Overseas
Business
Telit Wireless Solutions will be equipping the new Audi A8 with UMTS/HSDPA-based broadband communication modules. The two companies have announced that the new, third-generation ‘MMI Navigation plus’ infotainment system will be fitted as an optional extra with Telit’s UC864-E-AUTO module. This will give Audi customers the ability to make and receive telephone calls as well as use mobile Internet and online services. The system also features an innovative touchpad for handwriting recognition.
Cree announced record revenue of $264,6 million for its fourth quarter of fiscal 2010, ended 27 June. This represents a 79% increase compared to revenue of $148,1 million reported for the fourth fiscal quarter last year and a 13% increase compared to the third quarter of fiscal 2010. GAAP net income for the fourth quarter increased 445% year-over-year to $52,8 million, or $0,48 per diluted share, compared to GAAP net income of $9,7 million, or $0,11 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. For fiscal year 2010, Cree reported revenue of $867,3 million, which represents a 53% increase compared to revenue of $567,3 million for fiscal 2009. GAAP net income increased 402% to $152,3 million, or $1,45 per diluted share, compared to $30,3 million, or $0,34 per diluted share for fiscal 2009.
Announcing results for the fourth quarter (ended 27 June) of its fiscal year 2010, International Rectifier reported revenue of $263,8 million, a 9,1% increase from $241,9 million in the third quarter of fiscal year 2010 and a 65,3% increase from $159,6 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009. The company reported net income of $29,0 million, or $0,41 per fully diluted share for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2010, compared with net income of $40,4 million, or $0,56 per fully diluted share, in the prior quarter, and net income of $29,1 million, or $0,40 per share in the fourth quarter of last year.
Avago Technologies reported financial results for its third quarter of fiscal year 2010, ended 1 August. Net revenue was $550 million, an increase of 7% compared with the previous quarter, and up 52% from the same quarter last year. Third quarter net income was $123 million, or $0,50 per diluted share. This compares with net income of $90 million, or $0,37 per diluted share last quarter, and net income of $2 million, or $0,01 per diluted share in the same quarter last year.
For its 2010 fiscal second quarter, Mentor Graphics reported revenues of $187,9 million and a GAAP loss per share of $0,13. This compares with last year’s figures of $182,6 million in revenue and loss per share of $0,22. For the fiscal third quarter, the company expects revenues of about $220 million and GAAP earnings per share of approximately $0,08. For the full fiscal year 2011, the company now expects revenues of approximately $880 million and GAAP earnings per share of approximately $0,20.
NXP Semiconductors announced second quarter 2010 sales of $1,2 billion, a comparable increase of 43,6% from the second quarter of 2009 and an increase of 6,5% compared to the first quarter of 2010. The company stated that the increase was experienced across all business segments and regions. Income from operations in the second quarter of 2010 was $93 million, compared to a loss of $217 million in the second quarter of 2009 and break even in the first quarter of 2010.
Analog Devices announced financial results for the third quarter of its 2010 fiscal year, which ended 31 July. Revenue was $720 million, an increase of 8% from the immediately prior quarter and an increase of 46% from the same period one year ago. Operating income was $251 million, or 34,9% of revenue, compared to $214 million, or 32,0% of revenue, in the immediately prior quarter, and $79 million, or 16% of revenue, in the same period one year ago. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) were $0,65, compared to $0,55 in the immediately prior quarter, and $0,22 in the same period a year ago. The company’s board of directors also declared a cash dividend of $0,22 per outstanding share of common stock.
Companies
Marvell has acquired the intellectual property and assets of Diseno de Sistemas en Silicio (DS2), a supplier of high-speed semiconductor solutions for powerline communications. Powerline technology converts any existing electrical power wiring into an intelligent, high-speed networking medium, enabling consumers to create a ‘connected home’ that can stream virtually any personal or subscription-based digital content to and from any room at high speeds. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Marvell will continue to sell DS2 products and support existing customers, and will also develop and integrate DS2 core technology into its existing IP portfolio to provide complete home networking products. At the close of the acquisition, approximately 75 employees joined Marvell’s worldwide development team.
In a joint effort to secure the future of Altis Semiconductor and its employees, IBM and Infineon Technologies closed a transaction to sell 100% of the share capital of Altis Semiconductor to the new corporation Altis International. IBM and Infineon said this completes the divestment of their joint venture Altis Semiconductor in France. IBM and Infineon have also entered into supply agreements with Altis Semiconductor and will continue to use the production facility in France under their silicon foundry sourcing strategies and as a subcontractor for wafer test services.
Intel has signed an agreement to acquire Infineon Technologies’ wireless solutions (WLS) business in a cash transaction valued at approximately $1,4 billion. WLS provides baseband processors, RF transceivers, power management ICs, additional connectivity features, single-chip solutions as well as the corresponding system software. With annual revenue of 917 million Euros, WLS contributed approximately 30% of Infineon’s total annual revenue of 3,03 billion Euros in the past financial year. The board of directors of Intel and the supervisory board and the management board of Infineon have approved the transaction. It is expected to close in the first quarter of 2011, subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions specified in the agreement.
Silicon Laboratories announced the settlement of its patent infringement lawsuit against Quintic, a California semiconductor company, and its Chinese affiliate. The companies agreed to a patent licensing and royalty arrangement that provides Quintic with a limited licence to Silicon Labs’ international portfolio of FM radio patents.
Industry
A new website has been launched to provide assembly engineers with a resource to aid in the application of package on package (PoP) technology. The site – www.packageonpackage.co.uk – provides information on hands-on training, inspection standards, online webinars and a PoP photo library for process and quality engineers to assist with training staff and producing shop floor documentation. The site also provides design reviews, process setup, optimisation audits, materials testing and failure analysis services to assist design and process engineering teams embarking on the use of PoP.
Fuelled by gains in both the commercial and industrial sectors, the power management semiconductor industry will finish 2010 on a high note that will be unmatched over the next few years, according to market research firm iSuppli. Comprising integrated circuits and discretes, power management semiconductors will generate $31,4 billion in 2010, up a sizable 39,9% from $22,4 billion in 2009. Growth was solid for the first half of the year, marked by an exceptionally robust first quarter, due mainly to demand in the industrial and communication markets, as well as to deliveries that had been pushed to the start of this year after the component shortages of late 2009. For the second half of the year, growth will be propelled by demand in the consumer electronics, wireless and data processing sectors, reflecting the overall improvement of the consumer confidence index. Prices, however, are likely to increase as backlogs ease at the backend, and some time will be needed before supply catches up with demand.
As preposterous as it might have seemed five to 10 years ago, Samsung Electronics is on track to catch up with Intel in terms of total annual revenues for semiconductors and will most likely become the world’s largest IC maker before the middle of this decade, according to IC Insights. Samsung, the world’s largest memory IC supplier, has seen its semiconductor revenues rise at compound annual growth rate of 13,5% from 1999-2009, while Intel’s sales have increased at a CAGR of just 3,4% in the same period. Extrapolating these growth rates, Samsung would pass Intel in semiconductor sales in 2014. IC Insights now believes there is a greater than 50% chance that Samsung will move up from No. 2 and become the world’s largest semiconductor supplier in the 2014-2015 timeframe.
Technology
Intel and Micron Technology announced the delivery of 3-bit-per-cell (3bpc) NAND flash memory on 25 nm process technology, producing the industry’s highest capacity, smallest NAND device. The companies have sent initial product samples to select customers and expect to be in full production by the end of the year. Designed by the IM Flash Technologies joint venture, the 64 Gb (8 GB) device is more than 20% smaller than the same capacity of Intel and Micron’s 25 nm 2-bit-per-cell device, which is the smallest single 8 GB device in production today.
Cree has enhanced its XLamp MX-6 LED to achieve a higher maximum forward drive current. The MX-6’s PLCC package is optimised for indoor lighting where enhanced light uniformity and LED-to-LED colour consistency are important. At 1 A of current, the LEDs provide up to 300 lumens in cool white (6500 K) and 245 lumens in warm white (3000 K).
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