• The Semiconductor Industry Association recently announced a 9,2% downturn in the worldwide chip sales year-to-year for 2022. The WSTS forecast projects a decrease in annual global sales of 4,1% in 2023.
• STMicroelectronics released healthy financials for the Q4 and 2022 trading period. ST reported a fourth quarter net revenue of $4,42 billion, a gross margin of 47,5%, operating margin of 29,1%, and net income of $1,25 billion. The FY 2022 net revenues amounted to $16,13 billion with an operating margin of 27,5% and a net income of $3,96 billion.
• Silicon Labs has doubled its revenue in the last two years to more than $1 billion. SiLabs reported that revenue exceeded the top end of the guidance range at $257 million, up 23% YoY. The company saw revenue growth across both its Industrial & Commercial and Home & Life product groups.
• One of the contributing factors to Silicon Labs’ strong growth is due to the release of Matter 1.0, the application layer protocol developed to address device interoperability within the smart home. Silicon Labs, being the leading code contributor to Matter, claims 86% of Matter-over-Thread’s industry certifications.
• Mycronic has released its year-end report which showed healthy growth on its order book. Its order intake increased 51% YoY after a huge 105% increase in Q4 period. During the same quarter, net sales increased 16%, which saw the net sales for the year increase by 10%. Its CEO, Anders Lindqvist, stated that the end of year was characterised by a record order intake. This provides a solid base for the company’s work going forward.
• The projected YoY growth rate of global server shipments for 2023 has been lowered to 1,87% due to North American cloud service providers (CSPs) cutting demand, reports TrendForce. The four CSPs have all reduced server demand, led by Meta and followed by Microsoft, Google, and AWS. Regarding the server DRAM market, prices there are estimated to drop by around 20 to 25% QoQ for Q1 2023, as CSPs’ downward corrections exacerbate the oversupply situation.
• TrendForce has forecast that the value of the 5G market will reach $37 billion in 2026 as applications related to the Metaverse push the demand. The promotion of 5G private networks by enterprises and the upgrading of equipment purposed for small cells and 5G fixed wireless access will be the main driver for this surge. This will push the CAGR for the global 5G market for the 2023 to 2026 period to 11,0%.
• Foundry revenue is forecasted to drop by 4% YoY for 2023 due to slow inventory consumption and falling wafer input from customers. TrendForce’s recent analysis of the foundry market reveals that demand continues to slide for all types of mature and advanced nodes. The major IC design houses have cut wafer input for 1Q23 and will likely scale back further for 2Q23. Currently, foundries are expected to maintain a lower-than-ideal level of capacity utilisation rate in the first two quarters of this year.
• A recent report by TrendForce has stated that global car sales are set to rebound in 2023. The projection is that sales will rise by 3,8% YoY to 84,1 million vehicle units. This is on the back of car sales remaining almost stagnant for the past two years at 81 million units.
• The company also reported that multi-layer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) suppliers will focus research and development and capacity expansion on automotive offerings to increase demand during 2023. This market is set to expand by a CAGR of 5% for the forecast period 2023 to 2028.
Companies
• AVEVA, a global producer of industrial software, has announced the completion of its acquisition by Schneider Electric. AVEVA, with an estimated value of more than £10 billion, drives efficiency for over 20 000 customers worldwide. Its software offering includes a Digital Twin for the whole asset lifecycle from engineering through to operations and maintenance across a diverse range of industries.
• Bosch has issued a press release stating that they have agreed to acquire shares in Husqvarna AB, subject to approval, and that its shareholding would then amount to roughly 12%. This purchase would make Bosch one of the larger shareholders in the Husqvarna Group. The companies have collaborated closely during the development of the Power for All Alliance which is supporting Husqvarna’s electrification process.
• Henric Andersson will leave his role as board member of Husqvarna AB and CEO of Husqvarna Group, effective immediately. He will, however, remain employed by the group until 31 March. The group has initiated a process to identify a successor, but in the interim, Pavel Hajman will continue as CEO until a suitable candidate assumes the position.
• Teraco Data Environments, Africa’s largest data centre company, has raised R11,8 billion in funds to assist with its expansion plans and power systems upgrade. Just under half of the loan will be used as growth capital, going towards the company’s solar capacity and new data centres. The rest will be used to refinance its current facilities in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town. This will set them on track to generate half of the power from clean energy sources by 2027.
• Tshiamo Maluleka-Disemelo has been appointed as new CEO of Icasa. This is to fill the position that was vacated by Willington Ngwepe who left the communications regulator in 2022 for a senior position at the MTN Group. Prior to her appointment, Maluleka-Disemelo was chief audit executive at Icasa, a position she held since 2020.
• Ford has announced its return to Formula 1 racing after being absent for more than two decades. The automaker and Red Bull Powertrains are entering into a long-term strategic partnership for the development of the next-generation hybrid power unit to be used from the 2026 season onwards. Ford will provide expertise in areas including battery cell and electric motor technology, and power unit control software and analytics.
• NGK Insulators and Ricoh Company have announced a joint venture in the electric power space. Together they have started operations at NR-Power Lab which will provide services to promote the widespread adoption of renewable energy, which is essential for the companies to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality.
• In the State-of-the-Nation address, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced tax incentives for solar panel installations. This is in light of increased measures to ease SA’s energy crisis. Once businesses ease the load on Eskom, the rise in productivity levels will more than compensate the Treasury for the tax breaks announced.
Technologies
• Berg Insight has reported that the number of connected charging points for electric vehicles in Europe and North America are to reach 18 million by 2026. The number of connected EV charging points in these regions reached an estimated 3,3 million in 2021. Europe represents the largest share at 2,6 million, corresponding to a penetration rate of 57%. In North America, about 0,7 million of the total number were connected, giving a penetration rate of 52%. These numbers are expected to grow at a CAGR of 40%.
• In another press release, Berg Insight has reported that the number of patients worldwide that are remotely monitored reached 56,8 million in 2021. This number includes all patients enrolled in mHealth care programmes in which connected medical devices are used as part of the care regimen. Connected medical devices used for personal health tracking have been excluded from the statistics. This number is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14,2% to reach 126,1 million remotely monitored health devices by 2027.
© Technews Publishing (Pty) Ltd | All Rights Reserved
printer friendly version