Overseas
Business
Texas Instruments announced third-quarter revenue of $3,39 billion, net income of $784 million and earnings per share of 67 cents. This compares with second-quarter 2012 revenue of $3,34 billion, net income of $446 million and earnings per share of 38 cents, and third-quarter 2011 revenue of $3,47 billion, net income of $601 million and earnings per share of 51 cents.
ARM Holdings announced its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of 2012. Revenue was £144,6 million, up 20% from the same quarter last year, while earnings per share were 2,96 pence, a 22% increase over last year’s third quarter.
RF Micro Devices’ second quarter revenue increased sequentially by approximately 3,5% to $209,7 million, versus $202,7 million in the prior quarter. On a GAAP basis, quarterly net loss was $16,5 million, or $0,06 per diluted share, compared to the previous quarter’s net loss of $19,2 million, or $0,07 per diluted share.
Cree announced revenue of $315,8 million for its first quarter of fiscal 2013, representing a 17% increase compared to revenue of $269,0 million reported for the first quarter of fiscal 2012 and a 3% increase compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2012. GAAP net income for the first quarter was $16,1 million, or $0,14 per diluted share, an increase of 26% year-over-year compared to GAAP net income of $12,8 million, or $0,11 per diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2012.
National Instruments announced third quarter revenue of $290 million, a 7% increase over last year’s third quarter figure. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation were $43 million, or $0,35 per share, on GAAP net income of $24 million, with fully diluted earnings per share of $0,20.
For its fiscal 2012 third quarter, NXP Semiconductors recorded revenue of $1,17 billion and net income of $115 million or $0,45 per share. This compares to 2012 second quarter revenue of $1,09 billion and net loss of $90 million or $0,36 per share, and 2011 third quarter revenue of $1,06 billion and net income of $301 million or $1,21 per share.
Net sales for Freescale Semiconductor’s third quarter of 2012 were $1,01 billion, compared to $1,03 billion in the second quarter of 2012 and $1,14 billion in the third quarter of last year. Net loss for the third quarter of 2012 was $24 million, or $0,10 per share, compared to a loss of $34 million, or $0,14 per share, in the second quarter of 2012 and a loss of $88 million, or $0,36 per share, in the third quarter last year. The company also announced that it would cut an unspecified number of jobs and restructure its operations to focus on fewer product areas to improve profitability.
STMicroelectronics’ third quarter net revenues increased 0,9% on a sequential basis to reach $2,17 billion, which is some way short of the $2,44 billion recorded in last year’s third quarter. Third quarter net loss was $478 million or $0,54 per share, compared to a net loss of $0,08 per share and diluted earnings of $0,08 per share in the prior and year-ago quarters, respectively.
Companies
Amazon is rumoured to be in talks with Texas Instruments to buy the latter’s wireless chip business, which is estimated to be worth between $500 million and $700 million. It is as yet unclear whether Amazon’s aim would be to establish itself in the merchant chip business, or secure the supply of chipsets which TI currently supplies for its Kindle Fire tablet, or whether Amazon is in fact considering entering the smartphone market.
Industry
IMS Research projects that the market for lighting control devices in commercial buildings will double from 2010 to 2017, with shipments of devices increasing from 29,6 million to 61,6 million. Most of these components will be connected ballasts that contain a connectivity technology such as DALI or ZigBee. By the end of the forecast period, DALI is predicted to be the most utilised protocol in lighting control systems, with shipments reaching over 90 million devices between 2010 and 2017. The use of wireless technologies is forecast to increase, however proprietary wireless technology will still be the most utilised.
Following economic setbacks in 2009, the world market for electronics manufacturing services (EMS) continued to recover in 2011 and 2012 and is projected to grow 9,4% this year, according to an IPC study. Using data from 130 EMS operations that participated in the survey, the study presents information and analysis on EMS markets and operations, examining critical trends and potential for market expansion.
Databeans expects that the global high-performance analog (HPA) market will reach $12,9 billion this year, a 2% increase from 2011, and will grow at an estimated CAGR of 10% annually over the next five years. Databeans defines HPA as including high-speed amplifiers, precision amplifiers, high-speed data converters, high-speed interface, and also higher-efficiency power management and voltage regulators. As these high-margin semiconductors typically represent the latest in analog technology advancements, growth in the HPA industry helps provide improved power and performance in the latest end devices in fast growing markets such as HD audio and video, portable consumer, digital wireless, broadband access and portable medical as shown in Graph A.
In a major shift for the IC industry, communications applications are forecast to surpass computer applications as the leading end-use for ICs starting in 2014 and lasting through at least 2016, according to research firm IC Insights. The research suggests that communications will be the largest end-use application in every major geographic region of the world throughout the forecast period. The communications IC market is forecast to grow 9,2% in 2012 to $90,0 billion, from $82,4 billion in 2011, and increase 11,7% to $100,5 billion in 2013, breaking the $100 billion level for the first time, as shown in Graph B.
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