)
1,821,459
631,620
573,956
448,410
438,141

(2) Reflects the market price of our Common Stock on the vesting date.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 29

SUMMARY COMPENSATION AND EQUITY TABLES

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal 2013 Year-End

The following table presents information concerning unexercised options and stock that has not yet vested for each Named Executive Officer
outstanding as of September 28, 2013.

Option Awards(1)
Number of
Securities
Underlying

Number of
Securities

Underlying Unexercised Option
Options (#) Options (#)
Exercise
exercisable unexercisable Price ($)
—
—
—
—
—
—
26.16
23.16

—
—
—
—
—
—
75,000
25,200

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—
4,000

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
18,000

—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—
26.16

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
26.16

—
—
—
—
—
—

Option
Expiration
Date
—
—
—
—
—
—
11/20/2016
11/17/2014

—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
—
—
—
—
11/20/2016

—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
11/20/2016

—
—
—
—
—
—

Name
John Ambroseo

Helene Simonet

Mark Sobey

Paul Sechrist

Bret DiMarco

Grant Date
11/14/2012
11/14/2012
11/8/2011
11/8/2011
11/29/2010
11/29/2010
11/20/2009
11/17/2008

11/14/2012
11/14/2012
11/8/2011
11/8/2011
11/29/2010
11/29/2010

11/14/2012
11/14/2012
11/8/2011
11/8/2011
11/29/2010
11/29/2010
11/20/2009

11/14/2012
11/14/2012
11/8/2011
11/8/2011
3/30/2011
3/30/2011
11/3/2010
11/3/2010
11/20/2009

11/14/2012
11/14/2012
11/8/2011
11/8/2011
11/29/2010
11/29/2010

Stock Awards

Number of Market Value
of Shares or
Units of

Have Not
Vested ($)(2)
—
1,471,680

Equity
incentive
Equity
plan awards:
incentive
Market or
plan awards:
payout value
Number of
of unearned
unearned
shares, units
shares, units
Stock That or other rights or other rights
that have
that have
not vested ($)
not vested (#)
5,764,080
—
4,415,040
—
1,430,718
—
—
—

735,840
—
408,759
—
—

Shares or
Units of
Stock That
Have Not
Vested (#)
—
24,000
—
12,000
—
6,666
—
—

94,000(6)
—
72,000(5)
—
23,332(3)
—
—
—
11,000(6)
—
9,900(5)
—
5,000(3)
—
10,400(6)
—
9,240(5)
—
4,666(3)
—
—
8,800(6)
—
7,920(5)
—
666(4)
—
3,000(4)
—
—
7,400(6)
—
6,600(5)
—
3,332(3)
—

674,520
—
607,068
—
306,600
—

637,728
—
566,597
—
286,119
—
—

539,616
—
485,654
—
40,839
—
183,960
—
—

453,768
—
404,712
—
204,318
—

—
11,100
—
5,025
—
2,500

—
10,400
—
4,690
—
2,333
—

—
8,900
—
4,020
—
333
—
1,500
—

—
7,400
—
3,350
—
1,666

—
680,652
—
308,133
—
153,300

—
637,728
—
287,591
—
143,060
—

—
545,748
—
246,506
—
20,420
—
91,980
—

—
453,768
—
205,422
—
102,159

(1) Each of the unvested option grants set forth above vest in three equal installments on the anniversary of the date of grant.

(2) Market value is determined by multiplying the number of shares by $61.32, the closing price of the Company’s common stock on September 27, 2013, the last trading

date of the fiscal year.

(3) The performance-based RSU vesting determination dates are November 29, 2011, November 29, 2012 and November 29, 2013. The performance based RSUs will vest
in an amount which is 0-200% subject to the achievement of certain performance metrics. The amount reflected in the table is the maximum amount or 200%.

(4) The performance-based RSU vesting determination dates are November 3, 2011, November 2, 2012 and November 1, 2013. The performance based RSUs will vest in an

amount which is 0-200% subject to the achievement of certain performance metrics. The amount reflected in the table is the maximum amount or 200%.

(5) The performance-based RSU vesting determination date is November 7, 2014. The performance based RSUs will vest in an amount which is 0-200% subject to the

achievement of certain performance metrics. The amount reflected in the table is the maximum amount or 200%.

(6) The performance-based RSU vesting determination date is November 14, 2015. The performance based RSUs will vest in an amount which is 0-200% subject to the

achievement of certain performance metrics. The amount reflected in the table is the maximum amount or 200%.

30 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

SUMMARY COMPENSATION AND EQUITY TABLES

Fiscal 2013 Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation

For  a  description  of  our  Deferred  Compensation  Plan,  see  ‘‘Compensation  Discussion  and  Analysis-Retirement  Plans.’’  The  following  table
presents information regarding the non-qualified deferred compensation activity for each Named Executive Officer during fiscal 2013:

Aggregate
Balance at Last
FYE ($)(3)
Name
7,016,417
John Ambroseo
SRP(4)
1,390,981
935,456
Helene Simonet
SRP(4)
142,931
677,828
Paul Sechrist
SRP(4)
181,174
79,378
Mark Sobey
Bret DiMarco
70,186
(1) Amounts in this column consist of salary and/or bonus earned by the individual during fiscal year 2013, which is also reported in the Summary Compensation Table.

Aggregate
Aggregate
Earnings in
Withdrawals/
Last FY ($) Distributions ($)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

Registrant
Contributions
in Last FY ($)(2)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

Executive
Contributions
in last FY ($)(1)
96,581
—
—
—
46,007
—
39,918
—

Executive Deferrals
including Company
Contribution in
Last FY ($)
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

829,531
167,303
50,303
15,842
90,883
34,122
9,118
12,358

(2) Deferred Compensation company contributions were terminated on December 31, 2010.

(3) The deferred compensation in a participant’s account is fully vested and is credited with positive or negative investment results based upon plan investment options

selected by the participant.

(4) Amounts represent account balances and earnings from the Supplementary Retirement Plan (SRP) which was suspended on December 31, 2004. Deferrals (both executive
and  company)  into  this  plan  have  been  suspended.  The  Deferred  Compensation  Plan  is  the  only  non-qualified  deferred  compensation  plan  available  for  executive
management.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 31

SUMMARY COMPENSATION AND EQUITY TABLES

Potential Payments upon Termination or Change of Control

The following table shows the potential payments and benefits that
we  (or  our  successor)  would  be  obligated  to  make  or  provide  upon
termination  of  employment  of  each  our  Named  Executive  Officers
pursuant to the terms of the Change of Control Severance Plan. Other
than this plan, there are no other executive employment agreements or
other contractual obligations triggered upon a change of control. For
purposes  of  this  table,  it  is  assumed  that  each  Named  Executive
Officer’s  employment  terminated  at  the  close  of  business  on
September 27, 2013 (the last business day before the end of our fiscal
year end on September 28, 2013). These payments are conditioned
upon  the  execution  of  a  form  release  of  claims  by  the  Named
Executive Officer in favor of us. The amounts reported below do not

include  the  nonqualified  deferred  compensation  distributions  that
would  be  made  to  the  Named  Executive  Officers  following  a
termination of employment (for those amounts and descriptions, see
the  prior  table).  There  can  be  no  assurance  that  a  triggering  event
would produce the same or similar results as those estimated below if
such event occurs on any other date or at any other price, of if any
other assumption used to estimate potential payments and benefits is
not correct. Due to the number of factors that affect the nature and
amount of any potential payments or benefits, any actual payments
and benefits may be different. These are aggregate payments and do
not reflect such individual’s net after tax benefit. No officer is entitled
to any ‘‘gross up’’ to offset the impact of IRS Code Section 280G.

2X

2X

Mark Sobey

Helene Simonet

Termination
for Cause

Named Executive Officer
John Ambroseo

Multiplier for Base
Salary and Bonus
2.99X

Any Other
Termination
1,868,807
— $
— $
1,868,807
— $ 14,226,117
99,000
— $
$ 18,062,731
810,036
567,025
2,730,273
66,000
4,173,334
720,012
468,008
2,558,822
66,000
3,812,842
700,004
350,002
2,154,723
66,000
3,270,729
670,010
335,005
1,824,147
66,000
2,895,162
(1) Equity Compensation Acceleration is the in-the-money value of unvested stock options, time-based restricted stock units and performance-based restricted stock units, in
each case as of September 27, 2013 at the closing stock price on that date ($61.32). The value of accelerated stock options are thus calculated by multiplying the number of
unvested shares subject to acceleration by the difference between the exercise price and the closing stock price on September 27, 2013; the value of accelerated restricted
stock is calculated by multiplying the number of unvested shares subject to acceleration by the closing stock price on September 27, 2013. This assumes immediate release
and  vesting  of  the  performance-based  restricted  stock  units  at  the  maximum,  or  200%  of  target,  achievement.  The  amounts  reflected  for  Equity  Compensation
Acceleration do not reflect any applicable taxes, just gross proceeds. Since the table assumes a triggering event on September 27, 2013, only those stock options and
restricted stock/RSU grants outstanding as of that date are included in the table.

Nature of Benefit
Salary Severance
Bonus Severance
Equity Compensation Acceleration(1)
Aggregate Healthcare Related Monthly Payment(2)
TOTAL BENEFIT
Salary Severance
Bonus Severance
Equity Compensation Acceleration(1)
Aggregate Healthcare Related Monthly Payment(2)
TOTAL BENEFIT
Salary Severance
Bonus Severance
Equity Compensation Acceleration(1)
Aggregate Healthcare Related Monthly Payment(2)
TOTAL BENEFIT
Salary Severance
Bonus Severance
Equity Compensation Acceleration(1)
Aggregate Healthcare Related Monthly Payment(2)
TOTAL BENEFIT
Salary Severance
Bonus Severance
Equity Compensation Acceleration(1)
Aggregate Healthcare Related Monthly Payment(2)
TOTAL BENEFIT

— $
— $
— $
— $
$
— $
— $
— $
— $
$
— $
— $
— $
— $
$
— $
— $
— $
— $
$

Bret DiMarco

Paul Sechrist

2X

2X

(2) Aggregate Monthly Payment is a monthly payment of $2,750 in lieu of receiving company subsidized COBRA benefits, life insurance premiums and/or other welfare

benefits, 36 months for the Chief Executive Officer and 24 months for the other named executive officers.

32 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

The following table provides information as of September 28, 2013 about the Company’s equity compensation plans under which shares of our
common stock may be issued to employees, consultants or members of our Board:

Plan category

(a) Number of
securities to be issued
upon exercise of
outstanding options,
warrants and rights

(b) Weighted-average
exercise price of
outstanding options,
warrants and rights(1)

(c) Number of securities
remaining available for
future issuance under equity
compensation plans (excluding
securities reflected in column (a))

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders
Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders
TOTAL
(1) These weighted average exercise prices do not reflect the shares that will be issued upon the payment of outstanding awards of RSUs.

$26.90
—
$26.90

—
937,256

937,256(2)

6,935,735(3)

—
6,935,735

(2) This number does not include any options which may be assumed by us through mergers or acquisitions, however, we do have the authority, if necessary, to reserve

additional shares of common stock under these plans to the extent necessary for assuming such options.

(3) This number of shares includes 928,225 shares of common stock reserved for future issuance under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan and 6,007,510 shares reserved for

future issuance under the 2011 Plan.

CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED
PERSON TRANSACTIONS

Review, Approval or Ratification of Related Person Transactions

(cid:129) Any  immediate  family  member,  as  defined  in  Item  404(a)  of
Regulation S-K, of a director, nominee for director, executive officer
and 5% Stockholder. We will report all such material related person
transactions  under  applicable  accounting  rules,  federal  securities
laws and SEC rules and regulations.

In accordance with the charter for the Audit Committee of the Board,
the members of the Audit Committee, all of whom are independent
directors, review and approve in advance any proposed related person
transactions. Additionally, from time to time the Board may directly
consider  these  transactions.  For  purposes  of  these  procedures,  the
individuals and entities that are considered ‘‘related persons’’ include:

(cid:129) Any of our directors, nominees for director and executive officers;

(cid:129) Any  person  known  to  be  the  beneficial  owner  of  five  percent  or

more of our common stock (a ‘‘5% Stockholder’’); and

Related Person Transactions

We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our executive officers and directors. Such indemnification agreements require us to
indemnify these individuals to the fullest extent permitted by law. We also intend to execute these agreements with our future directors and
officers.

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 33

REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE
OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The  Audit  Committee  is  responsible  for  overseeing  our  accounting
and  financial  reporting  processes  and  audits  of  our  financial
statements. As set forth in its charter, the Audit Committee acts only
in an oversight capacity and relies on the work and assurances of both
management,  which  has  primary  responsibilities  for  our  financial
statements and reports, as well as the independent registered public
accounting firm that is responsible for expressing an opinion on the
conformity of our audited financial statements to generally accepted
accounting principles.

The Audit Committee met thirteen (13) times either in person or by
telephone  during  fiscal  2013.  In  the  course  of  these  meetings,  the
Audit  Committee  met  with  management,  the  internal  auditors  and
our independent registered public accounting firm and reviewed the
results of the internal and external audit examinations, evaluations of
our internal controls and the overall quality of our financial reporting.

The Audit Committee believes that a candid, substantive and focused
dialogue  with  the  internal  auditors  and  the  independent  registered
public  accounting  firm  is  fundamental  to  the  Audit  Committee’s
oversight responsibilities. To support this belief, the Audit Committee
periodically  meets  separately  with  the  internal  auditors  and  the
independent auditors, without management present. In the course of
its  discussions  in  these  meetings,  the  Audit  Committee  asked  a
number of questions intended to bring to light any areas of potential
concern related to our financial reporting and internal controls. These
questions include:

(cid:129) Are  there  any  significant  accounting  judgments,  estimates  or
adjustments  made  by  management  in  preparing  the  financial
statements that would have been made differently had the auditors
themselves  prepared  and  been  responsible  for  the  financial
statements;

(cid:129) Based  on  the  auditors’  experience,  and  their  knowledge  of  our
business, do our financial statements fairly present to investors, with
clarity  and  completeness,  our  financial  position  and  performance
for  the  reporting  period  in  accordance  with  generally  accepted
accounting principles and SEC disclosure requirements;

(cid:129) Based  on  the  auditors’  experience,  and  their  knowledge  of  our
business, have we implemented internal controls and internal audit
procedures that are appropriate for our business.

The  Audit  Committee  approved  the  engagement  of  Deloitte  &
Touche LLP as our independent registered public accounting firm for
fiscal 2013 and reviewed with the internal auditors and independent
registered public accounting firm their respective overall audit scope
and  plans.  In  approving  Deloitte  &  Touche  LLP,  the  Audit
Committee considered the qualifications of Deloitte & Touche LLP
and  discussed  with  Deloitte  &  Touche  LLP  their  independence,
including  a  review  of  the  audit  and  non-audit  services  provided  by
them  to  us.  The  Audit  Committee  also  discussed  with  Deloitte  &
Touche  LLP  the  matters  required  to  be  discussed  by  Statement  on
Auditing  Standards  No.  61,  as  amended,  (AICPA,  Professional
Standards, Vol. 1 AU section 380), as adopted by the Public Company
Accounting  Oversight  Board  in  Rule  3200T,  and  it  received  the
written  disclosures  and  the  letter  from  Deloitte  &  Touche  LLP
required  by  the  applicable  requirements  of  the  Public  Company
Accounting  Oversight  Board  regarding  Deloitte  &  Touche  LLP’s
communications  with  Audit  Committee  concerning  independence
and  has  discussed  Deloitte  &  Touche  LLP’s  independence  with
Deloitte & Touche LLP.

Management  has  reviewed  and  discussed  the  audited  financial
statements  for  fiscal  2013  with  the  Audit  Committee,  including  a
discussion of the quality and acceptability of the financial reporting,
the reasonableness of significant accounting judgments and estimates
and  the  clarity  of  disclosures  in  the  financial  statements.  In
connection  with  this  review  and  discussion,  the  Audit  Committee
asked  a  number  of  follow-up  questions  of  management  and  the
independent registered public accounting firm to help give the Audit
Committee comfort in connection with its review.

In reliance on the reviews and discussions referred to above, the Audit
Committee  recommended  to  the  Board  that  the  audited  financial
statements  be  included  in  the  annual  report  on  Form  10-K  for  the
fiscal year ended September 28, 2013, for filing with the SEC.

Respectively submitted by the Audit Committee

Susan James, Chair
Garry Rogerson
Lawrence Tomlinson

34 COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement

OTHER MATTERS

We know of no other matters to be submitted to the meeting. If any other matters properly come before the meeting, it is the intention of the
persons named in the enclosed form Proxy to vote the shares they represent as the Board may recommend.

Dated: January 23, 2014

By Order of the Board of Directors

13JAN201423125288

John R. Ambroseo
President and Chief Executive Officer

COHERENT, INC. - 2013 Proxy Statement 35

UNITED  STATES
SECURITIES AND  EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C.  20549
FORM  10-K

(Mark One)

(cid:2) ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Fiscal Year  Ended  September  28,  2013

or

(cid:3) TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File Number: 001-33962
COHERENT, INC.

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction  of
incorporation or organization)

5100 Patrick Henry Drive, Santa  Clara, California
(Address of principal executive offices)

94-1622541
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)

95054
(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including  area code:  (408)  764-4000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b)  of  the  Act:
Title of each class

Common Stock, $0.01 par value

Name of each exchange on which registered

The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC
Nasdaq  Global  Select  Market

Securities registered pursuant to Section  12(g) of  the  Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the  registrant is a  well-known  seasoned issuer, as  defined in  Rule  405 of the  Securities

Act. Yes (cid:2) No (cid:3)

Indicate by check mark if the  registrant is not  required to file reports pursuant  to  Section 13  or  Section 15(d) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the  ‘‘Exchange  Act’’).  Yes (cid:3) No (cid:2)

Indicate by check mark whether  the registrant (1) has  filed all  reports  required to be filed by Section  13  or  15(d) of

the Securities Exchange Act of  1934 during  the preceding  12  months  (or  for  such shorter period that the registrant was
required to file such reports) and (2)  has been  subject to such  filing  requirements for  the past  90  days. Yes (cid:2) No (cid:3)

Indicate by check mark whether  the registrant has  submitted  electronically and  posted  on its corporate  Web  site, if
any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and  posted  pursuant  to  Rule  405 of  Regulation S-T  (§229.405
of this chapter) during the preceding 12  months  (or  for  such shorter period  that  the registrant  was required  to  submit
and post such files. Yes (cid:2) No (cid:3)

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of  delinquent  filers  pursuant to Item 405  of  Regulation  S-K is  not  contained

herein,  and will  not be contained, to the best of  registrant’s  knowledge, in  definitive  proxy or  information statements
incorporated by reference  in  Part III  of this  Form 10-K or  any amendment  to  this  Form 10-K. (cid:3)

Indicate by check mark whether  the registrant is a large  accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated

filer, or a smaller reporting company. See  definitions  of ‘‘large  accelerated  filer’’, ‘‘accelerated  filer’’  and  ‘‘smaller
reporting company’’  in Rule  12b-2  of  the  Exchange Act.
Large accelerated filer (cid:2)

Accelerated filer (cid:3)

Smaller reporting company (cid:3)

Non-accelerated  filer (cid:3)
(Do not check if a
smaller reporting company)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant  is a shell  company  (as  defined  in Rule 12b-2  of  the Exchange

Act). Yes (cid:3) No (cid:2)

As of November 22, 2013, 24,816,399 shares  of common stock  were  outstanding.  The  aggregate  market  value of the

voting shares (based on the closing  price reported  on  the  NASDAQ  Global Select  Market  on  March  30, 2013,  of
Coherent, Inc., held by  nonaffiliates  was approximately  $1,100,770,185.  For purposes  of  this  disclosure, shares  of  common
stock held by persons who own 5% or more  of the outstanding  common  stock  and shares of common  stock  held  by each
officer and director have been excluded in that  such  persons  may be deemed to be ‘‘affiliates’’ as  that  term is  defined
under the Rules and Regulations of  the  Exchange  Act.  This determination  of  affiliate  status  is  not  necessarily  conclusive.

DOCUMENT INCORPORATED  BY  REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s Proxy  Statement for the registrant’s  fiscal 2014  Annual  Meeting  of  Stockholders  are

incorporated by reference into Part III of the Form 10-K to the  extent stated herein. The  Proxy  Statement or an
amended report on Form  10-K will be filed  within  120 days  of the registrant’s  fiscal year ended  September 28, 2013.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

ITEM  1.
BUSINESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ITEM  1A. RISK FACTORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ITEM  1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PROPERTIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ITEM  2.
ITEM  3.
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ITEM  4. MINE SAFEFTY DISCLOSURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PART II

ITEM  5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S  COMMON EQUITY, RELATED

STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY
SECURITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SELECTED FINANCIAL  DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ITEM  6.
ITEM  7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL

5
22
38
39
40
40

41
43

CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

44

ITEM  7A. QUANTITATIVE AND  QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET

ITEM  8.
ITEM  9.

RISK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS  WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON

ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ITEM  9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ITEM  9B. OTHER INFORMATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

PART III

ITEM  10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS  AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE .
ITEM  11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
ITEM  12.

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN  BENEFICIAL  OWNERS AND

65
66

66
67
70

71
72

MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS . . . . . . . . . .

73

ITEM  13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS  AND

DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ITEM  14.

PART IV

ITEM  15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL  STATEMENT  SCHEDULES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
SIGNATURES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

73
73

75
79

2

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This annual report contains forward-looking statements.  These forward-looking statements include,

without limitation, statements relating to:

(cid:129) expansion into, and financial returns from, new markets;

(cid:129) optimization of financial returns;

(cid:129) maintenance and development of current and new customer relationships;

(cid:129) enhancement of market position through existing  or new technologies;

(cid:129) optimization of product mix;

(cid:129) future  trends in microelectronics, scientific research and government programs, OEM

components and instrumentation and  materials  processing;

(cid:129) utilization of vertical integration;

(cid:129) adoption of our products or lasers generally;

(cid:129) applications and processes that will  use lasers, including  the suitability of our products;

(cid:129) capitalization on market trends;

(cid:129) alignment with current and new customer  demands;

(cid:129) positioning in the marketplace and  gains  of  market  share;

(cid:129) design and development of products, services and solutions;

(cid:129) control of supply chain and partners;

(cid:129) realization of restructuring benefits;

(cid:129) protection of intellectual property rights;

(cid:129) compliance with environmental and safety regulations;

(cid:129) net sales and operating results;

(cid:129) variations in stock price;

(cid:129) market acceptance of products;

(cid:129) trends in the instrumentation market;

(cid:129) sufficiency and management of cash, cash  equivalents and investments;

(cid:129) acquisition efforts and utilization of  technology from our acquisitions;

(cid:129) accounting for goodwill and intangible assets, inventory valuation, warranty  reserves and taxes;

In addition, we include forward-looking statements under  the ‘‘Our  Strategy’’  and ‘‘Future Trends’’

headings set forth below in ‘‘Business’’ and under the ‘‘Bookings  and Book-to-Bill Ratio’’ heading set
forth below in ‘‘Management’s Discussion  and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations.’’

You can identify these and other forward-looking statements  by the  use of the  words such  as
‘‘may,’’ ‘‘will,’’ ‘‘could,’’ ‘‘would,’’ ‘‘should,’’ ‘‘expects,’’ ‘‘plans,’’ ‘‘anticipates,’’  ‘‘estimates,’’ ‘‘intends,’’
‘‘potential,’’ ‘‘projected,’’ ‘‘continue,’’  ‘‘our observation,’’ or the negative of such terms, or  other
comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements  also include the  assumptions underlying or
relating to any of the foregoing statements.

3

Our actual results could differ materially  from those anticipated  in these  forward-looking

statements as a result of various factors,  including those  set forth below in ‘‘Business,’’ ‘‘Management’s
Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition  and Results of Operations’’ and  under the  heading
‘‘Risk Factors.’’ All forward-looking statements included  in this document are  based on  information
available to us on the date hereof. We undertake no obligation  to  update these forward-looking
statements as a result of events or circumstances or to reflect  the occurrence  of unanticipated events or
non-occurrence of anticipated events,  except to the  extent required  by law.

4

PART I

ITEM 1. BUSINESS

GENERAL

Business  Overview

Our fiscal year ends on the Saturday  closest to September 30. Fiscal years 2013,  2012 and 2011
ended on September 28, September 29,  and October 1, respectively,  and are referred  to  in this annual
report as fiscal 2013, fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2011  for convenience. Fiscal  years 2013, 2012  and 2011
included 52 weeks.

We  are one of the  world’s leading suppliers of photonics-based solutions in a  broad range  of
commercial and scientific research applications.  We design, manufacture, service and  market lasers and
related accessories for a diverse group  of customers. Since inception in  1966, we  have grown through
internal expansion and through strategic acquisitions of complementary  businesses, technologies,
intellectual property, manufacturing processes  and  product offerings.

We  are organized into two operating  segments:  Specialty Lasers  and  Systems (‘‘SLS’’)  and

Commercial Lasers and Components  (‘‘CLC’’). This segmentation reflects the  go-to-market strategies
for various products and markets. While  both  segments deliver cost-effective photonics solutions, SLS
develops and manufactures configurable,  advanced  performance  products largely serving the
microelectronics, scientific research and government programs and  OEM components  and
instrumentation markets. The size and complexity  of  many of the SLS products require  service  to  be
performed at the customer site by factory-trained field service engineers.  CLC focuses on higher
volume products that are offered in set configurations.  The product architectures are designed for easy
exchange at the point of use such that substantially all  product service and repairs  are based upon
advanced replacement and depot (i.e., factory)  repair. CLC’s  primary  markets include materials
processing, original equipment manufacturer (‘‘OEM’’) components and instrumentation and
microelectronics.

Income (loss) from operations is the  measure of  profit and loss that our  chief operating decision

maker (‘‘CODM’’) uses to assess performance and make decisions. Income (loss) from operations
represents the sales less the cost of sales  and  direct operating expenses incurred within  the operating
segments as well as allocated expenses  such as shared  sales and manufacturing costs.  We do not
allocate to our operating segments certain operating expenses,  which we  manage separately at  the
corporate level. These unallocated costs include stock-based compensation and corporate  functions
(certain advanced  research and development, management,  finance,  legal  and human resources) and
are included in Corporate and other.  Management does not consider unallocated Corporate and  other
costs in its measurement of segment  performance.

We  were originally incorporated in California on May 26, 1966  and reincorporated  in Delaware  on

October 1, 1990. Our common stock  is listed on the NASDAQ Global  Select Market and we are a
member of the Standard & Poor’s SmallCap 600 Index and the Russell 2000 Index.

Additional information about Coherent,  Inc. (referred to herein  as the Company,  we, our, or
Coherent) is available on our web site  at www.coherent.com. We make available, free of charge on our
web site, access to our annual report on  Form  10-K, our  quarterly reports  on Form  10-Q, our  current
reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or
15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act  of 1934,  as amended (the ‘‘Exchange Act’’),  as soon as reasonably
practicable after we file or furnish them electronically with the  Securities  and Exchange  Commission
(‘‘SEC’’). Information contained on our  web site is not  part of  this annual report or  our  other  filings
with the SEC. Any product, product name, process, or technology described in  these  materials  is the
property of Coherent.

5

INDUSTRY BACKGROUND

The word ‘‘laser’’ is an acronym for ‘‘light  amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.’’ A

laser emits an intense coherent beam  of  light with some  unique and  highly useful properties. Most
importantly, a laser is orders of magnitude brighter  than  any  lamp. As a result of its coherence, the
beam can be focused to a very small and intense spot,  useful for applications requiring very high power
densities including cutting and other materials processing procedures. The laser’s high spatial resolution
is also useful for microscopic imaging  and inspection applications.  Laser light  can be monochromatic—
all the beam energy is confined to a  narrow wavelength band.  Some  lasers can be used to create
ultrafast output—a series of pulses with pulse durations as  short as attoseconds  (i.e., 10-18 seconds).

There are many types of lasers and one  way of classifying them is by the material or  medium  used
to create the lasing action. This can be in  the form  of a gas, liquid,  semiconductor,  solid state crystal or
fiber. Lasers can also be classified by their output wavelength:  ultraviolet, visible, infrared or
wavelength tunable. We manufacture  all  of these laser  types. There are also many options in  terms of
pulsed output versus continuous wave, pulse duration,  output power, beam dimensions,  etc. In fact,
each  application has its specific requirements  in terms of  laser performance. The broad  technical depth
at Coherent enables us to offer a diverse set  of product  lines  characterized by lasers targeted at  growth
opportunities and key applications. In all  cases, we aim  to  be the supplier of choice by offering a
high-value combination of superior technical performance and high reliability.

Photonics has taken its place alongside electronics as a critical enabling technology  for the  twenty-

first century. Photonics based solutions  are  entrenched in a broad array of industries that include
industrial automation, textile processing,  microelectronics,  flat  panel displays  and medical diagnostics,
with adoption continuing in ever more diverse applications. Growth  in these applications stems from
two sources. First, there are many applications where the  laser is displacing conventional technology
because it can do the job faster, better  or more economically.  Second, there are  new applications where
the laser is the enabling tool that makes  the work possible (e.g., the production  of sub 50 micron
microvias); these lasers are used in the  manufacturing of high  density printed circuit  boards (‘‘PCBs’’)
found in the latest smart phones and  tablet computers.

Key laser applications include: semiconductor inspection; manufacturing of advanced  PCBs;  flat

panel  display manufacturing; solar cell production; medical and  bio-instrumentation; materials
processing; industrial process and quality control; marking; imaging and printing; graphic arts and
display; and, research and development.  For  example,  ultraviolet (‘‘UV’’) lasers are  enabling the  move
towards miniaturization, which drives innovation and growth  in many markets. In addition, the advent
of industrial grade ultrafast lasers continues to open up new applications for  laser processing.

OUR STRATEGY

We  strive to develop innovative and proprietary  products and solutions that meet the  needs  of  our
customers and that are based on our core  expertise  in lasers and optical  technologies.  In pursuit  of our
strategy, we intend to:

(cid:129) Leverage our technology portfolio and application engineering to  lead the  proliferation of
photonics into broader markets—We will continue to identify opportunities  in which our
technology portfolio and application engineering  can be used to offer  innovative solutions and
gain access to new markets. We plan to utilize our  expertise to increase our  market  share in the
mid to high power material processing applications.

(cid:129) Optimize our leadership position in existing markets—There are a number of markets where  we
have historically been at the forefront of technological development  and product deployment
and from which we have derived a substantial portion of our  revenues.  We  plan to optimize our
financial returns from these markets.

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(cid:129) Maintain and develop additional strong collaborative customer and industry relationships—We
believe that the Coherent brand name and reputation  for  product quality,  technical performance
and customer satisfaction will help us to further  develop our  loyal customer base. We plan to
maintain our current customer relationships  and develop new ones with customers  who are
industry leaders and work together with these customers  to design and develop innovative
product systems and solutions as they  develop new technologies.

(cid:129) Develop and acquire new technologies and market share—We will continue to enhance our

market position through our existing technologies and  develop  new  technologies through our
internal research and development efforts, as well  as through the  acquisition  of additional
complementary technologies, intellectual property, manufacturing processes and product
offerings.

(cid:129) Streamline our manufacturing structure and improve our  cost structure—We will focus on
optimizing the mix of products that we manufacture internally and externally. We  will  utilize
vertical integration where our internal manufacturing process is considered proprietary and seek
to leverage external sources when the capabilities and cost structure are well  developed  and on a
path towards commoditization.

(cid:129) Focus on long-term improvement of adjusted EBITDA, in dollars and as  a  percentage of net

sales—We define adjusted EBITDA as operating  income adjusted for depreciation,  amortization,
stock compensation expenses, major restructuring  costs and  certain other  non-operating income
and expense items. Key initiatives to  reach our goals for  EBITDA  improvements  include
utilization of our Asian manufacturing  locations, rationalizing our  supply  chain and continued
leveraging of our infrastructure.

APPLICATIONS

Our products address a broad range  of applications that  we group  into  the following  markets:
Microelectronics, Materials Processing,  OEM Components  and Instrumentation  and Scientific Research
and Government Programs.

Microelectronics

Nowhere is the trend towards miniaturization  more prevalent than in the  Microelectronics market

where  smart phones, tablets, ultrabooks, personal computers (‘‘PC’s’’)  and televisions (‘‘TV’s’’) are
driving advances in displays, integrated  circuits and  PCBs. In response to  market demands and
expectations, semiconductor and device manufacturers are continually seeking to improve  their process
and design technologies in order to manufacture smaller, more  powerful and more  reliable devices at
lower cost. New laser applications and  new laser  technologies are a key element  in delivering higher
resolution and higher precision at lower  manufacturing cost.

We  support three major markets in the microelectronics industry:  (1) flat panel display  (‘‘FPDs’’)

manufacturing, (2) advanced packaging and interconnects and (3) semiconductor  front-end.

Microelectronics—flat panel display  manufacturing

The high-volume consumer market is  driving the production of  FPDs in applications such as
mobile phones, tablets, ultrabooks, laptop computers, and TVs. There are several types of established
and emerging displays based on quite  different  technologies, including liquid crystal (‘‘LCD’’)  and
organic polymers (‘‘OLED’’). Each of these technologies  utilize laser  applications  given that lasers
provide higher process speed, better  yield, improved battery life, lower cost and/or superior display
brightness and resolution.

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Several display types require a high-density pattern  of  silicon  thin film  transistors  (‘‘TFTs’’). If this

silicon is polycrystalline, the display performance is  greatly enhanced. In the past,  these polysilicon
layers could only be produced on expensive special glass at  high temperatures. However,  excimer-based
processes, such as excimer laser annealing (‘‘ELA’’)  have allowed high-volume production of
low-temperature polysilicon (‘‘LTPS’’)  on conventional  glass substrates. Our  excimer  lasers provide an
invaluable solution for LTPS because they  are the only industrial-grade excimer lasers  with the high
pulse energy optimized for this application. The current state-of-the-art  product for this application is
our  excimer VYPER laser, which delivers  over 1000W  of  power, enabling  customers  to  scale  to  current
Generation 5 & 5.5 substrates all the way up to Generation  8 sizes.  These systems are integral to the
manufacturing process on all leading  LTPS-based smart phone  displays, with  the highest commercially
available pixel densities of greater than 300  pixels per inch (ppi) and hold the  potential  for deployment
in tablet display and OLED TV manufacturing.

Our AVIA, Rapid, Talisker and DIAMOND lasers are also  used  in other production processes for

FPDs. These processes include drilling,  cutting, patterning,  marking  and yield improvement.

Lasers  have also become a valuable tool in high-brightness (‘‘HB’’) LED manufacturing, improving
LED performance and yield. LED has seen rapid growth over  the last  several years due to widespread
adoption as the light source in all categories  of  LCD displays, from phones all the  way to full size TVs.
Our lasers are used in the back-end processing of HB-LEDs.

Microelectronics—advanced packaging and interconnects

After a wafer is patterned, there are then  a host of other processes,  referred  to  as back-end

processing, which finally result in a packaged encapsulated silicon chip. Ultimately, these  chips are then
assembled into finished products. The advent of high-speed logic  and high-memory content devices has
caused chip manufacturers to look for  alternative technologies  to  improve  performance and lower
process costs. In terms of materials, this search  includes new types  of  materials, such  as low-k  and
thinner silicon. Our AVIA, Rapid, Talisker and Matrix lasers  provide economical methods of cutting
and scribing these wafers while delivering higher yields  than traditional mechanical methods.

There are similar trends in chip packaging  and  PCB manufacturing requiring more compact
packaging and denser interconnects.  In  many  cases, lasers  present  enabling technologies. For instance,
lasers are now the only economically  practical method for  drilling microvias in chip substrates  and in
both rigid and flexible PCBs. These microvias are tiny interconnects that are essential for  enabling
high-density circuitry commonly used  in  smart  phones, tablets  and advanced computing systems. Our
DIAMOND carbon dioxide (‘‘CO2’’) and AVIA diode pumped solid state (‘‘DPSS’’) lasers are the
lasers of choice in  this application. The  ability of these lasers  to  operate at very  high repetition rates
translates into faster drilling speeds and  increased  throughput in microvia  processing applications.  In
addition, multi-layer circuit boards require more  flexible  production methods than  conventional printing
technologies can offer, which has led to widespread adoption of laser direct imaging  (‘‘LDI’’). Our
Paladin laser is used for this application.

Microelectronics—semiconductor front-end

The term ‘‘front-end’’ refers to the production  of semiconductor  devices which occurs prior to

packaging.

As semiconductor device geometries decrease in size, devices  become increasingly  susceptible to
smaller defects during each phase of the  manufacturing  process and these defects can negatively impact
yield. One of the semiconductor industry’s responses  to  the increasing vulnerability of semiconductor
devices to smaller  defects has been to use defect detection and inspection techniques that are  closely
linked to the manufacturing process.  For  example,  automated laser-based inspection systems are now

8

used to detect and locate defects as small  as 0.01 micron, which may not be observable by conventional
optical microscopes.

Detecting the presence of defects is only the first  step in  preventing their recurrence. After

detection, defects must be examined  in  order to identify their size, shape and the process step in which
the defect occurred. This examination  is  called defect classification. Identification of the sources of
defects in the lengthy and complex semiconductor manufacturing process has become essential  for
maintaining high yield production. Semiconductor manufacturing has become an around-the-clock
operation and it is important for products  used for inspection, measurement and  testing to be reliable
and to have long lifetimes. Our Azure,  Paladin  and  Excimer lasers  are used to detect and characterize
defects in semiconductor chips.

Materials Processing

Lasers  are widely accepted today in many  important industrial manufacturing  applications
including cutting, welding, joining, drilling, perforating, and marking of metals and nonmetals.  We
supply high-power lasers for metal processing and low-to-medium power lasers  for laser  marking,
nonmetals processing and precision micromachining.

Our high power industrial laser systems are  used  for cutting,  welding,  cladding and hardening  of

metals, as well as other materials processing applications.

Our Semiconductor business provides higher power arrays  with powers in  excess of 50 kilowatts
through proprietary cooling and stacking  technology. This  unique  technology provides the engine for
both our Highlight direct diode systems as well  as our kW class fiber lasers.  Our differentiated fiber
laser design offers our customers a higher  level of integration  and additional options for  product
serviceability. Our fiber lasers are used for metal  cutting, cladding and welding applications.

Complementing our high power solid state  lasers is our industry leading  DIAMOND E1000  CO2

laser. Introduced in 2009, this laser remains  in high  demand due  to  its high power, small  size and
completely sealed design—all ideal for  material processing.

Combining the high power Direct Diode, Fiber and CO2 offerings with our MetaBeam 1000
flatbed cutting tool provides a strong,  compelling  four-pronged approach  to  meeting the needs of our
diverse materials processing customers.  The  new METABEAM 1000 offers the industry’s  most compact
1kW tool, with tool footprints at least  50% smaller than competitive designs.  Operating costs, due to a
combination of input power efficiencies and the sealed nature of  the  DIAMOND series  of  CO2 lasers,
are 50% less than  similar, but larger tools.

We  also participate in the low to medium power area, including such  applications  as the cutting,

drilling  and joining of a host of materials using our DIAMOND CO2 lasers; Highlight fiber array
product  (‘‘FAP’’) semiconductor lasers  in OEM  opportunities  and direct  end  user applications with  the
lower power OMNIBEAM and METABEAM cutting  tools; applications including cutting, perforating
and scoring of paper, thin metals and packaging  materials; and various cutting  and patterning
applications in the textile, wood and sign industries. In the specific  area of textiles  and clothing,  our
DIAMOND lasers service older applications, such as cutting complex shapes in leather for footwear, as
well as newer applications such as creating detailed fade  patterns on designer  denims.

Laser marking and coding are generally considered part of the  precision materials  processing
applications market for which we remain a leading supplier. One such area where applications are
growing rapidly is the displacement of  ink-jet coding due to  both  aesthetic and environmental
pressures. The optimum choice of laser depends on the material being marked, whether it is  a surface
mark (engraved) or a sub-surface mark, and the specific economics of the application. Our
DIAMOND C and GEM Series of CO2 lasers provide many systems manufacturers with a reliable cost
effective source for marking and engraving  on non-metals. In addition,  our  Matrix product  line of

9

reliable, compact and low-cost DPSS lasers provides an ideal solution for marking of other materials in
high volume manufacturing.

OEM components and instrumentation

Instrumentation is one of our more mature commercial applications. Representative applications
within this market include bio-instrumentation,  medical  OEMs, graphic arts and display and  machine
vision.  We also support the laser-based  instrumentation  market  with a range of laser-related
components, including diode lasers for optical  pumping. Our  OEM component business includes  sales
to other, less integrated laser manufacturers  participating  in OEM markets  such as materials
processing, scientific, and medical.

Bio-instrumentation

Bio-instrumentation applications for  lasers include bio-agent  detection for  point source and
standoff detection of pathogens or other bio-toxins; confocal microscopy for  biological  imaging that
allows researchers and clinicians to visualize  cellular  and  subcellular structures and processes with an
incredible amount of detail; DNA sequencing that provides automation and  data  acquisition  rates  that
would be impossible by any other method; drug discovery—genomic and proteomic analyses that enable
drug discovery to proceed at very high throughput rates; and flow cytometry for  analyzing  single  cells or
populations of cells in a heterogeneous mixture, including blood samples. Our OBIS,  Galaxy, Sapphire,
Compass and Coherent CUBE lasers  are  used in  several bio-instrumentation applications.

Medical Therapy

We  sell a variety of components and lasers  to  medical  laser companies  in end-user applications
such as ophthalmology, aesthetic, surgical,  therapeutic  and dentistry. Our DIAMOND series CO2 lasers
are widely used in ophthalmic, aesthetic and surgical markets.  We have a leading  position  in Lasik and
photorefractive keratectomy surgery methods with our ExciStar XS excimer laser  platform. With the
acquisition of Lumera, we now have ultrafast lasers targeted for use in laser  cataract  surgery.

The unique ability of our optically pumped semiconductor lasers  (‘‘OPSL’’) technology to match a
wavelength to an application has led to the  development of a high-power yellow (577nm) laser for  the
treatment of eye related diseases, such as  Age  Related Macular Degeneration and  retinal diseases
associated with diabetes. The 577nm wavelength was designed to match the peak in  absorption of
oxygenated hemoglobin thereby allowing  treatment to occur  at  a  lower  power level, and  thus reducing
stress and heat-load placed on the eye with traditional  green-based  (530nm)  solid  state lasers. Other
applications where our OBIS, Genesis and Sapphire series of  lasers  are  used include  the retinal
scanning market in diagnostic imaging  systems as well  as new ground breaking in-vivo  imaging.

Scientific research and government programs

We  are widely recognized as a technology innovator and the scientific market has historically
provided an ideal ‘‘test market’’ for our leading-edge innovations. These have  included ultrafast lasers,
DPSS lasers, continuous-wave (‘‘CW’’)  systems, excimer gas  lasers and water-cooled ion  gas lasers.  Our
portfolio of lasers that address the scientific research market is broad and includes  our  Chameleon,
COMPexPro, Evolution, Legend, Libra, MBD, MBR,  Vitara, Mira and Verdi  lasers. Many of the
innovations and products pioneered in  the scientific marketplace have  become commercial  successes for
both our OEM customers and us.

We  have a large installed base of scientific lasers  which are used in a wide  range of applications

spanning virtually every branch of science  and engineering.  These  applications include  biology and life
science, engineering, physical chemistry and physics. Most of these applications require the  use of
ultrafast lasers that enable the generation  of pulses short enough to be measured in femto- or

10

attoseconds (10-15 to 10-18 seconds). Because of these very short pulse durations,  ultrafast lasers enable
the study of fundamental physical and  chemical  processes with  temporal resolution unachievable with
any other tool. These lasers also deliver very high peak power and large bandwidths, which  can be used
to generate many exotic effects. Some of these are now finding  their way into mainstream applications,
such as microscopy or materials processing.  The  use of ultrafast lasers such as  the Chameleon in
microscopy is now a common occurrence in bio-imaging labs.

FUTURE TRENDS

Microelectronics

Lasers  are widely used in mass production microelectronics applications largely because they
enable entirely new application capabilities that cannot  be  realized by  any other  known  means. These
laser-based fabrication and testing methods provide  a level  of precision, typically  on a  micrometer and
nanometer level, that are unique, faster, are touch free,  deliver superior end products, increase  yields,
and/or cut production costs. We anticipate this trend to continue, driven  primarily by the  increasing
sophistication of consumer electronic  goods  and their convergence  via the  internet, resulting in
increasing demand for better displays,  more bandwidth and  memory, and all packaged into devices
which  are lighter, thinner and consume  less power. Although  this  market  follows the  macro-economic
trends  and carries inherent risks, we believe that we are well positioned to  continue to capitalize on the
current market trends and that we will see  continued  increased adoption  of  our  solid-state,  CO2, pulsed
fiber, direct diode and excimer lasers, as  all these lasers enable entirely new applications,  performance
improvements and reduced process costs.

LTPS-based high resolution mobile displays (greater than 300ppi), and especially the emergence of

OLED technology, is evolving as the prevalent FPD technology.  We believe we  are well positioned,
especially with our Vyper Excimer lasers  and LB optical systems, to take advantage of this trend,
including the possibility of LTPS-based OLED  TVs  and  flexible OLED displays.

CO2, Avia, Rapid, Talisker, Helios and direct diode lasers  all seem aligned with  the need for
related FPD touch panel, film cutting,  light guide technology,  repair, frit welding and glass cutting
applications.

The trend for thinner and lighter devices  is impacting the glass substrates  used in today’s mobile

devices requiring thinner glass with higher  degrees of mechanical  strength and scratch resistance.
Mechanical means of cutting these glass panels are no longer adequate to  meet future  requirements
and we expect lasers to play an increased  role. Our CO2 and Rapid lasers are well positioned to take
advantage of this trend.

Semiconductor devices look set to continue Moore’s Law, shrinking device  geometries for at least

another decade, as well as expanding  vertically into new 3D  structures. As a result we believe our  many
UV laser sources (such as Azure, Paladin, Avia, Talisker, ExiStar and Matrix) will  continue to find
increasing adoption, since their unique  optical properties align well  with the  process  demands of a
nanometer scale world.

The same lasers plus CO2 are also widely adopted for back end Advanced Packaging  and

Interconnect (API) applications. With dimension roadmaps showing a  decade of dimension shrink on
PCBs, interconnects, Silicon & LED  scribe  widths and glass  thickness, we believe that our portfolio of
lasers aligns well with these demands as  well as  new processes  that seem likely to be enabled by our
lasers, to meet the increasing demands and decreasing  tolerances of  these markets.

Materials processing

The market for low to medium power CO2, solid state and semiconductor lasers  used  in industrial
materials processing has experienced a  nice rebound and is expected to see continued growth  driven by

11

wider adoption of lasers in new processes  especially in  emerging markets. Key  design wins as  well as
more favorable markets continue to support  our  growth in this area.  These lasers represent a
cost-effective manufacturing solution  for cutting,  joining, marking and engraving of non-metal  materials
including marking/coding, flat bed cutting,  engraving, as  well as  the  production of  capital equipment for
apparel and leather goods manufacturing.

The market for kW class fiber lasers  has  seen strong growth in recent  years,  replacing legacy
multi-kW CO2 lasers in metal cutting and other applications. This trend will  likely continue into the
future. We believe we are well positioned to benefit from this large  and growing market with our line
of kW fiber lasers.

Our four-pronged approach to the higher power industrial  laser market provides us  with a unique

combination of high power, precision and compact  size, which we believe will be highly  desirable in
existing manufacturing environments as well  as those  of the future. We offer kilowatt  Diamond CO2
lasers, Highlight fiber and direct diode lasers as  well as  the MetaBEAM family of turnkey  laser
machine tools. Several factors are enabling us to gain  market  share in  the materials processing market.
We  have developed an expanded portfolio of  lasers with  a broad spectrum  of wavelengths,  enabling
optimum solutions for virtually every  metal  and  non-metal material type. At  the same time, the
reliability of these products has been achieved at even higher  levels, lowering  the cost of ownership.

OEM components and instrumentation

The instrumentation market is seeing a gradual migration from the use  of  mature laser

technologies, such as water-cooled ion gas lasers,  to  new technologies, primarily based on solid state
and semiconductor lasers. Using our  unique portfolio of such lasers, as  well as our patented OPSL
technology, we are able to both assist and stimulate this transition as well as  to  be  the technology of
choice for developing applications such as security  and  clinical  diagnostics. Our OPSL technology
resulted in the first truly continuous wave  solid-state  UV laser which enables the  use of UV in a
clinical as well as a research environment. Furthermore we anticipate  greater  future opportunities  in
bio-instrumentation, including DNA sequencing, drug discovery, flow cytometry, and  microscopy, based
on our product enhancements and evolving market developments, particularly in increased migration
from clinical to point-of-care diagnostics. Our  newer  laser technologies are the basis of a number of
clinical procedures. In the area of photocoagulation, our Genesis OPSL yellow  lasers are being used  as
the wavelength is particularly suitable  for the  treatment of blood vessels. In  aesthetic laser  procedures,
we are an OEM supplier of CO2 and semiconductor lasers to the major manufacturers of equipment
used in the latest procedures in dermatology  and  hair  removal. We  supply excimer lasers used in
refractive eye surgery and are actively involved  in further  developments in  laser vision correction
including use of ultrafast lasers in applications such as  laser cataract surgery where  higher precision and
use of advanced implants enable better and more reliable  patient  outcomes. Laser cataract surgery is a
relatively new application which is expected to see  strong growth over the next several years.

Scientific research and government programs

The scientific market benefited from  stimulus funding  during fiscal 2011,  with applications in
ultrashort pulses and in bio-research being the  drivers of this  anticipated  expansion. We  have recently
seen the total amount of government-related  funding for  scientific  research  decline  to  pre-stimulus
levels and it is unclear whether or to what extent the recent ‘‘U.S. fiscal cliff’’ experience will  impact
future government research funding.  However, we believe that  as we push the boundaries of
performance and ease of use in our ultrafast  lasers, we  have the potential to capture  a large share  of
the available market by enabling our  customers to win funding  for new research fields that drive
discovery. While these markets remain highly competitive, we  believe our leadership position and  new
product  pipeline will drive attosecond  science boundaries and biological imaging  ease of use,  enabling
new research frontiers to be forged and  we would  expect a  gain in market share as a result.

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MARKET APPLICATIONS

We  design, manufacture and market  lasers, laser  tools,  precision optics and related accessories for

a diverse group of customers. The following  table lists our  major markets and the Coherent
technologies serving these markets.*

Market

Application

Technology

Microelectronics

Flat panel display

Advanced packaging and
interconnects

Semiconductor front-end

Materials processing

Metal cutting, joining, surface
treatment

Laser marking and coding

Non-metal cutting, drilling

OEM components and

instrumentation

Bio-Instrumentation

Graphic arts and display

Medical therapy (OEM)

Scientific research and

government programs

All scientific applications

CO2
DPSS
Excimer
Ultrafast
Semiconductor
CO2
DPSS
Excimer
Ultrafast
CO2
DPSS
OPSL
Excimer
Ion
CO2
Fiber
Semiconductor
Laser Machine Tools
CO2
DPSS
CO2
DPSS
Excimer
Semiconductor
Laser Machine Tools

DPSS
OPSL
Semiconductor
Ultrafast

OPSL
CO2
CO2
DPSS
Ultrafast
Excimer
OPSL
Semiconductor

DPSS
Excimer
OPSL
Ultrafast

*

Coherent sells its laser measurement and control products into a  number of these applications.

In addition to products we provide, we  invest  routinely in the  core technologies needed to create

substantial differentiation for our products in the marketplace. Our semiconductor,  crystal and  fiber

13

facilities all maintain an external customer base providing value-added solutions. We  direct significant
engineering efforts to produce unique  solutions targeted  for internal consumption.  These investments,
once integrated into our broader product portfolio, provide our customers with uniquely differentiated
solutions and the opportunity to substantially enhance the performance, reliability and capability  of the
products we offer.

TECHNOLOGIES

Diode-pumped solid-state lasers

DPSS lasers use semiconductor lasers  to pump  a crystal to produce  a laser beam.  By changing the
energy, optical components and the types  of crystals used in the laser, different  wavelengths and types
of laser light can be produced.

The efficiency, reliability, longevity and relatively low cost  of DPSS lasers make  them ideally suited

for a wide range of OEM and end-user applications, particularly those requiring 24-hour  operations.
Our DPSS systems are compact and  self-contained sealed  units. Unlike  conventional tools and other
lasers, our DPSS lasers require minimal  maintenance since they  do not have internal controls or
components that require adjusting and cleaning to maintain consistency.  They  are also less affected by
environmental changes in temperature  and humidity,  which can alter alignment and inhibit performance
in many systems.

We  manufacture a variety of types of  DPSS  lasers for different applications including
semiconductor inspection; advanced packaging  and  interconnects; laser  pumping; spectroscopy;
bio-agent detection; DNA sequencing; drug discovery;  flow cytometry; forensics; computer-to-plate
printing; entertainment lighting (display);  medical; rapid  prototyping and marking, welding, engraving,
cutting and drilling.

Fiber lasers

Fiber  lasers use semiconductor lasers  to  pump a doped  optical  fiber to produce a  laser beam. The

unique  features of a fiber laser make them suitable for  producing high power, continuous wave laser
beams. We have introduced a 1 kilowatt fiber  laser. Our  fiber laser design has several  unique  features
including a modular design for improved  serviceability and  diode  bar based pumping. Due  to  packaging
efficiency, diode bars reduce the overall cost of a fiber laser. Some of the  most critical components
inside a fiber laser include the gain fiber  itself and the diodes providing the pump  power.  We are well
positioned as a fiber laser supplier since  we are vertically integrated with respect  to  these key
technologies; we use diode bars and fiber  manufactured in-house. We plan  to  continue to drive  cost
reduction in our diode laser pumps and demonstrate the  scalability of the  platform by moving up  the
power scale into the multi kilowatt regime. This  platform  will address the growing high power metal
cutting and joining market.

Gas lasers (CO2, Excimer, Ion)

The breadth of our gas laser portfolio is industry  leading, encompassing CO2, excimer and ion
laser technologies. Gas lasers derive their name from the  use of one or more gases as a  lasing medium.
They collectively span an extremely diverse  and  useful emission range, from  the very deep ultraviolet to
the far infrared. This diverse range of  available wavelengths,  coupled with high optical output power,
and an abundance of other attractive characteristics, makes gas lasers extremely useful and popular for
a variety of microelectronics, scientific, medical therapeutic and materials processing applications.

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Optically Pumped Semiconductor Lasers  (‘‘OPSL’’)

Our OPSL platform is a surface emitting semiconductor  laser that is  energized or pumped by a

semiconductor laser. The use of optical  pumping circumvents  inherent power scaling  limitations of
electrically pumped lasers, enabling very high powered devices. A wide range of wavelengths can  be
achieved by varying the semiconductor materials  used  in the device and changing the  frequency  of the
laser beam using techniques common  in solid state  lasers. The platform leverages high reliability
technologies developed for telecommunications and produces  a  compact, rugged, high power,
single-mode laser.

Our OPSL products are well suited to  a wide range  of applications, including the

bio-instrumentation, medical therapeutics and  graphic  arts and display markets. In fiscal 2009,  our
Genesis yellow laser continued to make  progress  in ophthalmology and we have expanded our offerings
in the area of entertainment lighting using a variety of products across  the visible spectrum. We also
continue to expand our ultraviolet version of the OPSL platform called the  Genesis, which  was
developed for the bio-instrumentation market.

Semiconductor lasers

High power edge emitting semiconductor diode lasers  use the  same  principles as widely-used CD

and DVD lasers, but produce significantly higher  power levels.  The  advantages of this type of laser
include smaller size, longer life, enhanced  reliability and greater efficiency. We manufacture  a wide
range of discrete semiconductor laser products  with wavelengths ranging from 650nm to over  1000nm
and output powers ranging from 1W  to  over 100W, with  highly integrated  products in  the kW range.
These products are available in a variety  of industry standard form factors including the following:  bare
die, packaged and fiber coupled single emitters and bars,  monolithic  stacks, and fully integrated
modules with microprocessor controlled units that contain power supplies and  active  coolers.

Our semiconductor lasers are used internally as  the pump lasers in DPSS,  fiber  and OPSL

products that are manufactured by us,  as  well  as a wide variety of  external  medical,  OEM, military and
industrial applications, including aesthetic (hair removal,  cosmetic dentistry), graphic arts,  counter
measures, rangefinders, target designators,  and plastic  welding.

Ultrafast  (‘‘UF’’) Lasers

Ultrafast  lasers are lasers generating light pulses with  durations  of  a  few femtoseconds  (10-15
seconds) to a few tens of picoseconds (10-11 seconds). These types of lasers are used  for medical,
advanced microelectronics and materials  processing applications as  well as scientific research. UF laser
oscillators generate a train of pulses  at 50-100 MHz, with peak powers of tens of kilowatts,  and UF
laser amplifiers generate pulses at 1-2000 kHz, with peak powers up  to  several Terawatts.

The extremely short duration of UF  laser pulses enables temporally resolving fast events like the
dynamics of atoms or electrons. In addition,  the high peak power enables  so-called non-linear effects
where  several photons can be absorbed by a molecule at  the same time. This  type of process enables
applications like multi-photon excitation microscopy or UF ablation  of materials with high  precision
and minimal thermal damage.

SALES AND MARKETING

We  primarily market our products in the United  States through a direct sales force.  Our foreign

sales are made principally to customers in South Korea, Japan, Germany  and  other  European and
Asia-Pacific countries. We sell internationally through direct  sales  personnel located in  Canada,  France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands,  China,  South  Korea, Taiwan and the United Kingdom,  as well
as through independent representatives in  certain jurisdictions around  the world.  Foreign sales

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accounted for 77% of our total net sales in fiscal 2013, 76% of our total net  sales in fiscal 2012 and
74% of our total net sales in fiscal 2011. In fiscal  2013, sales  to  Asian markets continued to grow at a
faster rate than sales to other geographic regions. Sales  made to independent representatives and
distributors are generally priced in U.S.  dollars.  A large portion of foreign  sales  that  we make directly
to customers are priced in local currencies and  are therefore subject to currency exchange fluctuations.
Foreign sales are also subject to other normal risks of foreign  operations  such as protective tariffs,
export and import controls and political instability.

We  had one customer during fiscal 2013 who contributed more than 10% of revenue, Advanced

Process Systems Corporation. We had two customers during  fiscal 2012 who  contributed  more than
10% of revenue, Japan Steel Works, Ltd.  and Advanced  Process  Systems  Corporation. There were no
major customers over 10% of revenues for  fiscal 2011.

To support our sales efforts we maintain and continue  to  invest  in a number of applications centers

around the world, where our applications  experts  work closely with  customers on developing laser
processes to meet their manufacturing  needs. The applications span a  wide  range, but are mostly
centered around the materials processing and  microelectronics  markets. Locations include several
facilities in the US, Europe and Asia.

We  maintain customer support and field service  staff  in major  markets within the United States,
Europe, Japan, China, South Korea, Taiwan and other Asia-Pacific countries. This organization works
closely with customers, customer groups and  independent representatives in servicing equipment,
training customers to use our products and exploring additional  applications of our technologies.

We  typically provide parts and service warranties  on our lasers, laser-based systems,  optical and
laser components and related accessories and services.  Warranties  on some  of our  products and services
may be shorter or longer than one year.  Warranty reserves, as  reflected on our consolidated balance
sheets, have generally been sufficient  to  cover product warranty repair and replacement costs.  The
weighted average warranty period covered is approximately  15 months.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

We  are constantly developing and introducing  new products  as well  as improving and  refining
existing products to better serve the  markets we  participate in. Our development efforts  are focused on
designing and developing products, services and solutions that  anticipate  customers’  changing needs and
emerging technological trends. Our efforts are also focused on  identifying the  areas where we believe
we can make valuable contributions.  Research and development expenditures for fiscal 2013 were
$82.8 million, or 10.2% of net sales compared to $78.3  million,  or  10.2% of net  sales for fiscal 2012  and
$81.2 million, or 10.1% of net sales for  fiscal 2011. We  work closely with customers,  both individually
and through our sponsored seminars,  to  develop products  to  meet customer application and
performance needs. In addition, we are  working with  leading research and educational institutions to
develop new photonics based solutions.

MANUFACTURING

Strategies

One  of our core manufacturing strategies is to tightly  control our  supply of key parts, components,

sub-assemblies and outsourcing partners.  We primarily utilize vertical  integration when we  have
proprietary internal capabilities that  are  not  cost-effectively available from  external sources. We believe
this  is essential to maintain high quality products  and enable rapid development and  deployment  of
new products and technologies. We provide customers with 24-hour technical expertise  and quality that
is International Organization for Standardization (‘‘ISO’’)  certified at our principal manufacturing sites.

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Committed to quality and customer satisfaction, we  design and produce many  of our  own
components and sub-assemblies in order to retain quality and performance control.  We have also
outsourced certain components, sub-assemblies and finished goods  where we can maintain our high
quality standards while improving our cost structure.

As part of our strategy to increase our market share and  customer support  in Asia  as well as  our

continuing efforts to manage costs, we acquired  the business  assets of privately-held Hypertronics  in the
second  quarter of fiscal 2011. Hypertronics’ assets included an engineering and integration center in
Singapore and a low cost manufacturing  facility in Penang,  Malaysia. We  have increased the footprint
of both the Singapore and Malaysia factories and are  using these operations  to  expand our laser
manufacturing and repair activities in Asia. This will allow us to reduce service  response  time and
inventories, providing benefits to us and  to our customers. We have  also established  an International
Procurement Office in Singapore and  have started to increase  our sourcing  of materials from Asia  to
reduce material costs on a global basis.  In fiscal 2012, we  opened a  tube  refurbishment manufacturing
site in South Korea to better service our customers in  that region. In fiscal 2013, we expanded our
manufacturing presence in Germany through the acquisitions of  Innolight and Lumera.

We  have designed and implemented proprietary manufacturing tools, equipment and  techniques in

an effort to provide products that differentiate us from  our competitors.  These proprietary
manufacturing techniques are utilized in  a number of our product  lines including  our gas laser
production, crystal growth, beam alignment as well as the  wafer growth for our  semiconductor  and
optically pumped semiconductor laser  product family.

Raw materials or sub-components required in the  manufacturing  process are generally available
from several sources. However, we currently purchase several key components  and materials, including
exotic materials, crystals and optics, used  in the manufacture of our  products  from sole source or
limited source suppliers. We also purchase  assemblies  and turnkey solutions from contract
manufacturers based on our proprietary  designs. We rely on our  own production and design capability
to manufacture and specify certain strategic components,  crystals, fibers, semiconductor lasers,  lasers
and laser based systems.

For a  discussion of the importance to our business of, and the risks attendant  to  sourcing, see
‘‘Risk Factors’’ in item 1A—‘‘We depend  on sole source or limited source suppliers,  both  internal and
external, for some of our key components  and  materials, including  exotic  materials, certain cutting-edge
optics and crystals, in our products, which  make us susceptible to supply shortages or price  fluctuations
that could adversely affect our business.’’

Operations

Our products are manufactured at our sites in  Santa  Clara and  Sunnyvale,  California; Wilsonville,

Oregon; East Hanover, New Jersey;  Bloomfield, Connecticut; Salem,  New Hampshire;  L¨ubeck,
Germany; G¨ottingen, Germany; Kaiserslautern, Germany; Hannover, Germany;  Glasgow, Scotland;
Kallang Sector, Singapore; and Penang, Malaysia. In addition, we  also  use contract  manufacturers  for
the production of certain assemblies  and  turnkey  solutions. Our  ion gas lasers, a portion  of  our  DPSS
lasers that are used in microelectronics, scientific research and materials processing applications,
semiconductor lasers, fiber lasers and ultrafast scientific lasers  are  manufactured at our Santa Clara,
California site. Our laser diode module products, laser instrumentation products, test  and measurement
equipment products are manufactured in  Wilsonville,  Oregon. We manufacture exotic crystals in East
Hanover, New Jersey and both active and  passive  fibers are manufactured in our  Salem, New
Hampshire facility. Our CO2 gas lasers are manufactured in Bloomfield, Connecticut. We manufacture
a portion of our DPSS lasers used in microelectronics and  OEM components and instrumentation
applications in L¨ubeck, Germany. We manufacture a  portion  of our DPSS lasers used in
microelectronics, OEM components and instrumentation  and  materials  processing applications  in

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Kaiserslautern, Germany. We manufacture a portion of  our DPSS lasers used in  microelectronics and
scientific applications in Hannover, Germany. Our excimer gas laser products are  manufactured in
G¨ottingen, Germany. We manufacture the  fiber-based lasers and a  portion of our DPSS lasers used in
microelectronics and scientific research applications  in Glasgow, Scotland. Our facility in Sunnyvale,
California grows the aluminum-free materials that  are incorporated into  our  semiconductor lasers. We
have transferred several products and subassemblies for manufacture at our Singapore and  Malaysia
facilities and we are in the process of transferring additional  product manufacturing to Singapore and
Malaysia as part of our Asia strategy.  We refurbish excimer tubes  at  our manufacturing site  in South
Korea.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

We  rely  on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark  and trade secret laws and restrictions on
disclosure to protect our intellectual property rights. As of  September 28, 2013, we held approximately
429 U.S. and foreign patents, which expire from  2014 through 2030  (depending on  the payment  of
maintenance fees) and we have approximately 156  additional  pending patent applications that have
been filed. The issued patents cover  various  products in  all of the major  markets  that  we serve.

For a  discussion of the importance to our business of, and the risks attendant  to  intellectual
property rights, see ‘‘Risk Factors’’ in Item 1A—‘‘We  may  not  be  able to protect our proprietary
technology which could adversely affect  our competitive advantage’’  and ‘‘We may, in  the future,  be
subject to claims or litigation from third parties, for claims of  infringement of their proprietary  rights or
to determine the scope and validity of our  proprietary  rights or the  proprietary rights of competitors or
other rights holders. These claims could result in costly litigation and the diversion of our technical and
management personnel. Adverse resolution  of  litigation may harm our  operating results  or financial
condition.’’

COMPETITION

Competition in the various photonics  markets  in which we provide products is very intense. We
compete against a number of companies including CVI Melles Griot, GSI Group,  Inc., IPG  Photonics
Corporation, JDS Uniphase Corporation, Newport Corporation, Rofin-Sinar Technologies, Inc., and
Trumpf GmbH, as well as other smaller  companies. We compete globally based on our broad product
offering, reliability, cost, and performance  advantages for  the widest range of commercial and scientific
research applications. Other considerations by our customers  include warranty, global  service  and
support and distribution.

BACKLOG

At fiscal 2013 year-end, our backlog of orders scheduled for  shipment (within one year) was
$285.8 million compared to $352.8 million  at fiscal 2012 and $356.5 million at fiscal  2011 year-end.  By
segment, backlog for SLS was $204.7  million, $272.1 million and $265.9  million, respectively, at  fiscal
2013, 2012 and 2011 year-ends. Backlog  for CLC  was $81.1 million, $80.7 million and $90.6 million,
respectively, at fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011  year-ends. The decrease in  SLS backlog from  fiscal 2012 to
fiscal 2013 year-end is primarily due to  timing of  large excimer  laser annealing orders for  the flat panel
display  market. Orders used to compute  backlog are generally  cancelable without  substantial penalties.
Historically, the rate of cancellation experienced by us has not been significant though we  cannot
guarantee that cancellations will not  increase in the  future.

SEASONALITY

We  have historically experienced decreased bookings and revenue in  the first fiscal quarter
compared to other quarters in our fiscal year due to the impact of time off and  business  closures at

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many  of our customers due to year-end holidays. This  historical pattern should not be considered  a
reliable indicator of the Company’s future net sales  or financial performance.

EMPLOYEES

As of fiscal 2013 year-end, we had 2,514 employees.  Approximately  391 of our employees  are

involved in research and development;  1,530  of  our  employees are  involved in  operations,
manufacturing, service and quality assurance; and 593 of our employees are involved in sales,  order
administration, marketing, finance, information technology  and other administrative functions. Our
success will depend in large part upon  our ability to attract  and  retain employees. We face competition
in this regard from other companies,  research  and  academic  institutions, government entities and other
organizations. We  consider our relations with our employees to be good.

ACQUISITIONS

In December 2012, we acquired privately held  Lumera Laser GmbH (Kaiserslautern, Germany) for

approximately $51.5 million, excluding transaction costs. Lumera manufactures ultrafast solid  state
lasers for microelectronics, OEM medical and materials  processing applications. Lumera has been
included in our Specialty Lasers and Systems segment.

In October 2012, we acquired all of the  outstanding shares  of Innolight Innovative Laser and
Systemtechnik GmbH for approximately  $18.3 million, excluding transaction costs. Innolight provides a
core technology building block for an  emerging class of commercial, sub-nanosecond lasers  for
microelectronics manufacturing. Its semiconductor-based architecture delivers pulsed output that can be
amplified by conventional or fiber amplifiers to ultimately deliver  infrared, green or ultraviolet  light
capable of processing a range of materials. Innolight has been  included in  our  Specialty Lasers  and
Systems segment.

In July 2012, we acquired all of the outstanding shares of MiDAZ  Lasers  Ltd for  approximately

$3.8 million in cash. MiDAZ was a technology-based acquisition. We intend to utilize  the acquired
technology in low cost, compact pulsed  solid state lasers. MiDAZ  has been  included in  our  Specialty
Lasers  and Systems segment.

In January 2011, we acquired all of the assets  and  assumed certain liabilities of  Hypertronics
Pte  Ltd for approximately $14.5 million  in cash. Hypertronics  designs  and  manufactures laser-and
vision-based tools for flat panel, storage, semiconductor and  solar applications at facilities in Singapore
and Malaysia. Hypertronics has been included in our Specialty Lasers  and Systems segment.

Please refer to ‘‘Note 4. Business Combinations’’ of Notes to  Consolidated Financial Statements
under Item 15 of this annual report for further  discussion of the  acquisition  completed during fiscal
2013.

RESTRUCTURINGS AND CONSOLIDATION

There were no new restructuring activities undertaken during fiscal 2013 or fiscal 2012.  During  the

first quarter of fiscal 2010, we acquired  the assets  and  certain liabilities of StockerYale’s laser  module
product  line in Montreal, Canada and began to transition those activities to contract manufacturers and
other Coherent facilities in Salem, Massachusetts, Wilsonville, Oregon and Sunnyvale, California.  The
transfer was completed in the second quarter  of  fiscal 2011.

During  the second quarter of fiscal 2009, we  announced our plans to close our facilities in

Tampere, Finland and St. Louis, Missouri. The closure of our St. Louis, Missouri and Yokohama, Japan
sites were completed in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. The closure of our Finland site was scheduled
for completion by the end of fiscal 2010, but we decided to delay  the closure  due  to  increased  demand

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for products manufactured in Finland.  In  the second quarter of  fiscal  2011, we ceased manufacturing
operations in our Finland facility and we  exited the  facility in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.

GOVERNMENT REGULATION

Environmental regulation

Our operations are subject to various federal,  state, local and foreign environmental protection
regulations relating to the use, storage, handling and  disposal of  regulated  materials, chemicals, various
radioactive materials and certain waste  products. In  the United States,  we are  subject to the federal
regulation and control of the Environmental Protection Agency. Comparable authorities are  involved in
other countries. Such rules are subject  to  change by the  governing agency  and we monitor those
changes closely. We expect all operations to meet the legal and  regulatory environmental  requirements
and believe that compliance with those regulations will not have  a material adverse effect on our
capital expenditures, earnings and competitive and financial position.

Although we believe that our safety procedures for  using,  handling, storing and disposing  of such

materials comply with the standards required by federal and state laws and regulations, we cannot
completely eliminate the risk of accidental contamination or  injury from these  materials. In  the event of
such an accident involving such materials,  we could be liable for  damages and such liability could
exceed the amount of our liability insurance  coverage  and the resources of our business.

We  may face potentially increasing complexity  in our product designs  and  procurement operations
due to the evolving nature of product compliance standards. Those standards may impact the  material
composition of our products entering specific  markets. Such regulations went into effect in  the
European Union (‘‘EU’’) in 2006, and  China in  2007. We could face significant  costs and liabilities in
connection with product take-back legislation. Beginning in 2006, the EU Waste  Electrical and
Electronic Equipment Directive made producers of electrical goods financially responsible for  specified
collection, recycling, treatment and disposal of  past  and  future covered products.  In  addition, the  EU
has added the Registration, Evaluation  and  Authorization of Chemicals Regulation,  otherwise known as
the REACH Regulation, which further regulates substances  and products imported, manufactured or
sold within the EU. Similar laws are  now  pending in  various jurisdictions  around  the world, including
the United States.

Environmental liabilities

Our operations are subject to various laws  and  regulations governing  the environment,  including
the discharge of pollutants and the management and disposal  of hazardous substances. As a result of
our  historic as well as on-going operations,  we could incur substantial costs,  including remediation
costs. The costs under environmental laws and the timing  of these costs are  difficult  to  predict. Our
accruals for such costs and liabilities may  not be adequate because the estimates on  which the accruals
are based depend on a number of factors including  the nature of the matter, the  complexity of the site,
site geology, the nature and extent of  contamination, the type  of remedy, the outcome  of  discussions
with regulatory agencies and other Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) at  multi-party sites  and the
number and financial viability of other PRPs.

We  further discuss the impact of environmental regulation  under ‘‘Risk  Factors’’ in Item 1A—
‘‘Compliance or the failure to comply with current and future  environmental regulations  could  cause us
significant expense.’’

SEGMENT INFORMATION

We  are organized into two operating  segments:  Specialty Lasers  and  Systems (‘‘SLS’’)  and

Commercial Lasers and Components  (‘‘CLC’’). This segmentation reflects the  go-to-market strategies

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for various products and markets. SLS  develops  and  manufacturers configurable, advanced-performance
products largely serving the microelectronics, scientific research and government programs and  OEM
components and instrumentation markets.  The size  and complexity of many of the SLS products
require service to be performed at the customer  site by  factory-trained field service engineers. While
both segments work to deliver cost-effective photonics solutions, CLC focuses on higher  volume
products that are offered in set configurations. The product  architectures are designed  for easy
exchange at the point of use such that product service and repairs are based upon advanced
replacement and depot (i.e., factory) repair.  CLC’s primary markets  include  materials processing,  OEM
components and instrumentation and  microelectronics.

We  have identified SLS and CLC as  operating segments for which  discrete financial information
was available. Both units have dedicated engineering,  manufacturing,  product business management  and
product  line management functions. A  small portion  of our outside revenue is  attributable to projects
and recently developed products for which  a segment has  not  yet been determined. The associated
direct and indirect costs are presented in the  category  of  Corporate  and other,  along with  other
corporate costs.

FINANCIAL INFORMATION ABOUT FOREIGN AND DOMESTIC  OPERATIONS  AND EXPORT

SALES

Financial information relating to foreign and domestic operations  for fiscal years 2013, 2012  and

2011, is set forth in Note 18, ‘‘Segment  and Geographic  Information’’ of our Notes to Consolidated
Financial Statements under Item 15 of  this annual report.

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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS

You should carefully consider the followings  risks when considering  an investment in our  Common
Stock. These risks could materially affect our business, results of operations or financial  condition, cause  the
trading price of our Common Stock to  decline  materially or  cause our actual results  to differ materially
from those expected or those expressed in any forward-looking statements  made by us. These  risks  are not
exclusive, and additional risks to which we are subject include,  but  are not limited to, the factors mentioned
under ‘‘Forward-Looking Statements’’  and  the risk of our businesses described elsewhere  in  this annual
report. Additionally, these risks and uncertainties described herein are not the only ones facing us. Other
events  that we do not currently anticipate or that we currently deem  immaterial  also may affect our business,
results of operations or financial condition.

BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND INDUSTRY TRENDS

Our operating results, including net sales, net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA in dollars and

as a percentage of  net sales, as well as our  stock  price have varied in the past,  and our  future
operating results will continue to be subject  to quarterly  and annual fluctuations  based  upon
numerous factors, including those discussed  in this Item 1A and throughout this report. Our stock
price will continue to be subject to daily  variations  as well.  Our future operating results and stock
price may not follow any past trends or  meet  our guidance and expectations.

Our net  sales and  operating results, such as adjusted EBITDA percentage,  net income (loss) and

operating expenses, and our stock price have  varied in the  past  and may vary  significantly  from quarter
to quarter and from year to year in the future. We  believe a number of factors, many of which  are
outside of our control, could cause these variations and make them difficult to predict, including:

(cid:129) general economic uncertainties in the  macroeconomic and local economies facing us,  our

customers and the markets we serve;

(cid:129) fluctuations in demand for our products or downturns in  the industries that we  serve;

(cid:129) the ability of our suppliers, both internal and external, to  produce and  deliver  components and
parts, including sole or limited source  components, in a timely  manner,  in the quantity, quality
and prices desired;

(cid:129) the timing of receipt and conversion  of  bookings  to  net sales;

(cid:129) the concentration of a significant amount of our backlog,  and  resultant net sales, with a few

customers;

(cid:129) cancellation of customer orders and rescheduling of shipments;

(cid:129) fluctuations in our product mix;

(cid:129) the ability of our customers’ other  suppliers to provide  sufficient material to support our

customers’ products;

(cid:129) currency fluctuations and stability, in particular the Euro, the  Japanese Yen, the Korean Won,

the Chinese Renminbi and the US dollar as  compared to other  currencies;

(cid:129) commodity pricing;

(cid:129) introductions of new products and product  enhancements by  our competitors, entry of new

competitors into our markets, pricing pressures and other competitive factors;

(cid:129) our ability to develop, introduce, manufacture  and  ship new and  enhanced products in a  timely

manner without defects;

(cid:129) our ability to manage our capacity  and that of our suppliers;

22

(cid:129) our increased reliance on contract  manufacturing;

(cid:129) the rate of market acceptance of our new products;

(cid:129) the ability of our customers to pay  for our products;

(cid:129) expenses associated with acquisition-related activities;

(cid:129) seasonal sales trends;

(cid:129) access  to applicable credit markets by  us, our  customers and their end  customers;

(cid:129) delays or reductions in customer purchases of our  products  in anticipation of the introduction of

new and enhanced products by us or our competitors;

(cid:129) our ability to control expenses;

(cid:129) the level of capital spending of our  customers;

(cid:129) potential excess and/or obsolescence of our  inventory;

(cid:129) costs and timing of adhering to current and developing governmental regulations and reviews

relating to our products and business;

(cid:129) costs related to acquisitions of technology or businesses;

(cid:129) impairment of goodwill, intangible  assets and other  long-lived assets;

(cid:129) our ability to meet our expectations and forecasts and those of public market analysts  and

investors;

(cid:129) the availability of research funding by  governments with regard  to  our customers in the scientific

business, such as universities;

(cid:129) continued government spending on  defense-related projects where we  are a subcontractor;

(cid:129) maintenance of supply relating to products sold to the government on  terms which  we would

prefer not to accept;

(cid:129) changes in policy, interpretations, or challenges to the allowability of costs  incurred under

government cost accounting standards;

(cid:129) damage to our reputation as a result of coverage in  social  media, Internet  blogs or  other  media

outlets;

(cid:129) managing our and other parties’ compliance with contracts in multiple  languages and

jurisdictions;

(cid:129) managing our internal and third party sales  representatives and distributors, including

compliance with all applicable laws;

(cid:129) impact of government economic policies on macroeconomic conditions;

(cid:129) costs and expenses from litigation;

(cid:129) costs associated with designing around or payment  of licensing fees associated  with issued

patents in our fields of business;

(cid:129) government support of the alternative energy  industries, such as  solar;

(cid:129) the future impact of legislation, rulemaking, and changes  in accounting, tax, defense

procurement, or export policies; and

(cid:129) distraction of management related to acquisition or divestment activities.

23

In addition, we often recognize a substantial portion of our sales in the  last month of our fiscal

quarters. Our expenses for any given quarter are typically based on expected sales and  if sales are
below expectations in any given quarter, the adverse impact of the shortfall on our operating results
may be magnified by our inability to  adjust spending quickly enough to compensate for the shortfall.
We  also base our manufacturing on our  forecasted product mix  for the  quarter.  If the actual  product
mix varies significantly from our forecast,  we may not be able to fill  some orders during that quarter,
which  would result in delays in the shipment of our products. Accordingly, variations in  timing of sales,
particularly for our higher priced, higher  margin products, can cause  significant fluctuations  in quarterly
operating results.

Due to these and other factors, such as varying product mix, we believe that quarter-to-quarter and
year-to-year comparisons of our historical operating results may  not  be  meaningful. You  should not rely
on our results for any quarter or year as  an  indication of  our future performance. Our  operating results
in future quarters and years may be below public market analysts’  or investors’ expectations, which
would likely cause the price of our stock  to  fall. In addition, over the  past several years, the stock
market has experienced extreme price and volume  fluctuations that  have affected the  stock  prices of
many  technology companies both in and  outside our industry. There has  not  always been a  direct
correlation between this volatility and the  performance of particular companies  subject to these stock
price fluctuations. Further, over the last  twelve  months, equity markets  around the world  have
significantly fluctuated across most sectors.  These  factors, as well as general economic  and political
conditions or investors’ concerns regarding  the credibility of corporate financial statements, may have  a
material adverse effect on the market price of  our stock  in the future.

We are exposed to risks associated with  worldwide economic conditions and related uncertainties which could
negatively impact demand for our products  and results  of  operations.

Volatility and disruption in the capital and credit markets, depressed consumer confidence,
government economic policies, negative  economic  conditions, volatile corporate  profits and reduced
capital spending could negatively impact demand  for our products. In particular, it  is difficult to
develop and implement strategy, sustainable business models and efficient operations,  as well as
effectively manage supply chain relationships in the  face of such conditions including uncertainty
regarding the ability of some of our suppliers to continue operations  and  provide us with uninterrupted
supply flow. Our ability to maintain our research and development investments in  our  broad product
offerings may be adversely impacted  in the  event that our sales  decline and do not increase in  the
future. Spending and the timing thereof  by consumers  and  businesses have a significant impact on  our
results and, where such spending is delayed or  canceled, it could  have a material negative impact on
our  operating results. The current global economic  conditions remain  uncertain and challenging.
Weakness in our end markets could negatively impact  our net sales, gross margin and operating
expenses, and consequently have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and
results of operations.

Continued uncertainty in U.S. and global fiscal policy  has likely had  a recent adverse impact on
global  financial markets and overall economic activity. Should  this uncertain  financial  policy continue, it
would likely negatively impact global  economic activity,  including possibly sending the  U.S. into a  new
recession. It would also likely have negative repercussions  on U.S. and  global credit and financial
markets, and further exacerbate sovereign  debt concerns in  the European  Union. All of  these factors
would likely adversely impact the global demand  for our  products and the performance of our
investments, and would likely have a material  adverse  effect on  our business,  results of operations and
financial condition.

The financial turmoil which recently  affected the banking system  and  financial markets continues

to negatively impact financial institutions and has resulted in tighter credit markets, and lower levels of
liquidity in some financial markets. There  could be a  number of follow-on  effects from the tightened

24

credit environment on our business, including  the insolvency of key suppliers or  their  inability  to  obtain
credit to finance development and/or  manufacture  products resulting  in product  delays; inability of
customers to obtain credit to finance purchases of our products and/or  customer insolvencies; and
failure of financial institutions negatively  impacting  our  treasury functions. In the event our customers
are unable to obtain credit or otherwise pay  for our shipped products it could significantly impact our
ability to collect on our outstanding accounts receivable. Other  income  and  expense also could vary
materially from expectations depending on gains  or losses realized on  the sale  or exchange  of  financial
instruments; impairment charges resulting from  revaluations of debt and equity securities and  other
investments; interest rates; cash balances;  and  changes in  fair value of derivative instruments.  Volatility
in the financial markets and any overall  economic uncertainty  increase  the risk that the actual  amounts
realized in the future on our financial  instruments could differ significantly from  the fair values
currently assigned to them. Uncertainty  about current global economic conditions could also continue
to increase the volatility of our stock price.

In addition, political and social turmoil related to international  conflicts,  terrorist  acts  and civil
unrest may put further pressure on economic conditions in the United  States and  abroad. Unstable
economic, political and social conditions make  it difficult  for  our customers, our suppliers and us to
accurately forecast and plan future business activities. If such  conditions persist, our business, financial
condition and results of operations could suffer.  Additionally, unstable economic  conditions can  provide
significant pressures and burdens on individuals, which  could cause  them  to engage in  inappropriate
business conduct. See ‘‘Part II, Item  9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.’’

We depend on sole source or limited source suppliers,  both internal  and external, for some of our key
components and materials, including exotic materials, certain cutting-edge  optics and  crystals,  in our products,
which make us susceptible to supply shortages or price fluctuations that could adversely affect  our business.

We  currently purchase several key components  and materials used in the manufacture of our
products from sole source or limited  source suppliers, both internal  and external. Our failure to timely
receive these key components and materials, such  as the large  optics  used  in our flat panel display
manufacturing applications, could cause delays in the  shipment of our products. Some of these
suppliers are relatively small private companies that may discontinue their operations at  any time and
which  may be particularly susceptible  to  prevailing  economic conditions. Some  of  our  suppliers are
located in regions which may be susceptible to natural disasters, such as the  flooding in Thailand  and
the earthquake, tsunami and resulting  nuclear disaster in Japan in recent years and last  year’s  severe
flooding and power loss in the Eastern  part  of  the United States.  We typically purchase our
components and materials through purchase orders or  agreed upon  terms and conditions and we  do
not have guaranteed supply arrangements with  many of these  suppliers. Some of our products,
particularly in the flat panel display industry,  require designs and specifications  which are at the
cutting-edge of available technologies.  Our and our customers’ designs  and specifications  frequently
change to meet rapidly evolving market demands.  Accordingly certain of our products require
components and supplies which may  be technologically difficult and unpredictable  to  manufacture.
These characteristics further pressure  the  timely  delivery of such  components.  We may fail to obtain
these supplies in a timely manner in  the future. We may experience  difficulty identifying alternative
sources  of supply for certain components used in our  products  and may have  to  incur  expenses and
management distraction in assisting our  current and future suppliers to meet our and  our  customers’
technical requirements. We would experience further  delays  while identifying,  evaluating  and testing the
products of these potential alternative  suppliers.  Furthermore,  financial or other difficulties  faced by
these suppliers or significant changes in demand  for these components  or  materials could limit their
availability. We continue to consolidate  our supply  base  and move supplier  locations. When we
transition locations we may increase  our inventory of such  products as  a  ‘‘safety stock’’ during the
transition, which may cause the amount of inventory reflected on our balance sheet to increase.

25

Additionally, many of our customers  rely  on sole source  suppliers. In  the event of a  disruption of our
customers’ supply chain, orders from our  customers  could decrease or be delayed.

Any interruption or delay in the supply of any of these components or materials, or  the inability to

obtain these components and materials  from alternate sources  at acceptable prices  and within a
reasonable amount of time, or our failure  to  properly manage these moves,  would impair our ability to
meet scheduled product deliveries to our  customers and could  cause customers to cancel  orders.  We
have historically relied exclusively on  our  own production capability  to  manufacture certain strategic
components, crystals, semiconductor lasers, lasers and laser-based  systems. Because we manufacture,
package and test these components, products and systems at  our own facilities, and such  components,
products and systems are not readily  available from  other sources, any interruption in manufacturing
would adversely affect our business. In  addition,  our  failure to achieve  adequate manufacturing yields
of these  items at our manufacturing facilities may materially and adversely affect our operating results
and financial condition.

We participate in the microelectronics market, which  requires  significant  research and  development  expenses to
develop and maintain products and a failure  to  achieve market  acceptance for  our products  could have a
significant negative impact on our business  and  results of operations.

The microelectronics market is characterized by rapid technological  change,  frequent product

introductions, the volatility of product  supply and  demand,  changing  customer requirements and
evolving industry standards. The nature of this market requires significant research and  development
expenses to participate, with substantial  resources invested in advance  of material sales  of our  products
to our customers in this market. Additionally, our product  offerings may become  obsolete given the
frequent introduction of alternative technologies. In the event either  our customers’  or our products  fail
to gain market acceptance, or the microelectronics market fails  to  grow, it  would likely  have a
significant negative effect on our business and results  of operations.

We participate in the flat panel display  market, which has  a relatively limited number of end customer
manufacturers. Our backlog, timing of net  sales and results  of  operations could be  negatively impacted in the
event our customers reschedule orders.

In the flat panel display market, there are  a relatively limited number  of manufacturers who are

the end customers for our annealing  products. Given  macroeconomic conditions, varying consumer
demand and technical process limitations at  manufacturers, our  customers may  seek to reschedule or
cancel orders. Challenges in meeting  evolving technological requirements  for these complex products by
us and our suppliers could also result in delays in shipments, rescheduled  or canceled orders by our
customers. This could negatively impact  our  backlog, timing  of net sales  and  results of operations.

Additionally, as our backlog includes  higher  average selling price flat panel  display systems, any

delays or cancellation of shipments could  have a  material adverse effect on our  financial  results.

Some of our laser systems are complex  in  design and may contain  defects that are  not  detected until deployed
by  our customers, which could increase  our costs and reduce our net  sales.

Lasers  and laser systems are inherently  complex in  design and require ongoing regular

maintenance. The manufacture of our lasers, laser products and systems  involves  a highly  complex and
precise process. As a result of the technological  complexity  of  our products,  in particular the flat panel
annealing systems, changes in our or  our  suppliers’  manufacturing processes or the  inadvertent use of
defective materials by us or our suppliers could result in a material adverse  effect on our ability to
achieve acceptable manufacturing yields  and product  reliability. To the extent  that  we do not achieve
and maintain our projected yields or product reliability, our business, operating results, financial
condition and customer relationships would be adversely affected. We provide warranties on  a majority

26

of our product sales, and reserves for  estimated  warranty costs are recorded during the  period of  sale.
The determination of such reserves requires us to make estimates of failure rates and  expected costs to
repair or replace the products under  warranty. We typically establish warranty reserves based on
historical warranty costs for each product  line. If actual  return rates and/or  repair and replacement
costs differ significantly from our estimates, adjustments  to cost of sales may be required in future
periods which could have an adverse effect on  our  results of operations.

Our customers may discover defects in our products after the  products have been fully  deployed

and operated under the end user’s peak  stress conditions. In addition,  some of our products are
combined with products from other vendors, which may contain defects. As a result,  should problems
occur, it may be difficult to identify the  source of the problem. If we are unable  to  identify and fix
defects or other problems, we could  experience, among other things:

(cid:129) loss of customers or orders;

(cid:129) increased costs of product returns  and warranty expenses;

(cid:129) damage to our brand reputation;

(cid:129) failure to attract new customers or achieve market acceptance;

(cid:129) diversion of development and engineering resources; and

(cid:129) legal actions by our customers and/or their end users.

The occurrence of any one or more of  the foregoing factors could seriously harm our business,

financial condition and results of operations.

Continued volatility in the semiconductor manufacturing  industry could adversely affect our  business,
financial condition and results of operations.

A portion of our net sales in the microelectronics  market  depend on the demand  for our products
by semiconductor equipment companies.  The semiconductor market has historically  been characterized
by sudden and severe cyclical variations  in product  supply and demand,  which have  often  severely
affected the demand for semiconductor manufacturing equipment,  including laser-based  tools and
systems. The timing, severity and duration of these  market cycles are difficult to predict, and we may
not be able to respond effectively to these  cycles.  The continuing uncertainty  in this market severely
limits our ability to predict our business prospects  or financial results  in this market.

During  industry downturns, our net sales  from this market may decline suddenly and  significantly.
Our ability to rapidly and effectively  reduce  our  cost structure in response to such downturns is  limited
by the fixed nature of many of our expenses  in the near  term and  by our need  to  continue our
investment in next-generation product technology  and  to  support and service  our products. In addition,
due to the relatively long manufacturing lead  times for some of the systems  and subsystems we  sell to
this  market, we may incur expenditures  or purchase raw materials or components for  products we
cannot sell. Accordingly, downturns in  the semiconductor capital  equipment  market may  materially
harm our operating results. Conversely, when  upturns  in this market occur,  we must be able to rapidly
and effectively increase our manufacturing capacity  to  meet increases in  customer demand  that  may be
extremely rapid, and if we fail to do so  we may lose business to our competitors and our relationships
with our customers may be harmed.

27

Our cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments are managed through various banks around the
world and volatility in the capital and credit market conditions could cause financial institutions to fail or
materially harm service levels provided by  such banks, both  of  which  could  have  an  adverse affect  on our
ability to timely access funds.

World capital and credit markets have  been and may continue to experience volatility and
disruption. In some cases, the markets  have  exerted downward pressure  on  stock  prices and credit
capacity  for certain issuers, as well as  pressured the solvency of some financial institutions. These
financial institutions, including banks,  have  had difficulty timely performing regular  services  and in
some cases have failed or otherwise been  largely  taken  over by governments. We maintain our cash,
cash equivalents and short-term investments  with a number of financial institutions around  the world.
Should some or all of these financial institutions fail or otherwise be unable to timely  perform
requested services, we would likely have a  limited ability to  timely  access our cash  deposited with such
institutions, or, in extreme circumstances the failure of such institutions  could cause us to be unable to
access cash for the foreseeable future. If  we are unable to quickly access  our  funds when we need
them, we may need to increase the use of our  existing credit lines or access  more expensive credit, if
available. If we are unable to access  our  cash or if we access  existing or  additional credit or are unable
to access additional credit, it could have a  negative  impact on our operations, including our  reported
net income.

We are exposed to credit risk and fluctuations in the  market values of our investment portfolio.

Although we have not recognized any material losses on our cash,  cash equivalents and short-term
investments, future declines in their market values could have  a  material adverse effect on our  financial
condition and operating results. Given the  global nature  of our  business,  we have investments both
domestically and internationally. There has  recently been growing  pressure on the creditworthiness of
sovereign nations, particularly in Europe  where  a significant  portion of our cash,  cash equivalents and
short-term investments are invested, which results in corresponding  pressure on the valuation of the
securities issued by such nations. Additionally, our overall investment  portfolio  is often concentrated in
certificates of deposit and money market funds. We maintain a mix of  government-issued  securities.
Credit  ratings and pricing of these investments can be negatively  impacted by liquidity,  credit
deterioration or losses, financial results,  or  other  factors. Additionally, liquidity issues or political
actions by sovereign nations could result  in decreased  values  for  our investments in certain government
securities. As a result, the value or liquidity of our cash, cash  equivalents and short-term investments
could decline or become materially impaired,  which could have  a material adverse effect on our
financial condition and operating results. See ‘‘Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative  Disclosures about
Market Risk.’’

Our future success depends on our ability to increase our  sales  volumes and decrease our  costs to  offset
potential declines in the average selling  prices (‘‘ASPs’’) of our products and, if we are  unable to realize
greater sales volumes and lower costs, our  operating results  may  suffer.

Our ability to increase our sales volume and our future success depends on  the continued growth

of the markets for  lasers, laser systems and related accessories, as  well as our ability to identify, in
advance, emerging markets for laser-based systems.  We cannot assure  you that we will be able  to
successfully identify, on a timely basis, new  high-growth markets  in the  future. Moreover, we cannot
assure you that new markets will develop  for our products  or our customers’  products, or  that  our
technology or pricing will enable such  markets to develop. Future demand for our products  is uncertain
and will depend to a great degree on continued  technological development and the introduction of new
or enhanced products. If this does not continue, sales of our  products may decline and our business will
be harmed.

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We  have in the past experienced decreases in  the ASPs of  some of our products. As competing
products become more widely available,  the ASPs of our products may decrease. If we are unable to
offset any decrease in our ASPs by increasing our sales volumes, our  net sales will  decline. In  addition,
to maintain our gross margins, we must continue to reduce the  cost of manufacturing our products
while maintaining their high quality.  From time to time, our products,  like many complex  technological
products, may fail in greater frequency than anticipated. This can  lead to further charges, which can
result in higher costs, lower gross margins and lower operating results. Furthermore, as  ASPs of our
current products decline, we must develop  and introduce new products and product  enhancements with
higher  margins. If we cannot maintain our gross  margins, our operating results could be seriously
harmed, particularly if the ASPs of our products decrease significantly.

Our future success depends on our ability to develop and successfully introduce  new and enhanced products
that meet the needs of our customers.

Our current products address a broad range  of commercial and  scientific research  applications  in

the photonics markets. We cannot assure  you that the market for these applications will continue  to
generate significant or consistent demand  for our products.  Demand for our  products could be
significantly diminished by disrupting  technologies or products  that replace them or render them
obsolete. Furthermore, the new and  enhanced  products in certain markets generally continue to be
smaller in size and have lower ASPs, and therefore, we have  to  sell  more  units to maintain revenue
levels. Accordingly, we must continue  to  invest  in research and development in  order  to  develop
competitive products.

Our future success depends on our ability to anticipate our  customers’ needs and develop products
that address those needs. Introduction  of new products  and product enhancements will require that we
effectively transfer production processes  from research and  development to manufacturing and
coordinate our efforts with those of our suppliers  to  achieve volume production rapidly.  If we  fail to
transfer production processes effectively,  develop product enhancements  or  introduce new products  in
sufficient quantities to meet the needs of  our customers  as scheduled, our net sales may  be  reduced
and our business may be harmed.

We face risks associated with our foreign  operations and sales that  could harm our financial condition  and
results of operations.

For fiscal 2013, fiscal 2012 and fiscal  2011, 77%, 76%  and 74%, respectively,  of  our  net sales  were

derived from customers outside of the  United States. We  anticipate that foreign sales, particularly  in
Asia, will continue to account for a significant portion of  our net  sales in the foreseeable future.

A global economic slowdown or a natural  disaster could have a negative effect on  various foreign

markets in which we operate, such as  the  earthquake, tsunami and resulting nuclear  disaster during
fiscal 2011 in Japan and last year’s flooding in Thailand. Such a slowdown may cause us to reduce our
presence in certain countries, which may negatively  affect the overall level of business in  such countries.
Our foreign sales are primarily through  our direct sales  force. Additionally, some  foreign sales are
made through foreign distributors and resellers. Our  foreign operations and sales are subject  to  a
number of risks, including:

(cid:129) longer accounts receivable collection periods;

(cid:129) the impact of recessions and other  economic conditions in economies outside the United  States;

(cid:129) unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;

(cid:129) certification requirements;

(cid:129) environmental regulations;

29

(cid:129) reduced protection for intellectual property rights  in some  countries;

(cid:129) potentially adverse tax consequences;

(cid:129) political and economic instability;

(cid:129) import/export regulations, tariffs and trade  barriers;

(cid:129) compliance with applicable United States and foreign anti-corruption  laws;

(cid:129) cultural and management differences;

(cid:129) preference for locally produced products;  and

(cid:129) shipping and other logistics complications.

Our business could also be impacted  by international conflicts, terrorist and military activity, civil

unrest and pandemic illness which could cause a slowdown in customer orders or cause customer order
cancellations.

We  are also subject to the risks of fluctuating foreign currency  exchange rates, which  could
materially adversely affect the sales price  of  our products in  foreign markets, as  well as the  costs and
expenses of our foreign subsidiaries. While  we use forward  exchange  contracts and other risk
management techniques to hedge our foreign currency exposure, we remain exposed to the  economic
risks of foreign currency fluctuations.

We may  not be able to protect our proprietary technology which could adversely affect our competitive
advantage.

Maintenance of intellectual property rights and the protection thereof is important  to  our business.

We  rely  on a combination of patent, copyright, trademark  and trade secret laws and restrictions on
disclosure to protect our intellectual property rights. We cannot assure  you that our patent applications
will be approved, that any patents that may be issued will protect  our intellectual property  or that any
issued patents will not be challenged by  third parties. Other  parties may independently  develop  similar
or competing technology or design around any patents that  may  be  issued  to  us. We cannot be certain
that the steps we have taken will prevent  the misappropriation  of  our intellectual property,  particularly
in foreign countries where the laws may not protect  our  proprietary rights as fully as in the United
States. Further, we may be required  to  enforce our intellectual property or  other  proprietary rights
through litigation, which, regardless of  success,  could result in substantial costs  and diversion of
management’s attention. Additionally, there may  be  existing patents of which we  are unaware  that
could be pertinent to our business and  it is  not possible  for  us to know whether there are  patent
applications pending that our products  might infringe  upon since  these applications  are often not
publicly available until a patent is issued or published.

We may, in the future, be subject to claims  or litigation from  third  parties,  for claims of infringement of their
proprietary rights or to determine the scope  and validity of our proprietary rights or the  proprietary rights of
competitors or other rights holders. These  claims could  result in costly litigation and the  diversion of our
technical and management personnel. Adverse resolution of litigation may harm our operating results or
financial condition.

In recent years, there has been significant  litigation in the United States involving  patents  and

other intellectual property rights. This has been seen in  our industry,  for  example in the recently
concluded patent-related litigation between IMRA America, Inc.  (‘‘Imra’’) and  IPG Photonics
Corporation and in Imra’s recently brought litigation against two of our German subsidiaries. From
time to time, like many other technology  companies, we  have received communications  from other
parties asserting the existence of patent rights, copyrights, trademark rights  or other intellectual

30

property rights which such third parties  believe may cover certain of our  products, processes,
technologies or information. In the future,  we may be a  party to litigation to protect  our intellectual
property or as a result of an alleged infringement of others’ intellectual property whether through
direct claims or by way of indemnification claims of our customers,  as, in  some cases, we contractually
agree to  indemnify our customers against  third-party  infringement claims  relating  to  our  products.
These claims and any resulting lawsuit,  if successful, could subject us to significant liability for  damages
or invalidation of our proprietary rights. These lawsuits, regardless of their success, would likely be
time-consuming and expensive to resolve and would  divert  management time and  attention. Any
potential intellectual property litigation could  also force us to do one or more of the following:

(cid:129) stop manufacturing, selling or using our products  that use the  infringed intellectual property;

(cid:129) obtain from the owner of the infringed intellectual property right  a  license  to  sell or  use the

relevant technology, although such license  may  not  be  available on reasonable  terms, or at all; or

(cid:129) redesign the products that use the technology.

If we  are forced to take any of these  actions or are otherwise a party  to  lawsuits  of this  nature, we

may incur significant losses for which we do not have  insurance and our business may be seriously
harmed. We do not have insurance to cover potential  claims  of this type.

If our goodwill or intangible assets become  impaired, we may be required to record a significant  charge to
earnings.

Under accounting principles generally  accepted in the  United States, we review our intangible
assets for impairment when events or  changes in circumstances indicate  the carrying value may not be
recoverable. Goodwill is required to  be  tested for  impairment  at  least annually.  Factors that may be
considered in determining whether a  change in circumstances indicating that the carrying value  of  our
goodwill or other intangible assets may not be recoverable include  declines  in our stock price and
market capitalization or future cash flows projections. We  recorded a charge during the fourth quarter
of fiscal 2012 related to the impairment  of  intangibles in  our SLS  operating segment  relating to the
decision to discontinue the legacy Hypertronics products. A  decline in our  stock price, or any other
adverse change in market conditions,  particularly if such  change has the effect  of  changing one of  the
critical assumptions or estimates we used  to calculate the  estimated  fair value of our reporting units,
could result in a change to the estimation  of fair value that  could result in an impairment  charge. Any
such material charges, whether related to goodwill or purchased intangible assets, may  have a material
negative impact on our financial and operating results.

We depend on skilled personnel to operate our  business effectively in a rapidly changing market, and if we are
unable to retain existing or hire additional personnel when  needed, our ability to  develop and sell our products
could be harmed.

Our ability to continue to attract and  retain highly skilled  personnel will  be a  critical factor in

determining whether we will be successful in  the future.  Recruiting and retaining highly skilled
personnel in certain functions continues  to  be  difficult.  At certain locations where  we operate, the cost
of living is extremely high and it may  be  difficult to retain key employees  and management at  a
reasonable cost. We may not be successful  in attracting, assimilating  or  retaining  qualified personnel  to
fulfill our current or future needs. Our  failure to attract  additional employees and  retain our existing
employees could adversely affect our growth and our business.

Our future success depends upon the continued services of  our executive officers  and other  key
engineering, sales, marketing, manufacturing and  support personnel,  any of  whom  may leave, which
could harm our business and our results of operations.

31

The long sales cycles for our products may cause us to incur significant expenses without  offsetting net  sales.

Customers often view the purchase of our products as a significant and strategic  decision. As a
result, customers typically expend significant effort  in evaluating, testing and  qualifying our products
before making a decision to purchase them, resulting  in a lengthy initial sales cycle. While our
customers are evaluating our products  and before they place an order  with us,  we may incur substantial
sales and marketing and research and development expenses  to  customize our products to the
customers’ needs. We may also expend significant  management efforts, increase manufacturing  capacity
and order long lead-time components  or  materials  prior to receiving an  order. Even after this
evaluation process, a potential customer  may not purchase our products. As  a result, these long  sales
cycles may cause us to incur significant  expenses without ever receiving net sales to offset  such
expenses.

The markets in which we sell our products are  intensely competitive and  increased competition  could cause
reduced sales levels, reduced gross margins  or the loss  of market  share.

Competition in the various photonics  markets  in which we provide products is very intense. We
compete against a number of large public  and private  companies, including CVI  Melles Griot,  GSI
Group, Inc., IPG Photonics Corporation, JDS Uniphase Corporation, Newport Corporation, Rofin-
Sinar Technologies, Inc., and Trumpf  GmbH, as well as other smaller companies. Some  of  our
competitors are large companies that have  significant financial, technical,  marketing and other
resources. These competitors may be able  to  devote  greater resources  than  we can to the development,
promotion, sale and support of their  products. Some of  our competitors are much better positioned
than we are to acquire other companies in order to gain new technologies  or products  that  may
displace our product lines. Any of these  acquisitions could give our competitors  a strategic advantage.
Any business combinations or mergers among our competitors, forming larger  companies with  greater
resources, could result in increased competition, price reductions, reduced margins or  loss of  market
share, any of which could materially  and adversely affect our  business,  results of operations and
financial condition.

Additional competitors may enter the markets in which we serve, both  foreign and  domestic,  and

we are likely to compete with new companies  in the future. We may encounter potential customers
that, due to existing relationships with our competitors,  are committed  to  the products  offered by these
competitors. Further, our current or  potential customers may determine  to  develop  and produce
products for their own use which are  competitive to our products. As  a  result of  the foregoing factors,
we expect that competitive pressures  may  result in price reductions, reduced  margins, loss of sales and
loss of market share. In addition, in markets where there  are a  limited  number of customers,
competition is particularly intense.

If we fail to accurately forecast component and material requirements for  our products,  we could incur
additional costs and incur significant delays in shipments, which  could result in  a loss  of customers.

We  use rolling forecasts based on anticipated  product orders and material requirements planning

systems to determine our product requirements. It  is very  important that we accurately  predict both the
demand for our products and the lead times required to obtain the necessary components and
materials. We depend on our suppliers for  most of our product  components and  materials.  Lead times
for components and materials that we order vary significantly and depend on factors including  the
specific  supplier requirements, the size  of  the order, contract terms and  current market demand for
components. For substantial increases in  our  sales levels of certain  products, some of our suppliers may
need at least nine months lead-time.  If we overestimate our  component  and material requirements, we
may have excess inventory, which would  increase our costs. If  we  underestimate our component and
material requirements, we may have inadequate inventory,  which could interrupt and delay  delivery of
our  products to our customers. Any of  these occurrences would  negatively impact our net sales,
business or operating results.

32

Our increased reliance on contract manufacturing and other outsourcing may adversely impact  our  financial
results and operations due to our decreased control over  the performance and timing  of  certain  aspects of our
manufacturing.

Our manufacturing strategy includes  partnering with contract  manufacturers to outsource non-core

subassemblies and less complex turnkey products,  including  some performed at international sites
located in Asia and Eastern Europe.  Additionally, we  have outsourced the manufacture of certain of
our  optics components to certain third  parties. Our ability to resume internal manufacturing operations
for certain products and components in a timely manner may be eliminated. The cost,  quality,
performance and availability of contract  manufacturing  operations are and will  be  essential to the
successful production and sale of many  of  our products.  Our financial condition or results  of operation
could be adversely impacted if any contract manufacturer or other supplier is unable for  any reason,
including as a result of the impact of  worldwide economic conditions, to meet our cost, quality,
performance, and availability standards.  We may not be able to provide  contract manufacturers with
product  volumes that are high enough  to  achieve sufficient cost  savings.  If shipments fall below
forecasted levels, we may incur increased  costs  or be required to take  ownership of the inventory. Also,
our  ability to control the quality of products  produced by  contract  manufacturers  may be limited and
quality issues may not be resolved in a timely manner, which  could adversely impact our financial
condition or results of operations.

If we fail to effectively manage our growth or,  alternatively, our spending  during  downturns, our business
could be disrupted, which could harm our operating  results.

Growth in sales, combined with the challenges  of  managing geographically dispersed operations,

can place a significant strain on our  management  systems and resources, and  our anticipated growth  in
future operations could continue to place such a strain.  The  failure to effectively manage our growth
could disrupt our business and harm our operating results. Our ability to  successfully  offer our products
and implement our business plan in evolving markets  requires  an effective planning and management
process. In economic downturns, we must  effectively manage our spending and  operations  to  ensure
our  competitive position during the downturn, as well as our future  opportunities when  the economy
improves, remain intact. The failure  to  effectively  manage our spending  and operations could disrupt
our  business and harm our operating  results.

Historically, acquisitions have been an  important  element  of our strategy. However, we may not find suitable
acquisition candidates in the future and we  may not be able to successfully integrate  and manage acquired
businesses. Any acquisitions we make could disrupt our business and harm  our  financial condition.

We  have in the past made strategic acquisitions  of other corporations  and  entities, as well  as asset

purchases, and we continue to evaluate potential  strategic acquisitions of complementary companies,
products and technologies. In the event of  any future acquisitions, we  could:

(cid:129) issue stock that would dilute our current  stockholders’ percentage  ownership;

(cid:129) pay cash that would decrease our working capital;

(cid:129) incur debt;

(cid:129) assume liabilities; or

(cid:129) incur expenses related to impairment of goodwill and amortization.

Acquisitions also involve numerous risks, including:

(cid:129) problems combining the acquired operations, systems, technologies or products;

(cid:129) an inability to realize expected operating efficiencies or product integration benefits;

33

(cid:129) difficulties in coordinating and integrating  geographically separated  personnel, organizations,

systems and facilities;

(cid:129) difficulties integrating business cultures;

(cid:129) unanticipated costs or liabilities, including the costs  associated  with improving the internal

controls of the acquired company;

(cid:129) diversion of management’s attention  from our core businesses;

(cid:129) adverse effects on existing business  relationships  with suppliers  and customers;

(cid:129) potential loss of key employees, particularly  those of  the purchased organizations;

(cid:129) incurring unforeseen obligations or liabilities in  connection with acquisitions; and

(cid:129) the failure to complete acquisitions even  after signing definitive agreements which,  among  other
things, would result in the expensing  of potentially  significant professional fees and other charges
in the period in which the acquisition or  negotiations are  terminated.

We  cannot assure you that we will be able to successfully identify appropriate acquisition

candidates, to integrate any businesses,  products,  technologies or  personnel that we might acquire  in
the future or achieve the anticipated benefits  of such transactions, which may  harm our business.

We are exposed to lawsuits in the normal course of business which could have a  material adverse  effect on  our
business, operating results, or financial  condition.

We  are exposed to lawsuits in the normal  course of our  business,  including product liability claims,

if personal injury, death or commercial  losses occur from the  use of our products. While we  typically
maintain business insurance, including directors’  and  officers’  policies, litigation can  be  expensive,
lengthy, and disruptive to normal business  operations,  including the  potential  impact  of indemnification
obligations for individuals named in any  such lawsuits.  We may not, however,  be  able to secure
insurance coverage on terms acceptable  to us in  the future.  Moreover,  the results of  complex legal
proceedings are difficult to predict. An  unfavorable resolution of  a  particular lawsuit, including  a recall
or redesign of products if ultimately determined to be defective,  could have a material adverse effect
on our business, operating results, or financial  condition.

We use standard laboratory and manufacturing materials that could be considered hazardous  and  we could be
liable for any damage or liability resulting from accidental  environmental contamination  or injury.

Although most of our products do not incorporate  hazardous or toxic materials  and chemicals,
some of the gases used in our excimer  lasers  and  some of the  liquid dyes  used in some of our scientific
laser products are highly toxic. In addition, our operations involve the use of standard laboratory and
manufacturing materials that could be considered hazardous. Also, if  a facility fire were to occur  at our
Sunnyvale, California site and were to spread to a reactor used to grow semiconductor wafers, it could
release highly toxic emissions. We believe  that our safety procedures for handling and  disposing of  such
materials comply with all federal, state  and offshore regulations  and standards. However, the risk of
accidental environmental contamination  or injury from such materials cannot be entirely eliminated.  In
the event of such an accident involving such materials, we  could be liable for damages and  such liability
could exceed  the amount of our liability insurance coverage and  the  resources of our business which
could have an adverse effect on our  financial results or our business as a whole.

Compliance or the failure to comply with current and future environmental regulations  could cause us
significant expense.

We  are subject to a variety of federal, state,  local and foreign  environmental regulations relating to
the use, storage, discharge and disposal  of hazardous chemicals  used  during  our manufacturing process
or requiring design changes or recycling of products we manufacture.  If we fail to comply with any

34

present  and future regulations, we could be subject  to  future liabilities,  the suspension of  production or
a prohibition on the sale of products we manufacture. In addition, such  regulations could restrict  our
ability to expand our facilities or could require us to acquire costly equipment,  or to incur other
significant expenses to comply with environmental  regulations, including expenses associated with  the
recall of any non-compliant product and the management of historical waste.

From time to time new regulations are  enacted, and it is difficult to anticipate  how such

regulations will be implemented and  enforced.  We continue to evaluate the necessary steps for
compliance with regulations as they are enacted.  These regulations include, for example, the
Registration, Evaluation, Authorization  and Restriction of Chemical substances  (‘‘REACH’’),  the
Restriction on the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical  and  Electronic Equipment
Directive (‘‘RoHS’’) and the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (‘‘WEEE’’) enacted
in the European Union which regulate  the  use of certain  hazardous substances in, and require the
collection, reuse and recycling of waste  from,  certain products we manufacture.  This and similar
legislation that has been or is in the  process of being enacted in Japan, China, Korea and  various states
of the United States may require us to re-design our  products  to  ensure compliance with the  applicable
standards, for example by requiring the  use of different types of materials. These redesigns or
alternative materials may detrimentally impact the performance of our products,  add greater testing
lead-times for product introductions  or  have other similar effects. We believe  we comply  with all such
legislation where our products are sold and we will continue to monitor these laws and the regulations
being adopted under them to determine  our responsibilities. In addition,  we are  monitoring legislation
relating to the reduction of carbon emissions from industrial operations to determine  whether we may
be required to incur any additional material costs  or expenses associated with our operations. We are
not currently aware of any such material costs or expenses. The SEC has  promulgated  rules requiring
disclosure regarding the use of certain ‘‘conflict minerals’’ mined from the Democratic  Republic of
Congo and adjoining countries and procedures regarding  a  manufacturer’s efforts to prevent the
sourcing of such minerals. The implementation of such rules has  required us to incur additional
expense and internal resources and may continue to do so in the  future, particularly in the  event that
only a limited pool of suppliers are available to certify that products are free from ‘‘conflict  minerals.’’
Our failure to comply with any of the foregoing  regulatory requirements or contractual obligations
could result in our being directly or indirectly liable  for  costs, fines or penalties and third-party claims,
and could jeopardize our ability to conduct business in the United States and foreign countries.

Our and our customers’ operations would be seriously harmed if our logistics or facilities or those of our
suppliers, our customers’ suppliers or our  contract manufacturers were to experience  catastrophic loss.

Our and our customers’ operations, logistics and facilities and  those of  our  suppliers and  contract

manufacturers could be subject to a catastrophic  loss from fire, flood,  earthquake, volcanic eruption,
work stoppages, power outages, acts  of war, pandemic  illnesses, energy  shortages, theft of assets,  other
natural disasters or terrorist activity.  A  substantial portion of our  research  and development activities,
manufacturing, our corporate headquarters and other critical  business operations are located near
major earthquake faults in Santa Clara,  California, an  area with  a history of seismic events. Any such
loss or detrimental impact to any of our  operations, logistics  or  facilities could disrupt our operations,
delay production, shipments and net sales  and result  in large expenses to repair or  replace the  facility.
While we have obtained insurance to cover most  potential  losses, after  reviewing  the costs  and
limitations associated with earthquake insurance, we have  decided not  to  procure  such insurance.  We
believe that this decision is consistent  with decisions reached by  numerous other companies located
nearby. We cannot assure you that our  existing insurance  coverage will  be  adequate against all other
possible losses.

35

Difficulties with our enterprise resource planning  (‘‘ERP’’)  system  and  other parts of  our  global information
technology system could harm our business  and results of operation.  If our network security measures  are
breached and unauthorized access is obtained to a  customer’s data or our  data  or our information technology
systems, we may incur significant legal and  financial exposure  and liabilities.

Like many modern multinational corporations, we  maintain  a global information technology
system, including software products licensed from third parties.  Any system, network or  Internet
failures, misuse by system users, the hacking  into  or disruption caused by  the unauthorized access by
third parties or loss of license rights could disrupt our ability to timely and accurately  manufacture and
ship products or to report our financial  information in compliance with  the timelines mandated  by  the
SEC. Any such failure, misuse, hacking, disruptions  or loss  would likely cause  a diversion of
management’s attention from the underlying business and could harm our operations. In addition,  a
significant failure of our global information technology  system could adversely affect our  ability to
complete an evaluation of our internal  controls and attestation activities pursuant to Section 404  of  the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

As part of our day-to-day business, we store our data and certain data about our customers  in our
global  information technology system. While our  system is designed with access security,  if a  third  party
gains unauthorized access to our data,  including any regarding  our customers, such a security  breach
could expose  us to a risk of loss of this  information, loss  of  business,  litigation and  possible liability.
These security measures may be breached as  a result of  third-party action, including intentional
misconduct by computer hackers, employee error, malfeasance  or otherwise.  Additionally, third parties
may attempt to fraudulently induce employees  or customers into disclosing sensitive information  such
as user names, passwords or other information in  order to gain access to  our customers’ data or  our
data, including our intellectual property  and other confidential  business  information, or  our  information
technology systems. Because the techniques used to obtain unauthorized  access, or  to  sabotage systems,
change frequently and generally are not  recognized until launched  against a target,  we may be unable
to anticipate these techniques or to implement adequate  preventative  measures.  Any  security breach
could result in a loss of confidence by our  customers, damage our  reputation, disrupt our business, lead
to legal liability and negatively impact our future sales.

Changes in tax rates, tax liabilities or tax  accounting rules could affect future  results.

As a global company, we are subject to  taxation in the  United States and various  other  countries

and jurisdictions. Significant judgment  is  required  to  determine  worldwide  tax liabilities.  Our future tax
rates could be affected by changes in  the composition of earnings in countries or  states with differing
tax rates, changes in the valuation of  our deferred tax assets and liabilities, or  changes in the tax laws.
In addition, we are subject to regular  examination  of  our  income tax returns  by  the Internal Revenue
Service (‘‘IRS’’) and other tax authorities.  From time to time  the United  States, foreign  and state
governments make substantive changes  to  tax  rules and the  application  of rules to companies, including
various announcements from the United States government  potentially impacting our ability to defer
taxes on  international earnings. We regularly assess the likelihood of favorable  or unfavorable outcomes
resulting from these examinations to  determine the  adequacy of our provision for  income  taxes.
Although we believe our tax estimates  are reasonable,  there can  be  no assurance that any  final
determination will not be materially different than  the treatment reflected  in our historical income tax
provisions and accruals, which could materially and adversely affect our operating  results and financial
condition.

Changing laws, regulations and standards relating  to corporate governance and public disclosure  may create
uncertainty regarding compliance matters.

Federal securities laws, rules and regulations,  as well  as the rules and regulations of self-regulatory

organizations such as NASDAQ and  the NYSE, require  companies  to  maintain extensive corporate

36

governance measures, impose comprehensive reporting and disclosure  requirements, set  strict
independence and financial expertise standards  for audit and  other committee members and impose
civil and criminal penalties for companies and their chief executive officers,  chief financial officers and
directors for securities law violations.  These laws, rules and regulations have increased and will
continue to increase the scope, complexity and cost  of  our  corporate  governance,  reporting and
disclosure practices, which could harm our results of operations and divert management’s attention
from business operations. Changing laws,  regulations and standards relating to corporate governance
and public disclosure may create uncertainty regarding compliance matters. New or changed laws,
regulations and standards are subject  to  varying interpretations  in many cases. As  a result, their
application in practice may evolve over time. We are committed to maintaining high standards of ethics,
corporate governance and public disclosure.  Complying with evolving  interpretations of new or changed
legal requirements may cause us to incur higher  costs as we revise current  practices, policies and
procedures, and may divert management  time  and  attention  from revenue generating to compliance
activities. If our efforts to comply with new  or changed  laws,  regulations and standards differ from  the
activities intended by regulatory or governing bodies due to ambiguities related to practice, our
reputation may also be harmed.

Governmental regulations, including duties, affecting the import or  export of products could  negatively affect
our net sales.

The United States and many foreign  governments  impose tariffs  and duties  on the import and

export of products, including some of those  which we  sell. In particular, given our worldwide
operations, we pay duties on certain products when they are  imported  into the United States for  repair
work as well as on certain of our products which are manufactured by our foreign subsidiaries. These
products can be subject to a duty on the product  value. Additionally, the United  States and  various
foreign governments have imposed tariffs, controls,  export license requirements and  restrictions on the
import or export of some technologies, especially encryption technology. From  time to time,
government agencies have proposed additional regulation of encryption technology,  such as requiring
the escrow and governmental recovery  of  private encryption keys. Governmental regulation of
encryption technology and regulation  of  imports or exports, or our failure to obtain required  import or
export approval for our products, could  harm  our  international and  domestic  sales  and adversely  affect
our  net sales. From time to time our duty calculations and payments  are audited  by  government
agencies.

In addition, compliance with the directives  of the Directorate  of Defense  Trade Controls

(‘‘DDTC’’) may result in substantial expenses and diversion of  management. Any failure to adequately
address the directives of DDTC could  result  in civil fines  or suspension  or loss  of  our  export privileges,
any of which could have a material adverse effect on our  business  or  financial position,  results of
operations, or cash flows.

Our market is unpredictable and characterized  by rapid technological  changes and evolving standards
demanding a significant investment in  research and development, and,  if  we fail to  address changing market
conditions, our business and operating  results will  be harmed.

The photonics industry is characterized by extensive research and development,  rapid technological

change, frequent new product introductions,  changes in customer requirements and  evolving  industry
standards. Because this industry is subject  to rapid change, it is  difficult  to  predict its  potential size or
future growth rate. Our success in generating net sales in this industry will depend on,  among  other
things:

(cid:129) maintaining and enhancing our relationships with our customers;

(cid:129) the education of potential end-user  customers about  the benefits of lasers and laser systems; and

(cid:129) our ability to accurately predict and develop our products to meet industry standards.

37

For our fiscal years 2013, 2012 and 2011,  our research and development costs  were $82.8  million

(10.2% of net sales), $78.3 million (10.2% of net sales) and $81.2 million (10.1% of net sales),
respectively. We cannot assure you that  our expenditures for research and development will result  in
the introduction of new products or,  if such products  are introduced, that those products will  achieve
sufficient market acceptance or to generate sales to offset the costs  of  development. Our failure to
address rapid technological changes in our markets could adversely affect our business and  results of
operations.

Failure to maintain effective internal controls may cause a loss of investor confidence in the  reliability of our
financial statements or to cause us to delay  filing our periodic reports  with the  SEC and adversely affect  our
stock price.

The SEC, as directed by Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, adopted rules requiring

public companies to include a report  of management on internal  control over financial reporting  in
their annual reports on Form 10-K that  contain  an assessment by  management of the effectiveness of
our  internal control over financial reporting. In addition, our independent  registered public  accounting
firm must attest to and report on the  effectiveness  of our internal control over financial reporting.
Although we test our internal control over financial reporting in order to ensure  compliance with  the
Section 404 requirements, our failure  to  maintain  adequate internal controls over  financial  reporting
could result in an adverse reaction in the  financial marketplace  due to a loss of  investor confidence  in
the reliability of our financial statements or  a delay  in our ability to timely file our periodic reports
with the SEC, which ultimately could  negatively  impact  our stock price.

Provisions of our charter documents and Delaware law, and our Change-of-Control  Severance Plan may  have
anti-takeover effects that could prevent or  delay a change in control.

Provisions of our certificate of incorporation and bylaws may discourage, delay  or prevent a  merger

or acquisition or make removal of incumbent directors or officers more difficult. These  provisions may
discourage takeover attempts and bids for  our common stock at a premium over the market price.
These provisions include:

(cid:129) the ability of our Board of Directors  to  alter our bylaws without  stockholder  approval;

(cid:129) limiting the ability of stockholders  to call  special meetings; and

(cid:129) establishing advance notice requirements for  nominations  for election  to  our Board of Directors

or for proposing matters that can be acted on  by  stockholders at stockholder meetings.

We  are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law,  which prohibits a
publicly-held Delaware corporation from engaging in a  merger,  asset or stock sale or other  transaction
with an interested stockholder for a period of  three years following the date such person became an
interested stockholder, unless prior approval of our board of directors is obtained or as otherwise
provided. These provisions of Delaware  law also  may  discourage, delay or prevent someone  from
acquiring or merging with us without  obtaining  the prior approval of our  board  of  directors, which may
cause  the market price of our common  stock  to  decline. In  addition,  we have  adopted a  change of
control severance plan, which provides for  the payment  of  a cash severance benefit  to  each eligible
employee based on the employee’s position.  If a change  of  control occurs, our successor or  acquirer
will be required to assume and agree  to  perform all of our obligations  under the change of  control
severance plan which may discourage  potential acquirers or  result  in a lower stock price.

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not Applicable.

38

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

Our corporate headquarters is located  in Santa Clara,  California. At fiscal 2013 year-end, our
primary locations were as follows (all square footage  is approximate) (unless otherwise indicated, each
property is utilized jointly by our two  segments):

Description

Use

Term

Santa Clara,  CA . . . . . . . .

8.5 acres of land, 200,000
square foot building

Corporate headquarters,
manufacturing, R&D

Owned

Santa Clara,  CA . . . . . . . .

90,120 square foot building

Office,  manufacturing

Leased through July 2020

Sunnyvale, CA(1) . . . . . . . .

24,159 square foot building

Office,  manufacturing,  R&D

Bloomfield, CT(1) . . . . . . .

63,421 square foot building

Office,  manufacturing,  R&D

Bloomfield, CT(1) . . . . . . .

4,500 square foot building

Manufacturing,  warehouse

Leased through December
2018

Leased through December
2017

Leased  through  July  2014,
12 month extension options

East Hanover, NJ(2) . . . . . .

30,000 square foot building

Office,  manufacturing,  R&D

Leased through October  2014

Wilsonville, OR(1) . . . . . . .

41,250 square foot building

Office,  manufacturing,  R&D

Leased through December
2018

Salem, NH(1) . . . . . . . . . .

44,153 square foot building

Office, manufacturing, R&D

Leased through October 2019

Dieburg, Germany . . . . . . .

32,123 square foot building

Office

Leased through December
2020

G¨ottingen, Germany(2) . . . .

7.6 acres of land, several
buildings totaling 136,380
square feet

Office, manufacturing, R&D

Owned

L¨ubeck, Germany(2) . . . . . .

41,328 square foot building

Office,  manufacturing,  R&D

L¨ubeck, Germany(2) . . . . . .

22,583 square foot building

Office,  manufacturing,  R&D

L¨ubeck, Germany(2) . . . . . .

8,159 square foot building

Manufacturing

L¨ubeck, Germany(2) . . . . . .

7,578 square foot building

Manufacturing,  warehouse

Kaiserslautern, Germany(2)

.

33,745 square foot building

Office, manufacturing, R&D

Hannover,  Germany(2) . . . .

11,759 square foot building

Manufacturing, R&D

Tokyo, Japan . . . . . . . . . . .

17,602  square  foot building

Office

Leased through December
2014

Leased through December
2014 with option to purchase
building

Leased through December
2018

Leased  through  December
2015

Leased through September
2015

Leased through December
2014

Leased through April 2015

Glasgow, Scotland(2)

. . . . .

2  acres of land, 31,600 square Office, manufacturing, R&D
foot building

Owned

YongIn-Si,  South Korea(2) . .

33,074 square foot building

Office, manufacturing

Leased through November
2017

Kallang  Sector,  Singapore . .

31,894 square foot building

Office, manufacturing

Leased through March 2016

Penang, Malaysia . . . . . . . .

12,519 square foot building

Office, manufacturing

Leased through August 2014,
with renewal option

(1) This  facility is utilized primarily by our CLC operating segment.

(2) This  facility is utilized primarily by our SLS operating segment.

39

We  maintain other sales and service  offices  under varying leases expiring from 2014 through  2020
in the United States, Japan, South Korea, China, Taiwan,  Germany, France,  Italy, the United Kingdom
and the Netherlands.

We  consider our facilities to be both  suitable and adequate to provide for current and  near term

requirements and that the productive capacity in our  facilities is substantially being utilized or we have
plans to utilize it.

We  plan to renew leases on buildings  as they expire.

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

We  are subject to legal claims and litigation arising  in the ordinary course of business, such as
product  liability, employment or intellectual property claims, including, but not limited  to,  the matters
described below. On May 14, 2013, Imra  America (‘‘Imra’’) filed a complaint for  patent  infringement
against two of the Company’s subsidiaries  in the  Regional  Court of  D¨usseldorf, Germany, captioned In
re IMRA America Inc. versus Coherent Kaiserslautern  GmbH et. al. 4b O 38/13.  The  complaint alleges
that the use of certain of the Company’s  lasers  infringes  upon EP Patent  No. 754,103,  entitled ‘‘Method
For Controlling Configuration of Laser Induced Breakdown and Ablation,’’  issued November 5, 1997.
The patent is owned by the University of Michigan and  licensed to Imra.  The complaint seeks
unspecified compensatory damages, the cost of court proceedings and seeks  to  permanently enjoin the
Company from infringing the patent in the future. With respect to this matter, management  has
determined that a potential loss is not  probable and  accordingly, no amount has  been accrued.
Management has determined a potential loss  is reasonably possible  as it is  defined by ASC 450;
however, based on its current knowledge, management does  not  believe that the amount of such
possible loss or a range of potential loss is  reasonably estimable. Although  we do not expect that such
legal claims and litigation will ultimately have a  material adverse  effect on  our consolidated financial
position, results of operations or cash flows, an  adverse  result in  one or more matters could negatively
affect our results in the period in which  they occur.

Income Tax Audits

We  are subject to taxation and file income tax returns in the U.S. federal  jurisdiction  and in many
state and foreign jurisdictions. For U.S.  federal income tax purposes, all  years  prior to 2010 are closed.
In our major foreign jurisdictions and  our  major state  jurisdictions, the years prior  to  2006 and  2009,
respectively, are closed to examination.  Earlier years in our various jurisdictions may remain open  for
adjustment to the extent that we have tax  attribute carryforwards  from  those  years.  In December 2011
and January 2012, three of our German subsidiaries  received notices of tax  audits for the fiscal  years
2006 through 2010. We received a preliminary  assessment for two  of the German subsidiaries and the
amount is immaterial; the audit for the other  German  subsidiary is currently in process. In addition,
our  German subsidiary of Coherent Kaiserslautern  GmbH (formerly  Lumera Laser GmbH)  that  was
acquired in December 2012 is currently under audit for  the fiscal years 2007  through 2009. As the years
under the audit for Coherent Kaiserslautern GmbH  are related  to  the pre-acquisition periods, the tax
assessment should be recoverable from the  escrow account for the acquisition.

Management believes that it has adequately provided for any adjustments that may result  from tax

examinations. We regularly engage in  discussions and  negotiations with  tax authorities regarding tax
matters in various jurisdictions. It is reasonably  possible that  certain  federal, foreign  and state tax
matters may be concluded in the next  12 months. Although  the timing of the resolution and/or closure
of audits is highly uncertain, it is reasonably possible that the balance  of net unrecognized tax benefits
including interest and penalties could  be  reduced by approximately $0.3 million to $2.4 million in  the
next 12 months.

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

Not applicable.

40

PART II

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR THE REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER

MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY  SECURITIES

Our common stock is quoted on the  NASDAQ  Stock Market  under  the symbol  ‘‘COHR.’’ The
following table sets forth the high and  low sales prices  for each  quarterly  period during the past two
fiscal years as reported on the Nasdaq  Global  Select Market.

Fiscal

2013

2012

High

Low

High

Low

First quarter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Second quarter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Third quarter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fourth quarter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$49.74
$59.99
$58.80
$62.68

$42.08
$50.63
$50.65
$55.19

$54.50
$59.70
$59.28
$50.46

$40.50
$52.29
$39.76
$42.59

The number of stockholders of record as  of November 22, 2013 was  875. On December 10, 2012,

we announced that the Board of Directors approved a  $1.00 per share  special cash dividend  on our
outstanding common stock payable on December 27, 2012  to  stockholders of  record on December 19,
2012, resulting in a payment of $24.0 million in  the first quarter of fiscal 2013. While we paid  a cash
dividend in fiscal 2013 and may elect to pay  dividends in the future, we have no present intention to
declare cash dividends. Our line of credit agreement  requires bank pre-approval for the payment  of
cash dividends.

There were no sales of unregistered  securities in fiscal 2013.

There were no stock repurchases during the three  months ended  September 28, 2013.  Our most

recent repurchase authorization expired in  October 2013.

41

COMPANY STOCK PRICE PERFORMANCE

The following graph shows a five-year  comparison of  cumulative total  stockholder return,

calculated on a dividend reinvestment basis and  based on a $100 investment,  from September 27, 2008
through September 28, 2013 comparing  the return on our  common stock with  the Russell 2000 Index,
the Standard and Poors Technology Index  and the Nasdaq Composite Index. No dividends have been
declared or paid on our common stock during such period. The stock price performance shown on the
following graph is not necessarily indicative of future price performance.

COMPARISON OF FIVE-YEAR CUMULATIVE TOTAL RETURN AMONG COHERENT, INC.,
THE RUSSELL 2000 INDEX, THE S&P TECHNOLOGY INDEX  AND
THE NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX.

Comparison of Cumulative Five Year Total Return

$250

$200

$150

$100

$50

$0
9/27/08

10/03/09

10/02/10

10/01/11

9/29/12

9/28/13

Coherent, Inc.

Russell 2000 Index

S&P Technology Index

Nasdaq Composite Index
14DEC201300585120

Company Name / Index

Base
Period
9/27/2008

INDEXED RETURNS

Years Ending

10/3/2009

10/2/2010

10/1/2011

9/29/2012

9/28/2013

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Coherent, Inc.
Russell 2000 Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
S&P Technology Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
NASDAQ Composite Index . . . . . . . . . . .

100
100
100
100

65.65
83.75
100.49
103.76

114.89
99.33
114.74
116.52

122.78
95.38
119.28
120.44

131.07
125.81
157.94
157.60

178.88
163.68
169.80
195.67

The information contained above under the caption ‘‘Company  Stock  Price Performance’’ shall not

be deemed to be ‘‘soliciting material’’  or  to be ‘‘filed’’ with the SEC,  nor  will  such information be
incorporated by reference into any future  SEC filing except to the extent  that  we specifically
incorporate it by reference into such filing.

42

ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL  DATA

The information set forth below is not necessarily  indicative  of  results of future operations and

should be read in conjunction with Item  7. ‘‘Management’s Discussion and  Analysis  of Financial
Condition and Results of Operations’’  and the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes to
Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in  this  annual report.

We  derived the selected consolidated  financial data as of  fiscal  2013 and 2012 year-end and  for
fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011 from our  audited  consolidated  financial statements, and  accompanying notes,
contained in this annual report. The  consolidated statements  of  operations  data  for fiscal 2010 and
2009 and the consolidated balance sheet data as of  fiscal  2011, 2010 and 2009  year-end are  derived
from our consolidated financial statements which are not included  in this report.

Consolidated financial data

Net sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gross profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income(loss) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income (loss) per share(6):
Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Diluted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Shares used in computation(6):
Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Diluted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Long-term obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other long-term liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stockholders’ equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fiscal
2013(1)

Fiscal
2012(2)

Fiscal
2011(3)

Fiscal
2010(4)

Fiscal
2009(5)

$810,126
$322,271
$ 66,355

(in thousands, except per share data)
$605,067
$802,834
$769,088
$260,811
$350,822
$315,985
$ 36,916
$ 93,238
$ 62,962

$435,882
$161,110
$ (35,319)

$
$

2.75
2.70

$
$

2.67
2.62

$
$

3.74
3.66

$
$

1.49
1.47

$
$

(1.45)
(1.45)

24,138
24,555
$966,478
$
$ 62,132
$758,518

23,561
24,026
$880,772
2
$ 55,326
$671,656

24,924
25,464
$843,266
$
19
$ 62,841
$618,001

24,718
25,091
$803,104
$
33
$ 79,688
$591,463

24,281
24,281
$753,604
$
6
$ 91,685
$575,571

— $

(1) Includes a tax benefit of $1.4 million from  the renewal of the R&D tax credit  for fiscal 2012.

(2) Includes a charge of $4.3 million  after tax related to the write-off of previously acquired intangible

assets and inventories, a $2.8 million  tax  benefit due to decreases  in valuation  allowances  against
deferred tax assets and a $1.6 million  tax  benefit related  to  the release  of  tax reserves and related
interest as a result of the closure of open tax years.

(3) Includes a gain of $6.1 million after tax  related to the  dissolution of our Finland operations, a

$9.7 million tax benefit from the release of tax reserves and related interest as  a result of  an IRS
settlement and the closure of open tax  years  and a  $1.5 million tax charge  due  to  an increase in
valuation allowances against deferred  tax  assets.

(4) Includes restructuring expenses of  $5.8 million after tax primarily related  to  the closure  of  our
Finland site and the consolidation of our Montreal, Canada site under the  management of our
Wilsonville, Oregon site and a net benefit after tax of $1.4  million  related to a  receipt from the
settlement of litigation resulting from our internal stock option investigation.

(5) Includes $19.3 million in after-tax  expense related  to  the impairment of goodwill, restructuring

expenses of $11.5 million after tax primarily  related to the  consolidation of our Munich site  into
our  Gottingen and Lubeck, Germany sites  and  our Finland site,  the exit of our Auburn, California
facility, the exit of our St. Louis, Missouri facility  and  headcount reductions due to the evolving
global  economic conditions, $0.8 million in after-tax costs  related to our stock option investigation
and litigation and a tax charge of $3.8 million composed of the impact  of  a change in state tax  law
and a valuation allowance in one of our European subsidiaries.

(6) See Note 2, ‘‘Significant Accounting Policies’’ in  our Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
under Item 15 of this annual report for an explanation of the  determination  of  the number  of
shares used in computing net income (loss) per share.

43

ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS  OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The following discussion and analysis of our  financial condition and  results of  operations should be

read in  conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes included in  Item 8,
‘‘Financial Statements and Supplementary Data’’ in  this  annual report.  This discussion contains
forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual  results could differ
materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of certain  factors,
including but not limited to those discussed in Item 1A,’’Risk Factors’’  and  elsewhere in this  annual
report. Please see the discussion of forward-looking statements at  the beginning of this annual  report
under ‘‘Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.’’

KEY  PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

Below is a summary of some of the quantitative  performance indicators (as defined  below) that are

evaluated by management to assess our financial  performance. Some of the indicators are  non-GAAP
measures and should not be considered  as an  alternative to any other  measure for  determining
operating performance that is calculated  in accordance  with generally accepted accounting principles.

2013

Fiscal

2012

2011

Bookings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Book-to-bill ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net Sales—Specialty Lasers and Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net Sales—Commercial Lasers and Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gross Profit as a Percentage of Net Sales—Specialty Lasers and

Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gross Profit as a Percentage of Net Sales—Commercial  Lasers and
Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Research and Development Expenses as  a  Percentage of Net  Sales
Income Before Income Taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Days Sales Outstanding in Receivables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Annualized Fourth Quarter Inventory  Turns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capital Spending as a Percentage of  Net Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net Income as a Percentage of Net Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of Net  Sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$767,329
0.95
$571,644
$238,482

(Dollars in thousands)
$773,199
1.01
$548,848
$220,240

$895,017
1.11
$519,736
$283,098

41.7%

43.2%

45.4%

36.2%
10.2%

$ 83,496
$115,522
60.8
3.0
2.7%
8.2%
17.8%

36.7%
10.2%

$ 90,622
$ 64,771
67.6
2.8
4.7%
8.2%
18.4%

41.1%
10.1%

$123,829
$ 86,676
63.2
3.1
4.6%
11.6%
19.5%

Definitions and analysis of these performance indicators are as follows:

Bookings and Book-to-Bill Ratio

Bookings represent orders received during  the current period for products  and services  to  be
provided pursuant to service contracts. While we generally  have not experienced a significant rate of
cancellation, bookings are generally cancelable by our  customers without substantial penalty and,
therefore, we cannot assure all bookings will be converted to net sales.

The book-to-bill ratio is calculated as annual bookings divided by  annual net sales.  This is an

indication of the strength of our business  but can sometimes be impacted  by  a single large order. A
ratio greater than 1.0 indicates that demand  for our  products is greater  than what  we supply in the year
whereas a ratio of less than 1.0 indicates  that demand for our products is less than  what we  supply in
the year.

44

Fiscal 2013 bookings decreased slightly from  bookings  in fiscal 2012 and our book-to-bill ratio
decreased from 1.01 in fiscal 2012 to 0.95  in fiscal 2013.  Bookings decreased 0.8% from  fiscal  2012,
with decreases in the microelectronics  (10%) and scientific (4%) markets partially offset by increases in
the materials processing (18%) and OEM components and instrumentation (13%)  markets.  Compared
to the third quarter of fiscal 2013, decreases in  bookings in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 in the
materials processing market were partially offset by increases in the OEM  components and
instrumentation, microelectronics and  scientific markets.

Fiscal 2012 bookings decreased from record bookings  in fiscal  2011. Although we maintained a
positive book-to-bill of 1.01, the book-to-bill ratio declined to 0.90 in the  fourth quarter of  fiscal  2012.
Bookings decreased 13.6% from fiscal 2011, with decreases in  all markets. Bookings decreases by
market compared to fiscal 2011 were microelectronics (16%), OEM  components and instrumentation
(14%), scientific (13%) and materials  processing (2%). Although  fiscal  2012 bookings decreased in all
markets, decreases in bookings in the fourth quarter of fiscal  2012 in the  microelectronics  market  due
to timing of large orders were partially  offset by increases in  the OEM components and
instrumentation, scientific and materials processing markets.

Microelectronics

Although fiscal 2013 bookings decreased 10%  from bookings in fiscal  2012 and  the book-to-bill
ratio for the year was 0.85, bookings  in  the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 increased 10% from  the third
quarter of fiscal 2013 primarily due to  timing of large excimer laser annealing orders for the flat panel
display  market and strength in the semiconductor capital equipment market.

Flat panel display orders for fiscal 2013 decreased 24%  from  orders  in fiscal 2012, but fourth

quarter fiscal 2013 orders continued  to  be strong primarily due to timing of large excimer laser
annealing orders. The flat panel display  market remains very dynamic with high utilization rates for
low-temperature polycrystalline silicon  (‘‘LTPS’’)  backplanes. The trend for  new product launches  in the
smartphone market for full HD screens  that place more process restrictions on  the manufacturing
equipment benefits service revenues.  Another important  development is the  release of the first
smartphones to incorporate flexible displays. Although flexible  displays will eventually cannibalize glass
displays, their robustness and shapes should drive an increase in demand  across various applications. In
the television market, there are some  interesting developments including the potential of  the adoption
of LTPS-equipped organic light-emitting diode (‘‘OLED’’) screens, but these devices are  expensive. Due
to their clarity and more manageable  price, Ultra  HD  televisions  (‘‘4k’’) are gaining traction,  leading to
a resurgence in two laser-based manufacturing  steps for light guide  panels. We  expect to see
incremental business during 2014 from these processes.  Activity around  glass cutting is also very high
with most of the development work focused  on edge strength of the processed glass, which  is key to
broad adoption. In the fourth quarter  of fiscal 2013,  we received the first  tranche  of the next round of
orders for excimer laser annealing equipment for  Gen  5.5 systems; the total order was for more than
$15 million and we expect to complete delivery  within fiscal 2014. We are actively engaged  on a second
tranche that we expect to receive in fiscal  2014. In addition,  our integrator partners have a robust
forecast for customers across Asia.

Advanced packaging (‘‘API’’) orders increased significantly for the full fiscal year  signaling an
overall recovery in the segment, but decreased from orders in the third quarter of fiscal 2013 due to
the seasonal capital expenditure slowdown  despite high utilization among board manufacturers. The
fourth quarter decrease was primarily the  result  of a reduced response to new  smartphones as well  as
the sale of Hitachi Via Mechanics, a leading  supplier  of printed circuit  board manufacturing equipment,
as customers may wait to see what changes, if any, occur as  result of  the  sale before increasing order
quantities. Products and technologies  from Innolight and Lumera will play  important roles in  our
product  offerings for advanced packaging applications.

45

Orders from semiconductor capital equipment OEMs  decreased 11% for  the full fiscal 2013,  but

were strong in the fourth quarter of  fiscal 2013  due  to  new  inspection and  metrology tool introductions
from leading customers. We are working  with customers on  next generation  devices that will support
nodes at 20nm and below. Industry analysts are  forecasting rising utilization rates, which boosts capacity
expansion and service revenues, due to  increasing demand for advanced components for smartphones,
tablets, set-top boxes and automotive electronics.  Growth in  these devices offset the continued
deterioration of the personal computer market. Demand should also be bolstered by shifts  within the
internet download manager (‘‘IDM’’)  universe.  The  combination of these factors  has led industry
reports to project strong growth in equipment spending in fiscal  2014.

OEM Components and Instrumentation

Bookings in fiscal 2013 increased 13% from  fiscal 2012 and the book-to-bill ratio for the year was

1.04. Additionally, orders in the fourth  quarter of fiscal  2013 increased significantly  from those  in the
third quarter of fiscal 2013 led by strength in the  medical  OEM and  instrumentation markets.

Medical OEM orders increased significantly in the fourth quarter of fiscal  2013 with  a number  of
the orders from existing customers in  the aesthetic and ophthalmic  markets. We found that consumer
confidence has been generally good during  fiscal 2013, notwithstanding the  recent U.S. budget  delays
and government shutdown. Our business  in medical consumables,  primarily  single-use  fibers for  benign
prostatic hyperplasia (‘‘BPH’’) and kidney  stone  treatment, is doing  well and we  received an  initial
order for a new dental device that is  effective  for both  hard and soft  tissue treatment. We have also
broadened our market opportunities  through  our  recent acquisition as  Lumera gives  us  immediate entry
into the fast evolving cataract market,  where we have  been working on  design wins and received orders
for cataract treatment. We are also working  on a  next generation  laser for flap cutting in LASIK, which
has the potential to displace much more  complex and costly competitive offerings.

Demand  for instrumentation lasers was very strong  during both the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013
and the full fiscal year, which is significant given the  effects of sequestration on  the research side of the
instrumentation market. Two factors influenced  these results. We continue to capture design  wins for
the OBIS(cid:4)  platform, especially in flow cytometry, and we also enjoyed  success in  the subsystems
market for bioinstrumentation. A subsystem  or laser engine  combines  lasers with beam delivery
technology to provide a plug-and-play solution. The ease of integration  and performance flexibility has
increased customer interest in subsystems.  Part  of  the strength comes from  new products including
OBIS(cid:4) and Galaxy(cid:4) that have broadened our market participation while  our legacy products such as
Sapphire(cid:4) remain a cornerstone in the cytometry  market.

Materials Processing

Annual bookings increased 18% from fiscal 2012  and fiscal 2013’s  book-to-bill  ratio was 1.05.
However, bookings in the fourth quarter of fiscal  2013 decreased  significantly from the third quarter of
fiscal 2013 following a record-setting performance  in the prior quarter and  reduced  bookings in  China
due to timing of orders for marking and non-metal cutting  applications.

In general, demand for CO2 lasers for marking, packaging and engraving has been strong.  Our
recent introduction of the Diamond(cid:4)  E-250, a new embodiment of CO2 technology, has created new
opportunities. We have made steady  progress  in additive manufacturing with the  Highlight(cid:4) direct
diode system and we are optimistic about the  longer term  potential  of additive  manufacturing; we will
be releasing a series of new solutions to address this market. Although fiber laser orders are still at an
early stage for us, they contributed to  our fiscal 2013 bookings increase. In the third quarter of fiscal
2013, we also shipped a three kilowatt prototype to a leading system  integrator  for metal cutting. The
system delivers the required cutting speed and quality in a package considerably smaller  than fiber

46

lasers of comparable output power, thereby saving space on  the production floor.  In  an OEM
configuration, we believe our laser may  fit inside the  customer’s tool.

Scientific and Government Programs

Although fiscal 2013 orders decreased 4% from bookings in fiscal 2012, the book-to-bill ratio for

the year was 1.05. Orders in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013  increased  significantly  from the third
quarter of fiscal 2013 as the U.S. market shrugged  off some of the sequestration effects and displayed
typical seasonal strength in our fourth  quarter.

Ultrafast  imaging using our Chameleon(cid:4) platform was the largest application for  the quarter and
fiscal year. Orders for large systems used in  chemistry and physics  have reverted to pre-stimulus levels
with many researchers once again bundling funding to purchase these high-performance systems.
However, short- and long-term funding  remains uncertain given  the budget discussions in Congress.

Orders from Europe were in-line with  our expectations and exhibited similar  application  trends to

the U.S.  There are a few developments  to  watch in  the European  market  which could contribute to
increased booking activity in fiscal 2014  and  beyond. The Extreme  Lightsource Project  is a
pan-European effort to develop high-intensity lasers similar  to  the National Ignition Facility at  the
Livermore National Lab. In addition, Horizon  2020 is  a 7-year, A70 billion program to drive innovation
and global competitiveness. Embedded within  the Horizon program are two flagship  projects  to  study
the human brain and grapheme, a potential  successor to silicon in microelectronics, which should
impact the photonics industry.

In Asia excluding Japan, we continue  to  see strong demand which  contributed  to  record scientific
orders in that region for fiscal 2013. The  Pacific  Rim  market was  more balanced between  the physical
sciences and biological imaging. Bookings in  Japan  were  slower than expected  due  to  delays in  the
release of stimulus funding. Once the stimulus  reaches end users, we expect to see funding skewed
towards biological imaging since stem  cell  research  is one of the key targets in  the package.

Net Sales

Net sales include sales of lasers, laser  tools, related  accessories and service contracts.  Net sales for

fiscal 2013 increased 5.3% from fiscal 2012. Net  sales  for fiscal  2012 decreased 4.2% from fiscal  2011.
For a  description of the reasons for changes in net sales refer to the ‘‘Results of Operations’’ section
below.

Gross  Profit as a Percentage of Net  Sales

Gross profit as a percentage of net sales  (‘‘gross  profit percentage’’) is calculated as gross profit for

the period divided by net sales for the  period. Gross profit  percentage for SLS decreased to 41.7%  in
fiscal 2013 from 43.2% in fiscal 2012 and from 45.4% in  fiscal  2011. Gross profit percentage for CLC
decreased to 36.2% in fiscal 2013 from  36.7% in fiscal 2012  and from 41.1% in fiscal 2011.  For  a
description of the reasons for changes in  gross profit refer to the ‘‘Results  of Operations’’ section
below.

Research and Development as a Percentage  of Net Sales

Research and development as a percentage of net  sales  (‘‘R&D  percentage’’) is  calculated as

research and development expense for  the period divided by net sales  for  the period.  Management
considers R&D percentage to be an  important indicator in managing  our business as investing  in new
technologies is a key to future growth. R&D percentage was flat at  10.2% from fiscal  2012 and
increased from 10.1% in fiscal 2011. For a description of the reasons  for changes  in R&D  spending
refer to the ‘‘Results of Operations’’ section below.

47

Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities  shown on our  Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
primarily represents the excess of cash  collected from billings to our  customers and other receipts  over
cash paid to our vendors for expenses  and  inventory purchases to run our  business.  We believe that
cash flows from operations are an important performance indicator because cash generation over  the
long term is essential to maintaining  a  healthy business  and providing funds  to  help fuel  growth. For  a
description of the reasons for changes in  Net  Cash Provided by  Operating Activities refer to the
‘‘Liquidity and Capital Resources’’ section  below.

Days Sales Outstanding in Receivables

We  calculate days sales outstanding (‘‘DSO’’) in  receivables as  net receivables at the end  of  the
period divided by net sales during the  period and then multiplied  by the  number of days in the period,
using 360 days for years. DSO in receivables indicates  how well we are managing our collection of
receivables, with lower DSO in receivables resulting  in higher working capital  availability. The more
money we have tied up in receivables,  the  less money we  have available for research and  development,
acquisitions, expansion, marketing and  other  activities to grow our business. Our  DSO in receivables  for
fiscal 2013 decreased 6.8 days from fiscal 2012  to  60.8 days. The decrease  in DSO in  receivables is
primarily due to a lower concentration of  sales in the last month  of the fiscal year, particularly  in Asia
and Japan, a lower concentration of  sales with longer payment  terms in  Japan  and improved collections
in Korea, Japan and Europe.

Annualized Fourth Quarter Inventory  Turns

We  calculate annualized fourth quarter inventory  turns as cost  of  sales  during  the fourth  quarter

annualized and divided by net inventories  at  the end of  the fourth  quarter.  This indicates  how well we
are managing our inventory levels, with higher inventory turns  resulting in more  working capital
availability and a higher return on our  investments in inventory.  The  more money we  have tied  up in
inventory, the less money we have available for research and development,  acquisitions,  expansion,
marketing and other activities to grow our business. Our annualized inventory  turns  for fiscal  2013
increased to 3.0 turns from 2.8 turns  in fiscal 2012. The improvement in inventory turns is primarily
due to the impact of increased sales volumes  in relation to inventory levels in certain businesses.

Capital Spending as a Percentage of  Net Sales

Capital spending as a percentage of net  sales  (‘‘capital  spending percentage’’)  is calculated as

capital expenditures for the period divided by net sales for the period. Capital  spending  percentage
indicates the extent to which we are  expanding or improving our operations, including  investments in
technology and equipment. Management  monitors  capital spending levels  as this assists management  in
measuring our cash flows, net of capital  expenditures. Our capital spending percentage decreased to
2.7% in fiscal 2013 from 4.7% in fiscal 2012  and  4.6% in fiscal  2011. The fiscal 2013 decrease was
primarily due to investments made in fiscal 2012  for manufacturing and refurbishment capacity in
Germany and Korea. The fiscal 2012 increase was primarily due  to  building improvements and
purchases of production-related assets to support our expansion in Asia (South  Korea and Singapore)
and Germany. We expect capital spending  for fiscal 2014  to be approximately 4.0%  to  4.5% of net
sales.

Adjusted EBITDA as a Percentage of  Net  Sales

We  define adjusted EBITDA as operating income adjusted for  depreciation,  amortization,  stock

compensation expenses, major restructuring costs and  certain other non-operating income and  expense

48

items. Key initiatives to reach our goals for  EBITDA improvements include  utilization of our Asian
manufacturing locations, rationalizing  our  supply chain and  continued  leveraging of our infrastructure.

We  utilize a number of different financial  measures, both GAAP and  non-GAAP, such as  adjusted
EBITDA as a percentage of net sales, in  analyzing and  assessing our overall  business  performance, for
making operating decisions and for forecasting  and  planning future periods. We consider the use of
non-GAAP financial measures helpful in  assessing  our current financial performance and ongoing
operations. While  we use non-GAAP financial measures as  a  tool to enhance  our  understanding of
certain aspects of our financial performance, we  do not consider these  measures  to  be  a substitute for,
or superior to, the information provided by  GAAP financial measures. We provide  adjusted EBITDA in
order to enhance investors’ understanding of our ongoing operations. This  measure  is used by some
investors when assessing our performance.

Below is the reconciliation of our net income as a percentage of net sales to our adjusted EBITDA

as a percentage of  net sales:

Net income as a percentage of net sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income tax expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest and other income (expense), net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Depreciation and amortization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purchase accounting step up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Restructuring and other one-time charges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stock based compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fiscal

2012

2011

2013

8.2% 8.2% 11.6%
2.1% 3.6% 3.8%
0.5% 0.1% (1.2)%
4.5% 3.9% 3.6%
0.2% —% —%
—% 0.5% 0.1%
2.3% 2.1% 1.6%

Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of net  sales . . . . . . . . . . .

17.8% 18.4% 19.5%

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

Restructuring Activities

During  fiscal 2008, we initiated restructuring plans to decrease costs by  consolidating  facilities  and

reducing our workforce. As of September 29, 2012, we had made payments in connection with the
restructuring plans in the amount of $27.7 million; we made no payments during fiscal 2013.  We
completed payments for substantially  all anticipated costs related to the restructuring plans in the  third
quarter of fiscal 2011. In the second  quarter of fiscal 2011,  we ceased manufacturing operations in our
Finland facility and recognized a $6.1 million gain,  primarily  in other income (expense), due to a
non-recurring translation adjustment related to the  dissolution of our Finland operations.

Acquisitions

On December 20, 2012, we acquired  all of the  outstanding shares of Lumera for approximately

$51.5 million, excluding transaction costs.  Lumera  manufactures ultrafast  solid state  lasers for
microelectronics, OEM medical and materials processing applications. These assets and liabilities have
been included in our Specialty Lasers and  Systems  segment.

On October 30, 2012, we acquired all  of the  outstanding shares of Innolight for approximately

$18.3 million, excluding transaction costs.  Innolight provides a core technology building block for  an
emerging class of commercial, sub-nanosecond lasers for  microelectronics  manufacturing and its
semiconductor-based architecture delivers pulsed output that  can be amplified  by  conventional or fiber
amplifiers to ultimately deliver infrared, green or  ultraviolet light capable of processing a  range of
materials. These assets and liabilities  have  been  included in  our Specialty Lasers and Systems segment.

49

On July 23, 2012, we acquired all of  the  outstanding shares of MiDAZ Lasers  Limited  ‘‘Midaz’’ for

$3.8 million in cash, excluding transaction fees. Midaz was a technology based-acquisition and we
intend to utilize the acquired technology in low cost,  compact pulsed solid state lasers.  These assets and
liabilities have been included in our Specialty Lasers and Systems segment.

On January 5, 2011, we acquired all the assets and assumed  certain liabilities of Hypertronics
Pte  Ltd for $14.5 million, excluding transaction  fees.  Hypertronics designs  and manufactures laser- and
vision-based tools for flat panel display, storage, semiconductor  and  solar  applications  at facilities in
Singapore and Malaysia. These assets and liabilities  have been  included in  our  Specialty Lasers  and
Systems segment. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012, we decided  to  no longer pursue orders of
Hypertronics legacy products and we  performed  an impairment analysis of Hypertronics’  intangible
assets and determined that such assets  were impaired.  As a result, we recorded a $4.0 million  non-cash
intangibles amortization charge and a $0.3  million inventory  write-off in the fourth quarter of fiscal
2012.

Stock Repurchases and Stock Dividend

In March 2011, we repurchased and retired 454,682 shares  of outstanding  common stock at  an
average price of $59.00 per share for a  total of $26.8  million, excluding  expenses. During the  third and
fourth quarters of fiscal 2011, we repurchased  and  retired 1,024,409 shares of outstanding common
stock at an average price of $47.03 per  share for  a total of  $48.2 million,  excluding expenses.

On August 25, 2011, we announced that the Board of Directors  had authorized the  repurchase  of

up to $50.0 million of our common stock.  During fiscal 2011, we repurchased and retired 586,200
shares of outstanding common stock  at  an  average price of $42.67 per share for a total  of  $25.0 million
excluding expenses. During fiscal 2012,  we  repurchased and retired  543,200 shares  of outstanding
common stock at an average price of $45.99  per  share for a total of $25.0 million, excluding expenses.

On October 4, 2012, the Board of Directors authorized a buyback program whereby we are
authorized to repurchase up to $25.0  million of our  common  stock. The program  was authorized  for
12 months from the date of authorization.  No shares were purchased  under this program.

On December 10, 2012, we announced that the Board  of Directors  approved a $1.00 per share
special cash dividend on our outstanding common stock payable on December 27,  2012 to stockholders
of record on December 19, 2012, resulting in a  payment of $24.0 million.

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS—FISCAL 2013, 2012 AND 2011

Fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011 consist of  52 weeks.

50

Consolidated Summary

The following table sets forth, for the years indicated,  the percentage of total  net sales  represented

by the line items reflected in our consolidated statement of operations:

Net sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cost of sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2013

Fiscal

2012

2011

(As a percentage of net
sales)
100.0% 100.0% 100.0%
60.2% 58.9% 56.3%

Gross profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

39.8% 41.1% 43.7%

Operating expenses:

Research and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selling, general and administrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amortization of intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10.2% 10.2% 10.1%
18.5% 18.0% 18.6%
0.6% 1.3% 1.0%

Total operating expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

29.3% 29.5% 29.7%

Income from operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other income (net) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10.5% 11.6% 14.0%
(0.2)% 0.2% 1.4%

Income before income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10.3% 11.8% 15.4%
2.1% 3.6% 3.8%

Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8.2% 8.2% 11.6%

Refer to Item 6 ‘‘Selected Financial Data’’ for a description of  significant events that impacted the

results of operations for fiscal years 2013, 2012  and  2011.

Net Sales

Market Application

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated,  the amount of net sales  and their relative

percentages of total net sales by market application (dollars in thousands):

Fiscal 2013

Fiscal 2012

Fiscal 2011

Percentage
of total
net sales

Amount

Percentage
of total
net sales

Amount

Percentage
of total
net sales

Amount

Consolidated:
Microelectronics . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
OEM components and

instrumentation . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Materials processing . . . . . . . . . . .
Scientific and government programs

$416,550

51.4% $373,696

48.6% $377,331

47.0%

149,974
121,660
121,942

18.5% 143,729
15.0% 108,666
15.1% 142,997

18.7% 164,508
14.1% 104,497
18.6% 156,498

20.5%
13.0%
19.5%

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$810,126

100.0% $769,088

100.0% $802,834

100.0%

During  fiscal 2013, net sales increased by  $41.0 million, or 5%, compared to fiscal  2012, net of a
decrease of $16.1 million due to the impact of foreign  currency exchange rates, with  sales increases in
the microelectronics, materials processing and OEM components  and instrumentation markets partially
offset by decreases in the scientific and  government program market. Microelectronics sales increased
$42.9 million, or 11%, primarily due to higher sales in  flat panel display  applications. Materials
processing sales increased $13.0 million, or 12%, during  fiscal 2013 primarily due to higher shipments

51

for marking, heat treating and cutting  applications and the acquisition of  Lumera  at the  end of the first
quarter of fiscal 2013. The increase in the  OEM  components  and instrumentation market of
$6.2 million, or 4%, during fiscal 2013  was primarily  due  to higher shipments for bio-instrumentation
and medical (including the acquisition of Lumera at the end  of the first  quarter of fiscal  2013)
applications partially offset by lower  shipments  for military and graphic  arts and  display applications.
Military shipments were lower due to  timing  of military project spending and the impact from
sequestration budget cuts and graphic arts and display shipments decreased due primarily to lower
demand for light show lasers from entertainment customers.  The decrease in  scientific and government
program market sales of $21.1 million,  or  15%, during fiscal 2013 was primarily due to lower demand
for advanced research applications used  by university and government research groups partly due to
lower U.S. and global stimulus funding and  from budget  cuts from government agencies.

During  fiscal 2012, net sales decreased  by $33.7 million,  or 4%, compared to fiscal 2011, including
a decrease of $2.4 million due to the impact of  foreign currency exchange rates, with sales  decreases in
the OEM components and instrumentation, scientific  and  government program  and microelectronics
markets partially offset by increases in  the materials processing market. Microelectronics sales
decreased $3.6 million, or 1%, primarily  due to lower shipments  for advanced packaging and  solar
applications partially offset by higher sales in  flat  panel display  applications. The decrease  in the OEM
components and instrumentation market  of $20.8  million,  or  13%,  during fiscal 2012 was primarily due
to lower shipments for bio-instrumentation, military and machine vision applications  partially offset by
higher  shipments for medical applications. Materials processing sales  increased $4.2 million, or 4%,
during fiscal 2012 primarily due to higher  shipments  for marking and  heat treating applications as  well
as higher shipments of laser system tools.  The decrease in scientific  and government program market
sales of $13.5 million, or 9%, during fiscal 2012  was due to  lower  demand for advanced research
applications used by university and government research  groups partly due  to  lower U.S.  stimulus
funding.

In fiscal  2013, one customer accounted  for 14% of net sales; in  fiscal 2012 two customers

accounted for 11% each of net sales;  and in fiscal 2011, no  customers accounted  for greater than 10%
of net sales.

Segments

We  are organized into two reportable operating segments: Specialty Lasers and Systems (‘‘SLS’’)

and Commercial Lasers and Components  (‘‘CLC’’).  SLS  develops and manufactures configurable,
advanced-performance products largely serving the microelectronics, scientific  research  and government
programs and OEM components and  instrumentation markets. CLC focuses on higher volume products
that are offered in set configurations. CLC’s primary markets include  materials processing, OEM
components and instrumentation and  microelectronics.

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated,  the amount of net sales  and their relative

percentages of total net sales by segment  (dollars in thousands):

Consolidated:
Specialty Lasers and Systems (SLS)
Commercial Lasers and

Fiscal 2013

Fiscal 2012

Fiscal 2011

Percentage
of total
net sales

Amount

Percentage
of total
net sales

Amount

Percentage
of total
net sales

Amount

$571,644

70.6% $548,848

71.4% $519,736

64.7%

Components (CLC) . . . . . . . . . .

238,482

29.4% 220,240

28.6% 283,098

35.3%

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$810,126

100.0% $769,088

100.0% $802,834

100.0%

52

Net sales for fiscal 2013 increased $41.0 million, or 5%, compared  to  fiscal  2012, with increases of
$22.8 million, or 4%, in our SLS segment and increases of $18.2  million, or 8%, in our CLC segment.
Net sales for  fiscal 2012 decreased $33.7 million, or  4%, compared to fiscal 2011, with decreases of
$62.9 million, or 22%, in our CLC segment and increases of $29.1  million, or 6%, in our SLS segment.

The increase in our SLS segment sales in fiscal 2013 was primarily due to a $23.3  million  increase
from the sale of products acquired through our acquisitions of Lumera  and  Innolight at  the end of the
first quarter of fiscal 2013. The increase  was offset by a $0.5  million  decrease in sales of our other SLS
products primarily due to lower shipments for scientific  and government programs, solar, advanced
packaging, medical and semiconductor applications partially offset by  higher revenue  for flat panel
display  annealing applications. The increase in our SLS segment sales from  fiscal 2011 to fiscal 2012
was primarily due to higher revenue  for flat panel display annealing applications partially offset by
lower shipments for scientific and government  programs, instrumentation  and solar applications.

The increase in our CLC segment sales from fiscal  2012 to fiscal 2013 was  primarily  due  to  higher
advanced packaging, instrumentation  and  materials processing  application  sales  partially offset by lower
sales for scientific and military applications. The decrease in our CLC segment sales from fiscal  2011 to
fiscal 2012 was primarily due to lower  advanced packaging and certain flat panel display application
sales as well as lower instrumentation  application sales.

Gross Profit

Consolidated

Our gross profit rate decreased by 1.3% to 39.8%  in fiscal  2013 from 41.1% in fiscal 2012

primarily due to unfavorable product margins (0.8%)  resulting from  the  unfavorable impact of foreign
exchange rates, the impact of lower volumes in several business units in  the first two  quarters of fiscal
2013 and higher than expected manufacturing  costs due to longer  cycle times  related to the  production
of our complex flat panel annealing systems, partially offset  by favorable product mix in  the
microelectronics market due to a higher  concentration of  service  business; higher intangibles
amortization (0.6%) due to the acquisitions of Lumera  at the  end  of the first quarter of fiscal  2013 and
Innolight in the first quarter of fiscal 2013; and higher other  costs  (0.3%) primarily due to inventory
step up amortization from the acquisition  of Lumera and slightly higher inventory provisions.  These
decreases were net of lower warranty  costs  (0.4%) due to lower warranty  expenses  as a percentage of
net sales in the microelectronics market.

Our gross profit rate decreased by 2.6% to 41.1%  in fiscal  2012 from 43.7% in fiscal 2011
primarily due to unfavorable product margins (1.6%)  due  to lower volumes in several  business  units
serving particularly the advanced packaging and  components  markets and higher manufacturing expense
and start-up costs to expand manufacturing capacity  in Germany and Excimer tube production  in
Korea. These decreases were net of the favorable impact of  foreign exchange  rates and favorable
product  mix in the microelectronics market as  well as higher  installation and warranty costs (0.9%)
including installations and higher service  events in flat panel display markets.

Our gross profit rate has been and will continue  to  be  affected by a variety of factors including

market mix, pricing on volume orders, our  ability to manufacture  advanced and more complex
products, manufacturing efficiencies, excess and obsolete inventory write-downs,  warranty  costs, pricing
by competitors or suppliers, new product introductions, production volume,  customization and
reconfiguration of systems, commodity prices and foreign currency fluctuations,  particularly the recent
weakening of the Japanese Yen and strengthening of the  Euro.

53

Specialty Lasers and Systems

Our SLS gross profit rate decreased by  1.5% to 41.7% in fiscal 2013  from 43.2%  in fiscal 2012

primarily due to unfavorable product costs (0.9%) due to the unfavorable impact of foreign  exchange
rates, lower volumes in several business units and higher  than expected  manufacturing costs due to
longer cycle times  related to the production of  our complex flat panel  annealing systems net of
favorable mix in the microelectronics  market; higher  intangibles amortization (0.8%) due to the
acquisitions of Lumera at the end of the  first  quarter of fiscal 2013 and  Innolight in  the first quarter of
fiscal 2013; and higher other costs (0.1%) primarily due  to inventory  step up amortization from the
acquisition of Lumera. These decreases  were partially offset by lower warranty  costs (0.3%) due to
fewer warranty events and higher sales  volumes.

Our SLS gross profit rate decreased by  2.2% to 43.2% in fiscal 2012  from 45.4%  in fiscal 2011

primarily due to unfavorable product costs (1.4%) due to increased investments in Excimer
manufacturing capabilities to support  the  growing  flat panel display revenue net of the favorable impact
of exchange rates and favorable product mix within  the microelectronics market and higher  installation
and warranty costs (1.0%) due to higher  service events  and costs to support installations  of  a growing
number of laser annealing systems in the  flat panel display market partially offset by lower other  costs
(0.3%).

Commercial Lasers and Components

Our CLC gross profit rate decreased by 0.5% to 36.2% in fiscal 2013  from 36.7%  in fiscal 2012

primarily due to unfavorable product costs (0.6%) resulting from  unfavorable mix in the OEM
components and instrumentation market  net of the impact  of  higher volumes, higher other  costs (0.5%)
due to higher inventory provisions as  a  percentage of revenue  and higher intangibles amortization
(0.1%) partially offset by lower warranty  and  installation costs (0.7%) due  to  fewer warranty events.

Our CLC gross profit rate decreased by 4.4% to 36.7% in fiscal 2012  from 41.1%  in fiscal 2011
primarily due to unfavorable product costs (2.9%) resulting from  the  impact  of  lower volumes in a few
business units serving primarily the advanced  packaging and components markets and  unfavorable
product  mix within the instrumentation  and  semiconductor markets,  higher other  costs (1.0%) due to
higher  inventory provisions and the impact of lower sales volumes and  higher warranty and  installation
costs (0.5%) due to a higher installed  base  and  the impact  of lower sales volumes.

Operating Expenses

The following table sets forth, for the periods indicated,  the amount of operating expenses  and
their relative percentages of total net  sales by the line items reflected in our consolidated statement of
operations (dollars in thousands):

2013

Percentage
of total
net sales

Amount

Fiscal

2012

Percentage
of total
net sales

Amount

Amount

(Dollars in thousands)

2011

Percentage
of total
net sales

Research and development . . . . . . .
Selling, general and administrative .
Amortization of intangible assets . .

$ 82,785
149,513
5,074

10.2% $ 78,260
18.5% 138,519
10,376
0.6%

10.2% $ 81,232
18.0% 149,499
8,082
1.3%

Total operating expenses . . . . . . . .

$237,372

29.3% $227,155

29.5% $238,813

10.1%
18.6%
1.0%

29.7%

54

Research and development

Fiscal 2013 research and development (‘‘R&D’’) expenses increased $4.5  million,  or 6%, from

fiscal 2012, but remained flat as a percentage of sales. The increase was primarily  due  to  the
acquisitions of Lumera and Innolight in  the first quarter  of  fiscal  2013 ($3.9 million), higher payroll and
other spending on projects ($0.5 million)  and  higher stock-related  compensation  expense ($0.3 million)
partially offset by the favorable impact  of  foreign  exchange  rates ($0.2  million). On a  segment basis,
SLS spending increased $2.7 million primarily  due to the acquisitions of Lumera  and Innolight  partially
offset by lower project spending and the  impact  of  foreign exchange rates. CLC spending increased
$1.5 million primarily due to higher payroll and other spending on projects. Corporate and  other
spending increased $0.3 million.

Fiscal 2012 research and development (‘‘R&D’’) expenses decreased $3.0  million, or  4%, from

fiscal 2011. The decrease was due primarily  to  lower payroll spending ($4.9 million)  due  to  lower
performance-related compensation net  of increased headcount  partially offset by higher project  and
other spending ($1.9 million). As a percentage of sales, the slight increase was primarily due to
decreased sales volumes. On a segment  basis, CLC spending decreased $2.2 million primarily due to
lower payroll spending partially offset by  higher project spending.  SLS  spending increased  $0.1 million
primarily due to higher project and other  spending partially  offset  by lower payroll spending and  the
impact of foreign exchange rates. Corporate and  other spending decreased $0.8 million.

Selling, general and administrative

Fiscal 2013 selling, general and administrative  (‘‘SG&A’’)  expenses increased $11.0  million,  or 8%,

from fiscal 2012. The increase was primarily due to the acquisitions  of  Lumera and  Innolight in the
first quarter of fiscal 2013 ($4.0 million), $3.3  million higher  payroll spending  due  to  higher headcount
and increased salaries, higher performance-related compensation spending and higher sales
commissions, $2.7 million higher other  variable spending on  consulting  and  legal costs,  sales
representative commissions, tradeshows and other as  well as $1.9  million  higher stock-related
compensation expense partially offset by the favorable impact of foreign exchange rates ($0.9 million).
On a segment basis, SLS segment expenses increased $5.6  million  primarily  due  to  the acquisitions of
Lumera and Innolight, higher payroll  spending  and  higher other  variable  spending partially offset by
the favorable impact of foreign exchange  rates. CLC spending increased $2.0 million primarily due to
higher  other variable spending and higher payroll  spending. Spending  for  Corporate and other
increased $3.4 million primarily due to  higher stock-related compensation expense, higher other
variable spending and higher payroll spending.

Fiscal 2012 selling, general and administrative  (‘‘SG&A’’)  expenses decreased $11.0  million, or  7%,

from fiscal 2011. The decrease was primarily due to $12.1 million lower  payroll  spending  due  to  lower
performance-related compensation spending net  of  higher  headcount and increased salaries and
$1.8 million lower other variable spending partially offset by  $2.9 million higher  stock-related
compensation expense. On a segment basis, CLC spending decreased $4.2 million primarily due to
lower payroll spending and lower other  variable spending. SLS  segment  expenses decreased $4.4  million
primarily due to lower payroll spending  and lower other variable spending. Spending for Corporate and
other decreased $2.4 million primarily  due to lower payroll spending and lower other variable spending
partially offset by higher stock-related compensation expense.

Amortization of intangible assets

Amortization of intangible assets decreased  $5.3 million, or 51%,  from  fiscal 2012 to fiscal  2013
primarily due to the fourth quarter fiscal  2012 impairment  of $4.0 million of Hypertronics  intangibles
and the completion of amortization of certain  intangibles (including Hypertronics) related to prior

55

acquisitions partially offset by amortization  from the acquisitions of Lumera and  Innolight in the  first
quarter of fiscal 2013.

Amortization of intangible assets increased $2.3 million, or  28%,  from fiscal 2011  to  fiscal  2012

primarily due to the fourth quarter fiscal  2012 impairment  of $4.0 million of Hypertronics  intangibles
partially offset by completion of amortization  of certain intangibles related to prior  acquisitions.

Other income (expense), net

Other income (expense), net, decreased  $3.2 million from fiscal 2012  to  fiscal 2013. The decrease

was primarily due to higher net foreign currency exchange losses ($3.3 million)  primarily  due  to  the
significant movement in the Japanese  Yen  at  certain times in the first and third quarters of fiscal  2013.

Other income (expense), net, decreased  $10.0 million from fiscal 2011  to  fiscal 2012. The decrease
was primarily due to the $6.5 million non-recurring translation adjustment related to the dissolution  of
our  Finland operations in the second  quarter of fiscal  2011, lower net  foreign currency exchange gains
($1.9 million) and lower gains on our deferred compensation plan assets net of  expenses ($1.5 million)
including death benefits of $0.2 million in fiscal  2012 and $1.5 million in fiscal 2011.

Income taxes

The effective tax rate on income before  income  taxes for  fiscal 2013 of 20.5% was lower than the

statutory rate of 35.0%. This was primarily due to permanent  differences  related  to  the benefit of
income subject to foreign tax rates that are lower than U.S. tax  rates including Korea and Singapore
tax exemptions, the benefit of foreign tax  credits,  the benefit of the  federal research and development
tax credits including renewal of the federal research and development tax credits for fiscal 2012 and the
benefit of releasing foreign tax reserves accrued under ASC 740-10 and related  interest.  These amounts
are partially offset by deemed dividend inclusions under the Subpart F tax  rules,  stock compensation
not deductible for tax purposes and limitations on  the deductibility of compensation under  IRC
Section 162(m).

During  fiscal 2013, we increased our valuation  allowance  on deferred  tax  assets by $4.3  million to

$13.4 million primarily due to the reduced ability to utilize California and other  states research and
development tax credits. During fiscal  2012, we  increased  our valuation  allowance on deferred  tax
assets by $0.3 million to $9.1 million  primarily due to the  reduced ability  to  utilize California research
and development tax credits and offset  by  the net increased ability to utilize  foreign tax  attributes and
net operating losses of our subsidiaries.  During fiscal 2011,  we increased our valuation  allowance on
deferred tax assets by $1.5 million to  $8.8  million, primarily due to the reduced ability to utilize  foreign
tax attributes and net operating losses  and  the reduced  ability  to  utilize California research and
development tax credits as a result of releasing net unrecognized tax benefits under  ASC 740-10  that
supported the credits.

In making the determination to record  the valuation allowance, management considered the
likelihood of future taxable income and  feasible  and  prudent tax planning strategies to realize  deferred
tax assets. In the future, if we determine  that we expect to realize deferred tax  assets, an adjustment to
the valuation allowance will affect income in  the period  such determination is made.

The effective tax rate on income before  income  taxes for  fiscal 2012 of 30.5% was lower than the

statutory rate of 35.0%. This was primarily due to the  benefit of income subject to foreign  tax rates
that are lower than U.S. tax rates and  the benefit of releasing state tax  reserves accrued under
ASC 740-10 Income Taxes (formerly FASB Financial Interpretation  No. 48,  ‘‘Accounting for  Uncertainty
in Income Taxes’’) and related interest.

The effective tax rate on income before  income  taxes for  fiscal 2011 of 24.7% was lower than the

statutory rate of 35.0%. This was primarily due to the  benefit of releasing unrecognized  tax benefits

56

under ASC 740-10 and related interest, the  benefit of federal research and development credits,
including additional credits reinstated from fiscal 2010 resulting  from  the enactment of the ‘‘Tax Relief,
Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and  Jobs Creation  Acts of  2010,’’ the benefit of  foreign tax
credits, the benefit of currency translation adjustments related to closure of Coherent Finland’s
operations, the benefit from income subject to foreign  tax  rates that  are  lower than U.S.  tax rates and
the benefit from the unrealized gain on life  insurance policy investments related to our deferred
compensation plans. These amounts are partially offset  by state income tax, limitations  on the
utilization of certain foreign tax attributes and net operating losses, limitations  on the  deductibility  of
compensation under IRC Section 162(m), deemed  dividend  inclusions under the Subpart F  tax rules
and a currency translation adjustment  related to a  dividend from a foreign subsidiary.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of  2012 (‘‘the Act’’) was  enacted on  January 2, 2013.  Under the

Act, the federal research and development tax credit was retroactively extended  for amounts paid  or
incurred after December 31, 2011 through  December 31,  2013. The prior  period effects  of the change
in the tax law were recognized in our  second quarter of fiscal 2013, which  is the quarter that the  law
was enacted. Accordingly, prior year research and  development tax  credits of approximately $1.4 million
less  appropriate reserves were recognized  in the  second  quarter  of fiscal 2013.

Coherent Korea received the final approval for a High-Tech tax  exemption on  March 26, 2013
from the Korean authorities. The High-Tech tax exemption is effective retroactively  to  the beginning of
fiscal 2013 and is subject to capital contribution  limitations.  The  impact of  this  tax exemption decreased
Korean income taxes by approximately  $2.1 million in fiscal 2013.  The benefit of  the tax  holiday on  net
income per share (diluted) was $0.09.

Coherent Singapore had previously received a Pioneer  Status tax exemption from the Singapore

authorities effective from fiscal 2012  through fiscal 2017, and may be extended if certain additional
requirements are satisfied. The tax holiday  is conditional upon  our meeting  certain revenue, business
spending and employment thresholds.  Although Coherent  Singapore had income in fiscal  2013, this
amount was offset  by a loss carryforward from  fiscal 2012 and therefore we did  not  realize a benefit  for
the Singapore tax holiday in fiscal 2013  and  2012.

FINANCIAL CONDITION

Liquidity and capital resources

At September 28, 2013, we had assets  classified as cash and  cash  equivalents, as well as  time
deposits and fixed income securities classified as short-term investments, in  an aggregate amount of
$250.1 million, compared to $224.9 million  at September 29, 2012.  At  September 28, 2013,
approximately $157.5 million of the cash and  securities was held in certain of  our foreign  subsidiaries,
$89.9 million of which was denominated  in  currencies  other than the U.S. dollar. We  currently have
approximately $150.6 million of cash, including investments in U.S.  Treasury securities, held by foreign
subsidiaries where we intend to permanently reinvest our accumulated earnings in these entities and
our  current plans do not demonstrate  a need for these funds to support our domestic operations. If,
however, a portion of these funds were needed for and distributed to our  operations in the United
States, we would be subject to additional  U.S. income taxes and foreign withholding taxes. The  amount
of the taxes due would depend on the  amount  and manner  of  repatriation, as  well as the  location from
where  the funds are repatriated. We  actively monitor the third-party depository institutions that hold
these assets, primarily focusing on the safety of  principal  and secondarily maximizing yield on these
assets. We diversify our cash and cash equivalents and investments  among various financial  institutions,
money market funds and sovereign debt in  order to reduce our exposure  should any one of these
financial institutions or financial instruments fail or encounter difficulties. To date,  we have  not
experienced any material loss or lack  of  access to our invested cash,  cash equivalents or short-term

57

investments. However, we can provide  no  assurances that access  to  our invested  cash, cash equivalents
or short-term investments will not be  impacted by  adverse conditions  in the  financial markets.

Sources and Uses of Cash

Historically, our primary source of cash has been provided by  operations.  Other sources of  cash in

the past three fiscal years include proceeds  received from  the sale of our stock through our employee
stock option and purchase plans. Our  historical  uses of  cash have  primarily  been for the repurchase of
our  common stock, capital expenditures, acquisitions of businesses and technologies and  the payment of
a cash dividend in the first quarter of fiscal 2013. Supplemental information pertaining to our historical
sources  and uses of cash is presented as follows and should be read in  conjunction with  our
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows  and  notes thereto (in thousands):

2013

Fiscal

2012

Net cash provided by operating activities . . . . . . . .
Sales of shares under employee stock plans . . . . . .
Repurchase of common stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cash dividend paid on common stock . . . . . . . . . .
Capital expenditures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired . . .

$115,522
16,541

$ 64,771
13,288
— (24,999)
—
(36,051)
(3,687)

(24,040)
(21,988)
(67,289)

2011

$ 86,676
34,720
(100,637)
—
(37,117)
(14,108)

Net cash provided by operating activities  increased by $50.8 million  in fiscal 2013 compared to
fiscal 2012 and decreased by $21.9 million in fiscal  2012 compared to fiscal 2011. The increase in  cash
provided by operating activities in fiscal  2013 was primarily due to higher cash  flows  from timing of
accounts payable payments, improved inventory turns, timing  of other current  assets and liabilities as
well as improved accounts receivable  days  sales outstanding partially offset by timing of tax payments.
The decrease in cash provided by operating  activities in  fiscal  2012 was primarily due to lower  net
income, higher tax payments and lower cash  flows from other current liabilities including  variable
compensation and accounts payable partially offset by higher cash flows  from  inventories and  accounts
receivable. We believe that our existing cash, cash equivalents and  short term  investments combined
with cash to be provided by operating activities will be adequate to cover our working  capital needs and
planned capital expenditures for at least  the next 12 months  to  the  extent such items are  known  or are
reasonably determinable based on current  business and market  conditions. However, we  may elect to
finance certain of our capital expenditure  requirements through  borrowings under  our  bank  credit
facilities or other sources of capital.  We  continue  to  follow  our strategy to further strengthen our
financial position by using available cash flow to fund operations.

We  intend to continue pursuing acquisition opportunities at valuations  we believe are reasonable
based upon market conditions. However, we cannot accurately predict the timing, size and  success of
our  acquisition efforts or our associated  potential capital commitments.  Furthermore,  we cannot assure
you that  we will be able to acquire businesses  on terms acceptable to us. We expect  to  fund  future
acquisitions primarily through existing  cash balances  and cash flows from operations. If  required, we
will look for additional borrowings or consider the issuance of  securities. The extent to which we will
be willing or able to use our common stock  to  make  acquisitions will depend on its  market  value at the
time and the willingness of potential sellers to accept  it as full or partial payment.

On December 10, 2012, we announced that the Board  of Directors  approved a $1.00 per share
special cash dividend on our outstanding common stock payable on December 27,  2012 to stockholders
of record on December 19, 2012, resulting in a  payment of $24.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal
2013. While we paid a cash dividend  in  fiscal 2013 and may  elect  to  pay dividends  in the future, we
have no present intention to declare cash  dividends.

58

On January 26, 2011, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to $75.0 million of our common
stock. The program was authorized for  12 months  from the date  of  authorization. In March 2011,  we
repurchased and retired 454,682 shares  of  outstanding common stock under a modified ‘‘Dutch
Auction’’ tender offer at an average price  of $59.00 per share for a  total  of  $26.8 million, excluding
expenses. During the third and fourth  quarters of fiscal 2011, we  repurchased and retired  an additional
1,024,409 shares of outstanding common  stock  at an  average price  of $47.03 per share  for a  total  of
$48.2 million, excluding expenses.

On August 25, 2011, we announced that the Board of Directors  had authorized the  repurchase  of
up to $50.0 million of our common stock.  The program was authorized for 12 months from the date of
authorization. During fiscal 2011, we  repurchased and retired 586,200  shares of outstanding common
stock at an average price of $42.67 per  share for  a total of  $25.0 million,  excluding expenses.

During  fiscal 2012, we repurchased and retired 543,200 shares  of outstanding  common stock at  an

average price of $45.99 per share for a  total of $25.0  million, excluding  expenses, completing the
repurchase.

On October 4, 2012, the Board of Directors authorized the repurchase  of  up to $25.0  million of

our  common stock. The program was authorized for 12 months from the date of authorization. No
shares were purchased under this program.

During  fiscal year  2008, we initiated  restructuring plans  to  decrease costs  by  consolidating  facilities
and reducing our workforce. As of September  28, 2013, we had made payments in  connection with  the
restructuring plans in the amount of $27.7 million. We completed payments for substantially all
anticipated costs related to the restructuring plans in the  third  quarter  of fiscal 2011.

Additional sources of cash available  to  us  were domestic and international  currency  lines  of  credit

and bank credit facilities totaling $64.7 million  as of September 28, 2013,  of which $62.5 million was
unused and available. These unsecured credit  facilities  were used in Europe and Japan during fiscal
2013. Our domestic line of credit consists  of a  $50.0 million  unsecured  revolving  credit account  with
Union  Bank of California, which expires on May 31,  2014 and is subject to covenants related to
financial ratios and tangible net worth.  No amounts have been drawn upon our  domestic  line of  credit
and $2.3 million of the international currency  lines has been used as  guarantees  as of September  28,
2013.

Our ratio of current assets to current liabilities was 4.3:1 at September 28,  2013, compared to 4.0:1

at September 29, 2012. The increase  in our ratio is primarily due increases in cash and  short-term
investments and inventories as well as  decreases  in income taxes  payable. Our  cash and cash
equivalents, short-term investments, working capital  and debt obligations  are  as follows (in thousands):

Cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Short-term investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Working capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total debt obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$110,444
139,666
483,398
2

$ 67,761
157,168
460,697
19

Fiscal

2013

2012

59

Contractual Obligations and Off-Balance  Sheet Arrangements

We  have no off-balance sheet arrangements  as defined  by  Regulation S-K of the  Securities  Act of
1933. The following summarizes our contractual obligations  at September 28, 2013 and the effect such
obligations are expected to have on our  liquidity and cash  flow  in future  periods  (in  thousands):

Long-term debt payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Operating lease payments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Asset retirement obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purchase commitments for inventory . . . . . . . .
Purchase obligations-other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total

$

2
40,749
2,474
40,214
5,177

Less than
1 year

$

2
9,335
—
40,214
5,177

$ —
13,253
1,269
—
—

Total

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$88,616

$54,728

$14,522

$ —
9,731
—
—
—

$9,731

$ —
8,430
1,205
—
—

$9,635

1 to 3 years

3 to 5 years

More than
5 years

Because of the uncertainty as to the timing of such  payments, we have excluded  cash payments
related to our contractual obligations for  our deferred compensation plans aggregating  $26.1 million at
September 28, 2013.

As of September 28, 2013, we recorded gross unrecognized  tax benefits  of $23.2 million including
gross  interest and penalties of $1.8 million. As of September 29, 2012, we recorded gross  unrecognized
tax benefits of $27.6 million including  gross  interest and penalties of $1.6 million.  Both  gross
unrecognized tax benefits and gross interest  and penalties are classified as  non-current liabilities in  the
consolidated balance sheet. At this time,  we are unable to make a reasonably reliable estimate  of the
timing of  payments in individual years due to uncertainties in  the timing of tax audit  outcomes. As  a
result, these amounts are not included  in  the table above.

Changes in financial condition

Cash provided by operating activities in  fiscal 2013 was $115.5 million,  which included net income
of $66.4 million, depreciation and amortization of $36.1  million, stock-based compensation expense of
$18.9 million and $0.3 million other partially offset  by  cash used by  operating assets and liabilities of
$5.1 million and increases in net deferred  tax assets  of $1.1 million. Cash provided by operating
activities in fiscal 2012 was $64.8 million,  which included net income of $63.0  million, depreciation and
amortization of $29.6 million, stock-based compensation expense  of $16.3 million and the $4.1  million
write-off of Hypertronics intangibles  partially offset by cash used by operating assets and  liabilities  of
$42.0 million, increases in net deferred  tax  assets of $4.8  million and $1.4  million other.

Cash used in investing activities in fiscal 2013  of  $70.7 million included  $20.5 million, net, used to
acquire property and equipment and  improve buildings  and $67.3  million  used to acquire Lumera  and
Innolight partially offset by $17.1 million net sales of available-for-sale  securities. Cash used in  investing
activities in fiscal 2012 of $142.9 million  included $103.5  million net  purchases of available-for-sale
securities, $35.7 million, net, used to acquire property and equipment and improve  buildings and
$3.7 million used to acquire Midaz.

Cash used in financing activities in fiscal 2013 was $11.7 million, including $24.0 million cash
dividend on our common stock and $4.2  million  other  partially  offset  by $16.5  million  generated from
our  employee stock purchase plans. Cash  used  in financing activities in fiscal  2012 was $15.0  million,
including $25.0 million used to repurchase our  common stock and  $3.3 million other partially offset  by
$13.3 million generated from our employee stock purchase plans.

Changes in exchange rates in fiscal 2013 resulted in a decrease in cash balances of $9.5  million.

Changes in exchange rates in fiscal 2012  resulted in a decrease in cash balances of $6.1  million.

60

RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

See Note 2. ‘‘Significant Accounting Policies’’ in  the Notes to Consolidated  Financial Statements
for a full description of recent accounting  pronouncements, including the respective dates of adoption
or expected adoption and effects on  our  consolidated financial position, results of operations and cash
flows.

APPLICATION OF CRITICAL ACCOUNTING  POLICIES

Our discussion and analysis of financial  condition  and  results of operations are  based upon our

consolidated financial statements, which  have  been prepared in accordance  with accounting principles
generally accepted in the United States of  America and  pursuant to the rules and regulations  of the
SEC. The preparation of these financial  statements requires  management to make estimates  and
assumptions that affect the reported amounts  of assets and liabilities and disclosure of  contingent assets
and liabilities at the date of the financial  statements  and  the reported amounts of revenues and
expenses during the reporting period.  We  have identified  the following as the  items that require  the
most significant judgment and often involve  complex estimation:  revenue  recognition, accounting  for
long-lived assets (including goodwill and intangible assets), inventory valuation, warranty reserves,
stock-based compensation and accounting for  income taxes.

Revenue Recognition

We  recognize revenue when all four  revenue recognition criteria  have been met: persuasive
evidence of an arrangement exists, the  product has  been delivered or  the  service  has been  rendered,
the price is fixed or determinable and collection is probable.  Revenue  from product  sales is recorded
when all of the foregoing conditions are met and  risk  of  loss  and title passes to the customer. Our
products typically include a warranty and the estimated cost of product  warranty claims  (based  on
historical experience) is recorded at the  time  the sale is recognized. Sales to customers are generally
not subject to any price protection or return  rights.

The vast majority of our sales are made  to  original equipment manufacturers (‘‘OEMs’’),

distributors, resellers and end-users in  the non-scientific market. Sales made to these customers  do not
require installation of the products by  us and are not subject to other post-delivery obligations,  except
in occasional instances where we have  agreed to perform  installation  or provide training. In those
instances, we defer revenue related to  installation  services or training  until these  services have been
rendered. We allocate revenue from multiple element  arrangements to the  various elements  based upon
fair values or a selling price hierarchy,  for arrangements entered  into  subsequent to October  2, 2010, as
more fully described in Note 2, ‘‘Significant  Accounting  Policies—Revenue Recognition,’’  in our
consolidated financial statements.

Should changes in conditions cause management to determine these criteria  are not met  for
certain future transactions, revenue recognized for  any reporting  period could be adversely  affected.
Failure to obtain anticipated orders due  to  delays or  cancellations of  orders  could  have a material
adverse effect on our revenue. In addition, pressures from  customers to reduce  our  prices or to modify
our  existing sales terms may have a material adverse  effect on our  revenue in  future periods.

Our sales to distributors, resellers and end-user customers typically do not have customer

acceptance provisions and only certain  of  our  sales  to  OEM customers and  integrators have customer
acceptance provisions. Customer acceptance  is generally limited to performance under  our published
product  specifications. For the few product  sales  that have customer acceptance provisions  because of
higher  than published specifications, (1)  the products are tested  and  accepted by the customer at our
site or the customer accepts the results of our  testing program prior  to  shipment to the customer, or
(2) the revenue is deferred until customer  acceptance  occurs.

61

Sales to end-users in the scientific market typically  require installation and, thus, involve
post-delivery obligations; however our  post-delivery  installation  obligations are not essential to the
functionality of our products. We defer revenue related to installation services until completion of these
services.

For most products, training is not provided; therefore,  no post-delivery training  obligation exists.

However, when training is provided to  our customers,  it is typically priced separately and  recognized as
revenue as these services are provided.

For multiple element arrangements which include extended maintenance contracts,  we allocate  and

defer the amount of consideration equal to the separately stated  price and  recognize revenue on a
straight-line basis over the contract period.

Long-Lived Assets and Goodwill

We  evaluate long-lived assets and amortizable intangible  assets whenever events or  changes in

business circumstances or our planned  use of assets  indicate  that their carrying amounts may  not  be
fully recoverable or that their useful  lives are no longer  appropriate. Reviews are performed  to
determine whether the carrying values of the assets are impaired based on  comparison  to  the
undiscounted expected future cash flows identifiable  to  such long-lived  and  amortizable  intangible
assets. If the comparison indicates that impairment exists,  the impaired asset is  written  down to its fair
value.

We  have determined that our reporting units  are the same as our operating  segments as each

constitutes a business for which discrete financial information is available  and for which  segment
management regularly reviews the operating results. We make this determination in a  manner
consistent with how the operating segments  are managed.  Based  on  this  analysis, we have identified two
reporting units which are our reportable  segments: SLS and CLC.

Goodwill is tested for impairment on  an annual  basis and between annual tests in certain

circumstances, and written down when impaired (see Note 8 ‘‘Goodwill and Intangible  Assets’’ in  the
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements). We generally perform  our annual impairment tests during
the fourth quarter of each fiscal year using the  opening balance sheet as  of the first day of the  fourth
fiscal quarter, with any resulting impairment recorded in  the fourth quarter of the fiscal year.

In September 2011, the FASB amended its guidance to simplify testing goodwill for impairment,

allowing an entity to first assess qualitative factors  to  determine whether it  is necessary to perform the
two-step quantitative goodwill impairment  test. If  an entity determines as a  result of the  qualitative
assessment that it is more likely than  not (> 50% likelihood) that the  fair value of a reporting unit is
less  than its carrying amount, then the quantitative test is required. Moreover, an entity can bypass  the
qualitative assessment for any reporting  unit in any period and proceed directly to step one of the
impairment test, and then resume performing the qualitative  assessment in any subsequent period.
Otherwise, no further testing is required. We adopted  this  accounting  guidance for  our  impairment
testing in fiscal 2012.

Under the goodwill standards in effect for  fiscal  2011, a company could  carry forward the  detailed

determination of a reporting unit from one year to the  next if  certain criteria have been met.  Those
criteria include: the assets and liabilities  that  make  up the reporting unit have not changed significantly
since the most recent fair value determination, the most recent  fair value determination resulted in an
amount that exceeded the carrying amount of  the reporting unit  by a substantial margin, and  based on
an analysis of events that have occurred  and circumstances that have  changed since the most  recent fair
value determination, the likelihood that  a current fair  value  determination would  be  less  than the
current carrying amount of the reporting  unit is remote.

Based on our analysis and a review of the criteria, using the opening balance sheet as of the  first

day of the fourth quarter of fiscal 2011, we determined that we had  met  the  requirements of  the

62

goodwill standard for carrying forward our  fair value determination from fiscal  2010, and did not
perform detailed testing of the fair value  of our reporting units for fiscal  2011. Between the completion
of that testing and the end of the fourth  quarter  of fiscal 2011, we noted  no  indications  of  impairment
or triggering events to cause us to review  goodwill for potential  impairment; based on our evaluation,
the fair values of each of the two operating  segments significantly exceeded their  carrying value as of
that date.

In our fiscal 2012 annual testing, we performed a qualitative  assessment of the  goodwill  by
reporting unit during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012  using  the opening  balance  sheet as of the first
day of the fourth quarter and concluded that it was more  likely than not that the fair  value of  each  of
the reporting units exceeded its carrying amount. In  assessing the qualitative  factors, we  considered the
impact of these key factors: macroeconomic conditions, fluctuations  in foreign  currency,  market  and
industry conditions, our operating and competitive  environment, regulatory and political developments,
the overall financial performance of our reporting units including cost  factors  and budgeted-to-actual
revenue results. We also considered market  capitalization and  stock price performance. Based on our
assessment, goodwill in the reporting  units  was  not  impaired as  of the first day  of the fourth quarter of
fiscal 2012. As such, it was not necessary  to perform the two-step  goodwill impairment  test at that time.

In fiscal  2013, we elected to bypass the qualitative assessment and proceed  directly to performing
the first step of the goodwill impairment test. This election was  made because  we had last  performed
this  impairment test in fiscal 2010 and  we have subsequently  added a substantial amount of goodwill
balances as a result of our acquisitions of Midaz  in the fourth quarter of  fiscal  2012 and the
acquisitions of Innolight and Lumera  in  the first quarter  of  fiscal  2013. We  performed our Step  1 test
during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 using the opening balance sheet as of the  first  day of the fourth
quarter and noted no impairment. We  determined the fair value of our  reporting units  for the  Step 1
test using a 50-50% weighting of the  Income (discounted cash flow)  approach  and Market (market
comparable) approach. The Income approach  utilizes the discounted  cash  flow model to provide  an
estimation of fair value based on the cash  flows that  a business expects  to  generate. These cash flows
are based on forecasts developed internally by management which are then discounted at an  after tax
rate of return required by equity and debt market participants of  a business enterprise. This rate  of
return  or cost of capital is weighted based on the capitalization  of comparable  companies. The Market
approach determines fair value by comparing the reporting  units to comparable companies in  similar
lines of business that are publicly traded. Total Enterprise Value (TEV) multiples such as TEV to
revenues and TEV to earnings (if applicable) before interest and taxes of the  publicly traded  companies
are calculated. These multiples are then applied to the reporting unit’s  operating results to obtain an
estimate of fair value. Each of these  two approaches captures aspects  of value in each reporting  unit.
The Income approach captures our expected future performance, and the Market  approach captures
how investors view the reporting units through other competitors. We believe these  valuation
approaches are proven valuation techniques  and  methodologies for  our industry and  are widely
accepted by investors. As neither was  perceived by us to deliver  any greater indication of value than the
other, we weighted each of the approaches equally. Management completed  and reviewed  the results of
the Step 1 analysis and concluded that  a  Step  2 analysis was not required as the estimated  fair values
of both of our reporting units were substantially in excess of their carrying values. Between the
completion of that testing and the end  of  the  fourth quarter  of fiscal 2013, we noted no  indications of
impairment or triggering events to cause  us to review  goodwill  for potential  impairment.

At September 28, 2013, we had $113.4  million  of  goodwill, $43.0 million of purchased intangible

assets and $114.3 million of property and equipment on our  consolidated balance sheet.

Inventory Valuation

We  record our inventory at the lower of cost  (computed on  a first-in, first-out basis) or market. We
write-down our inventory to its estimated  market  value based on  assumptions about future  demand and

63

market conditions. Inventory write-downs are generally recorded within guidelines  set by management
when the inventory for a device exceeds  12 months of its demand and when individual parts have  been
in inventory for greater than 12 months. If actual market conditions are less favorable than  those
projected by management, additional  inventory write-downs  may be required which could materially
affect our future results of operations. Due to rapidly changing forecasts and orders, additional write-
downs for excess or obsolete inventory,  while not currently expected, could  be  required in  the future.  In
the event that alternative future uses  of fully  written down  inventories are  identified, we may
experience better than normal profit  margins when such inventory  is sold. Differences between actual
results and previous estimates of excess and obsolete inventory  could materially affect  our future results
of operations. We  write-down our demo  inventory by amortizing the cost  of  demo inventory over a
twenty month period starting from the fourth month  after such  inventory is placed in  service.

Warranty Reserves

We  provide warranties on the majority of our product  sales and allowances for estimated warranty
costs are recorded during the period of  sale. The determination of  such allowances  requires us to make
estimates of product return rates and  expected  costs to repair or replace the products under warranty.
We  currently establish warranty reserves based on historical  warranty costs for each product  line. The
weighted average warranty period covered is approximately  15 months. If actual  return  rates  and/or
repair and replacement costs differ significantly  from our estimates, adjustments to cost of  sales may  be
required in future periods.

Stock-Based Compensation

We  account for stock-based compensation using fair value.  We estimate the fair value of stock
options granted using the Black-Scholes  Merton model  and estimate the fair  value of  market-based
performance restricted stock units granted  using a Monte  Carlo simulation model. We  use historical
data to  estimate pre-vesting option forfeitures and record  stock-based compensation  expense only for
those awards that are expected to vest.  We amortize the fair value  of stock options on  a straight-line
basis over the requisite service periods of  the awards,  which are  generally the vesting periods. We value
service-based restricted stock units using  the intrinsic value method and  amortize the value on  a
straight-line basis over the restriction  period. We  value market-based performance restricted stock units
using a Monte Carlo simulation model  and amortize the value over  the performance  period, with no
adjustment in future periods, based upon  the actual shareholder return over the  performance period.

U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting  Principles (‘‘GAAP’’)  requires the use of option  pricing
models  that were not developed for use in valuing  employee stock options. The Black-Scholes option-
pricing model was developed for use in estimating the  fair value of short-lived exchange traded  options
that have no vesting restrictions and  are  fully  transferable. In addition, option-pricing models require
the input of highly subjective assumptions, including  the options expected life,  the expected  price
volatility of the underlying stock and an estimate of expected forfeitures. Our  computation of expected
volatility considers historical volatility  and  market-based implied volatility. Our estimate of  expected
forfeitures is based on historical employee  data and could  differ  from actual forfeitures.

See Note 14 ‘‘Employee Stock Option and Benefit  Plans’’  in the notes to the Consolidated
Financial Statements for a description of  our stock-based employee  compensation  plans and the
assumptions we use to calculate the fair value  of  stock-based employee compensation.

Income Taxes

As part of the process of preparing our  consolidated financial statements,  we are  required to
estimate our income tax provision (benefit)  in each of the  jurisdictions  in which we operate. This
process involves us estimating our current income tax provision (benefit)  together  with assessing
temporary differences resulting from  differing treatment of items  for tax  and accounting  purposes.

64

These differences result in deferred tax assets  and  liabilities, which are  included within our consolidated
balance sheets.

We  record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred  tax assets  to  an amount that more likely

than not will be realized. While we have  considered future  taxable income and  ongoing prudent and
feasible tax planning strategies in assessing the  need  for the  valuation  allowance,  in the event we were
to determine that we would be able to realize our deferred tax assets  in the future in excess of  our net
recorded  amount, an adjustment to the  allowance  for  the deferred tax asset  would increase income in
the period such determination was made. Likewise, should we determine that we  would not be able to
realize all or part of our net deferred tax asset in the future, an adjustment to the valuation allowance
for the deferred tax asset would be charged to income in  the period such determination was made.

Federal income taxes have not been provided for  on a  portion of the unremitted earnings of
foreign subsidiaries because such earnings are intended  to  be  permanently reinvested. The total amount
of unremitted earnings and accumulated translation adjustments of  foreign subsidiaries for which we
have not yet recorded federal and state  income taxes was approximately $335.4 million and
$52.7 million, respectively, at fiscal 2013  year-end. The  amount  of federal  and state income taxes that
would be payable upon repatriation of  such earnings are  not  practicably determinable.

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES  ABOUT MARKET RISK

Market risk disclosures

We  are exposed to market risk related  to  changes in interest rates and foreign currency exchange

rates. We do not use derivative financial  instruments for speculative  or trading purposes.

Interest rate sensitivity

A portion of our investment portfolio is  composed of fixed income securities. These securities are
subject to interest rate risk and will fall in value if market interest rates increase. If interest  rates  were
to increase immediately (whether due to changes in overall market rates or credit worthiness of the
issuers of our individual securities) and  uniformly by  10% from  levels at fiscal 2013 year-end, the fair
value of the portfolio, based on quoted  market  prices in  active  markets involving similar  assets, would
decline  by an immaterial amount due to their short-term maturities. We have the ability to generally
hold our fixed income investments until maturity  and therefore  we  would not expect  our  operating
results or cash flows to be affected to any significant degree by the  effect of a sudden change in market
interest rates on our securities portfolio. If necessary, we may sell short-term investments  prior to
maturity to meet our liquidity needs.

At fiscal 2013 year-end, the fair value  of  our available-for-sale debt securities  was  $139.7 million,

all of which was classified as short-term investments. Gross unrealized gains  and losses  on
available-for-sale debt securities were  $601,000 and $(16,000),  respectively,  at fiscal 2013  year-end. At
fiscal 2012 year-end, the fair value of  our  available-for-sale debt securities was  $155.1 million, all of
which  was classified as short-term investments.  Gross unrealized  gains and losses on available-for-sale
debt securities were $952,000 and ($3,000),  respectively, at fiscal 2012 year-end.

Foreign currency exchange risk

We  maintain operations in various countries outside of the United States and have foreign

subsidiaries that manufacture and sell our products in various global  markets. The  majority of our sales
are transacted in U.S. dollars. However, we do generate revenues in  other  currencies, primarily  the
Japanese Yen, the Euro and the Korean Won. As a result,  our earnings, cash flows and  cash balances
are exposed to fluctuations in foreign  currency exchange rates. We  attempt to limit these exposures
through financial market instruments.  We utilize derivative instruments,  primarily  forward contracts
with maturities of three months or less, to manage our exposure  associated with  anticipated cash flows

65

and net asset and liability positions denominated in foreign currencies. Gains and losses  on the forward
contracts are mitigated by gains and losses  on the  underlying  instruments. We  do not use derivative
financial instruments for trading purposes.

We  do not anticipate any material adverse effect on our consolidated financial position, results  of

operations or cash flows resulting from the  use of these instruments.  There can be no assurance that
these strategies will be effective or that  transaction losses can be minimized or forecasted accurately.
For example, the Japanese Yen has recently decreased significantly in value and the Euro has  recently
strengthened in value. While we model currency  valuations and fluctuations, these  may not ultimately
be accurate. If a financial counterparty  to  any of our hedging arrangements experiences  financial
difficulties or is otherwise unable to  honor the terms of the foreign currency  hedge, we may experience
material financial losses. In the current economic environment, the risk of failure of a financial party
remains high.

At September 28, 2013, approximately  $157.5 million of our cash, cash  equivalents and short-term
investments were held outside the U.S.  in  certain of  our foreign operations, $89.9 million of which  was
denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar.

A hypothetical 10% change in foreign currency  rates on our forward contracts  would not have a

material impact on our results of operations, cash flows  or financial position.

The following table provides information about our foreign exchange forward  contracts at
September 28, 2013. The table presents  the weighted average  contractual  foreign currency exchange
rates, the value of the contracts in U.S. dollars at the  contract exchange rate as of the  contract maturity
date  and fair value. The U.S. notional fair value represents the contracted amount valued at
September 28, 2013 rates.

Forward contracts to sell (buy) foreign currencies (in  thousands, except contract rates):

For US Dollars:
Euro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Korean Won . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Chinese Renminbi
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
British Pound Sterling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Japanese Yen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Singapore Dollar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Malaysian Ringgit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

For Euros:
Japanese Yen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Average
Contract Rate

U.S. Notional
Contract Value

U.S. Notional
Fair  Value

1.3244
1,088.1900
6.1690
1.5689
100.2589
1.2679
3.2755

$(46,248)
$ 17,345
$ 11,524
$ 1,870
$ (5,212)
$ (1,465)
642
$

$(47,299)
$ 17,545
$ 11,793
$ 1,919
$ (5,308)
$ (1,480)
649
$

98.4463

$ 11,860

$ 11,753

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS  AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

See Item 15-(a) for an index to the Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary
Financial Information, which are attached  hereto  and  incorporated  by reference herein. The  financial
statements and notes thereto can be found beginning on page 63 of this annual report.

ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS  ON ACCOUNTING AND

FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Not applicable.

66

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES

Management’s Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

We  have evaluated the effectiveness of the design  and operation of  our disclosure  controls and
procedures, as such term is defined in  Rule  13a-15(e) under the  Securities  Exchange Act of  1934, as  of
the end of the period covered by this  annual  report (‘‘Evaluation Date’’). The controls evaluation  was
done under the supervision and with  the participation  of management, including our Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer.  Based on this  evaluation, our Chief Executive  Officer and Chief
Financial Officer concluded as of the Evaluation Date that our disclosure controls and procedures were
effective in providing reasonable assurance that information required  to  be  disclosed by us in reports
that we file or submit under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended,  is (i)  recorded,
processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the  Securities  and Exchange
Commission’s rules and forms and (ii)  accumulated and  communicated to our management, including
our  Chief Executive Officer and Chief  Financial Officer,  as  appropriate, to allow timely decisions
regarding required disclosures.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

Management, including our Chief Executive Officer and  Chief Financial  Officer, is responsible for
establishing and maintaining adequate internal control  over  financial reporting (as defined in  Exchange
Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for  the Company.

Management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial  reporting as of
September 28, 2013, utilizing the criteria set forth by the  Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of
the Treadway Commission (‘‘COSO’’)  in Internal Control-Integrated Framework  (1992). Based  on the
assessment by management, we determined  that our  internal  control over financial reporting was
effective as of September 28, 2013. The effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as
of September 28, 2013 has been audited  by  Deloitte & Touche LLP, our independent  registered  public
accounting firm, as stated in their report  which appears below.

Inherent Limitations Over Internal Controls

Internal control over financial reporting is a  process designed to provide reasonable assurance
regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external
purposes  in accordance with generally accepted  accounting principles (‘‘GAAP’’). Because of its
inherent limitations, internal control over  financial reporting  may  not prevent or  detect  misstatements.
Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness for future periods  are subject  to  the risk  that
controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the  degree  of  compliance
with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.  Our internal control  over  financial  reporting is
designed to provide reasonable assurance  regarding  the reliability of financial reporting  and the
preparation of the financial statements for  external purposes  in accordance with  GAAP.  Our internal
control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

(i) pertain to the maintenance of records  that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect

the transactions and dispositions of our assets;

(ii) provide reasonable assurance that  transactions are recorded as necessary  to  permit

preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in  accordance  with
authorizations of our management and directors; and

(iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding  prevention or timely detection of unauthorized

acquisition, use, or disposition of our assets  that could  have a material  effect  on the financial
statements.

67

Management, including our CEO and CFO, does  not  expect  that our internal controls will prevent

or detect all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well  designed and operated, can
provide only reasonable, not absolute,  assurance that the objectives of the  control system are  met.
Further, the design of a control system must reflect  the fact that there are resource constraints, and  the
benefits of controls must be considered relative to their costs. Because  of the inherent  limitations in all
control systems, no evaluation of internal  controls can  provide absolute assurance that all control  issues
and instances of fraud, if any, have been  detected. Also, any  evaluation of the  effectiveness  of  controls
in future periods are subject to the risk  that those internal controls may become inadequate because of
changes in business conditions, or that the degree of compliance with  the policies or procedures may
deteriorate.

Changes  in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the

quarter ended September 28, 2013 that  have  materially affected, or are reasonably  likely to materially
affect, our internal control over financial  reporting.

68

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED  PUBLIC  ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders  of Coherent, Inc.:

We  have audited the internal control over  financial reporting of  Coherent,  Inc. and  its  subsidiaries

(collectively, the ‘‘Company’’) as of September 28, 2013,  based on the criteria established in Internal
Control—Integrated Framework (1992) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations  of  the
Treadway Commission. The Company’s  management  is responsible for  maintaining effective internal
control over financial reporting and for  its assessment of the effectiveness of internal  control over
financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control  Over
Financial Reporting. Our responsibility  is  to express  an opinion on the Company’s internal  control  over
financial reporting based on our audit.

We  conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of  the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States). Those  standards require that we  plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether  effective  internal control over financial reporting was maintained
in all material respects. Our audit included  obtaining an understanding  of internal control  over
financial reporting, assessing the risk that a  material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design
and operating effectiveness of internal control based  on the assessed risk, and performing such other
procedures as we considered necessary in  the circumstances. We believe that our audit  provides a
reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or  under the

supervision of, the company’s principal executive and principal financial  officers,  or persons performing
similar functions, and effected by the company’s board of directors, management, and other personnel
to provide reasonable assurance regarding the  reliability  of financial reporting and the preparation of
financial statements for external purposes in accordance with  generally  accepted accounting  principles.
A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes  those policies and procedures that
(1) pertain to the maintenance of records  that, in  reasonable  detail,  accurately and  fairly reflect the
transactions and dispositions of the assets of  the company;  (2) provide  reasonable  assurance that
transactions are recorded as necessary  to  permit preparation  of  financial statements in  accordance  with
generally accepted accounting principles  and that receipts and expenditures of the company  are being
made only in accordance with authorizations of management  and directors of the  company; and
(3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention  or timely detection of unauthorized  acquisition,
use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have  a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of the inherent limitations of internal  control over  financial reporting, including  the
possibility of collusion or improper management override of controls, material misstatements  due  to
error or fraud may not be prevented or detected  on a  timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation
of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject  to  the
risk that the controls may become inadequate  because of changes in conditions, or  that  the degree of
compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal  control  over

financial reporting as of September 28, 2013,  based on the criteria established in Internal Control—
Integrated Framework (1992) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring  Organizations  of  the Treadway
Commission.

We  have also audited, in accordance  with the standards of  the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States), the  consolidated financial statements as  of  and for the year ended
September 28, 2013, of the Company and our report dated  November 27,  2013, expressed an
unqualified opinion on those consolidated  financial statements.

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

San Jose, California
November 27, 2013

69

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION

Not applicable.

70

PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE  OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Information regarding: (i) our directors will  be  set forth under the caption ‘‘Proposal One—
Election of Directors—Nominees’’; (ii) compliance with  Section 16(a) of the Securities Act  of 1933 will
be set forth under the caption ‘‘Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance’’; (iii) the
process for stockholders to nominate directors will be set forth  under the caption ‘‘Proposal One—
Election of Directors—Process for Recommending Candidates for Election  to  the Board of  Directors’’;
(iv) our audit committee and audit committee  financial expert will  be  set  forth under  the caption
‘‘Proposal One—Election of Directors—Board Meetings and Committees—Audit  Committee’’; in our
proxy statement for use in connection  with an  upcoming Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held in
2014 (the ‘‘2014 Proxy Statement’’) and  is incorporated  herein by  reference  or included  in a
Form 10-K/A as an amendment to this  Form 10-K.  The 2014 Proxy Statement  or Form 10-K/A  will be
filed with the SEC within 120 days after the  end of our fiscal year.

Business Conduct Policy

We  have adopted a worldwide Business Conduct Policy that  applies to the members of our Board

of Directors, executive officers and other employees. This policy is posted  on our Website  at
www.coherent.com and may be found as follows:

1.

From our main Web page, first click on ‘‘Company’’  and then  on ‘‘corporate governance.’’

2. Next, click on ‘‘Business Conduct Policy.’’

We  intend to satisfy the disclosure requirement under  Item 5.05 of Form 8-K regarding  an

amendment to, or waiver from, a provision of this Business Conduct Policy  by  posting such  information
on our Website, at the address and location specified  above.

Stockholders may request free printed  copies  of our worldwide Business  Conduct  Policy from:

Coherent, Inc.
Attention: Investor Relations
5100 Patrick Henry Drive
Santa Clara, California 95054

Executive Officers

The name, age, position and a brief account of  the business  experience  of our  executive  officers as

of November 27, 2013 are set forth below:

Name

Age

Office Held

John R. Ambroseo . . .
Helene Simonet . . . . .
Mark Sobey . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . .
Paul Sechrist
Luis Spinelli . . . . . . . .
Bret M. DiMarco . . . .

President  and Chief Executive  Officer

52
61 Executive Vice President and Chief Financial  Officer
53 Executive Vice President and General  Manager,  Specialty Laser Systems
54 Executive Vice President, Worldwide  Sales  and  Service
65 Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer
45 Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

John R. Ambroseo. Mr. Ambroseo has served as our President and  Chief  Executive Officer  as
well as a member of the Board of Directors since October  2002. Mr. Ambroseo served as  our Chief
Operating Officer from June 2001 through September 2002. Mr. Ambroseo  served as our Executive
Vice President and as President and General Manager of  the Coherent Photonics  Group from
September 2000 to June 2001. From  September  1997 to September 2000,  Mr.  Ambroseo  served  as our
Executive Vice President and as President  and General Manager of the Coherent Laser Group. From

71

March 1997 to September 1997, Mr. Ambroseo served as our  Scientific Business Unit Manager. From
August 1988, when Mr. Ambroseo joined  us, until March 1997, he served as  a Sales Engineer, Product
Marketing Manager, National Sales Manager and Director of European  Operations. Mr. Ambroseo
received a Bachelor degree from SUNY-College at Purchase and a  PhD in Chemistry from the
University of Pennsylvania.

Helene Simonet. Ms. Simonet has served as our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial

Officer since April 2002. Ms. Simonet served as Vice  President  of Finance of our former Medical
Group and Vice President of Finance, Photonics Division  from December  1999 to April  2002. Prior to
joining Coherent, she spent over twenty years in senior finance positions at Raychem Corporation’s
Division and Corporate organizations,  including Vice  President  of Finance of Raynet Corporation.
Ms. Simonet has both Master’s and Bachelor degrees from the  University of  Leuven,  Belgium.

Mark Sobey. Mr. Sobey was appointed Executive Vice President of Coherent and  General
Manager of Specialty Laser Systems  (SLS)  in April 2010. He has served  as Senior Vice President  and
General Manager for the SLS Business Group, which primarily serves  the Microelectronics and
Research markets, since joining Coherent  in  July 2007. Prior  to  Coherent, Mr. Sobey has  spent over
20 years in the Laser and Fiber Optics  Telecommunications industries, including roles as Senior Vice
President Product Management at Cymer  from January 2006 through June 2007 and previously as
Senior Vice President Global Sales at JDS Uniphase through  October 2005.  He received  his PhD  in
Engineering and BSc in Physics, both from  the University of Strathclyde in Scotland.

Paul  Sechrist. Mr. Paul Sechrist was appointed Executive Vice President, Worldwide Sales and
Service in March 2011. He has over  30  years  of  experience with Coherent,  including roles as  Senior
Vice President and General Manager of Commercial  Lasers and Components from October  2008 to
March 2011, Vice President and General Manager of Specialty  Laser Systems, Santa Clara from March
2008 to October 2008 and Vice President  for Components from  April 2005 to October 2008.
Mr. Sechrist received an AA degree  from  San Jose City College, with  Physics studies at California State
University, Hayward.

Luis Spinelli. Mr. Spinelli has served as our Executive  Vice President and Chief Technology
Officer since February 2004. Mr. Spinelli  joined the Company  in May 1985 and has since  held various
engineering and managerial positions,  including Vice  President,  Advanced  Research from April  2000 to
September 2002 and Vice President,  Corporate Research  from  September 2002  to  February  2004.
Mr. Spinelli has led the Advanced Research Unit from its inception in 1998, whose charter is to
identify and evaluate new and emerging  technologies of interest for us across a range  of disciplines in
the laser field. Mr. Spinelli holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from the  University  of  Buenos
Aires,  Argentina with post-graduate  work at the Massachusetts Institute  of  Technology.

Bret M. DiMarco. Mr. DiMarco has served as our Executive Vice President and General Counsel
since June 2006 and our Corporate Secretary since  February 2007. From February 2003 until May 2006,
Mr. DiMarco was a member and from October 1995 until  January 2003 was  an associate at Wilson
Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, P.C., a law  firm. Mr. DiMarco received a Bachelor’s degree from  the
University of California at Irvine and a  Juris Doctorate degree from the Law Center at the  University
of Southern California. He is also an  adjunct professor  of law  at  the University  of California  Hastings
College of the Law, teaching corporate  law and mergers &  acquisitions.

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Information regarding: (i) executive officer and director  compensation  will  be  set forth under the

captions ‘‘Election of Directors—Director Compensation’’ and ‘‘Executive  Officers  and Executive
Compensation’’ and (ii) compensation committee interlocks will be set forth  under the  caption
‘‘Executive Officers and Executive Compensation—Compensation Committee Interlocks  and Insider

72

Participation and Committee Independence’’ in the  2014 Proxy Statement or  included in  a
Form 10-K/A as an amendment to our  Form  10-K for  the fiscal year ended September 28, 2013.  The
2014 Proxy Statement or Form 10-K/A will be filed with  the SEC within 120 days  after the end  of  our
fiscal year.

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF  CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND  MANAGEMENT

AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS

Information regarding: (i) equity compensation plan information will be set forth under the

caption ‘‘Equity Compensation Plan Information’’; and (ii) security ownership of  certain  beneficial
owners and management will be set forth  under  the caption  ‘‘Security Ownership of  Certain Beneficial
Owners and Management’’; in our 2014  Proxy Statement and is  incorporated herein by reference  or
included in a Form 10-K/A as an amendment to our Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended
September 28, 2013.

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND  RELATED  TRANSACTIONS,  AND DIRECTOR

INDEPENDENCE

The information required under this item  will  be  set forth under the caption ‘‘Certain

Relationships and Related Party Transactions’’ in our  2014 Proxy Statement and is  incorporated herein
by reference or included in a Form 10-K/A as an  amendment  to  our Form 10-K for the fiscal year
ended September 28, 2013.

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING  FEES AND SERVICES

Principal Accounting Fees and Services

The following table sets forth fees for  services  provided by Deloitte  & Touche LLP,  the member
firms of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, and  their respective affiliates  (collectively,  ‘‘Deloitte’’) during fiscal
years 2013 and 2012:

Audit fees(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Audit-related fees(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tax  fees(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
All other fees(4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$1,818,000
79,126
135,337
2,200

$1,725,000
172,632
—
2,200

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$2,034,663

$1,899,832

2013

2012

(1) Represents fees for professional services provided  in connection  with the integrated  audit
of our annual financial statements and internal control  over  financial reporting and review
of our quarterly financial statements, advice on accounting matters that arose during the
audit and audit services provided in connection with other statutory or regulatory filings.

(2) For fiscal 2013, represents $79,126  in fees for due diligence associated with our

acquisition activities in fiscal 2013. For fiscal 2012, represents $146,874  in fees for  due
diligence associated with our acquisition  activities in  fiscal  2012 and  $25,578 for services
related to the review of our XBRL filings.

(3) Represents tax compliance and related  services.

(4) Represents the annual subscription for access to the Deloitte Accounting  Research  Tool,

which is a searchable on-line accounting database.

73

Pre-Approval of Audit and Non-Audit Services

The Audit Committee has determined that the provision of non-audit services by Deloitte  is

compatible with maintaining Deloitte’s independence. In  accordance with  its charter, the Audit
Committee approves in advance all audit and  non-audit  services  to  be  provided by Deloitte. In other
cases, the Chairman of the Audit Committee has the  delegated authority  from the Committee to
pre-approve certain additional services,  and such pre-approvals are communicated to the full
Committee at its next meeting. During  fiscal  year  2013, all services were pre-approved by the Audit
Committee in accordance with this policy.

74

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL  STATEMENT SCHEDULES

(a) 1. Index to Consolidated Financial  Statements

PART IV

The following Consolidated Financial Statements of Coherent, Inc.  and  its subsidiaries are  filed as

part of this annual report on Form 10-K:

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Balance Sheets—September  28, 2013 and September 29, 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Consolidated Statements of Operations—Years  ended September 28,  2013, September 29, 2012

and October 1, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income—Years ended September 28, 2013,

September 29, 2012 and October 1, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’  Equity—Years ended September  28, 2013,

September 29, 2012 and October 1, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows—Years ended  September 28, 2013,  September 29,  2012

81
82

83

84

85

and October 1, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Quarterly Financial Information (Unaudited) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

86
87
129

75

2. Consolidated Financial Statement Schedules

Financial statement schedules have been omitted  because they  are  either  not required,  not

applicable or the information required  to  be  set forth therein is included in the  Consolidated  Financial
Statements hereto.

3. Exhibits

Exhibit
Numbers

3.1*

3.2*

Restated and Amended Certificate  of  Incorporation. (Previously filed  as Exhibit 3.1 to
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 29, 1990)

Certificate of Amendment of  Restated and Amended Certificate of Incorporation of
Coherent, Inc. (Previously filed as Exhibit 3.2 to Form  10-K  for the  fiscal year  ended
September 28, 2002)

3.3*

Bylaws. (Previously filed as  Exhibit 3.1 to Form 8-K, filed on  December 12, 2012)

10.1*‡

10.2*‡

10.3*

10.4*‡

10.5*‡

10.6*‡

10.7*‡

10.8*‡

Amended and Restated Employee Stock Purchase Plan. (Previously filed as Exhibit 10.1  to
Form S-8 filed on June 12, 2012)

Coherent Employee Retirement  and Investment  Plan.  (Previously filed  as Exhibit 10.23 to
Form 8, Amendment No. 1 to Annual Report  on Form 10-K  for  the fiscal year ended
September 25, 1982)

1998 Director Option Plan.  (Previously filed as Appendix B to Schedule 14A filed
February 28, 2006)

2001 Stock Plan. (Previously filed as  Exhibit 10.1 to Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
March 29, 2008)

Change of Control Severance Plan, as amended and restated effective December 7, 2012.
(Previously filed as Exhibit 10.1 to Form 8-K,  filed on December  12, 2012)

Variable Compensation Plan, as  amended. (Previously filed as Exhibit 10.7 to Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended October 1, 2011)

Fiscal 2011 Variable Compensation Plan Payout Scale. (Previously filed as  Exhibit  10.8 to
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 1,  2011)

Fiscal 2012 Variable Compensation Plan Payout Scale. (Previously filed as  Exhibit  10.9 to
Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 1,  2011)

10.9***‡ Fiscal 2013 Variable Compensation Plan Payout Scale for Named Executive Officers.

(Previously filed as Exhibit 10.3 to Form 10-Q  for the  fiscal  quarter ended December  29,
2012)

10.10*‡

10.11*‡

10.12*‡

10.13*‡

Supplementary Retirement Plan. (Previously  filed as Exhibit 10.5  to  Form 10-Q for the
quarter ended April 1, 2006)

2005 Deferred Compensation Plan. (Previously  filed as Exhibit 10.1 to Form 10-Q for  the
fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2011)

Form of 2001 Stock Plan Terms and Conditions of Restricted Stock Units.  (Previously
filed as Exhibit 10.1 to Form 8-K filed on November  27, 2009)

Form of 2001 Stock Plan Amended Global Stock Option Agreement. (Previously filed  as
Exhibit 10.2 to Form 8-K filed on November 27,  2009)

76

Exhibit
Numbers

10.14*

10.15*

10.16*

10.17*

10.18*‡

10.19*‡

10.20*‡

10.21*‡

10.22*‡

10.23*‡

Amended and Restated Loan Agreement by and between Coherent, Inc. and Union Bank
of California, N.A. dated as of May 30, 2012. (Previously filed  as Exhibit 10.1 to Form 8-K
filed on June 5, 2012)

Amended and Restated Promissory Note (Base Rate) (Previously filed as Exhibit 10.2  to
Form 8-K filed on June 5, 2012)

Second Lease Amendment  by and between Coherent, Inc. and 5200  Patrick Henry
Associates LLC dated as of July 23, 2010. (Previously filed as  Exhibit 10.1 to Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended July 3,  2010)

Form of Indemnification  Agreement (Previously  filed as Exhibit 10.18 to Form 10-K for
the year ended October 2, 2010)

2011 Equity Incentive Plan. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit  10.1 to the Company’s
Registration Statement on Form S-8 (File No. 333-174019) filed  on  May 6, 2011)

Form of RSU Agreement for members of the Board of  Directors under the Company’s
2011 Equity Incentive Plan. (Previously  filed as  Exhibit 10.1  to  Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended July 2, 2011)

Form of Option Agreement  for  members of the  Board of Directors under  the Company’s
2011 Equity Incentive Plan. (Previously  filed as  Exhibit 10.1  to  Form 10-Q for the fiscal
quarter ended July 2, 2011)

Form of Performance RSU Agreement under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. (Previously
filed as Exhibit 10.22 to Form 10-K for the  fiscal year ended  October 1,  2011)

Form of Time-Based RSU Agreement under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. (Previously
filed as Exhibit 10.23 to Form 10-K for the  fiscal year ended  October 1,  2011)

Form of Performance RSU Agreement under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan (Amended)
(Previously filed as Exhibit 10.23 to Form 10-K for  the fiscal year ended  September 29,
2012)

10.24*‡

Form of Performance RSU Agreement under the 2011 Equity Incentive Plan, as  amended
November 8, 2013. (Previously filed as  Exhibit 10.1 to Form 8-K filed November  14, 2013)

21.1

23.1

24.1

31.1

31.2

32.1

Subsidiaries

Consent of Independent Registered Public  Accounting Firm

Power of Attorney (see signature page)

Certification of Chief Executive  Officer pursuant to Exchange Act
Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a), as adopted  pursuant to Section 302 of  the  Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002.

Certification of Chief Financial  Officer pursuant to Exchange Act
Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a), as adopted  pursuant to Section 302 of  the  Sarbanes-Oxley Act
of 2002.

Certification of Chief Executive  Officer pursuant to 18  U.S.C.  Section 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

77

Exhibit
Numbers

32.2

Certification of Chief Financial  Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

*

These exhibits were previously filed with the Commission  as indicated  and are  incorporated herein
by reference.

** Portions  of this exhibit are redacted and confidential treatment has been requested.

‡

Identifies management contract  or  compensatory  plans  or  arrangements required to be filed  as an
exhibit.

78

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the

registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on  its behalf  by the undersigned, thereunto duly
authorized.

SIGNATURES

COHERENT, INC.

Date: November 27, 2013

By:

/s/ JOHN R. AMBROSEO

John R. Ambroseo
President and Chief Executive Officer

POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE  PRESENTS, that each person  whose  signature appears
below hereby constitutes and appoints John R. Ambroseo and  Helene Simonet, and  each  of them
individually, as his attorney-in-fact, each with  full power of substitution, for him in  any and all
capacities to sign any and all amendments  to this Report  on Form 10-K, and  to  file the same  with, with
exhibits thereto and other documents in  connection  therewith, with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorney-in-fact,  or his or  her substitute,  may
do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,  this report has been signed
below by the  following persons on behalf of  the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated:

/s/ JOHN R. AMBROSEO

John R. Ambroseo
(Director and Principal Executive Officer)

/s/ HELENE SIMONET

Helene Simonet
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

/s/ JAY T. FLATLEY

Jay T. Flatley
(Director)

/s/ SUSAN M. JAMES

Susan M. James
(Director)

/s/ L. WILLIAM KRAUSE

L. William Krause
(Director)

/s/ GARRY W. ROGERSON

Garry W. Rogerson
(Director)

/s/ LAWRENCE TOMLINSON

Lawrence Tomlinson
(Director)

/s/ SANDEEP VIJ

Sandeep Vij
(Director)

79

November 27, 2013
Date

November 27, 2013
Date

November 27, 2013
Date

November 27, 2013
Date

November 27, 2013
Date

November 27, 2013
Date

November 27, 2013
Date

November 27, 2013
Date

STATEMENT OF MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITY

Management is responsible for the preparation, integrity, and objectivity of the Consolidated
Financial Statements and other financial  information  included in  the Company’s  2013 Annual Report
on Form 10-K. The Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in  conformity with U.S.
generally accepted accounting principles  and reflect the  effects  of certain estimates and judgments
made by management. It is critical for investors and other  readers  of the Consolidated Financial
Statements to have confidence that the financial  information that we provide is timely, complete,
relevant and accurate

Management, with oversight by the Company’s Board  of  Directors, has  established and maintains a

corporate culture that requires that the  Company’s affairs be conducted to the highest  standards of
business ethics and conduct. Management also maintains a system of  internal control that is  designed to
provide reasonable assurance that assets  are  safeguarded and  that transactions are properly recorded
and executed in accordance with management’s authorization. This system is regularly monitored
through direct management review, as  well  as extensive audits conducted  by  internal auditors
throughout the organization.

Our Consolidated Financial Statements as  of and for  the year ended September 28, 2013 have
been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP,  an  independent registered public accounting firm. Their audit
was conducted in accordance with the  standards of  the Public Company  Accounting Oversight  Board
(United States) and included an integrated  audit under such standards.

The Audit Committee of the Board of  Directors meets regularly  with management, the  internal

auditors and the independent registered  public accounting firm  to  review accounting, reporting,
auditing and internal control matters. The Audit  Committee has  direct and private access to both
internal and external auditors.

See Item 9A for Management’s Report  on Internal  Control  Over Financing Reporting.

We  are committed to enhancing shareholder value  and  fully understand and  embrace our fiduciary
oversight responsibilities. We are dedicated to ensuring that our high standards of financial accounting
and reporting as well as our underlying system of internal controls are maintained. Our  culture
demands  integrity  and we have the highest confidence  in our  processes, internal controls, and people,
who are objective in their responsibilities and operate under the highest  level of ethical standards.

/s/ JOHN R. AMBROSEO

/s/ HELENE SIMONET

John R. Ambroseo
President and Chief Executive Officer

Helene  Simonet
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

80

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED  PUBLIC  ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders  of Coherent, Inc.:

We  have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Coherent, Inc.  and its

subsidiaries (collectively, the ‘‘Company’’) as of  September  28, 2013 and  September 29, 2012,  and the
related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity, and cash
flows for each of the three years in the period ended September  28, 2013. These consolidated financial
statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an
opinion on these consolidated financial  statements  based on our audits.

We  conducted our audits in accordance with the standards  of  the Public Company Accounting
Oversight Board (United States). Those  standards require that we  plan and perform the audit to obtain
reasonable assurance about whether  the  financial  statements are free  of material misstatement.  An
audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence  supporting the amounts and disclosures  in the
financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting  principles used  and significant
estimates made by management, as well as  evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We
believe that our audits provide a reasonable  basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, such consolidated financial  statements  present fairly, in  all  material  respects, the
financial position of the Company as of  September 28, 2013 and September 29,  2012, and the results  of
its  operations and its cash flows for each of the three years  in the  period ended  September 28,  2013, in
conformity with accounting principles  generally  accepted in the United States of America.

We  have also audited, in accordance  with the standards of  the Public Company Accounting

Oversight Board (United States), the  Company’s  internal control over financial reporting as  of
September 28, 2013, based on the criteria  established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework (1992)
issued by the Committee of Sponsoring  Organizations of the Treadway  Commission  and our report
dated November 27, 2013 expressed an unqualified opinion on the Company’s  internal control over
financial reporting.

/s/ DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

San Jose, California
November 27, 2013

81

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(In thousands, except par value)

September 28,
2013

September  29,
2012

Current assets:

ASSETS

Cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Short-term investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accounts receivable—net of allowances of $1,386 in 2013 and $1,443  in

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Inventories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Prepaid expenses and other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred tax assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total current assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Property and equipment, net
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Goodwill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Intangible assets, net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$110,444
139,666

$ 67,761
157,168

136,759
168,067
52,577
21,713

629,226
114,333
113,408
42,971
66,540

144,345
160,113
61,730
23,368

614,485
115,096
77,689
9,473
64,029

Total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$966,478

$880,772

LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Current portion of long-term obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accounts payable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income taxes payable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other current liabilities

Total current liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Long-term obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other long-term liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commitments and contingencies (Note  12)
Stockholders’ equity:

Common stock, par value $.01:
Authorized—500,000 shares;
Outstanding—24,464 shares in 2013 and 23,746  shares in  2012 . . . . . . .
Additional paid-in capital . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accumulated other comprehensive income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Retained earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total stockholders’ equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

2
36,565
24,695
84,566

145,828

—
62,132

$

17
29,088
33,944
90,739

153,788

2
55,326

244
162,253
54,450
541,571

758,518

237
131,708
40,455
499,256

671,656

Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$966,478

$880,772

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial  Statements.

82

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(In thousands, except per share data)

Year Ended

September 28,
2013

September 29, October  1,

2012

2011

Net sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Cost of sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$810,126
487,855

$769,088
453,103

$802,834
452,012

Gross  profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

322,271

315,985

350,822

Operating expenses:

Research and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selling, general and administrative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amortization of intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total operating expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income from operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other income (expense):

Interest and dividend income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Interest expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other—net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total other income (expense), net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Income before income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

82,785
149,513
5,074

237,372

84,899

230
(164)
(1,469)

(1,403)

83,496
17,141

78,260
138,519
10,376

227,155

88,830

311
(86)
1,567

1,792

81,232
149,499
8,082

238,813

112,009

909
(147)
11,058

11,820

90,622
27,660

123,829
30,591

Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 66,355

$ 62,962

$ 93,238

Net income per share:

Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Diluted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

$

2.75

2.70

$

$

2.67

2.62

$

$

3.74

3.66

Shares used in computation:

Basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Diluted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24,138

24,555

23,561

24,026

24,924

25,464

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

83

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

(In thousands)

Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other comprehensive income (loss):

Translation adjustments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changes in unrealized gains (losses) on  available-for-sale

Year Ended

September 28,
2013

September 29, October  1,

2012

2011

$66,355

$ 62,962

$ 93,238

13,998

(10,796)

(10,842)

securities, net of taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3)

30

(21)

Other comprehensive income (loss),  net of tax(1) . . . . . . . . . . .

Total comprehensive income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13,995

$80,350

(10,766)

(10,863)

$ 52,196

$ 82,375

(1) Tax expense (benefit) of $(746),  $(166)  and  $(2,283) was provided on translation  adjustments

during fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively.  Tax  expense (benefit) on  changes in unrealized
gains (losses) on available-for-sale securities was insignificant.

84

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Three Years in the Period Ended September 28, 2013

(In thousands)

Balances, October 2, 2010 . . . . . . . .
Common stock issued under stock
plans, net of shares withheld for
employee taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tax  impact from employee stock

options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Repurchases of common stock . . . . .
Stock-based compensation . . . . . . . .
Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other comprehensive loss, net of tax

Balances, October 1, 2011 . . . . . . . .
Common stock issued under stock
plans, net of shares withheld for
employee taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tax  impact from employee stock

options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Repurchases of common stock . . . . .
Stock-based compensation . . . . . . . .
Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other comprehensive income, net of
tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Balances, September 29, 2012 . . . . . .
Common stock issued under stock
plans, net of shares withheld for
employee taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tax  impact from employee stock

options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stock-based compensation . . . . . . . .
Cash dividends paid ($1.00 per

common share) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other comprehensive income, net of
tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Common
Stock
Shares

Common
Stock
Par
Value

Add.
Paid-in
Capital

Accum.
Other
Comp.
Income

Retained
Earnings

Total

24,554

$245

$ 186,078

$ 62,084

$343,056

$ 591,463

1,233

11

31,403

—

—

31,414

—
(2,065)
—
—
—

—
(20)
—
—
—

—
290
—
(100,617)
—
13,096
—
—
— (10,863)

—
290
— (100,637)
13,096
—
93,238
93,238
(10,863)
—

23,722

$236

$ 130,250

$ 51,221

$436,294

$ 618,001

567

—
(543)
—
—

—

6

—
(5)
—
—

—

8,745

1,264
(24,994)
16,443
—

—

—
—
—
—

—

8,751

—
—
—
62,962

1,264
(24,999)
16,443
62,962

— (10,766)

—

(10,766)

23,746

$237

$ 131,708

$ 40,455

$499,256

$ 671,656

718

—
—

—
—

—

7

—
—

—
—

—

12,364

(836)
19,017

—
—

—

—

—
—

—

—
—

12,371

(836)
19,017

— (24,040)
66,355
—

(24,040)
66,355

13,995

—

13,995

Balances, September 28, 2013 . . . . . .

24,464

$244

$ 162,253

$ 54,450

$541,571

$ 758,518

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial  Statements

85

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(In thousands)

Year Ended

September 28,
2013

September 29, October  1,

2012

2011

$ 66,355

$ 62,962

$ 93,238

Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustments to  reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Amortization of intangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Write-off of  Hypertronics intangibles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stock-based compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Excess tax benefit from stock-based compensation arrangements . . . . . . . . .
Non-cash translation adjustment related to Finland dissolution . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other non-cash (income) expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions:

Accounts receivable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Inventories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Prepaid  expenses and other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accounts payable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income taxes payable/receivable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other current liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other long-term liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26,356
9,767
—
18,891
—
—
(1,107)
353

4,226
4,260
10,128
34
6,116
(20,574)
(11,185)
1,902

Net cash provided by operating activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

115,522

Cash flows from investing activities:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purchases  of property and equipment
Proceeds from dispositions of property and equipment
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Purchases of available-for-sale securities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Proceeds from sales and maturities of available-for-sale  securities . . . . . . . . .
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Change in restricted cash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net cash used in investing activities

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cash flows  from financing activities:

Short-term  borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Repayments of short-term borrowings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Repayments of capital lease obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Repurchase of common stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Issuance  of common stock under employee stock option  and purchase plans . .
Cash dividend paid ($1.00 per common share) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation arrangements . . . . . . . . .
Net settlement of restricted common stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Net  cash used in financing activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . .

Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year

(21,988)
1,482
(228,231)
245,361
(67,289)
—

(70,665)

20,717
(20,717)
(17)
—
16,541
(24,040)
—
(4,170)

(11,686)

9,512

42,683
67,761

23,243
6,406
4,142
16,315
(1,264)
—
(4,763)
(192)

(5,146)
(9,767)
(5,294)
147
(10,443)
(6,922)
(5,360)
707

64,771

(36,051)
280
(244,186)
140,700
(3,687)
—

(142,944)

9,262
(9,262)
(15)
(24,999)
13,288
—
1,264
(4,537)

(14,999)

(6,128)

(99,300)
167,061

20,539
8,082
—
12,963
(5,111)
(6,511)
22,089
68

(26,185)
(38,570)
(8,098)
(1,194)
(161)
4,272
8,712
2,543

86,676

(37,117)
355
(230,992)
195,570
(14,108)
625

(85,667)

2,344
(2,344)
(18)
(100,637)
34,720
—
5,111
(3,306)

(64,130)

(15,198)

(78,319)
245,380

Cash and cash equivalents, end of year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 110,444

$ 67,761

$ 167,061

Supplemental  disclosure of cash flow information:

Cash paid during the year for:

Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income  taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$
164
$ 54,047

$
86
$ 49,755

Cash received during the year for:

Income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 13,538

$ 11,855

Noncash investing and financing activities:

Unpaid  property and equipment purchases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

1,550

$

1,031

$
108
$ 17,291

$

$

5,250

1,334

See accompanying Notes to Consolidated Financial  Statements

86

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL  STATEMENTS

1. DESCRIPTION OF BUSINESS

Founded in 1966, Coherent, Inc. provides photonics-based  solutions in a broad range of
commercial and scientific research applications.  We design, manufacture, service and  market lasers,
laser tools and related accessories for  a  diverse group  of  customers. Headquartered  in Santa Clara,
California, the Company has worldwide operations  including  research  and  development, manufacturing,
sales, service and support capabilities.

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Fiscal Year

Our fiscal year ends on the Saturday  closest to September 30. Fiscal years 2013,  2012 and 2011
ended on September 28, 2013, September  29, 2012 and October  1, 2011, respectively, and  are referred
to in these financial statements as fiscal  2013, fiscal 2012, and  fiscal  2011 for  convenience. All fiscal
years include 52 weeks. Accordingly,  the  financial  statements of these subsidiaries  as of that date and
for the years then ended have been used  for our consolidated financial statements. Management
believes that the impact of the use of  different year-ends  is immaterial  to  our consolidated financial
statements taken as a whole.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with Generally  Accepted
Accounting Principles (‘‘GAAP’’) requires management  to  make estimates and assumptions that affect
the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure  of contingent assets and  liabilities  at the
date  of  the consolidated financial statements  and  the reported amounts of revenues and expenses
during the reporting period. Actual results  could  differ from those estimates.

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements  include the accounts  of Coherent, Inc.  and its majority-
owned subsidiaries (collectively, ‘‘the  Company’’, ‘‘we’’, ‘‘our’’, or  ‘‘Coherent’’). Intercompany  balances
and transactions have been eliminated.  Investments in  business entities in which  we do not have
control, but have the ability to exercise  significant influence over operating and  financial policies
(generally 20%-50% ownership) are  accounted for by the equity method. We currently do not have any
investments accounted for by the equity method. Minority interests in  non-wholly owned  subsidiaries
are insignificant.

Fair  Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying amounts of certain of our financial instruments  including  cash and cash equivalents,
accounts receivable, accounts payable  and  accrued liabilities approximate fair value due to their short
maturities. Short-term investments are  comprised of  available-for-sale securities,  which are carried at
fair value. Other non-current assets include trading securities and  life  insurance contracts related to our
deferred compensation plans; trading securities are carried  at fair value and life  insurance contracts are
carried at cash surrender values, which  due to their ability to be converted to cash at  that  amount,
approximate their  fair values. The recorded carrying  amount  of our  long-term obligations approximates
fair value at fiscal 2013 and 2012 year-ends. Foreign  exchange contracts are  stated at fair value  based
on prevailing financial market information.

87

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

Cash Equivalents

All highly liquid investments with maturities of three  months or  less at the time of purchase are

classified as cash equivalents.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that may potentially  subject us to concentrations of credit  risk consist

principally of cash equivalents, short-term investments  and accounts  receivable. At fiscal  2013 year-end,
the majority of our short-term investments are in US Treasury and  federal agency obligations and
corporate notes and obligations. Cash  equivalents and short-term investments  are maintained with
several financial institutions and may  exceed  the amount of insurance  provided on such  balances.  At
September 28, 2013, we held cash and cash equivalents  and short-term investments outside the U.S. in
certain of our foreign operations totaling  approximately $157.5 million,  $89.9 million of which was
denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. The majority of our  accounts receivable are
derived from sales to customers for commercial applications.  We perform  ongoing  credit evaluations  of
our  customers’ financial condition and limit the  amount  of  credit extended when  deemed necessary but
generally require no collateral. We maintain reserves for potential credit losses. Our products  are
broadly distributed and there were two  customers who accounted for 15.2% and 11.7% of  accounts
receivable at fiscal 2013 year-end. There were two customers  who accounted for 14.9%  and 14.8%  of
accounts receivable at fiscal 2012 year-end.

Accounts Receivable Allowances

Accounts receivable allowances reflect our best estimate of probable losses  inherent in our
accounts receivable balances. We regularly review allowances  by considering factors  such as historical
experience, credit quality, the age of  the accounts receivable balances and current economic conditions
that may affect a customer’s ability to pay.

Activity in accounts receivable allowance  is as follows (in  thousands):

Fiscal year-end

2013

2012

2011

Beginning balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Additions charged to expenses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accruals resulting from acquisitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deductions from reserves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,443
1,622
—
(1,679)

$ 1,439
1,362
—
(1,358)

$ 1,655
1,329
184
(1,729)

Ending balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,386

$ 1,443

$ 1,439

88

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of  cost (first-in,  first-out) or market. Inventories  are as follows

(in thousands):

Purchased parts and assemblies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Work-in-process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Finished goods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fiscal year-end

2013

2012

$ 50,275
60,089
57,703

$ 46,526
60,171
53,416

$168,067

$160,113

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at  cost and are depreciated or amortized using the straight-line

method. Cost, accumulated depreciation and amortization, and estimated useful lives are  as follows
(dollars in thousands):

Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Buildings and improvements . . . . . . .
Equipment, furniture and fixtures . . . .
Leasehold improvements . . . . . . . . . .

Fiscal year-end

2013

2012

Useful Life

$

6,295
73,139
220,133
29,763

329,330

$

6,251
67,916
205,479
28,162 Lesser of useful life or terms of leases

5 - 40 years
3 - 10 years

307,808

Accumulated depreciation and

amortization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(214,997)

(192,712)

Property and equipment, net . . . . . . .

$ 114,333

$ 115,096

Asset  Retirement Obligations

The fair value of a liability for an asset retirement  obligation is recognized in the  period in which
it is incurred  if a reasonable estimate of fair value can be made. The fair value of the liability is added
to the carrying amount of the associated asset  and  this additional carrying  amount  is depreciated  over
the life  of the asset. All of our existing asset retirement  obligations are associated with commitments to
return  the property to its original condition  upon lease  termination  at various sites and costs  to  clean
up and dispose of certain fixed assets at our  Sunnyvale, California site. We estimated that as  of fiscal
2013 year-end, gross expected future cash  flows of $2.5  million  would be required  to  fulfill these
obligations.

89

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

The following table reconciles changes in  our  asset retirement liability for fiscal 2013  and 2012 (in

thousands):

Asset retirement liability as of October 1, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Payment  of asset retirement obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustment to asset retirement obligations recognized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accretion recognized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changes due to foreign currency exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Asset retirement liability as of September  29, 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Payment  of asset retirement obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustment to asset retirement obligations recognized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accretion recognized . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Changes due to foreign currency exchange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$1,878
—
69
113
(31)

2,029
—
253
70
(105)

Asset retirement liability as of September  28, 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$2,247

At September 28, 2013 and September 29, 2012, the asset  retirement liability is included in other

long-term liabilities on our consolidated  balance  sheets.

Long-lived Assets

We  evaluate the carrying value of long-lived assets,  including intangible  assets, whenever events or

changes in business circumstances or our  planned use of long-lived assets indicate that their carrying
amounts may not be fully recoverable or  that their useful lives  are  no  longer appropriate. Reviews  are
performed to determine whether the carrying values of  long-lived assets  are impaired based on a
comparison to the undiscounted expected  future net  cash flows.  If the comparison indicates that
impairment exists, long-lived assets that are classified as  held  and used are written down to their
respective fair values. When long-lived  assets  are classified as held  for sale, they are  written  down to
their respective fair values less costs to sell.  Significant  management judgment is required in  the
forecast of future operating results that is used in  the preparation  of expected undiscounted  cash flows.
For fiscal years 2013, 2012 and 2011,  there were no  significant asset impairments recorded.

Goodwill

Goodwill is tested for impairment on  an annual  basis and between annual tests in certain
circumstances, and written down when impaired (see Note 8. ‘‘Goodwill and Intangible  Assets’’). In
testing for impairment, we have the option  to  first assess  qualitative factors to determine  whether it  is
more likely than not (that is, a likelihood  of more  than 50%) that the fair value of a reporting  unit is
less  than its carrying amount. Moreover,  an entity can  bypass the qualitative assessment  for any
reporting unit in any period and proceed  directly  to  step  one  of  the impairment test, and then resume
performing the qualitative assessment in  any subsequent period.  In fiscal 2012, we performed a
qualitative assessment. In fiscal 2013,  we  elected to bypass the qualitative assessment and proceed
directly to performing the first step of  the goodwill impairment test. This election was made because
we had last performed this impairment  test in  fiscal 2010 and we  have subsequently  added a substantial
amount of goodwill balances as a result  of our acquisitions of Midaz in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012
and the acquisitions of Innolight and  Lumera  in the first  quarter of fiscal 2013. We  performed  our

90

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

Step 1 test during the fourth quarter of  fiscal  2013 using the opening balance sheet as of  the first day
of the fourth quarter and noted no impairment. Between the completion of that testing and  the end of
the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, we noted no indications  of impairment or triggering events to cause
us to review goodwill for potential impairment. Absent any impairment indicators, we perform our
annual impairment tests during the fourth  quarter of each fiscal  year using opening balance sheet as  of
the first day of the fourth fiscal quarter, with any resulting impairment recorded in  the fourth  quarter
of the fiscal year.

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets, including acquired existing technology, customer lists,  trade name and

non-compete agreements are amortized on a straight-line basis  over estimated useful lives of 1 year  to
15 years.

Warranty Reserves

We  provide warranties on the majority of our product  sales and reserves for estimated warranty
costs are recorded during the period of  sale. The determination of  such reserves  requires us to make
estimates of product return rates and  expected  costs to repair or replace the products under warranty.
We  currently establish warranty reserves based on historical  warranty costs for each product  line. The
weighted average warranty period covered is approximately  15 months. If actual  return  rates  and/or
repair and replacement costs differ significantly  from our estimates, adjustments to cost of  sales may  be
required in future periods.

Components of the reserve for warranty costs during fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011 were as follows (in

thousands):

Beginning balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Additions related to current period sales . . . . . . . . .
Warranty costs incurred in the current  period . . . . .
Accruals resulting from acquisitions . . . . . . . . . . . .
Adjustments to accruals related to foreign  exchange
and other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2013

Fiscal

2012

2011

$ 17,442
26,721
(27,975)
1,735

$ 16,704
29,425
(28,263)
—

$ 13,499
27,900
(24,671)
178

585

(424)

(202)

Ending balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 18,508

$ 17,442

$ 16,704

Revenue Recognition

When a sales arrangement contains multiple elements, such as products and/or services, we
allocate revenue to each element based on  a selling  price hierarchy. Using the  selling price  hierarchy,
we determine the selling price of each deliverable using vendor specific objective evidence (‘‘VSOE’’),
if it  exists, and otherwise third-party  evidence (‘‘TPE’’). If neither VSOE nor TPE  of selling  price
exists, we use estimated selling price  (‘‘ESP’’). We  generally expect that we will not be able to establish
TPE due to the nature of the markets in which we compete,  and, as such, we  typically will  determine
selling price using VSOE or if not available,  ESP.

91

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

Our basis for establishing VSOE of a deliverable’s selling price consists of standalone sales

transactions when the same or similar  product or service is sold separately. However,  when services are
never sold separately, such as product installation services, VSOE  is based on the product’s estimated
installation hours based on historical experience multiplied by  the standard service billing rate. In
determining VSOE, we require that a substantial majority of the selling price for a product or service
fall within a reasonably narrow price  range, as defined by us. We  also  consider  the geographies  in
which  the products or services are sold,  major product and service groups,  and other  environmental
variables in determining VSOE. Absent  the existence of  VSOE and TPE, our determination  of a
deliverable’s ESP involves evaluating several factors based on the specific facts  and circumstances  of
these arrangements, which include pricing  strategy and policies driven  by  geographies, market
conditions, competitive landscape, correlation between  proportionate selling price and list price
established by management having the  relevant authority,  and  other environmental variables in which
the deliverable is sold.

For multiple element arrangements which include extended maintenance contracts,  we allocate  and

defer the amount of consideration equal to the separately stated  price and  recognize revenue on a
straight-line basis over the contract period.

We  recognize revenue when all four  revenue recognition criteria  have been met: persuasive
evidence of an arrangement exists, the  product has  been delivered or  the  service  has been  rendered,
the price is fixed or determinable and collection is reasonably  assured. Revenue from product sales  is
recorded  when all of the foregoing conditions are  met and risk of loss and title passes  to  the customer.
Sales to customers are generally not subject  to  any  price protection  or  return rights.

The vast majority of our sales are made  to  original equipment manufacturers (‘‘OEMs’’),

distributors, resellers and end-users in  the non-scientific market. Sales made to these customers  do not
require installation of the products by  us and are not subject to other post-delivery obligations,  except
in occasional instances where we have  agreed to perform  installation  or provide training. In those
instances, we defer revenue related to  installation  services or training  until these  services have been
rendered. We allocate revenue from multiple element  arrangements to the  various elements  based upon
relative fair values.

Our sales to distributors, resellers and end-user customers typically do not have customer

acceptance provisions and only certain  of  our  sales  to  OEM customers and  integrators have customer
acceptance provisions. Customer acceptance  is generally limited to performance under  our published
product  specifications. For the few product  sales  that have customer acceptance provisions  because of
higher  than published specifications, (1)  the products are tested  and  accepted by the customer at our
site or the customer accepts the results of our  testing program prior  to  shipment to the customer, or
(2) the revenue is deferred until customer  acceptance  occurs.

Sales to end-users in the scientific market typically  require installation and, thus, involve
post-delivery obligations; however, our  post-delivery  installation  obligations are not essential to the
functionality of our products. We defer revenue related to installation services until completion of these
services.

For most products, training is not provided; therefore,  no post-delivery training  obligation exists.

However, when training is provided to  our customers,  it is typically priced separately and  is recognized
as revenue as these services are provided.

92

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

We  record taxes collected on revenue-producing  activities on a net basis.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses include salaries, contractor and consultant fees, supplies and
materials, as well as costs related to other overhead  such as  depreciation, facilities, utilities  and other
departmental expenses. The costs we  incur with respect  to internally  developed  technology and
engineering services are included in research and development expenses as incurred as they do not
directly relate to any particular licensee, license agreement or license fee.

We  treat third party and government  funding of our research and development activity, where  we

are the primary beneficiary of such work conducted, as  a credit to research and  development cost.
Amounts offset against research and  development costs were not material in any of the periods
presented.

Foreign Currency Translation

The functional currencies of our foreign subsidiaries are generally their respective local  currencies.
Accordingly, gains and losses from the  translation of the financial statements  of the foreign subsidiaries
are reported as a separate component of accumulated other comprehensive income (‘‘OCI’’).  Foreign
currency transaction gains and losses  are  included  in earnings.

Derivatives

U.S. GAAP requires that all derivatives, whether designated  in hedging relationships or not, be
recorded  on the balance sheet at fair  value. If the  derivative is designated  as a fair  value hedge, the
changes in the fair value of the derivative and of the  hedged item attributable to the hedged risk are
recognized in earnings. If the derivative is  designated as  a cash  flow  hedge, the  effective  portions of the
changes in the fair value of the derivative are recorded in  OCI and are recognized in the  income
statement when the hedged item affects earnings. Ineffective portions of changes  in the fair  value of
cash flow hedges are recognized in other income (expense).

Our objective of holding derivatives is to minimize the  risks  of foreign currency fluctuation by

using the most effective methods to eliminate  or reduce the  impact of  these  exposures. Principal
currencies hedged include the Euro,  Korean  Won,  Japanese Yen, British Pound,  Chinese  Renminbi and
Singapore dollar.

Forwards not designated as hedging instruments are also used to hedge the impact of the
variability in exchange rates on accounts receivable  and collections denominated in certain  foreign
currencies. Our forward contracts have maturities  of two  months or  less and changes in fair value of
these derivatives are recognized in other income (expense).

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Comprehensive income (loss) is defined as the  change in equity of a business enterprise during a

period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources and is  presented
in our Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive  Income and in Note 15, ‘‘Accumulated Other
Comprehensive Income (Loss).’’

93

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

Earnings Per Share

Basic earnings per share is computed based on the weighted average number  of  shares outstanding
during the period, excluding unvested  restricted stock. Diluted  earnings per share  is computed based  on
the weighted average number of shares outstanding during  the period increased by the  effect of dilutive
employee stock awards, including stock  options, restricted  stock awards and  stock  purchase  contracts,
using the treasury  stock method.

The following table presents information necessary to calculate basic and diluted  earnings (loss)

per  share (in thousands, except per share data):

Weighted average shares outstanding—basic(1) . . . . . .
Dilutive effect of employee awards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Weighted average shares outstanding—diluted . . . . . . .

2013

24,138
417

24,555

Fiscal

2012

23,561
465

24,026

2011

24,924
540

25,464

Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$66,355

$62,962

$93,238

Net income—basic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income—diluted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$
$

2.75
2.70

$
$

2.67
2.62

$
$

3.74
3.66

(1) Net of unvested restricted stock

A total of 883; 99,912; and 2,416 potentially dilutive  securities have  been excluded from  the
dilutive share calculation for fiscal 2013, 2012  and  2011, respectively,  as their effect was anti-dilutive.

Stock-Based Compensation

We  account for stock-based compensation using the  fair value of the  awards granted. We estimate

the fair value of stock options granted using the Black-Scholes Merton model. We value restricted stock
units using the intrinsic value method. We use  a Monte  Carlo simulation model to estimate the fair
value of market-based performance restricted stock  units. We  use historical data to estimate pre-vesting
option and restricted stock unit forfeitures and record  stock-based compensation expense only for those
options and awards that are expected to vest.  We amortize the fair  value of stock options and  awards
on a straight-line basis over the requisite service periods of the awards, which are generally the  vesting
periods. See Note 14 ‘‘Employee Stock  Option and Benefit Plans’’ for a description of our stock-based
employee compensation plans and the assumptions  we use  to calculate the fair  value of  stock-based
employee compensation.

Shipping and Handling Costs

We  record costs related to shipping and  handling  of  revenue  in cost  of  sales for all periods

presented.

Advertising Costs

Advertising costs are expensed as incurred and were $3.4 million, $3.5  million and $4.1  million in

fiscal 2013, fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2011,  respectively.

94

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

Income Taxes

As part of the process of preparing our  consolidated financial statements,  we are  required to
estimate our income tax provision (benefit)  in each of the  jurisdictions  in which we operate. This
process involves us estimating our current income tax provision (benefit)  together  with assessing
temporary differences resulting from  differing treatment of items  for tax  and accounting  purposes.
These differences result in deferred tax assets  and  liabilities, which are  included within our consolidated
balance sheets.

We  account for uncertain tax issues pursuant to ASC  740-10  (formerly FASB Financial

Interpretation No. 48, ‘‘Accounting for  Uncertainty in  Income Taxes’’), which creates a single model to
address accounting for uncertainty in  tax positions by prescribing a minimum recognition threshold  that
a tax  position is required to meet before being recognized in the  financial statements. This  standard
provides a two-step approach for evaluating  tax  positions. The  first step,  recognition, occurs when  a
company concludes (based solely on  the technical aspects of the  matter) that a tax position is more
likely than not to be sustained upon examination by a  taxing  authority.  The second step, measurement,
is only  considered after step one has  been  satisfied and measures any tax benefit at the largest amount
that is deemed more likely than not to  be  realized upon ultimate settlement of the uncertainty. These
determinations involve significant judgment by management. Tax  positions that fail to qualify for initial
recognition are recognized in the first  subsequent interim period  that they meet the more  likely than
not standard or when they are resolved through negotiation or litigation with factual interpretation,
judgment and certainty. Tax laws and  regulations  themselves are  complex and  are subject to change  as
a result of changes in fiscal policy, changes in legislation, evolution of  regulations and court filings.
Therefore, the actual liability for U.S.  or  foreign taxes may be materially different from our estimates,
which  could result in the need to record  additional tax liabilities or potentially to reverse  previously
recorded  tax liabilities.

We  record a valuation allowance to reduce our deferred  tax assets  to  an amount that more likely

than not will be realized. While we have  considered future  taxable income and  ongoing prudent and
feasible tax planning strategies in assessing the  need  for the  valuation  allowance,  in the event we were
to determine that we would be able to realize our deferred tax assets  in the future in excess of  our net
recorded  amount, an adjustment to the  allowance  for  the deferred tax asset  would increase income in
the period such determination was made. Likewise, should we determine that we  would not be able to
realize all or part of our net deferred tax asset in the future, an adjustment to the allowance for the
deferred tax asset would be charged  to  income in the  period  such determination  was made.

Federal income taxes have not been provided for  on a  portion of the unremitted earnings of
foreign subsidiaries because such earnings are intended  to  be  permanently reinvested. The total amount
of unremitted earnings and accumulated translation adjustments of  foreign subsidiaries for which we
have not yet recorded federal and state  income taxes was approximately $335.4 million and
$52.7 million respectively, at fiscal 2013  year-end. The  amount  of federal  and state income taxes that
would be payable upon repatriation of  such earnings are  not  practicably determinable.

Adoption of New Accounting Pronouncement and Update  to Significant Accounting Policies

In July 2013, the Financial Accounting Standards Board  (‘‘FASB’’)  issued guidance that permits the

Fed Funds Effective Swap Rate (OIS)  to  be used as a  U.S.  benchmark  interest rate for hedge
accounting purposes, in addition to the  direct Treasury  obligations  of the U.S. government  (UST) and

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR). The amendments also remove the  restriction on using
different benchmark rates for similar hedges. The amendments are effective prospectively for  qualifying
new or redesignated hedging relationships entered into on or after July  17, 2013.  The adoption of this
amendment did not have a material  impact  on our consolidated financial  statements.

In July 2012, the FASB amended existing guidance related to  goodwill and  other  intangible assets
by giving an entity testing an indefinite-lived intangible asset for impairment the option to first assess
qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not (that is, a likelihood  of  more than
50 percent) that the fair value of an  intangible  asset is less than its carrying amount. If  the entity
determines, on the basis of qualitative  factors, that  the fair  value of the  indefinite-lived  intangible  asset
is not more likely than not impaired,  the  entity would  not  need  to  calculate  the fair value of the asset.
The guidance does not revise the requirement to test indefinite-lived intangible assets  annually  for
impairment or to test these assets for  impairment between  annual tests if there  is a change in events or
circumstances. This amended guidance  was  effective for annual and  interim impairment tests performed
for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. We  adopted this authoritative guidance in  the
fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. As of September  2013 and 2012, the implementation of this authoritative
guidance did not have a material impact  on  our consolidated  financial position,  results of operations
and cash flows in connection with our  impairment testing.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In July of 2013, the FASB issued amended guidance that resolves the diversity in practice for the
presentation of an unrecognized tax benefit when a net  operating loss carryforward,  a similar tax loss,
or a tax credit carryforward exists. This  new  accounting guidance requires  the netting  of  unrecognized
tax benefits (‘‘UTBs’’) against a deferred tax asset  for a  loss  or  other  carryforward  that  would apply  in
settlement of the uncertain tax positions. Under the new standard, UTBs will  be  netted against all
available same-jurisdiction losses or other  tax carryforwards that would be utilized, rather  than only
against carryforwards that are created by  the UTBs.  The  new  standard  requires prospective  adoption
but allows retrospective adoption for  all  periods presented. We will consider  the FASB’s amended
guidance for our fiscal year beginning September 28,  2014. We do  not expect the amended guidance to
have a significant impact on our consolidated financial  position,  results of operations and cash  flows.

In March 2013, the FASB issued guidance regarding  the treatment of cumulative translation
adjustment (‘‘CTA’’) by a parent company  upon de-recognition of a subsidiary  or group of assets within
a foreign entity. The objective is to resolve the diversity  in practice regarding the release  into  net
income of such CTA. The guidance is effective for us beginning in  the second quarter of fiscal 2014.
We  are currently evaluating the potential  impact, if any, of the adoption of this guidance on our
consolidated financial position, results  of  operations and cash  flows.

In February 2013, the FASB issued guidance  which requires  an entity to disclose additional

information for items reclassified out of  accumulated other comprehensive income (‘‘AOCI’’). For items
reclassified out of AOCI and into net income in their entirety,  entities are required to disclose the
effect of the reclassification on each affected net  income  line item. For AOCI reclassification items that
are not reclassified in their entirety into net  income,  a cross reference to other disclosures is required.
This information may be provided either  in the notes or parenthetically on  the face  of  the statement
that reports net income as long as all the  information is disclosed in a single location.  The guidance is
effective for us beginning in the first  quarter of fiscal 2014  and  we plan  to  adopt  this guidance  at the
effective date. We do not expect the  adoption of this accounting  standard will  have an impact on our
consolidated financial position, results  of  operations and cash  flows.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Continued)

In December 2011, the FASB issued  guidance which requires an  entity to disclose information
about offsetting and related arrangements  to enable financial statement  users to evaluate  the effect or
potential effect of netting arrangements, including rights  of setoff associated with  the entity’s
recognized financial assets and liabilities,  on the  entity’s  financial  position.  The new disclosures will
enable financial statement users to compare balance sheets  prepared  under U.S. GAAP and
International Financial Reporting Standards (‘‘IFRS’’), which are subject to different offsetting models.
The disclosures will be limited to financial instruments (and  derivatives) subject to enforceable master
netting arrangements or similar agreements. Similar agreements include derivative clearing  agreements,
global  master repurchase agreements, and global master securities lending agreements.  Financial
instruments and transactions that will  be  subject to the disclosure requirements may include  derivatives,
repurchase and reverse repurchase agreements, and  securities lending  and borrowing arrangements. An
entity should provide the disclosures  required by those amendments retrospectively for  all  comparative
periods presented. The guidance is effective for  us  beginning  in fiscal 2014.  We are currently evaluating
the additional disclosures required, if any, from  the adoption of this guidance.

3. RESTRUCTURING ACTIVITIES

During  fiscal 2008, we initiated restructuring plans to decrease costs by  consolidating  facilities  and
reducing our workforce. During the second quarter of fiscal 2009,  we  announced our plans to close our
facilities in Tampere, Finland and St. Louis, Missouri. The  closure of our St.  Louis  site was completed
in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. The closure of our Finland site was scheduled for  completion  by
the end of fiscal 2010, but we delayed  the closure  due  to  increased demand  for products manufactured
in Finland. In the second quarter of fiscal  2011, we ceased manufacturing operations  in our Finland
facility and recognized a $6.1 million gain, primarily in other  income  (expense), due to a  non-recurring
translation adjustment related to the  dissolution of our Finland  operations. We exited  the facility  in the
third quarter of fiscal 2011. These closure plans resulted in charges  primarily for employee termination
and other exit related costs associated  with a  plan approved by management.

During  the first quarter of fiscal 2010, we  acquired the  assets and  certain liabilities of StockerYale,
Inc’s laser module product line in Montreal, Canada and  transitioned  those  activities to other Coherent
facilities in Salem, Massachusetts, Wilsonville,  Oregon  and Sunnyvale, California. The transfer was
completed in the second quarter of fiscal  2011. These closure  plans resulted  in charges primarily for
employee termination and other exit related costs  associated  with a plan approved by management.

There were no new restructuring charges during  fiscal  2013 and  all charges related  to  restructuring
activities discussed above were expensed  as of the  end of fiscal 2012. Restructuring charges during fiscal
2012 and fiscal 2011 are recorded in cost of sales, research and  development and selling,  general and
administrative expenses in our consolidated statements of  operations.

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COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL  STATEMENTS (Continued)

3. RESTRUCTURING ACTIVITIES (Continued)

The following table presents our current liability as accrued on our  balance sheets for restructuring

charges. The table sets forth an analysis  of the  components of the  restructuring charges and  payments
and other deductions made against the accrual  for fiscal  2012 and 2011 (in  thousands):

Balances, October 2, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Payments and other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Balances, October 1, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Payments and other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Severance
Related

$

912
218
(1,130)

—
—
—

Facilities
Related
Charges

Other
Restructuring
Costs

$ 17
—
(17)

—
—
—

$ 1,303
680
(1,349)

634
—
(634)

Total

$ 2,232
898
(2,496)

634
—
(634)

Balances, September 29, 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ — $ —

$ —

$ —

The fiscal 2011 severance related costs were primarily comprised of severance pay, outplacement

services, medical and other related benefits for employees  being terminated due to the transition of
activities out of Tampere, Finland. At September 29,  2012 and  September  28, 2013, there were  no
remaining accrued restructuring costs.

The following table presents our restructuring charges  incurred by segment (no charges were

incurred in fiscal 2012 and 2013):

By Segment

Commercial
Lasers and
Components

Specialty Laser
Systems

Costs incurred and charged to expense  in fiscal 2011 . . . . . . . . . .
Costs incurred and charged to expense  in fiscal 2010 . . . . . . . . . .
Costs incurred and charged to expense  in fiscal 2009 . . . . . . . . . .
Costs incurred and charged to expense  in fiscal 2008 . . . . . . . . . .

$

898
8,368
8,674
4,160

Cumulative costs incurred to date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$22,100

$ —
—
6,763
1,644

$8,407

Total

$

898
8,368
15,437
5,804

$30,507

4. BUSINESS COMBINATIONS

Lumera Laser GmbH

On December 20, 2012, we acquired  privately  held Lumera Laser GmbH (Kaiserslautern,

Germany) (‘‘Lumera’’) for approximately  $51.5 million, excluding transaction costs. Lumera
manufactures ultrafast solid state lasers for microelectronics, OEM  medical and materials processing
applications. Lumera has been included  in  our  Specialty Lasers and Systems  segment.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

4. BUSINESS COMBINATIONS (Continued)

Our allocation of the purchase price is as follows (in thousands):

Tangible assets:

Inventories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accounts receivable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other tangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Goodwill
Intangible assets:

Existing technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In-process R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Trade name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Customer lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Backlog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred tax liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Liabilities assumed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 7,364
2,770
4,380
24,640

21,000
1,800
200
6,500
900
(9,300)
(8,793)

Total

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$51,461

Results of operations for the business  have been included in our  consolidated financial statements

subsequent to the date of acquisition  and pro forma results of operations  in accordance with
authoritative guidance for prior periods have not been presented because the effect  of  the acquisition
was not material to our prior period  consolidated financial results.

None of the goodwill from this purchase  is deductible for  tax purposes.

The identifiable intangible assets are  being  amortized over  their respective useful lives of less than

one to six years.

In-process research and development (‘‘IPR&D’’) consists  of two projects that have not yet
reached technological feasibility. Acquired IPR&D assets  are initially recognized at fair value  and are
classified as indefinite-lived assets until the successful  completion or abandonment of the  associated
research and development efforts. The value assigned to IPR&D  was determined by considering the
value of the products under development  to  the overall development plan, estimating the resulting  net
cash flows from the projects when completed and discounting  the net cash flows to their  present  value.
During  the development period, these  assets will not be amortized  as charges to earnings; instead  these
assets will be subject to periodic impairment  testing. Upon successful completion of the development
process for the acquired IPR&D projects, the  assets would then  be  considered finite-lived intangible
assets and amortization of the assets will  commence. The projects have not been completed as of
September 28, 2013.

We  expensed $0.6 million of acquisition-related  costs as selling, general and  administrative

expenses in our consolidated statements  of  operations for  our fiscal year  2013, and  expensed
$0.3 million of acquisition-related costs  as selling,  general and administrative expenses  in our
consolidated statements of operations for  our fiscal year  2012.

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COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

4. BUSINESS COMBINATIONS (Continued)

Innolight Innovative Laser and Systemtechnik  GmbH

On October 30, 2012, we acquired all  of the  outstanding shares of Innolight Innovative Laser and

Systemtechnik GmbH (‘‘Innolight’’) for approximately $18.3 million, excluding  transaction costs.
Innolight provides a core technology  building block for  an emerging class of commercial,
sub-nanosecond lasers for microelectronics manufacturing. Its  semiconductor-based architecture  delivers
pulsed output that can be amplified by  conventional or fiber amplifiers to ultimately deliver infrared,
green or ultraviolet light capable of processing a  range of  materials.  Innolight has been included  in our
Specialty Lasers and Systems segment.

Our allocation of the purchase price is as follows (in thousands):

Tangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Goodwill
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Intangible assets:

Existing technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In-process R&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Trade name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Customer lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred tax liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Liabilities assumed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 2,510
8,312

8,500
430
100
2,800
(3,836)
(480)

Total

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$18,336

Results of operations for the business  have been included in our  consolidated financial statements

subsequent to the date of acquisition  and pro forma results of operations  in accordance with
authoritative guidance for prior periods have not been presented because the effect  of  the acquisition
was not material to our prior period  consolidated financial results.

None of the goodwill from this purchase  is deductible for  tax purposes.

The identifiable intangible assets are  being  amortized over  their respective useful lives of six  to

seven years.

IPR&D consists of two projects that  have  not  yet reached technological feasibility. The projects

have not been completed as of September 28,  2013.

We  expensed $0.2 million of acquisition-related  costs as selling, general and  administrative

expenses in our consolidated statements  of  operations for  our fiscal year  2013 and  expensed
$0.1 million of acquisition-related costs  as selling,  general and administrative expenses  in our
consolidated statements of operations for  our fiscal year  2012.

MiDAZ Lasers Ltd

On July 23, 2012, we acquired all of  the  outstanding shares of MiDAZ Lasers  Ltd  ‘‘Midaz’’ for

approximately $3.8 million, excluding transaction fees. Midaz was a technology-based  acquisition.  We
intend to utilize the acquired technology in low cost,  compact pulsed solid state lasers.  Midaz has been
included in our Specialty Lasers and Systems segment.

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COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

4. BUSINESS COMBINATIONS (Continued)

Our allocation of the purchase price is as follows (in thousands):

Tangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Goodwill
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Intangible assets:

$ 187
2,809

Existing technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred tax liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Liabilities assumed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,800
(428)
(582)

Total

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$3,786

Results of operations for the business  have been included in our  consolidated financial statements

subsequent to the date of acquisition  and pro forma results of operations  in accordance with
authoritative guidance for prior periods have not been presented because the effect  of  the acquisition
was not material to our prior period  consolidated financial results.

None of the goodwill from this purchase  is deductible for  tax purposes.

The identifiable intangible assets are  being  amortized over  their respective useful life  of seven

years.

We  expensed $0.2 million of acquisition-related  costs as selling, general and  administrative
expenses in our consolidated statements  of  operations in the fiscal year ended September 29,  2012.

Hypertronics Pte Ltd

On January 5, 2011, we acquired all of the assets and certain  liabilities  of Hypertronics Pte Ltd for
approximately $14.5 million in cash. Hypertronics designs and manufactures laser-and  vision-based tools
for flat panel, storage, semiconductor  and  solar  applications at facilities in Singapore  and Malaysia.
Hypertronics has been included in our Specialty Lasers and  Systems  segment.

Our allocation of the purchase price is as follows (in thousands):

Tangible assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Goodwill
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Intangible assets:

Existing technology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
In-process research and development
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Customer lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Trade name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-compete agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Liabilities assumed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 4,617
5,807

3,120
570
1,880
410
60
(1,965)

Total

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$14,499

The goodwill recognized from this acquisition  resulted primarily  from anticipated revenue  growth
and synergies of integrating Hypertronics scan vision technology and  system  capabilities  with our laser
technology and global sales, marketing,  distribution and service network. The goodwill was included in
our  Specialty Lasers and Systems segment.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

4. BUSINESS COMBINATIONS (Continued)

None of the goodwill from this purchase  is deductible for  tax purposes.

The identifiable intangible assets are  being  amortized over  their respective useful lives of two  to six

years.

In-process research and development (‘‘IPR&D’’) consisted of seven interrelated projects to be
incorporated into one product and had not yet reached technological feasibility  at the time of purchase.

During  the second quarter of fiscal 2012, we  determined that one of  the  hardware projects

classified as IPR&D acquired from Hypertronics  would not be completed. As a  result, $0.2  million was
expensed in the second fiscal quarter for  that project.  During  the fourth  quarter  of fiscal 2012, we
decided to no longer pursue orders of  Hypertronics’ legacy products  and  thus  determined that an
impairment review of the intangible assets was  required. As a result of our  analysis, we determined that
the intangible assets were fully impaired and  that the remaining hardware  projects  classified as IPR&D
acquired from Hypertronics would not  be  completed. As a result,  we  recorded  a $4.0 million charge in
amortization expense in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. We  also  wrote  off  $0.3 million of inventory
unique  to these products that were not  expected to be resold.

We  expensed $0.6 million of acquisition-related  costs as selling, general and  administrative
expenses in our consolidated statements  of  operations in the fiscal year ended October 1, 2011.

Results of operations for the business  have been included in our  consolidated financial statements

subsequent to the date of acquisition  and pro forma results of operations  in accordance with
authoritative guidance for prior periods have not been presented because the effect  of  the acquisition
was not material to our prior period  consolidated financial results.

5. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES

We  measure our cash equivalents and marketable securities  at fair value. The  fair values of our

financial assets and liabilities are determined  using quoted market prices of identical assets or  quoted
market prices of similar assets from active markets.  Level 1 valuations are obtained from real-time
quotes for transactions in active exchange  markets involving identical assets.  Level 2 valuations are
obtained from quoted market prices  in  active markets involving similar assets; these instruments, which
mature within one year and are issued by  counterparties  with high  credit ratings, include U.S. Treasury
and international government obligations,  investment-grade  corporate bonds,  certificates  of deposit and
commercial paper. Level 3 valuations would be based  on unobservable inputs to a valuation model and
include our own data about assumptions market participants would use  in pricing the asset or  liability
based on the best information available  under the circumstances; as of September 28, 2013 and
September 29, 2012, we did not have any assets or  liabilities  valued based on Level 3  valuations.

102

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

5. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES (Continued)

Financial assets and liabilities measured at  fair value as  of  September 28, 2013 and  September 29,

2012 are summarized below (in thousands):

Money market fund deposits(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial paper(2)(7) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Certificates of deposit(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
U.S. and international government

obligations(2)(7)

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Corporate notes and obligations(4)(7) . . . . . . . . . .
Foreign currency contracts(5)(8) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mutual funds—Deferred comp and supplemental

Quoted
Prices in
Active Markets
for Identical
Assets

Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs

Quoted
Prices in
Active Markets
for Identical
Assets

Significant
Other
Observable
Inputs

September 28, 2013

September 29, 2012

(Level 1)
$12,468
—
—

—
—
—

(Level 2)
—
$
9,995
28,447

109,263
20,408
746

(Level 1)
$10,340
—
—

—
—
—

(Level  2)
—
$
2,000
31,253

110,967
43,406
(21)

plan(6)(9) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13,419

—

6,400

—

(1) Included in cash and cash equivalents on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. The carrying amounts

approximate fair value due to the short-term maturities  of the cash equivalents.

(2) Included in short-term investments  on  the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

(3) September 28, 2013: Included in  cash and cash equivalents  on  the Consolidated Balance  Sheet.
The carrying amounts approximate fair value due to the  short-term maturities  of  the cash
equivalents.

September 29, 2012: Includes $29,234 recorded  in cash  and cash equivalents and $2,019 recorded
in short-term investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Valuations are based upon  quoted
market prices in active markets involving similar  assets. The market inputs used to value these
instruments generally consist of market yields, reported trades,  broker/dealer  quotes or alternative
pricing sources with reasonable levels of price  transparency.  Pricing sources include industry
standard data providers, security master  files from large financial institutions,  and other  third party
sources  which are input into a distribution-curve-based  algorithm to determine a  daily  market
value. This creates a ‘‘consensus price’’ or a  weighted  average price for each  security.

(4) September 28, 2013: Included in  short-term investments on the  Consolidated  Balance Sheet.

September 29, 2012: Includes $1,223 recorded  in cash  and cash equivalents and $42,183 recorded
in short-term investments on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

(5) September 28, 2013: Includes $1,270 recorded  in prepaid expenses and other assets and  $524

recorded in other current liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet (see Note 7).

September 29, 2012: Includes $626 recorded  in prepaid  expenses and other assets and  $645
recorded in other current liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet (see Note 7).

(6) September 28, 2013: Includes $1,361 recorded  in prepaid expenses and other assets and  $12,058

recorded in other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet (see Note 14).

103

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

5. FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL ASSETS AND LIABILITIES (Continued)

September 29, 2012: Includes $2,891 recorded  in prepaid  expenses and other assets and  $3,509
recorded in other assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheet (see Note 14).

(7) Valuations are based upon quoted  market  prices in active  markets involving similar  assets. The

market inputs used to value these instruments generally consist  of  market yields, reported trades,
broker/dealer quotes or alternative pricing sources with  reasonable  levels  of  price transparency.
Pricing sources include industry standard  data  providers,  security master  files from large financial
institutions, and other third party sources  which are  input into a distribution-curve-based algorithm
to determine a daily market value. This creates a  ‘‘consensus price’’ or a weighted average price
for each  security.

(8) The principal market in which we execute our foreign currency  contracts is  the institutional market

in an over-the-counter environment with a relatively  high level  of price transparency. The market
participants usually are large commercial banks.  Our foreign currency  contracts’  valuation inputs
are based on quoted prices and quoted pricing intervals  from public data  sources and  do  not
involve management judgment.

(9) The fair value of mutual funds is determined based on quoted market prices. Securities traded on
a national exchange are stated at the last  reported sales price on  the day  of valuation; other
securities traded in over-the-counter market and  listed securities for which no sale was reported on
that date are stated as the last quoted  bid price.

6. SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS

We  consider all highly liquid investments with  maturities of three months or  less  at the time of

purchase to be cash equivalents. Investments classified as  available-for-sale are reported  at fair  value
with unrealized gains and losses, net  of related income taxes, recorded  as a  separate component of
other comprehensive income (‘‘OCI’’) in stockholders’  equity until realized. Interest  and amortization
of premiums and discounts for debt securities are  included in interest  income.  Gains and losses on
securities sold are determined based on  the specific identification method  and are included  in other
income (expense).

Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments consist of  the  following  (in  thousands):

Fiscal 2013 Year-end

Unrealized
Gains

Unrealized
Losses

Fair Value

Cost Basis

Cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$110,444

$ —

$ —

$110,444

Short-term investments:

Available-for-sale securities:

Commercial paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Certificates of deposit
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
U.S. Treasury and agency obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International government obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Corporate notes and obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

9,995
—
103,694
5,040
20,352

Total short-term investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$139,081

$ —
—
507
28
66

$601

$ —
—
(1)
(5)
(10)

$(16)

$

9,995
—
104,200
5,063
20,408

$139,666

104

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

6. SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS (Continued)

Fiscal 2012 Year-end

Unrealized
Gains

Unrealized
Losses

Fair Value

Cost Basis

Cash and cash equivalents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 67,752

$

9

$—

$ 67,761

Short-term investments:

Available-for-sale securities:

Commercial paper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Certificates of deposit
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
International government obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . .
U.S. Treasury and agency obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Corporate notes and obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$

2,000
2,017
2,004
108,284
41,912

Total short-term investments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$156,217

$ —
2
14
666
272

$954

$—
—
—
(2)
(1)

$(3)

$

2,000
2,019
2,018
108,948
42,183

$157,168

None of the unrealized losses as of the end of  fiscal  2013 or 2012 were  considered to be

other-than-temporary impairments. The amortized cost and estimated fair value of available-for-sale
investments in debt securities at fiscal  2013 and 2012 year-ends, classified as  short-term investments on
our  consolidated balance sheets, were as  follows  (in thousands):

Fiscal Year-end

2013

2012

Amortized Cost

Estimated Fair
Value

Amortized Cost

Estimated Fair
Value

Investments in available-for-sale debt

securities due in less than 1 year . . . . . . .

$139,081

$139,666

$154,200

$155,149

During  fiscal 2013, we received proceeds totaling  $78.8 million from the sale of available-for-sale
securities and realized gross gains of  less than  $0.1 million. During fiscal  2012, we received proceeds
totaling $77.9 million from the sale of  available-for-sale securities and realized gross gains of less than
$0.1 million.

7. DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING  ACTIVITIES

All derivatives, whether designated in  hedging relationships or  not, are recorded on the balance

sheet at fair value. We enter into foreign exchange forwards to minimize the risks of foreign  currency
fluctuation of specific assets and liabilities on the balance sheet; these  are not designated  as hedging
instruments. Our derivative contracts do  not  contain any credit risk related contingent features and  do
not require collateral or other security to be furnished by us or  the counterparties.

We  maintain operations in various countries outside of the United States and have foreign

subsidiaries that manufacture and sell our products in various global  markets. The  majority of our sales
are transacted in U.S. dollars. However, we do generate revenues in  other  currencies, primarily  the
Japanese Yen, the Euro and the Korean Won. As a result,  our earnings, cash flows and  cash balances
are exposed to fluctuations in foreign  currency exchange rates. We  attempt to limit these exposures
through financial market instruments.  We utilize derivative instruments,  primarily  forward contracts
with maturities of three months or less, to manage our exposure  associated with  anticipated cash flows

105

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

7. DERIVATIVE INSTRUMENTS AND HEDGING  ACTIVITIES  (Continued)

and net asset and liability positions denominated in foreign currencies. Gains and losses  on the forward
contracts are mitigated by gains and losses  on the  underlying  instruments. We  do not use derivative
financial instruments for speculative  or  trading purposes. If a financial counterparty to any of our
hedging arrangements experiences financial  difficulties  or is otherwise  unable to honor the terms  of  the
foreign currency hedge, we may experience material financial losses.

For derivative instruments that are not  designated as hedging instruments, gains and losses are

recognized in other income (expense).

The outstanding notional contract and fair  value amounts  of  hedge contracts, with maximum

maturity of three months are as follows (in thousands):

U.S. Notional Contract Value

U.S. Notional Fair Value

September 28,
2013

September 29,
2012

September 28,
2013

September  29,
2012

Euro  currency hedge contracts

Purchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 46,248

$ 61,779

$ 47,299

$ 62,404

Korean WON currency hedge contracts

Sell

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$(17,345)

$(39,039)

$(17,545)

$(39,559)

Chinese RMB currency hedge contracts

Sell

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$(11,524)

$ (8,899)

$(11,793)

$ (8,911)

Other foreign currency hedge contracts

Purchase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Sell

$ 6,677
$(14,372)

$
—
$(11,553)

$ 6,788
$(14,321)

$
—
$(11,667)

The fair values of our derivative instruments are included in prepaid expenses and  other assets and

in other current liabilities in our Consolidated Balance Sheets (see Note 5); such amounts were not
material as of September 28, 2013 and September  29, 2012.

The amount of non-designated derivative instruments’ gain(loss) in  the Consolidated Statements of

Operations, included in other income (expense)  for the  fiscal  year ended September  28, 2013 and
September 29, 2012 is as follows (in thousands):

Amount of Gain or (Loss) Recognized  in
Income on Derivatives

Fiscal Year Ended
September 28, 2013

Fiscal Year Ended
September 29,  2012

Derivatives not designated as hedging

instruments

Foreign exchange contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$2,071

$(2,729)

8. GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS

Goodwill is tested for impairment on  an annual  basis and between annual tests if events or
circumstances indicate that an impairment loss may have  occurred, and we write down these assets
when impaired. We perform our annual  impairment tests during the  fourth quarter of  each  fiscal year
using the opening balance sheet as of  the first  day  of the fourth quarter, with  any resulting impairment
recorded  in the fourth quarter of the  fiscal year.

106

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

8. GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS  (Continued)

Goodwill represents the excess of the purchase  price over the  fair value of the  net tangible and

identifiable intangible assets acquired  in  each business combination.  In September 2011, the FASB
amended its guidance to simplify testing goodwill for impairment, allowing  an entity to first assess
qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the two-step quantitative goodwill
impairment test. If an entity determines  as a result  of the qualitative  assessment that it is more  likely
than not (> 50% likelihood) that the  fair value of a  reporting unit is less  than its carrying amount,
then the quantitative test is required.  Otherwise, no further testing is required. Moreover,  an entity can
bypass the qualitative assessment for  any  reporting unit  in any  period  and proceed directly to step one
of the impairment test, and then resume performing the  qualitative assessment  in any  subsequent
period. We adopted this accounting guidance for our impairment testing in fiscal 2012.

Coherent has two  reporting units: Specialty Laser Systems and Commercial Lasers and

Components. In our fiscal 2012 annual testing, we  performed  a  qualitative assessment of the goodwill
by reporting unit during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012  using  the opening  balance  sheet as of the first
day of the fourth quarter and concluded that it was more  likely than not that the fair  value of  each  of
the reporting units exceeded its carrying amount. In  assessing the qualitative  factors, we  considered the
impact of these key factors: macroeconomic conditions, fluctuations  in foreign  currency,  market  and
industry conditions, our operating and competitive  environment, regulatory and political developments,
the overall financial performance of our reporting units including cost  factors  and budgeted-to-actual
revenue results. We also considered market  capitalization and  stock price performance. Based on our
assessment, goodwill in the reporting  units  was  not  impaired as  of the first day  of the fourth quarter of
fiscal 2012. As such, it was not necessary  to perform the two-step  goodwill impairment  test at that time.

In fiscal  2013, we elected to bypass the qualitative assessment and proceed  directly to performing
the first step of the goodwill impairment test. This election was  made because  we had last  performed
this  impairment test in fiscal 2010 and  we have subsequently  added a substantial amount of goodwill
balances as a result of our acquisitions of Midaz  in the fourth quarter of  fiscal  2012 and the
acquisitions of Innolight and Lumera  in  the first quarter  of  fiscal  2013. We  performed our Step  1 test
during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 using the opening balance sheet as of the  first  day of the fourth
quarter and noted no impairment. We  determined the fair value of our  reporting units  for the  Step 1
test using a 50-50% weighting of the  Income (discounted cash flow)  approach  and Market (market
comparable) approach. Management completed and reviewed  the  results of the  Step 1 analysis and
concluded that a Step 2 analysis was  not  required as the estimated fair values  of  both of our reporting
units were substantially in excess of their  carrying values. Between the completion of  that  testing and
the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal  2013,  we noted no indications of impairment or triggering events
to cause us to review goodwill for potential impairment.

107

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL  STATEMENTS (Continued)

8. GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Continued)

The changes in the carrying amount of goodwill by segment  for  fiscal 2013 and 2012 are  as follows

(in thousands):

Commercial
Lasers and
Components(1)

Specialty
Laser
Systems(2)

Total

Balance as of October 1, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Additions (see Note 4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Translation adjustments and other . . . . . . . . . .

Balance as of September 29, 2012 . . . . . . . . . .
Additions (see Note 4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Translation adjustments and other . . . . . . . . . .

$6,365
—
(2)

6,363
—
—

$ 69,589
2,809
(1,072)

$ 75,954
2,809
(1,074)

71,326
32,952
2,767

77,689
32,952
2,767

Balance as of September 28, 2013 . . . . . . . . . .

$6,363

$107,045

$113,408

(1) Gross amount of goodwill for our CLC segment was $25.7 million at September 28,  2013
and September 29, 2012. For both periods, the accumulated  impairment loss  for the  CLC
segment was $19.3 million reflecting an impairment  charge in fiscal 2009.

(2) The gross amount of goodwill for our  SLS segment was  $109.4 million and $73.7 million
at September 28, 2013 and September 29, 2012.  For  both periods, the accumulated
impairment loss for the SLS segment  was $2.4 million reflecting an impairment  charge in
fiscal 2003.

We  evaluate long-lived assets and amortizable intangible assets whenever events or  changes in

business circumstances or our planned  use of assets indicate  that their carrying amounts may  not  be
fully recoverable or that their useful  lives are no  longer appropriate. Reviews are performed  to
determine whether the carrying values of assets  are impaired based on comparison to the  undiscounted
expected future cash flows identifiable to such long-lived and amortizable intangible assets. If the
comparison indicates that impairment exists, the impaired asset is written down to its fair  value.

During  the second quarter of fiscal 2012, we determined that one of  the  hardware projects

classified as in-process research and development (‘‘IPR&D’’) acquired from Hypertronics would not be
completed. As a result, $0.2 million was included in research and  development expense in the second
fiscal quarter for that project. During  the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012,  we decided  to  no longer pursue
orders of  Hypertronics legacy products  and determined that the carrying  amounts  of the amortizable
intangible assets, including the remaining  IPR&D, acquired from Hypertronics may not be recoverable
and thus determined that an impairment review  of the intangible assets was required. As a result  of  our
analysis, we determined that the intangible assets were  fully impaired and  that  the remaining  hardware
projects classified as in-process research and development  (‘‘IPR&D’’)  acquired from  Hypertronics
would not be completed. As a result, we recorded a  $4.0 million charge in  amortization expense in the
fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. We also  considered the  valuation of the  goodwill recorded  upon the
acquisition of Hypertronics (approximately $5.9  million  at September 29, 2012)  and determined  that  the
goodwill was not impaired, and no write-off is  warranted,  as  the  goodwill  is related  to  the key strategic
purpose of our acquisition—expansion  into the Asian market with the addition of a full  manufacturing
facility.

108

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL  STATEMENTS (Continued)

8. GOODWILL AND INTANGIBLE ASSETS (Continued)

During  the year ended fiscal 2013, we did not have any impairment of intangible assets as a result

of the impairment analysis.

The components of our amortizable intangible assets are as follows  (in thousands):

Existing technology . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Customer lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Trade name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-compete agreement . . . . . . . . .
Production know-how(1) . . . . . . . . .
In-process research and development

Fiscal 2013 Year-end

Fiscal 2012 Year-end

Gross
Carrying
Amount

$ 82,220
17,341
710
570
—
2,299

Accumulated
Amortization

$(51,570)
(7,465)
(576)
(558)
—
—

Net

$30,650
9,876
134
12
—
2,299

Gross
Carrying
Amount

$51,346
7,849
3,050
689
910
—

Accumulated
Amortization

$(44,457)
(5,666)
(2,749)
(661)
(838)
—

Net

$6,889
2,183
301
28
72
—

Total

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$103,140

$(60,169)

$42,971

$63,844

$(54,371)

$9,473

(1) For accounting purposes, when an  intangible asset is fully amortized, it  is removed from the

disclosure schedule.

Amortizable intangible assets include intangible assets acquired through  business  combinations as
well as through direct purchases or licenses. All IPR&D projects  outstanding at the end  of fiscal 2011
were either written off as discussed above,  or completed during fiscal 2012  and reclassified  to  ‘‘existing
technology’’ intangible assets with finite  lives.

The weighted average remaining amortization period for  existing technology, customer  lists  and
trade name are approximately 5 years, and the weighted  average remaining amortization  period for
non-compete agreements is less than 1 year. Patents, order  backlog and production know-how  are fully
amortized. Amortization expense for  intangible assets during fiscal years 2013,  2012, and  2011 was
$9.8 million, $10.4 million and $8.1 million,  respectively, which includes  $6.6 million, $6.6 million and
$5.5 million, respectively, for amortization of existing technology and production know-how.

Estimated amortization expense for the next five fiscal years  and all  years  thereafter are as  follows

(in thousands):

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thereafter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Estimated
Amortization
Expense

$ 9,825
9,315
8,930
7,842
4,599
2,460

Total

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$42,971

109

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

9. BALANCE SHEET DETAILS

Prepaid expenses and other assets consist  of the following (in thousands):

Fiscal Year-end

2013

2012

Prepaid and refundable income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Prepaid expenses and other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$23,939
28,638

$20,634
41,096

Total prepaid expenses and other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$52,577

$61,730

Other assets consist of the following (in thousands):

Assets related to deferred compensation  arrangements (see

Note 14) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred tax assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$23,446
37,637
5,457

$21,990
37,160
4,879

Total other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$66,540

$64,029

Fiscal Year-end

2013

2012

On June 8, 2010, we invested $2.0 million  in SiOnyx, Inc.,  a privately-held company focused on
shallow junction photonics, used to enhance the performance of light sensing devices used in consumer,
industrial, medical and defense related  applications using black silicon processing.  The investment is
included in other assets and is being carried  on a cost basis.

Other current liabilities consist of the following (in  thousands):

Accrued payroll and benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accrued expenses and other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reserve for warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other taxes payable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Customer deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fiscal Year-end

2013

2012

$29,723
11,552
18,508
6,147
1,642
16,994

$28,100
10,445
17,442
15,457
1,830
17,465

Total other current liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$84,566

$90,739

110

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

9. BALANCE SHEET DETAILS (Continued)

Other long-term liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):

Long-term taxes payable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred compensation (see Note 14) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred tax liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Asset retirement obligations liability (see Note  2) . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other long-term liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fiscal Year-end

2013

2012

$15,715
24,723
10,487
2,734
2,247
6,226

$21,281
22,816
726
2,191
2,029
6,283

Total other long-term liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$62,132

$55,326

10. SHORT-TERM BORROWINGS

We  have several lines of credit which allow us  to  borrow  in the applicable local currency. We have
a total of $14.7 million of unsecured  foreign lines of credit as  of September 28, 2013. At September  28,
2013, we had used $2.3 million of these  available foreign lines of credit as guarantees. These credit
facilities were used in Europe and Japan  during fiscal 2013.  In addition, our domestic line of credit
consists of a $50.0 million unsecured  revolving credit account with Union Bank of California. The
agreement will expire on May 31, 2014.  The line  of  credit is subject to covenants  related to financial
ratios and tangible net worth with which we are  currently  in compliance.  No amounts have  been drawn
upon our domestic line of credit as of September 28, 2013.

11. LONG-TERM OBLIGATIONS

The components of long-term obligations  are as follows  (in thousands):

Capital leases . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Current portion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fiscal
Year-end

2013

2012

$ 2
(2)

$ 19
(17)

Long-term obligations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$— $ 2

12. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Commitments

We  lease several of our facilities under  operating leases.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

12. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Continued)

Future minimum payments under our non-cancelable operating  leases at  September 28,  2013 are

as follows (in thousands):

Fiscal

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2015 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2016 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2017 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2018 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Thereafter through 2020 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 9,335
7,466
5,787
5,220
4,511
8,430

Total

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$40,749

Rent expense, exclusive of sublease income,  was  $10.8 million, $10.0 million and $10.1 million in
fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively. There  was no  sublease income for fiscal  2013 and  2012, and
sublease income was less than $0.1 million  for  fiscal  year  2011.

As of September 28, 2013, we had total purchase commitments  for inventory over the  next year of

approximately $40.2 million and purchase obligations  for fixed assets and services of $5.2 million
compared to $65.5 million of purchase  commitments for inventory and $6.8  million of  purchase
obligations for fixed assets and services at September 29,  2012.

Contingencies

We  are subject to legal claims and litigation arising  in the ordinary course of business, such as
product  liability, employment or intellectual property claims, including, but not limited  to,  the matters
described below. Recently, IMRA America, Inc.  (‘‘Imra’’) filed suit against two  of  our  German
subsidiaries alleging infringement of a German patent which had  been licensed to Imra by the
University of Michigan. The outcome of any such matters is currently not  determinable. Although we
do not expect that such legal claims and litigation  will  ultimately have  a material adverse effect on  our
consolidated financial position, results  of  operations or cash flows, an adverse result in one or  more
matters could negatively affect our results  in the  period in which they occur.

13. STOCK REPURCHASES AND DIVIDENDS

On January 26, 2011, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to $75.0 million of our common

stock. The program was authorized for  12 months  from the date  of  authorization.

On February 10, 2011, we announced  that the Company would repurchase up to 1,271,100 shares

of our common stock through a modified  ‘‘Dutch Auction’’ tender  offer. On March 14,  2011, we
completed our tender offer, repurchased  and retired 454,682 shares of outstanding  common stock at  a
price of $59.00 per share for a total of  $26.8 million excluding expenses. During the third and  fourth
quarters of fiscal 2011, we repurchased  and  retired an additional 1,024,409  shares of outstanding
common stock at an average price of $47.03  per  share for a total of $48.2 million, excluding expenses.

On August 25, 2011, we announced that the Board of Directors  had authorized the  repurchase  of
up to $50.0 million of our common stock.  The program was authorized for 12 months from the date of

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

13. STOCK REPURCHASES AND DIVIDENDS (Continued)

authorization. During fiscal 2011, we  repurchased and retired 586,200  shares of outstanding common
stock at an average price of $42.67 per  share for  a total of  $25.0 million,  excluding expenses.

During  fiscal 2012, we repurchased and retired 543,200 shares  of outstanding  common stock at  an

average price of $45.99 per share for a  total of $25.0  million, excluding  expenses. There  are no  funds
remaining authorized for repurchase  at September  28, 2013 under this repurchase program.

On October 4, 2012, the Board of Directors authorized a buyback program whereby we were
authorized to repurchase up to $25.0  million of our  common  stock. The program  was authorized  for
12 months from the date of authorization.  No shares were purchased  under this program.

On December 10, 2012, we announced that the Board  of Directors  approved a $1.00 per share
special cash dividend on our outstanding common stock payable on December 27,  2012 to stockholders
of record on December 19, 2012, resulting in a  payment of $24.0 million in the first quarter of fiscal
2013.

14. EMPLOYEE STOCK AWARD, OPTION AND BENEFIT PLANS

Deferred Compensation Plans

Under our deferred compensation plans (‘‘plans’’), eligible employees  are permitted to make

compensation deferrals up to established  limits set under the plans and accrue  income  on these
deferrals based on reference to changes  in  available investment options.  While not required  by  the
plan,  the Company chooses to invest in insurance contracts and mutual funds in order to approximate
the changes in the liability to the employees. These investments and the liability to the employees  were
as follows (in thousands):

Fiscal Year-end

2013

2012

Cash surrender value of life insurance contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Fair value of mutual funds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$11,374
13,433

$18,481
6,400

Total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$24,807

$24,881

Total assets, included in:
Prepaid expenses and other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,361
23,446

$ 2,891
21,990

Total assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$24,807

$24,881

Total deferred compensation liability, included in:
Other current liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other long-term liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 1,361
24,723

$ 2,891
22,816

Total deferred compensation liability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$26,084

$25,707

Fiscal Year-end

2013

2012

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

14. EMPLOYEE STOCK AWARD, OPTION AND BENEFIT PLANS (Continued)

Life insurance premiums loads, policy fees and cost of insurance that are paid  from the asset

investments and gains and losses from  the asset investments for  these plans are recorded  as
components of other income or expense;  such amounts were a net  gain of $2.1  million in fiscal year
2013, a net gain of $1.6 million (including  a $0.2 million death benefit) in fiscal year 2012  and a  net
gain of $3.1 million (including a $1.5 million death benefit) in fiscal year  2011. Changes in  the
obligation to plan participants are recorded as  a component of operating  expenses and cost  of  sales;
such amounts were an expense of $2.8  million in fiscal year 2013, an  expense of $2.3  million  in fiscal
year 2012 and an expense of $2.6 million  in fiscal year  2011. Liabilities associated  with participant
balances under our deferred compensation plans  are affected  by individual contributions  and
distributions made, as well as gains and losses on the participant’s investment  allocation  election.

Coherent Employee Retirement and Investment Plan

Under the Coherent Employee Retirement and Investment Plan, we match employee contributions

to the plan up to a maximum of 4% of  the employee’s individual earnings subject to IRS limitations.
Employees become eligible for participation on their first day of employment and for  Company
matching contributions after completing one year of service. The Company’s contributions (net of
forfeitures) during fiscal 2013, 2012, and 2011  were $3.4 million, $3.2 million and  $3.0 million,
respectively.

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

We  have an Employee Stock Purchase Plan (‘‘ESPP’’) whereby eligible  employees may authorize

payroll  deductions of up to 10% of their  regular base salary to purchase shares at  the lower of 85%  of
the fair market value of the common  stock on the date  of commencement  of  the offering  or on  the last
day of the six-month offering period. During fiscal 2013, 2012  and 2011, a total of 159,754 shares,
139,012 shares and 144,147 shares, respectively, were purchased by and distributed to employees at  an
average price of $37.20, $42.19 and $34.47 per share, respectively. At fiscal 2013 year-end, we  had
928,225 shares of our common stock  reserved  for future issuance under  the plan.

Stock Award and Option Plans

We  have a stock plan for which employees and non-employee directors  are eligible participants.
This plan is the 2011 Equity Incentive  Plan (the ‘‘2011  Plan’’) which includes our options, time-based
restricted stock units and market-based performance restricted stock units. In prior years, we have had
a stock  plan for which employees and service providers were eligible  participants  and a  non-employee
Directors’ Stock Option Plan for which only  non-employee directors  were  eligible participants. Those
prior Plans have expired, and any future grants will be made  from the 2011 Plan.  Under  the 2011 Plan,
Coherent may grant options and awards  (time-based restricted stock  units and market-based
performance restricted stock units) to purchase up to 6,882,000 shares of common stock, of which
6,007,510 shares remain available for grant at  fiscal  2013 year end.

Employee options are generally exercisable between two and  four  years  from  the grant date at a
price equal to the fair market value of  the common stock  on the date of the  grant and  generally  vest
25% to 50% annually. The Company settles stock option exercises with  newly  issued shares  of  common
stock. Grants to employees generally expire  six years from  the  original  grant date. Since  adoption  of
the 2011 Plan, no options have been  granted to employees.

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14. EMPLOYEE STOCK AWARD, OPTION AND BENEFIT PLANS (Continued)

Director options were previously automatically  granted to our non-employee directors. New
directors now initially receive an award  of  restricted stock  units  of 3,500 shares which  vest over  a two
year period. Beginning with the annual  meeting of stockholders in  2011, the annual grant for
non-employee directors became 3,500 shares of restricted  stock  units that vest on February 15 of the
calendar year following the grant.

Restricted stock awards and restricted  stock units are independent of option grants  and are
typically subject to vesting restrictions—either time-based  or performance-based conditions  for vesting.
Until restricted stock vests, shares (including those issuable upon  vesting  of  the applicable restricted
stock unit) are subject to forfeiture if employment  terminates prior to the  release of restrictions and
cannot be transferred.

(cid:129) The service based restricted stock awards generally vest three years from the date of grant.

(cid:129) The service based restricted stock unit awards are generally subject to annual vesting over three

years from the date of grant.

(cid:129) The market-based performance restricted  stock  unit award grants are generally either  subject to
annual vesting over three years from  the date of grant or subject to a single vest measurement
three years from the date of grant, depending  upon achievement of performance measurements
(‘‘Performance RSUs’’) based on the performance  of  the Company’s  Total Shareholder  Returns
(as defined) compared with the performance of  the Russell 2000 Index.

The Company previously granted Performance RSUs during the second  quarter of fiscal  2009
which  had a single vesting measurement  date of November 14, 2010.  These RSUs would have vested
anywhere between 0% and 300% of the  targeted amount based upon achievement by the Company of
(a) an annual revenue threshold amount  and  (b) adjusted EBITDA percentage targets. The Company
determined that the performance target  had not been  met and these  awards were canceled in  the first
quarter of fiscal 2011 with no shares  vesting.

Fair  Value of Stock Compensation

We  recognize compensation expense  for all share-based payment awards based  on the fair value of

such awards. The expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the respective requisite service
period of the awards.

Determining Fair Value

Stock Options

Valuation and amortization method—We estimate the fair value of stock  options  granted using the

Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing  formula and a single option award approach.  This fair  value is
then amortized on a straight-line basis  over the  requisite  service periods  of  the awards, which  is
generally the vesting period.

Expected  Term—The expected term represents the period that our stock-based awards are  expected

to be outstanding and was determined based on historical  experience of similar awards, giving
consideration to the contractual terms of  the stock-based awards, vesting schedules and expectations  of
future employee behavior as influenced  by  changes to the terms of its stock-based  awards.

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14. EMPLOYEE STOCK AWARD, OPTION AND BENEFIT PLANS (Continued)

Expected  Volatility—Our process for computing expected volatility considers both  historical volatility
and market-based implied volatility; however our estimate of expected  forfeitures is based on historical
employee data and could differ from  actual  forfeitures.

Risk-Free Interest Rate—The risk-free interest rate used in the Black-Scholes-Merton valuation
method is based on the implied yield  currently  available on  U.S. Treasury zero-coupon issues with an
equivalent remaining term.

Expected  Dividend—The expected dividend assumption is based on our current expectations about

our  anticipated dividend policy.

The Company did not grant any stock options  in fiscal 2013 or fiscal 2012.  The  fair values of the

Company’s stock options granted to  employees for  fiscal 2011, and of shares purchased under the stock
purchase plan for fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011 were estimated using the following weighted-average
assumptions:

Employee Stock Option
Plans

Employee Stock Purchase
Plans

Fiscal

2013

2012

2011

2013

Fiscal

2012

2011

Expected life in years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — —
Expected volatility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — —
Risk-free interest rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — —
Expected dividends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . — —
Weighted average fair value per share . . . . . . . . . . . .

6.0
36.1% 32.3% 47.0% 32.8%
1.1% 0.1%
0.9% 0.1%
—
—
$— $— $16.26
$13.62

—
$10.56

—
$12.50

0.5

0.5

0.5

Time-Based Restricted Stock Units

Time-based restricted stock units are fair valued  at the  closing  market  price on  the date  of  grant.

Market-Based Performance Restricted Stock  Units

We  grant market-based performance restricted stock units  to officers and certain employees.  The

performance stock unit agreements provide for  the award of performance stock units  with each unit
representing the right to receive one share of Coherent, Inc.  common stock to be issued after the
applicable award period. The final number of units  awarded for this  grant will  be  determined as of  the
vesting dates, based upon our total shareholder return over  the performance  period compared to the
Russell 2000 Index and could range from  a minimum of no units to a maximum of twice the initial
award. The weighted average fair value  for  these performance units was determined using a  Monte
Carlo simulation model incorporating the  following  weighted average assumptions:

Risk-free interest rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Volatility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Weighted average fair value . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

0.33% 0.39%
37.9% 41.8%

$48.48

$71.59

Fiscal

2013

2012

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL  STATEMENTS (Continued)

14. EMPLOYEE STOCK AWARD, OPTION AND BENEFIT PLANS (Continued)

We  recognize the estimated cost of these  awards, as determined under the simulation model, over

the related service period, with no adjustment in  future periods  based upon  the actual shareholder
return  over the performance period.

Stock Compensation Expense

The following table shows total stock-based compensation  expense included in the  Consolidated

Statements of Operations for fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011  (in thousands):

Cost of sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Research and development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Selling, general and administrative . . . . . . . . . . . .
Income tax benefit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 2,151
1,851
14,889
(5,292)

$ 1,670
1,628
13,015
(4,796)

$ 1,331
1,474
10,158
(3,802)

Fiscal 2013

Fiscal 2012

Fiscal 2011

$13,599

$11,517

$ 9,161

Total stock-based compensation cost capitalized as part of inventory during fiscal 2013 was
$2.2 million; $2.1 million was amortized into income  during fiscal 2013, which  includes amounts
capitalized in fiscal 2013 and amounts carried over from  fiscal 2012.  Total stock-based compensation
cost capitalized as part of inventory during fiscal  2012 was $1.8 million; $1.7  million was  amortized into
income during fiscal 2012, which includes amounts  capitalized in  fiscal 2012 and amounts carried over
from fiscal 2011. Management has made  an  estimate of expected forfeitures  and is recognizing
compensation costs only for those equity  awards expected  to vest.

At fiscal 2013 year-end, the total compensation cost related  to  unvested stock-based awards
granted to employees under the Company’s stock option and award  plans but not yet  recognized was
approximately $15.3 million, net of estimated forfeitures of $0.8  million.  This cost will be amortized on
a straight-line basis over a weighted-average period of approximately 1.0 years and will  be  adjusted for
subsequent changes in estimated forfeitures.

At fiscal 2013 year-end, the total compensation cost related  to  options  to purchase common  shares
under the ESPP but not yet recognized was approximately $0.1 million. This cost will be amortized on
a straight-line basis over a weighted-average period of approximately one month.

The stock option exercise tax benefits  reported in the  statement of cash flows results  from the

excess tax benefits arising from tax deductions in  excess  of the  stock-based  compensation cost
recognized, determined on a grant-by-grant  basis. During fiscal  2013, we have not generated any excess
tax benefits as cash flows from financing activities. During fiscal 2012 and fiscal 2011 we recorded
approximately $1.3 million and $5.1 million, respectively, of  excess  tax  benefits as cash flows from
financing activities.

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14. EMPLOYEE STOCK AWARD, OPTION AND BENEFIT PLANS (Continued)

Stock Options & Awards Activity

The following is a summary of option activity for  our Stock Option Plans for fiscal 2013, 2012  and

2011 (in thousands, except per share  amounts and remaining contractual term in years):

Number of
Shares

Weighted
Average
Exercise Price
Per Share

Outstanding at October 2, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forfeitures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Expirations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Outstanding at October 1, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forfeitures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Expirations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Outstanding at September 29, 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Exercised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forfeitures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Expirations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Outstanding at September 28, 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vested and expected to vest at September  28, 2013 . .

Exercisable at September 28, 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,893
24
(975)
(21)
(4)

917
—
(269)
(1)
(6)

641
—
(371)
—
—

270
270

262

$28.96
44.74
30.51
24.97
33.95

$27.80
—
27.56
26.16
32.10

$27.86
—
28.56
—
—

$26.90
$26.90

$26.35

Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Term in Years

4.0

Aggregate
Intrinsic
Value

$21,279

4.2

$13,952

3.5

$ 9,823

3.5
3.5

3.4

$ 9,299
$ 9,299

$ 9,167

The aggregate intrinsic value is calculated as  the difference between the  exercise  price of the
underlying options and the quoted price of our common stock for  in-the-money options. During fiscal
2013, 2012 and 2011, the aggregate intrinsic  value of  options  exercised under the Company’s stock
option plans were $9.6 million, $6.8 million and  $18.6 million, respectively, determined  as of the date of
option exercise.

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL  STATEMENTS (Continued)

14. EMPLOYEE STOCK AWARD, OPTION AND BENEFIT PLANS (Continued)

The following table summarizes information about stock options outstanding at fiscal

2013 year-end:

Options Outstanding

Options Exercisable

Range of Exercise Prices

$18.91 - $20.20 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$23.16 - $23.16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$26.16 - $26.16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$32.00 - $32.00 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
$44.74 - $44.74 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Number of
Shares

24,900
44,200
171,035
6,000
24,000

$18.91 - $44.74 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

270,135

Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price per
Share

Weighted
Average
Remaining
Contractual
Life (Years)

$20.15
23.16
26.16
32.00
44.74

$26.90

5.53
1.14
3.15
6.51
7.98

3.54

Number of
Shares

24,900
44,200
171,035
6,000
16,000

262,135

Weighted
Average
Exercise
Price  per
Share

$20.15
23.16
26.16
32.00
44.74

$26.35

The following table summarizes our restricted  stock award and restricted stock  unit activity for

fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011 (in thousands, except per share amounts):

Time Based Restricted
Stock Units

Weighted
Average

Market-Based
Performance
Restricted Stock Units

Weighted
Average

Number of Grant Date
Fair Value
Shares(1)

Number  of Grant  Date
Fair Value
Shares(2)

Nonvested stock at October 2, 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forfeited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nonvested stock at October 1, 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forfeited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nonvested stock at September 29, 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Granted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Vested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Forfeited . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Nonvested stock at September 28, 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . . .

481
191
(183)
(85)

404
250
(206)
(8)

440
273
(254)
(6)

453

$26.22
45.44
26.17
29.20

$34.71
53.59
32.66
49.07

$47.81
44.03
43.06
45.59

$48.22

—
101
—
—

101
95
(44)
—

152
97
(28)
(8)

213

$ —
49.77
—
—

$49.77
63.85
53.18
—

$57.55
48.48
49.50
53.30

$54.63

(1) Service-based restricted stock vested during each fiscal year

(2) Performance-based awards and units included  at 100% of target goal; under the terms  of the

awards, the recipient may earn between  0% and  200% of the award.

119

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

14. EMPLOYEE STOCK AWARD, OPTION AND BENEFIT PLANS (Continued)

Restricted Stock Units are converted into the right  to  receive common stock upon vesting; prior to

issuance, the Company permits the holders  to  satisfy  their tax withholding  requirements by net
settlement, whereby the Company withholds a portion of the  shares to cover the applicable taxes based
on the fair market value of the Company’s stock at  the vesting date.  The  number of  shares withheld  to
cover tax payments was 95,000 in fiscal  2013, 90,000 in fiscal  2012 and 70,000 in fiscal 2011; tax
payments made were $4.2 million, $4.5 million and $3.3  million, respectively.

At fiscal 2013 year-end, 6,007,510 options or restricted stock units  were available for future  grant

under all plans. At fiscal 2013 year-end,  all outstanding stock options have been  issued under  plans
approved by our shareholders.

15. ACCUMULATED OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME (LOSS)

Accumulated other comprehensive income (net of tax) at fiscal 2013  and  fiscal  2012 year-ends are

substantially comprised of accumulated translation adjustments  of  $54.4 million and  $40.4 million,
respectively.

16. OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE), NET

Other income (expense) includes other-net  which is  comprised of the following  (in  thousands):

Foreign exchange gain (loss) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Translation adjustment related to dissolution  of

2013

Fiscal

2012

2011

$(3,762) $ (451) $ 1,457

Finland(1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

—

—

6,511

Gain (loss) on deferred compensation investments,  net

(Note 14) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other—net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2,123
170

1,644
374

3,149
(59)

Other income (expense), net

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$(1,469) $1,567

$11,058

(1) In  the second quarter of fiscal 2011, the Company  had substantially completed the

liquidation of its Finland operations and recognized  in other  income  the  accumulated
translation gains for this subsidiary previously recorded  in accumulated other
comprehensive income (loss) on the consolidated balance sheet.

120

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NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

17. INCOME TAXES

The provision for (benefit from) income  taxes on  income  (loss) before income  taxes consists  of the

following (in thousands):

Currently payable:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Federal
State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Foreign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ (1,796) $ (7,856) $(14,408)
677
(103)
31,098
38,259

(141)
27,152

2013

Fiscal

2012

2011

Deferred:
Federal
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
State . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Foreign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

25,215

30,300

17,367

(4,022)
(16)
(4,036)

3,763
289
(6,692)

(8,074)

(2,640)

10,325
2,358
541

13,224

Provision for income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$17,141

$27,660

$ 30,591

The components of income (loss) before income taxes consist of  (in thousands):

United States
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Foreign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ (7,142) $ (9,212) $ 32,993
90,638
90,836
99,834

Income before income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$83,496

$90,622

$123,829

2013

Fiscal

2012

2011

121

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

17. INCOME TAXES (Continued)

The reconciliation of the income tax  expense  at the  U.S. Federal  statutory rate  (35%  in fiscal years

2013, 2012 and 2011) to actual income  tax  expense is as follows  (in thousands):

Federal statutory tax expense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Valuation allowance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Foreign taxes at rates less than U.S.  rates, net . . . . . . .
Currency translation adjustments recognized . . . . . . . .
Stock-based compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
State income taxes, net of federal income tax benefit . .
Research and development credit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Release of unrecognized tax benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Release of interest accrued for unrecognized  tax

benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2013

$29,223
534
(8,219)
—
1,292
(143)
(4,131)
(257)
(407)

Fiscal

2012

2011

$31,718
(141)
(1,938)

$43,340
1,456
(2,818)
— (2,424)
885
2,409
(2,752)
(759)
(7,090)

1,176
204
(532)
(325)
(12)

(160)
(591)

(1,372)
(1,118)

(2,672)
1,016

Provision for income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$17,141

$27,660

$30,591

Effective tax rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

20.5%

30.5% 24.7%

Coherent Korea received the final approval for a High-Tech tax  exemption on  March 26, 2013
from the Korean authorities. The High-Tech tax exemption is effective retroactively  to  the beginning of
fiscal 2013 and is subject to capital contribution  limitations.  The  impact of  this  tax exemption decreased
Korean income taxes by approximately  $2.1 million in fiscal 2013.  The benefit of  the tax  holiday on  net
income per share (diluted) was $0.09.

Coherent Singapore had previously received a Pioneer  Status tax exemption from the Singapore

authorities effective from fiscal 2012  through fiscal 2017, and may be extended if certain additional
requirements are satisfied. The tax holiday  is conditional upon  our meeting  certain revenue, business
spending and employment thresholds.  Although Coherent  Singapore had income in fiscal  2013, this
amount was offset  by a loss carryforward from  fiscal 2012 and therefore we did  not  realize a benefit  for
the Singapore tax holiday in fiscal years 2013  and  2012.

122

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

17. INCOME TAXES (Continued)

The significant components of deferred tax assets and liabilities were (in  thousands):

Deferred tax assets:

Reserves and accruals not currently deductible . . . . . . . . . .
Operating loss carryforwards and tax credits . . . . . . . . . . . .
Capital loss carryforwards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Deferred service revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Depreciation and amortization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Inventory capitalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Stock-based compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Competent authority offset to transfer pricing tax reserves . .

Valuation allowance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Deferred tax liabilities:

Gain on issuance of stock by subsidiary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Depreciation and amortization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Accumulated translation adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fiscal year-end

2013

2012

$ 25,987
65,590
309
2,221
—
1,901
6,229
4,328

$ 25,217
62,720
301
2,135
2,590
1,629
6,503
7,901

106,565
(13,359)

108,996
(9,087)

93,206

99,909

21,144
16,342
1,363
5,758

44,607

20,296
9,004
796
10,510

40,606

Net deferred tax assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 48,599

$ 59,303

In determining our fiscal 2013, 2012 and 2011 tax provisions under ASC Subtopic 740, ‘‘Income

Taxes’’, we calculated the deferred tax  assets  and liabilities for  each  separate tax entity. We  then
considered a number of factors including the positive  and  negative evidence regarding  the realization of
our  deferred tax assets to determine  whether a valuation allowance should  be  recognized with respect
to our deferred tax assets. We determined that a  valuation  allowance  was appropriate for  a portion of
the deferred tax assets of our California  research and development tax credits, foreign tax attributes
and net operating losses and capital  loss carryforwards at  fiscal 2013, 2012  and 2011 year-ends.

During  fiscal 2013, we increased our valuation  allowance  on deferred  tax  assets to $13.4  million,

primarily due to the reduced ability to utilize California research  and  development  tax credits.

123

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

17. INCOME TAXES (Continued)

The net deferred tax asset is classified  on the consolidated balance sheets as follows (in

thousands):

Current deferred income tax assets
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Current deferred income tax liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-current deferred income tax assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Non-current deferred income tax liabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 21,713
(264)
37,637
(10,487)

$23,368
(499)
37,160
(726)

Net deferred tax assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 48,599

$59,303

Fiscal year-end

2013

2012

We  have various tax attribute carryforwards which include the following:

(cid:129) Foreign net operating loss carryforwards  are $20.2 million, of which $18.3  million have  no

expiration date and of which $1.9 million are scheduled  to  expire beginning in  fiscal  year  2030.
A valuation allowance totaling $7.8 million has  been recorded against the foreign  net operating
loss carryforwards since the recovery of the  carryforwards  are uncertain. California net operating
loss carryforwards are $19.8 million and are scheduled to expire in fiscal years  2017 to 2033. The
tax benefit relating to approximately $6.8  million  of  the state  net operating  loss carryforwards
will be credited to additional paid-in-capital when recognized.

(cid:129) Federal capital loss carryforwards of $0.8 million are scheduled  to  expire in  fiscal  year  2014 to
2015. State capital loss carryforwards  of $0.8 million are  scheduled to expire  in fiscal 2014 to
2015. Full valuation allowances have been recorded against the federal capital loss and the state
capital loss carryforwards since the recovery  of  the carryforwards  are  uncertain.

(cid:129) Federal R&D credit carryforwards  of $20.5 million are  scheduled to expire  in fiscal years 2024

to 2033.The tax benefit relating to approximately $0.9 million of the federal tax credit
carryforwards will be credited to additional paid-in-capital when recognized. California  R&D
credit carryforwards of $17.9 million have no  expiration date. The tax benefit relating to
approximately $0.5 million of the state tax credit carryforwards will be credited to additional
paid-in-capital when recognized. A valuation allowance totaling $10.4  million, before federal
benefit, has been recorded against California R&D  credit carryforwards  since  the recovery of the
carryforwards are uncertain. Other states  R&D credit carryforwards of $1.6  million are
scheduled to expire in fiscal years 2014  to  2027. A valuation allowance totaling $0.6 million,
before federal benefit, has been recorded against  Oregon  R&D  credit carryforwards since the
recovery of the carryforwards are uncertain.

(cid:129) Federal foreign tax credit carryforwards of $21.3 million are scheduled  to  expire in  fiscal  years
2016 to 2023. The tax benefit relating  to  approximately $7.2  million  of the federal foreign tax
credit carryforwards will be credited  to  additional paid-in-capital when  recognized.

Included in the net deferred tax asset  balance  is $1.4  million of deferred tax liabilities related  to

the currency translation adjustment. The  associated  tax expenses are recorded as a part of other
comprehensive income.

The American Taxpayer Relief Act of  2012 (‘‘the Act’’) was  enacted on  January 2, 2013.  Under the

Act, the federal research and development tax credit was retroactively extended  for amounts paid  or

124

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

17. INCOME TAXES (Continued)

incurred after December 31, 2011 through  December 31,  2013. The prior  period effects  of the change
in the tax law were recognized in our  second quarter of fiscal 2013, which  is the quarter that the  law
was enacted. Accordingly, prior year research and  development tax  credits of approximately $1.4 million
less  appropriate reserves were recognized  in the  second  quarter  of fiscal 2013.

We  are subject to taxation and file income tax returns in the U.S. federal  jurisdiction  and in many
state and foreign jurisdictions. For U.S.  federal income tax purposes, all  years  prior to 2010 are closed.
In our major foreign jurisdictions and  our  major state  jurisdictions, the years prior  to  2006 and  2009,
respectively, are closed to examination.  Earlier years in our various jurisdictions may remain open  for
adjustment to the extent that we have tax  attribute carryforwards  from  those  years.  We believe that we
have provided adequate reserves for  any adjustments that may be determined  by  the tax  authorities.

As of September 28, 2013, the total amount of gross  unrecognized tax benefits including gross
interest and penalties was $23.2 million,  of which $17.9 million,  if recognized, would affect our effective
tax rate. As of September 29, 2012, we recorded gross  unrecognized tax benefits including gross  interest
and penalties in the amount of $27.6 million  of which $16.8 million,  if recognized, would affect our
effective tax rate. Our total gross unrecognized tax benefit was classified as long-term  taxes payable  in
the consolidated balance sheets. We  include  interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits
within the provision for income taxes. As  of September  28, 2013, the total amount of gross  interest and
penalties accrued was $1.8 million and it is classified  as long-term taxes  payable in  the consolidated
balance sheets. As  of September 29,  2012, we had accrued $1.6 million for the  gross interest and
penalties related to the gross unrecognized tax benefits.

Management believes that it has adequately provided for any adjustments that may result  from tax

examinations. The Company regularly  engages  in discussions and negotiations with tax  authorities
regarding tax matters in various jurisdictions. It is  reasonably possible that  certain  federal, foreign  and
state tax matters may be concluded in  the next 12  months. Although the timing of  the resolution and/or
closure of audits is highly uncertain, it is  reasonably possible that the balance of net  unrecognized tax
benefits including interest and penalties  could  be  reduced by  approximately $0.3  million to $2.4 million
in the next 12 months.

A reconciliation of the change in gross  unrecognized tax benefits,  excluding interest and  penalties,

is as follows (in thousands):

Balance as of the beginning of the year . . . . . . . . . . .
Tax  positions related to current year:

Fiscal year-end

2013

2012

2011

$25,967

$30,301

$ 43,254

Additions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,008
—

615
—

739
—

Tax  positions related to prior year:

Additions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Reductions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Settlements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Lapses  in statutes of limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1,127
—
—
(6,724)

99
—
—
(5,048)

496
(1,125)
(913)
(12,150)

Balance as of end of year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$21,378

$25,967

$ 30,301

125

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

17. INCOME TAXES (Continued)

Our unrecognized tax benefits decreased from $26.0  million in fiscal 2012 to $21.4  million  in fiscal

2013, excluding interest and penalties.  This  reduction is primarily related to the  closure of  various
statutes of limitations.

A summary of the fiscal tax years that  remain  subject to examination, as of  September 28, 2013,

for our  major tax jurisdictions is:

United States—Federal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
United States—Various States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Netherlands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
United Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2010—forward
2009—forward
2007—forward
2006—forward
2007—forward
2012—forward

18. SEGMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC  INFORMATION

We  are organized into two reportable operating segments: Specialty Lasers and Systems (‘‘SLS’’)

and Commercial Lasers and Components  (‘‘CLC’’). This  segmentation  reflects the go-to-market
strategies for various products and markets. While both  segments  work  to  deliver  cost-effective
solutions, SLS develops and manufacturers  configurable, advanced-performance products  largely serving
the microelectronics, scientific research and  government  programs and OEM  components and
instrumentation markets. The size and complexity  of  many of our SLS products require service to be
performed at the customer site by factory-trained field service engineers.  CLC focuses on higher
volume products that are offered in set configurations.  The product architectures are designed for easy
exchange at the point of use such that product service and repairs are based upon advanced
replacement and depot (i.e., factory) repair.  CLC’s primary markets  include  materials processing,  OEM
components and instrumentation and  microelectronics.

We  have identified SLS and CLC as  operating segments for which  discrete financial information  is

available. Both units have dedicated  engineering, manufacturing, product  business management and
product  line management functions. A  small portion  of our outside revenue is  attributable to projects
and recently developed products for which  a segment has  not  yet been determined. The associated
direct and indirect costs are presented in the  category  of  Corporate  and other,  along with  other
corporate costs as described below.

Our Chief Executive Officer has been  identified as the  chief  operating decision maker (CODM) as

he assesses the performance of the segments and decides  how to allocate resources  to  the segments.
Income (loss) from operations is the  measure of  profit and loss that our  CODM uses  to  assess
performance and make decisions. As assets are  not  a measure used to assess the  performance of the
company by the CODM, asset information  is not tracked  or  compiled  by segment and  is not available
to be reported in our disclosures. Income  (loss) from  operations  represents  the net sales less the cost
of sales and direct  operating expenses incurred within  the operating  segments as well  as allocated
expenses such as shared sales and manufacturing  costs. We  do not  allocate to our operating  segments
certain operating expenses which we  manage  separately at the  corporate level. These unallocated costs
include stock-based compensation and corporate  functions (certain research and development,
management, finance, legal and human  resources) and are included in  the results  below under

126

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

18. SEGMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC  INFORMATION  (Continued)

Corporate and other in the reconciliation of operating results. Management does  not  consider
unallocated Corporate and other costs  in its  measurement of  segment  performance.

The following table provides net sales and income (loss) from operations  for our operating

segments (in thousands):

2013

Fiscal

2012

2011

Net sales:

Specialty Laser Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Lasers and Components . . . . . . . . .

$571,644
238,482

$548,848
220,240

$519,736
283,098

Total net sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$810,126

$769,088

$802,834

Income from operations:

Specialty Laser Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Commercial Lasers and Components . . . . . . . . .
Corporate and other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$115,931
12,411
(43,443)

$118,789
9,191
(39,150)

$116,383
37,709
(42,083)

Total income from operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 84,899

$ 88,830

$112,009

The following table provides a reconciliation  of our total income (loss) from operations to net

income (in thousands):

Reconciliation of Income From Operations to Net Income

2013

Fiscal

2012

2011

Total income from operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Total other income, net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$84,899
(1,403)

$88,830
1,792

$112,009
11,820

Income before income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Provision for income taxes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

83,496
17,141

90,622
27,660

123,829
30,591

Net Income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$66,355

$62,962

$ 93,238

Geographic Information

Our foreign operations consist primarily of manufacturing facilities in Europe and  Asia-Pacific and
sales offices in Europe and Asia-Pacific.  Sales, marketing and customer service  activities are  conducted
through sales subsidiaries throughout the  world. Geographic  sales information for fiscal 2013,  2012 and
2011 is based on the location of the end  customer. Geographic  long-lived asset  information presented
below is based on the physical location of  the assets at the end of  each year.

127

COHERENT, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (Continued)

18. SEGMENT AND GEOGRAPHIC  INFORMATION  (Continued)

Sales to unaffiliated customers are as  follows (in  thousands):

SALES

2013

Fiscal

2012

2011

United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$188,204

$184,958

$208,868

Foreign countries:

Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
South Korea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Europe, other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Asia-Pacific, other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Rest of World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total foreign countries sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

156,152
185,737
93,855
58,500
73,794
53,884

621,922

168,912
130,754
92,162
62,266
80,834
49,202

166,911
117,918
100,759
79,751
71,813
56,814

584,130

593,966

Total sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$810,126

$769,088

$802,834

Long-lived assets, which include all non-current assets other  than goodwill, intangibles and

deferred taxes, by  geographic region, are as follows (in thousands):

LONG-LIVED ASSETS

Fiscal Year-end

2013

2012

United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$ 79,939

$ 79,618

Foreign countries:

Germany . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Europe, other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Asia-Pacific . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Total foreign countries long-lived assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

43,410
3,192
14,693

61,295

43,572
3,106
13,666

60,344

Total long-lived assets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

$141,234

$139,962

Major Customers

We  had one customer who accounted for 14% of consolidated  revenue during fiscal  2013; we had

two customers who each accounted for  11% of  consolidated revenue during fiscal 2012. These
customers purchased primarily from  our SLS segment. There were no major customers  over 10% of
revenues for fiscal 2011.

128

QUARTERLY FINANCIAL INFORMATION  (UNAUDITED)

Summarized quarterly financial data for the  years  ended September 28,  2013 and September 29,

2012 are as follows (in thousands, except per share  amounts):

First
Quarter

Second
Quarter

Third
Quarter

Fourth
Quarter

Fiscal 2013:
Net sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gross profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income per basic share . . . . . . . . .
Net income per diluted share . . . . . . .
Fiscal 2012:
Net sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Gross profit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Net income per basic share . . . . . . . . .
Net income per diluted share . . . . . . .

$183,202
77,635
14,153
0.60
0.58

$
$

$190,767
80,359
17,051
0.73
0.71

$
$

$200,058
76,331
15,002(1)
0.62
0.61

$
$

$213,725
83,264
16,685
0.69
0.68

$
$

$213,141
85,041
20,515
0.84
0.83

$
$

$193,284
77,648
16,155(2)
0.69
0.67

$
$

$196,383
80,245
17,208
0.73
0.72

$
$

$188,654
77,733
12,548(3)
0.53
0.52

$
$

(1) The second quarter of fiscal 2013  includes a $1,398  benefit from  the renewal of the  R&D

tax credit for fiscal 2012.

(2) The second quarter of fiscal 2012  includes a $1,647  benefit from  the release of tax

reserves and related interest as a result of the closure of open tax years.

(3) The fourth quarter of fiscal 2012  includes a $4,260  after tax charge  due  to  the write-off  of

previously acquired intangible assets and inventories and a $2,790  benefit due to
decreases in valuation allowances against deferred  tax assets.

129

Sequentially
Exhibit
Number

21.1

23.1

24.1

31.1

31.2

32.1

32.2

INDEX TO EXHIBITS

Exhibit

Subsidiaries

Consent of Independent Registered Public  Accounting Firm

Power of Attorney (see signature page)

Certification of Chief Executive  Officer pursuant to Exchange Act
Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of  the  Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.

Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Exchange Act
Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a), as adopted pursuant to Section 302 of  the  Sarbanes-Oxley Act of
2002.

Certification of Chief Executive  Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section  1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Section 1350, as adopted
pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

All other exhibits required to be filed  as part of this report  have been  incorporated by reference.

See  item 15 for a complete index of  such exhibits.

130

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This  letter  contains  forward-looking  statements,  as  defined  under  the  Federal  securities  laws.  These  forward-looking  statements
include the statements that relate to: our position for growth in certain applications and product lines; future product deliveries of our
TwinVyper/Linebeam 1300 excimer laser annealing systems containing higher gross margins; the outlook for laser annealing systems in
the  flat  panel  display  manufacturing  market;  our  involvement  in  new  dental  applications  and  the  potential  for  such  applications;
business opportunities in brain research for laser-based imaging systems; and the impact of stimulus money in Japan on the laser
industry. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions
that could cause our actual results to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. Factors
that could cause actual results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks associated with
any general market recovery, growth in demand for our products, the worldwide demand for flat panel displays, the demand for and
use  of  short-pulse  lasers  in  commercial  applications,  our  successful  implementation  of  our  customer  design  wins,  our  and  our
customers’ exposure to risks associated with worldwide economic conditions and, the ability of our customers to forecast their own end
markets, our ability to accurately forecast future periods, customer acceptance and adoption of our new product offerings, continued
timely availability of products and materials from our suppliers, our ability to timely ship our products and our customers’ ability to
accept such shipments, our ability to have our customers qualify our product offerings, worldwide government economic policies and
other  risks  identified  in  the  Company’s  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission  filings.  Readers  are  encouraged  to  refer  to  the  risk
disclosures  and  critical  accounting  policies  and  estimates  described  in  the  Company’s  reports  on  Forms  10-K,  10-Q  and  8-K,  as
applicable and as filed from time-to-time by the Company. Actual results, events and performance may differ materially from those
presented herein. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the
date  of  this  letter.  The  Company  undertakes  no  obligation  to  update  these  forward-looking  statements  as  a  result  of  events  or
circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.