News
SAN JOSE, Dec. 22 -- Third quarter EDA revenues fell 2% from last year to $953 million, according to the latest statistics from the Electronic Design Automation Consortium.
License and maintenance revenue, the largest revenue category, declined 3%. North America les the way down, with all major categories off vs. last year.
"Despite a weak third quarter, the EDA market has shown a 3% growth rate on a year-to-date basis," said Wally Rhines, EDAC chairman.
The largest tool category, computer-aided engineering, was flat with sales of $453 million. IC physical design and verification revenue was down 9% to $272 million.
Revenue for PCB and MCM layout tools totaled $81 million in Q3, down 1%. Services revenue was $66 million, up 5%.
Semiconductor intellectual property revenue rose 8%, to $81 million.
North American revenues fell 9% to $472 million. Europe's revenues rose 4% to $192 million, as did Japan's ($183 million). Double-digit growth continued in the rest of the world, which showed total revenues of $107 million, up 11%.
Employment rose 4%, to 20,500 professionals, the third straight quarter of new highs in employment.
STAMFORD, CT, Dec. 16 — Worldwide semiconductor capital equipment spending is on pace to grow 61% in 2004, but next year's spending is projected to drop 15, according to Gartner Inc.
"The emergence of excess inventories, macroeconomic uncertainty and slowing end-user demand casts a shadow over the outlook for 2005," said Klaus Rinnen, vice president for Gartner's semiconductor manufacturing and design research group. "Device production has slowed in recent months, and with it semiconductor manufacturers have readjusted their capacity ramp-up and equipment purchase plans."
All major segments of the capital equipment market are forecast to decline in 2005 except for the automated test equipment market, which is expected to grow 3%, followed by a 30% drop in 2006. Gartner analysts said the industry is in a downcycle, but this period will be shorter than the prior one in 2001.
"Given more modest-capacity investments during the cycle, the supply-demand imbalance will be far less severe than in the prior two cycles," Rinnen said. "Consequently, the approaching downcycle will be mild, allowing for a return to positive annual investment growth possibly as early as 2006."
Worldwide semiconductor wafer fab utilization rates peaked in the second quarter at 94.9% before dropping to 91.3% at the end of the third quarter, as semiconductor manufacturers trimmed production levels in response to excess inventories.
"By the middle of 2004, capacity caught up with demand, and excess capacity started to emerge," Rinnen said. "However, any excess capacity during this down period will be considerably less than in prior downward cycles, and utilization rates will decline only to about 85% before starting a gradual increase through 2006."
The packaging and assembly equipment market will fall 22% in 2005, to about $3.5 billion. Growth will be limited to packaging lithography and flip-chip bonder tooling. Packaging utilization rates will likely bottom out in the second half of 2005, giving way to a pickup in orders by the end of the year or very early in 2006.
Gartner analysts said the automated test equipment market will experience a slight increase due to the continued growth of test outsourcing, and the remaining strength of semiconductor assembly and test services providers.
FRANKLIN, MA, Dec. 21 - Leading experts will explore SMT process challenges in a new series of free technical webcasts kicking off in January.
The events are sponsored by Speedline Technologies and are open to qualified individuals who register through the company's Web site.
"Speedline has designed these seminars to explore and deliver the in-depth information and how-to insight to help process engineers manage and control the major issues and challenges they will face daily throughout 2005," said Pierre de Villemejane, Speedline's president.
Each of the one-hour seminars will explore one of these challenges in a major manufacturing process - including lead-free wave and reflow, fine-pitch printing and underfill dispensing.
Hosted by experts who have been developing and implementing manufacturing techniques for more than 20 years, the sessions will include discussions of manufacturing floor challenges, new technologies, how-to implementation information and question-and-answer periods. Seminars begin at 11 a.m. Eastern.
- Jan. 19: Statistical Process Control & Design of Experiments
- Feb. 17: Lead-Free Overview
- Mar. 17: Lead-Free Wave Soldering
- Apr. 14: Lead-Free Reflow Soldering
- May 17: Lead-Free Reflow Soldering Power and Nitrogen Consumption
- Jun. 16: Underfill Dispensing
- July 21: Fine Pitch Printing
- Aug. 18: Lead-Free Overview
- Sept. 15: Lead-Free Wave Soldering
- Oct. 20: Lead-Free Reflow Soldering
- Nov. 17: Tin Whiskers
- Dec. 15: Fine Pitch Printing.
To register visit www.speedlinetech.com/seminars or call 508-541-4749.
Co-chair Dr. Ken Gilleo of ET-Trends LLC said in a press release that feedback from attendees "will allow us to expand on topics that are the most important and useful to attendees. The goal is to enable attendees to gain a great deal of practical information about wafer-level packaging that they can immediately apply to their work."
Exhibit space will be available, said conference sponsor SMTA, adding that IWLPC 2004 sold out.
JUAREX, Mexico, Dec. 20 -- Electronics manufacturing services firm Elcoteq Network Corp. will buy consumer electronics giant Thomson's Juarez operations and take over its manufacturing in a deal worth over $1 billion.
Under the deal, expected to close Dec. 31, Elcoteq will acquire Thomson's manufacturing operation here, the companies annnounced today. Elcoteq is paying $33 million for the plant, which makes set-top boxes.
Elcoteq also signed a deal to build set-top box products for Thomson in Juarez. Thomson reportedly owns a 30% share of the global set-top box market.
Elcoteq expects the deal to boost the company's sales by approximately $300 million during 2005 and by $800 million to $1 billion during 2005 to 2007.
The acquisition of the Juarez plant will double Elcoteq's manufacturing capacity in Mexico. The Juarez personnel will be retained. Currently, the plant employs 2,000 workers.
In a statement Finland-based Elcoteq said the acquisition is part of a larger plan to balance its global footprint. The company earlier announced announced an expansion into Brazil.
"The Americas is the fastest growing geographical region within Elcoteq, and the addition of Thomson as a significant new customer both accelerates this growth and diversifies and expands the product and service portfolio within Elcoteq Americas," said Doug Brenner, president of Elcoteq's U.S. subsidiary.
The company announced plans for a 175,000 sq. ft. facility in Ranjangaon, India, its second in that nation. The plant is expected to be fully operational by mid-2005, and will perform assembly, enclosure integration, distribution and repair services and design.
"Planning this second facility in India underscores our commitment to this growing marketplace and the manufacturing needs of both global and indigenous electronic companies in India," said Bill Muir, regional president of Asia. "We see a growing need for full turnkey solutions to serve the India marketplace and our Ranjangaon facility will allow us to offer the full complement of services in close proximity to our end-customers."
Jabil also plans a groundbreaking for a fourth plant in Wuxi, China, next Monday. The 515,000 sq. ft. plant is planned to be fully operational in next fall.
Jabil currently operates 40 facilities worldwide.
The drop in revenues was due to weakness in consumer demand for set-top boxes and 3-G wireless handsets, and lagging semiconductor equipment orders, Solectron said. Sales of networking gear also fell.
Earnings met the company's previous guidance.
The firm guided for sales of $2.65 billion to $2.8 billion for the February quarter. "Looking forward, we expect revenue growth in the second half of the year, driven by the expected ramp of recent wins and improved demand," said Mike Cannon, president and chief executive.
Gross margins improved 40 basis points sequentially and operating expenses were cut to $96 million. Cash flow from operations was $190 million. Inventory was reduced $52 million. Inventory turns were 7.1.
The site, located in Peachtree City, GA, will be cut to a single building, from 300,000 sq. ft. and four buildings over the next nine months. The staff will be reduced to 100 workers from the current headcount of 600.
"This change to the physical presence of Photocircuits in North America results from the changing competitive landscape for printed circuits," the company said in an unattributed statement. "More and more customers demand the economic advantages of sourcing in Asia."
Photocircuits will maintain print-and-etch operations in Peachtree City, plus sales and technical services, logistics and inventory management.
Backlogs will be sent to Photocircuits' facility in Glen Cove, New York, and factories in China, where the PCB maker partners with Japan-based CMK.
The company estimates that realignment of the site will last about nine months.
2004 has been unkind to Photocircuits, one of the oldest PCB firms in the world. The company, once the largest board shop in the U.S., is in the hands of outside management and two of its longtime owners -- John Endee and Steve Wohlgemuth -- have been let go. The company had sales of $234 million in 2003, according to PCD&M contributing editor Hayao Nakahara, making it the 32d largest PCB company in the world.
ST. PETERSBURG, FL, Dec. 20 -- Electronics manufacturing services provider Jabil Circuit Inc. today reported record first-quarter net revenue rose 21% to $1.83 billion year-over-year.
For the quarter ended Nov. 30, GAAP net income increased to $55.9 million, from $42.5 million last year.
In a press statement, president and chief executive Tim Main said, "While the end-markets and the economy are just beginning to show signs of improvement, Jabil clearly has the strong trend for electronics companies to outsource in its favor."
Jabil guided for second quarter net revenue of $1.65 million to $1.75 billion and core earnings per share of 26 to 28 cents per diluted share. Estimated GAAP earnings per share are 22 to 24 cents per diluted share. The February quarter is typically hurt by lower consumer spending.
First quarter core earnings -- core earnings as GAAP net income before one-time charges and amortization of intangibles -- increased 26% to $65 million.
Gross profit for the first quarter of fiscal 2005 increased 16% to $154.9 million or 8.4% of net revenue.
On a GAAP basis, operating income rose 32% to $70.3 million.
The company expects to end the February quarter with significantly less inventory, officials said on a conference call with analysts.
Cash flow from operations was lower, at $35 million. Inventory turns were nine. Capital expenditures were $55 million, up nearly 100% over the second quarter. The company said it would stabilize R&D spending at that levels.
Return on invested capital rose to 17% during the quarter. Officials said they aim for ROIC of 15 to 20% longterm.
Three customers made up more than 10% each of Jabil's Q1 sales. Main said the firm plans to reduce its dependence on its top 10 customers.
The company is not ruling out future acquisitions. "We could do deals; we've got the bandwidth and the money to do it," Main said. "There are opportunities in the pipeline."
Jabil maintained previous fiscal 2005 guidance of net revenue of $7.2 billion to $7.4 billion and core earnings per share to be in a range of $1.20 to $1.24 per diluted share. "We're looking for end-markets to grow in the 4 to 5% range," the firm said. It said it expects gains from vertically integrated industrial OEMs who are considering outsourcing manufacturing.
MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 17 -- EMS provider Nortech Systems today provided improved guidance for its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2004 revenue, saying that it expects sales of $19 million to $20 million. However, the company lowered its year-end earnings outlook, citing diminished margins and expenses for labor and raw materials.
Last year, Nortech reported fourth-quarter revenue of $15.6 million.
The firm guided for earnings of $0.05 to $0.07 per diluted share for the quarter ending Dec. 31, compared to a loss of $0.06 per diluted share last year.
Year-end revenue is expected to increase by 21 to 24% over 2003, to $70 million to $72 million, slightly above previous guidance. Nortech guided for fiscal year earnings to be in the range of $0.20 to $0.22. It previously guided for $0.26 to $0.29 expected earlier. Last year Nortech Systems earned $0.25 per diluted share.
"While we're pleased with our sustained revenue growth, we continue to face margin pressures impacting our profitability," says Mike Degen, President and CEO. "The fourth quarter earnings are being negatively impacted by a mix of lower-margin product, material cost increases and higher than anticipated labor costs and expenses related to some of our domestic and international operations."
SAN JOSE, Dec. 17 -- The 90-day-moving average orders for North American-based semiconductor gear manufacturers was $1.35 billion in November, 2% below the revised October levels, but 46% above last year.
"Total orders for semiconductor equipment have declined about 16% from the peak observed in June, though they remain well above levels reported one year ago," said Stanley T. Myers, president and CEO of SEMI. "The North American equipment book-to-bill ratio increased in November as billings declined at a steeper pace than bookings based on a three-month average."
The orders average matched the 90-day average for shipments, good for a book-to-bill ratio of 1.0, said the trade group SEMI.
The three-month average of worldwide billings in November was $1.34 billion, down 6% from the revised October level and up 53% from November 2003.
The SEMI book-to-bill is a ratio of three-month moving averages of worldwide bookings and billings for North American-based semiconductor equipment manufacturers. Billings and bookings figures are in millions of U.S. dollars.
JASPER, IN, Dec. 16 -- Kimball Electronics Group today named Steve Korn subsidiary vice president, business development, responsible for new customers.
Korn has spent the last 17 years with Sanmina-SCI, where he has held positions as engineering manager, marketing manager, production manager and vice president and plant manager.
Korn has a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Kimball is a contract electronics manufacturing services company with manufacturing operations located in Indiana, Mexico, Poland and Thailand.
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