Overseas
Business
Analog Devices announced financial results for its fiscal fourth quarter and fiscal year which ended 2 November 2013. Revenue for the fourth quarter increased 1% sequentially to $678 million, resulting in diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter of $0,64. For the full year, the company posted revenue of $2,63 billion (2% lower than the previous year) and diluted EPS totalling $2,14.
Mentor Graphics reported third quarter 2013 of $275,6 million, net income of $25,5 million and diluted EPS of $0,20. These results compare with revenues of $268,8 million, net income of $30,6 million and diluted EPS of $0,27 in the third quarter of 2012.
Cree began its fiscal year 2014 with revenue of $391,0 million in the first quarter, a 24% increase compared to the first quarter of fiscal 2013, and a 4% increase compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013. GAAP net income for the first quarter was $30,5 million, or $0,25 per diluted share, an increase of 89% year-over-year.
Microsemi reported unaudited results for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2013, with net sales of $250,4 million, up 3,2% sequentially but down 4,8% year-on-year. GAAP net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 was $14,1 million ($0,15 per diluted share), compared to $18,3 million ($0,20 per diluted share) in the preceding quarter and $11,6 million ($0,13 per diluted share) in the fourth quarter of 2012.
Companies
Microchip Technology has adopted Agilent EEsof EDA’s Model Builder Program and Model Quality Assurance software. Microchip will use the software to create internal fabrication device model libraries or process design kits, modify external foundry libraries, and validate supported devices from internal and external sources.
M/A-COM Technology Solutions has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mindspeed Technologies, a leading supplier of semiconductor solutions for communications infrastructure applications, for $5,05 per share ($272 million total) in a cash tender offer. Mindspeed is also in advanced discussions with a potential strategic buyer for its wireless business, which it intends to sell prior to closing of the M/A-COM transaction.
Industry
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) announced that worldwide sales of semiconductors reached $27,24 billion for the month of November 2013, an increase of 6,8% over November 2012 and an uptick of 0,6% over the previous month’s total. The global industry notched its ninth consecutive month of increasing sales in November, led largely by the Americas, which grew by 18,6% year-over-year and 4,2% month-over-month.
STMicroelectronics has joined the ARM mbed Project, a collaborative industry effort to deliver free tools and fundamental open-source hardware and software building blocks for the rapid development of innovative ARM-based devices. The project also enables the easy integration of connectivity, sensor and cloud service software components and the tools and support for a dynamic, collaborative developer and partner ecosystem. The agreement gives developers using ST’s STM32 microcontroller range, based on the ARM Cortex-M processor series, free access to the mbed software, development tools and online collaboration platform.
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has updated the Bluetooth core specification to version 4.1, which primarily provides for improved consumer usability with increased co-existence support for LTE and bulk data exchange rates, and aids developer innovation by allowing devices to support multiple roles simultaneously. The new release also lays the groundwork for IP-based connections, extending Bluetooth technology’s role for the Internet of Things.
Technology
Peregrine Semiconductor, founder of RF SOI (silicon on insulator) technology, unveiled the UltraCMOS 10 platform, the newest advancement in the company’s UltraCMOS technology. According to the company, UltraCMOS 10 offers the performance of UltraCMOS technology with the economies of SOI, and delivers a more than 50% performance improvement over comparable solutions. The company will leverage this new 130 nm technology to tap into the market for 3G and LTE-Advanced smartphones.
STMicroelectronics is looking towards 64-bit computing cores to power future technologies for the Digital Home. Based on the latest ARMv8-A cores, the company’s STi8K system-on-chip architecture features industry-unique Faroudja transcoding, managing, for example, 8 HD streams and advanced hardware-assisted networking capabilities, to enable extremely advanced scenarios for distributing multimedia content, as required by tomorrow’s satellite, cable and hybrid home servers and gateways.
A US startup company, called MagnaCom, has revealed details of a novel digital modulation technique which it claims provides 10 dB more system gain than the established QAM4096 scheme, while maintaining backward compatibility with existing systems. The company claims its WAM (WAve Modulation) technique results in up to 400% longer distance, 50% lower power, 50% spectrum savings, lower cost, better noise tolerance and faster speed.
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