News Release

Universal Electronics Announces Corporate Restructuring to Drive Shareholder Value
“During our 30-year history, we have never been more excited about the
market opportunities ahead of us,” said
Key Initiatives
- Corporate & Regional Office Relocations
To better and more efficiently serve its customers, UEI is relocating two of its regional offices. First, to better supportChina engineering and manufacturing centers, UEI is moving its regional engineering leadership, supply chain and customer support functions out of its currentHong Kong offices and relocating to existing UEI facilities in Panyu and Shuzou. This process began in late 2018 and is expected to be completed over the next three to six months.
Second, to stem the rising cost of finance and administration services inSouthern California and to help ensure the flow of skilled talent into the organization, UEI is relocating its corporate headquarters fromSanta Ana, California toScottsdale, Arizona . The metroPhoenix area is growing rapidly and is currently estimated to be the fifth-largest metro area by population inthe United States providing ample opportunity to continue building a solid corporate administrative organization. This move will affect back-office functions and related positions, comprising mostly of Finance, Accounting, Legal, HR and IT, which are expected to transition to the new corporate headquarters over the next three to nine months. UEI will retain the technical, creative, and innovations teams located at the existingSanta Ana facility. Customer Service will be moved to the facility inMonterrey, Mexico (UEM). - Manufacturing and Customer Service Operations
UEI is actively upgrading its manufacturing footprint outside China. To offset the impact of higher US tariffs for products that are made in China, UEI is actively moving production to UEM, its expanded facility inMonterrey, Mexico , and to a newly-assigned contract manufacturing partner inthe Philippines . While transferring production and supply chain for the US market to strategically selected new territories, UEI is also optimizing its manufacturing footprint inChina to continue to meet the needs of customers in other international markets. As part of its newly-expanded UEM facility, UEI is also relocating its US-based customer service organization to further optimize operational logistics. UEI anticipates completing these transitions in the first half of 2019.
As a key part of the expansion of its global manufacturing operations and the streamlining of its Asian operations, UEI is pleased to announce that Mr.Joseph Miketo has re-joined the company as SVP, Manufacturing and Operations. He will report toPaul Arling , Chairman and CEO, and will be based inHong Kong , where he will lead UEI’s global manufacturing operations. - Investment in New Technologies
UEI’s core business strategy emphasizes value-added product differentiation, much of which is created by UEI’s technical, creative, and innovations teams inSilicon Valley andSouthern California . Consistent with recent announcements, UEI will continue to invest in product differentiation to maintain and grow its leadership position in entertainment control and intelligent software that simplifies how consumers engage with the connected home. The work that is done by talented teams inCalifornia is an important part of the company’s future growth and innovation. This is a successful equation that is unlikely to change in the future.
Leveraging innovative developments in QuickSet, nevo.AI and smart home sensors, in earlyJanuary 2019 , UEI unveiled Nevo® Butler, a new product for the smart home. NevoButler is an end-to-end voice-enabled smart home hub with a built-in white label digital assistant that unifies entertainment control and home automation experiences, enabling interoperability across fragmented ecosystems.
Powered by QuickSet® Cloud,Nevo Butler delivers a versatile monitoring and control assistant solution for the home, capable of addressing a wide range of devices and use cases, ranging from voice control of an existing installed base of devices to innovative new Cloud services. With a customizable digital assistant front-end, enterprise-level integration services and an expanding ecosystem of add-on services, this platform allows service providers and consumer electronics brands to bring voice-enabled services to their customers while remaining in control of the consumer relationship.
Available as kits that address specific channel needs,Nevo Butler can be bundled with a range of certified devices including safety and security sensors and smart thermostat and temperature sensors developed by the teams at Ecolink and RCS. These kits bundle IoT experiences such as safety and security and energy management in addition to voice-enabled universal entertainment control. - Management Organization Changes
EffectiveFebruary 1, 2019 , Chief Operating OfficerLou Hughes stepped down to explore other opportunities. Mr. Hughes will continue to serve in a part-time capacity as Strategic Advisor to the CEO to ensure a smooth transition of his COO duties.
Arling added, “We thank Lou for his many contributions to UEI and wish him well in his future endeavors.”
“We are really excited to have Joe back onboard to lead global manufacturing as we transition facilities to deal with the macro tariff situation. We know Joe and his talents are ideally suited to meet the challenges as well as capitalize on the opportunities before us. Overall, we are confident that the steps we are taking to streamline our business operations will help us achieve our long-term goals of continued profitability and growth through technology, innovation, and best in class product quality and delivery,” concluded Arling.
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Source:
Media Contact: Benny Canady, Universal Electronics Inc., bcanady@uei.com,
714-918-9500
IR Contact: Kirsten Chapman, LHA Investor
Relations, uei@lhai.com, 415-433-3777