Africa
The CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) has awarded the contract for the installation of the national backbone network of the South African National Research Network (SANReN) to Telkom. The national backbone will interconnect Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Durban on a 10 Gbps optic fibre ring network, which will enable the research community to engage in meaningful online collaboration. It will also be used to link to international bandwidth acquired for research purposes.
JSE listed electrical wholesaler, ARB Holdings, announced its annual results for the year ended 30 June 2009. The first half of the year saw an 8,5% growth in revenue, though the effect of sales price deflation due to lower metal prices impacted the company in the second half of the year, resulting in a 12% decline in annual revenue to R1,2 billion, with gross margins of 17,5% achieved. The company posted headline earnings of R72,7 million, and finished the year with over R200 million cash on hand.
Altech, through its subsidiary Altech UEC, has partnered with Ellies Holdings to provide a full service offering for digital migration in southern Africa. Broadcasting digital migration (BDM) encapsulated in the slogan ‘Go Digital’, is the process of converting television broadcasting signals from analog to digital technology. Currently, analog broadcasting is the means of delivery of terrestrial television in South Africa. ‘Go Digital’ will see an estimated 9 million television households in South Africa needing digital terrestrial television (DTT) set top boxes (STBs), to convert the digital terrestrial signal so that it can be displayed on analog television sets.
A Moroccan company called Nemotek Technologie has constructed a state-of-the-art manufacturing and packaging facility for customised wafer-level cameras for portable applications. It provides customers with design and manufacturing services for wafer-level packaging, wafer-level optics and wafer-level cameras. Established in May last year, the company recently qualified its first parts, with plans to begin shipping wafer-level lenses and cameras later this year. With initial capacity of around 17 000 wafers per year, Nemotek hopes to ramp up production to 150 000 wafers per year by 2012. The company is funded by Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG), one of the largest investment firms in Morocco, which has invested $40 million to date.
Overseas
Business
Microchip reported results for the three months ended 30 June 2009. Net sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 were $192,9 million, up 11,4% sequentially from net sales of $173,3 million in the immediately preceding quarter, and down 28,1% from net sales of $268,2 million in the prior year’s first quarter. GAAP net income for the first quarter of fiscal year 2010 was $27,4 million, or $0,15 per diluted share, up 23,4% from GAAP net income of $22,0 million, or $0,12 per diluted share, in the immediately preceding quarter, and down 62,8% from GAAP net income of $75,7 million, or $0,40 per diluted share, in the prior year’s first quarter.
In the third quarter of fiscal 2009, (1 April through 30 June, 2009), Epcos’ business development improved sequentially but was still down year on year. Sales rose 6% over the second quarter to 279 million Euros, which is 24% lower than a year ago. Compared to the previous quarter, EBIT loss was reduced by 18 million Euros to minus 24 million Euros; this compares to plus 28 million Euros in the third quarter last year. Sequentially, sales to automotive electronics customers increased by nearly 20% in Q3 2009 – the strongest gain in any of the industries served, albeit from a very low level.
Altera announced second quarter sales of $279,2 million, up 6% from the first quarter of 2009 and down 22% from the second quarter of 2008. New products grew 16% sequentially. Second quarter net income was $47,4 million, $0,16 per diluted share, up from net income of $44,0 million, $0,15 per diluted share, in the first quarter of 2009 and down from $98,0 million, $0,32 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2008. Second quarter 2009 tax expense includes an additional $11,5 million charge as a result of a United States court ruling announced during the quarter related to worldwide equity compensation cost sharing. Altera was not a party to the case. The additional tax expense reduced second quarter earnings by $0,04 per diluted share.
Ramtron reported total revenue of $11,0 million for the second quarter of 2009, compared with $15,5 million reported for the same quarter of 2008. Second-quarter product revenue was $10,4 million, compared with product revenue of $15,1 million reported for the same quarter last year. Second-quarter net loss was $302 000, or $0,01 per share, compared with net income of $779 000, or $0,03 per share, for the same quarter a year earlier. Second-quarter 2009 results include a $327 000 restructuring charge related to restructuring and cost saving measures that were implemented in March of this year.
IDT has announced results for its fiscal first quarter ended 28 June 2009. Revenue was $116,0 million, compared with $188,2 million reported in the same period one year ago. GAAP net loss was $14,1 million or a loss of $0,09 per diluted share, versus GAAP net income of $9,2 million or approximately $0,05 per diluted share in the same period one year ago. Fiscal first quarter GAAP results include $5,2 million in amortisation of intangibles, $4,3 million of stock-based compensation, $3,6 million in acquisition-related costs, $2,0 million asset impairment charge, and $1,5 million of severance-related expense.
Reporting results for its second quarter, Intersil announced net revenues of $147,3 million, a 32% decrease from $216,2 million in the second quarter of 2008 and a 25% increase from $118,2 million in the first quarter of 2009. GAAP net income was $6,2 million, or $0,05 per diluted share, compared with $38,0 million, or $0,30 per diluted share in the same quarter last year, and $2,4 million, or $0,02 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2009. Net income in the second quarter of 2009 was reduced by approximately $0,03 per diluted share due to a one-time $3,4 million tax expense associated with the move of Intersil’s international headquarters.
Littelfuse reported sales and earnings for the second quarter of 2009 that were in line with the company’s recently updated guidance. Sales for the quarter were $101,4 million, a 20% sequential increase from the first quarter of 2009 and a 32% decline compared to the prior-year quarter. On a GAAP basis, the company had a loss of $0,12 per diluted share, which included restructuring charges of $7,0 million or approximately $0,22 per share.
Maxim reported net revenue of $394,5 million for its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter ended 27 June 2009, a 16% increase over the $339,7 million revenue recorded in the previous quarter, but down from $501,3 million in the fourth quarter of 2008. Net income was $8,1 million, or $0,03 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $26,4 million, or $0,09 per diluted share, in 2009’s third quarter, and net income of $66 million, or $0,20 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Digi International reported revenue of $44,5 million for the third fiscal quarter of 2009, compared with $47,0 million for the third fiscal quarter of 2008, a decrease of $2,5 million, or 5,4%. GAAP net income of $1,4 million, or $0,06 per diluted share, compared to net income of $2,0 million, or $0,08 per diluted share, in the year-ago period. During the quarter, the company completed the acquisition of MobiApps, which added satellite M2M technology to its product portfolio. The company was also recently named to the Fortune Small Business list of ‘America’s 100 Fastest Growing Small Public Companies’.
PLX Technology has announced financial results for the second quarter ended 30 June 2009. Net revenues were $18,2 million, a 10% increase from the $16,5 million reported in the first quarter of 2009, and a 22% decrease from the $23,4 million reported in the second quarter of 2008. Net loss for the most recent quarter was $9,1 million, or a loss of $0,26 per share (diluted). Included in the net loss was $2,1 million for stock-based compensation. The net loss for the second quarter of 2009 compares with a net loss of $10,5 million, or a loss of $0,31 per share (diluted), in the first quarter of the year, and a net loss of $75 000, or $0,00 per share (diluted), in the second quarter of last year.
Companies
IDT and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) announced that they have entered into an agreement to transfer product fabrication processes and related activities currently running in IDT’s Hillsboro, Oregon facility to TSMC foundries. The transfer, which has already received approval by both companies and the IDT board of directors, is expected to take up to two years to complete and will cover the lifecycle of all products involved. This continues IDT’s move from a ‘fab light’ to a fabless business model.
Industry
Analysis of findings from a recently published Semicast report suggest the rapid growth of the ARM architecture is set to continue over the medium term, with annual shipments of ARM-based processors forecast to match the world population in 2014. Based on data from the UN’s World Population Prospects database, the world population is forecast to grow from 6,1 billion in 2000 to 7,3 billion in 2015. In comparison, Semicast’s analysis shows units of ARM-based processors growing from 0,4 billion to 8,2 billion, with shipments over this period estimated to total almost 55 billion.
According to iSuppli, average global pricing for commodity electronic components is expected to rise by 2,3% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter due to shortages and resulting price hikes for memory chips. Following declines of 8,4% in the fourth quarter of 2008, 9,2% in the first quarter of 2009 and 5% in the second quarter of 2009, overall prices are expected to undergo a short-term rise in the third quarter. Most components are actually expected to experience price declines in the third quarter, but the average is being skewed by DRAM. Furthermore, prices should revert to declines in the fourth quarter, with a moderate 0,2% decrease.
Technology
Physicists at the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz have developed a multifunctional storage device for light, that could prove to be an important building block for quantum communication and the future realisation of a quantum computer. They have developed a microresonator, a device that stores light by continuously reflecting it off its walls. The feat was accomplished by simply heating and stretching a standard glass fibre and then using a laser to create a bulge-shaped structure, as pictured below. The resulting device combines many desirable properties, including small volume, simple construction, long storage time and tunability to arbitrary optical frequencies.
Intel and Micron Technology announced the development of a new 3-bit-per-cell (3 bpc) multilevel cell (MLC) NAND technology, leveraging their award-winning 34 nm NAND process. The chips are typically used in consumer storage devices such as Flash cards and USB drives, where high density and cost efficiency are paramount. Designed and manufactured by IM Flash Technologies (IMFT), their NAND flash joint venture, the new NAND technology is said to produce the industry’s smallest and most cost-effective 32 Gb chip, measuring just 126 mm&$178;.
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