|
Geneva, October 28, 2008 - STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM)
reported financial results for the 2008 third quarter and nine months
ended September 27, 2008.
ST completed the deconsolidation of its FMG segment and took an
equity interest in Numonyx on March 30, 2008, with an anticipated one
quarter lag in reporting.
ST-NXP Wireless, a joint venture owned 80% by ST, began operations
on August 2, 2008 and is fully consolidated into ST's operating results.
The third quarter 2008 financial review includes the ST-NXP Wireless
joint venture except where noted.
The third quarter 2008 reported financial statements include several
non-recurring items in connection with the above transactions. In addition,
some of the actual results are reported at constant business perimeter
for comparability purposes to prior quarter and to Q3 2008 guidance.
For this purpose, this press release includes below certain adjustments
to reported numbers. Please refer to the reported results (Revenues
of $2,696 million and Net Loss of $289 million) in the enclosed Financial
Statements and described in detail on pages 3 and 4 of this press release.
Third Quarter 2008 Financial Review
Summary Financial Highlights Before Inclusion of NXP Wireless:
| In Million
US$ and % |
Q3 2008
|
Q2 2008 |
Q3 2007
ex FMG |
| Net Revenues |
2,455 |
2,391 |
2,213 |
| Gross Profit |
913 |
880 |
865 |
| Gross Margin |
|
36.8% |
39.1% |
Effective Exchange Rate $/€
(a) |
|
1.54 |
1.55 |
1.36 |
(a)The Company's effective exchange rate reflects actual
exchange rate levels combined with the impact of hedging programs.
ST's net revenues for the third quarter increased 2.7% sequentially
driven by high single-digit growth in Computer and Telecom but mitigated
by a high single-digit decrease in Automotive reflecting the significant
downturn in the automotive industry as a whole. On a year-over-year
basis, ST's net revenues grew 10.9% before including revenue from NXP
Wireless, led by 16% and 19% gains in Telecom and Industrial, respectively,
and was well-supported by mid- to high single digit growth in Computer
and Consumer.
Gross margin in the third quarter of 2008, before the positive effect
of the wireless addition and the adverse impact of purchase accounting
adjustments, improved to 37.2% from 36.8% in the prior quarter with
minimal currency effect. The quarter-to-quarter gross margin improvement
was due to an enhanced product mix and manufacturing efficiencies. In
the third quarter of 2007, gross margin was 35.2%, or 39.1% excluding
FMG. The Company estimates that year-over-year currency changes negatively
impacted the Q3 2008 gross margin of 37.2% by approximately 250 basis
points.
Summary Financial Highlights Including NXP Contribution to
Wireless JV:
| In Million
US$ and % |
Q3 2008
|
Q2 2008 |
Q3
2007 ex FMG |
| Net Revenues |
2,696 |
2,391 |
2,213 |
| Gross Profit (a) |
1,016 |
880 |
865 |
| Gross Margin(a) |
37.7% |
36.8% |
39.1% |
| Effective Exchange Rate $/€ |
1.54 |
1.55 |
1.36 |
(a)Third quarter 2008 excludes the one-time, non-cash
$57 million purchase accounting adjustment related to the inventory
step-up of the former NXP Wireless business.
President and CEO
Carlo Bozotti commented, "The third quarter reflected continued
focus on both our operating and strategic initiatives. From a financial
perspective, our third quarter performance demonstrated further progress
in strengthening our market position, building on the results of the
first half of this year. Before including the additional revenue from
the recently created ST-NXP Wireless joint venture, net revenues increased
12.4% year-to-date.
"We are gaining share overall, in particular in our areas
of focus: multimedia convergence applications and power solutions. Indeed,
we continued to harvest the benefits of our sales expansion initiatives
and we increased our sales to new target key accounts by 16.0%
on a sequential basis.
"We continue to build scale in the critical area of wireless
applications with our joint announcement in August with Ericsson
to form a joint venture composed of Ericsson Mobile Platforms and ST-NXP
Wireless. We believe this new leader will have the industry's strongest
product offering in semiconductors and platforms for mobile applications
and will be well positioned to continue and extend customer relationships
with the most innovative players in the wireless industry."
Summary Financial Highlights - As reported
| In Million
US$ and % |
Q3 2008
|
Q2 2008 |
Q3
2007 |
| Net Revenues |
2,696 |
2,391 |
2,565 |
| Gross Profit |
959 |
880 |
902 |
| Gross Margin |
35.6% |
36.8% |
35.2% |
Reported earnings in the third quarter of 2008 also included some specific
pre-tax quarter-related accounting factors, namely:
- The purchase accounting for the ST-NXP Wireless JV resulted
in a $57 million inventory step-up charged to Cost of Goods Sold and
a $76 million in-process R&D write-off. In addition, $12 million
of recurring amortization is included in operating expenses.
- A non-cash charge of $344 million related to the Numonyx equity
investment including $300 million of impairment to reflect deteriorated
conditions in both the equity market multiples for comparable companies
and the memory industry and $44 million of equity loss on Numonyx's
Q2 2008 results, mostly reflecting stand-up and purchase
accounting items at Numonyx.
- Other impairment and restructuring charges of $22 million in
operating profit and other-than-temporary impairment charges on financial
assets of $14 million.
Q3 2008 SG&A expenses totaled $297 million, or 11.0% of net
revenues, compared to 11.8% of net revenues in the prior quarter. The
SG&A-to-sales ratio increased slightly from the 10.6% of the year
ago quarter, reflecting about 100 basis points of estimated negative
currency impact. R&D expenses in the third quarter 2008 totaled
$602 million, including the one-time, non-cash $76 million charge for
in-process R&D. Excluding the impact of this incremental expense,
the R&D-to-sales ratio at 19.5% was essentially flat with the prior
quarter. The ratio increased from 17.2% in the year ago quarter including
an estimated negative currency impact of about 120 basis points.
Including restructuring, impairment and non-recurring purchase accounting
effects, reported operating income was $55 million. Excluding these
effects, the Q3 2008 operating margin improved from 6.7% in the prior
quarter to 7.8%. The Company reported a net loss of $289 million or
$0.32 per diluted share.
Operating Income and Earnings Reconciliation for Q3 2008
The table below illustrates the negative impact on our operating income,
net earnings and earnings per share of certain exceptional one-time
items incurred in Q3 2008.
| In US$M
except EPS |
Operating
Income |
Net Earnings(a) |
Diluted
EPS(a) |
| Q3 2008 as reported |
55 |
$(289) |
$(0.32) |
| NXP Wireless Purchase Accounting Adjustments(a) |
(133) |
(99) |
$(0.11) |
| Numonyx Impairment / Loss(a) |
0 |
(344)
|
$(0.39) |
| Restructuring, Impairments, One-time & Other-than-temporary
charges(a) |
(22) |
(24) |
$(0.02) |
| Q3 2008 ST Business Operations(b) |
$210 |
$178
|
$0.19 |
| Margin (as a % of Sales) |
7.8% |
|
|
(a)The computation of net earnings
and EPS for each line is based on an estimated effective tax rate applicable
to each operating loss item. Furthermore, the computation of EPS in
each line is based on the share count of 890.3 million shares applicable
in case of all of the loss items; or 937.2 million shares for net earnings
resulting from the reconciliation; this different applicable share count
is due to our outstanding convertible bonds and justifies the difference
of $0.01 of the sum of the items in respect to reported EPS. Diluted
EPS is rounded to the $ cent and adjusted to sum to EPS as reflected.
The Company believes that the foregoing EPS reconciliation is an appropriate
analysis demonstrating the per share impact of the exceptional one-time
events incurred in Q3 2008. However, due to the US GAAP requirement
of applying a different share count for the purpose of calculating losses
or earnings per share, the reconciliation necessarily involves some
approximation.
(b)ST Business Operations is a non-US GAAP
measure and defined as the financial results of operations in the third
quarter of 2008 excluding the effects of non recurring items related
to the purchase accounting of ST-NXP Wireless JV, the impairment and
loss related to Numonyx, other restructuring, and impairment charges
and other-than-temporary impairment charges. The impact of these non-recurring
elements on net earnings is net of applicable tax.
Cash Flow and Balance Sheet Highlights
Net cash from operating activities was $414 million in the 2008 third
quarter. Net operating cash flow* was ($1.38) billion or $140 million,
excluding $1.52 billion paid for M&A transactions, compared to $255
million in the year-ago quarter. For the first nine months, net cash
from operating activities was $1.33 billion and net operating cash flow
was $487 million, excluding the $1.69 billion paid for M&A transactions.
Capital expenditures were $247 million during the third quarter of 2008,
compared to $272 million in the prior quarter and $228 million in the
year-ago quarter. For the 2008 first nine months, capital expenditures
were $777 million, or 10.3% of net sales, compared to $735 million
or 10.1% of net sales in the first nine months of 2007. The Company
reconfirms its goal to be at a capex-to-sales ratio of about 10% for
the full year 2008.
In the 2008 third quarter, ST repurchased $148 million of common stock
under the most recently approved plan, as well as paid $80 million in
dividends. For the fourth quarter 2008 the global ex-dividend date will
be November 24, 2008 and the dividend of $0.09 is planned to be paid
on or after this date, in accordance with the schedule previously announced
on April 2, 2008.
Inventory was $1.79 billion at quarter end including wireless inventory
acquired from NXP. Excluding the NXP Wireless inventory and reflecting
favorable currency translation, inventory decreased sequentially by
$29 million, with inventory turns accelerating from 3.8 to 4.0.
At September 27, 2008, ST’s cash and cash equivalents, marketable
securities (current and non-current), short-term deposits and restricted
cash equaled $2.14 billion. Total debt was $2.55 billion. ST’s
net financial position** was a net debt of $409 million. Shareholders’
equity was $8.77 billion.
*Net operating cash flow is a non-US GAAP metric, which the Company's
management utilizes as a measure of cash-generation capability. It is
defined as net cash from operating activities ($414 million in the third
quarter of 2008) minus net cash used in investing activities (-$1,664
million in the third quarter of 2008) excluding payments for purchase
of and proceeds from the sale of marketable securities ($127 million
in the third quarter of 2008), proceeds from matured short-term deposits
and restricted cash.
**Net financial position is a non-US GAAP metric used by the Company’s
management to help assess financial flexibility. It is defined as cash
and cash equivalents, marketable securities (current and non-current),
short-term deposits and restricted cash ($2,141 million) minus total
debt (current portion of long-term debt $63 million plus long-term debt
$2,487 million).
"Thanks to our systematic ability to generate operating
cash flow and our solid capital structure we have been able to advance
our strategic initiatives independent of the uncertainties in the financial
markets. During 2008 these strengths have enabled ST to complete the
deconsolidation of Numonyx, fund $1.7 billion of acquisitions, maintain
a solid credit rating, pay increased cash dividends and initiate a share
buyback program, all while increasing our return on invested capital"
said Mr. Bozotti.
Net Revenues by Market Segment for Q3 2008
The following table estimates, within a variance of 5% to 10% in the
absolute dollar amount, the relative weighting of each of the Company's
target market segments for the 2008 third quarter. For comparison purposes,
the table incorporates the effect of the former NXP Wireless business
since August 2, 2008.
As
% of Net Revenues |
Q3 2008 |
Q3 2008 |
Market
Segment |
ST excluding
NXP Wireless |
ST including
NXP Wireless |
Automotive |
15% |
13% |
Consumer |
17% |
16% |
Computer |
17% |
15% |
Telecom |
34% |
40% |
Industrial
& Other |
17% |
16% |
In comparison to the year-ago quarter, all market segments posted growth,
led by Telecom which increased 16% (50% including NXP Wireless), Industrial
which increased 19%, followed by Consumer, Computer and Automotive,
which increased approximately 8%, 5% and 1%, respectively.
Sequentially, performance was led by Telecom which increased 8% (39%
including NXP Wireless) and Computer by 8%. Consumer was up 2%, while
Industrial and Automotive declined by 1% and 8%, respectively, from
the prior quarter.
Financial and Operating Data by Product Segment for Q3 2008
Starting August 2, 2008, following the addition of the wireless
business from NXP, the Company introduced a new product segment to report
the sales and operating results of the newly created "Wireless Product
Sector," which includes ST's wireless business for the full quarter
and the results of the joint venture created with NXP since August 2,
2008. The results of ST's wireless business were previously included in
the Application Specific Groups (ASG) segment, which has been revised
to reflect the change. The newly created ACCI (Automotive, Consumer, Computer
and Telecom Infrastructure) Product Groups segment includes the former
ASG segment less the ST wireless business contributed to the ST-NXP Wireless
joint venture.
- ACCI (Automotive, Consumer, Computer and Telecom Infrastructure
Product Groups)
- IMS (Industrial & Multisegment Product Sector)
- WPS (Wireless Product Sector)
The following table provides a breakdown of revenues and operating
income by product segment.
In
Million US$ and % |
Q3
2008 |
Product
Segment |
Net Revenues |
% of Net
Revenues |
Operating
income (loss) |
ACCI
(Auto/Cons./Comp./Telecom Infra. Product Groups)(a) |
$1,085 |
40.2% |
$58 |
IMS (Industrial
and Multisegment Product Sector) |
901 |
33.4 |
152 |
WPS (Wireless
Product Sector) |
696 |
25.9 |
22 |
Others
(b) (c) |
14 |
0.5 |
(177) |
TOTAL |
$2,696 |
100% |
$55 |
(a) ACCI is the former ASG (Application
Specific Groups) less the ST wireless business contributed to the ST-NXP
joint venture.
(b) Net revenues of “Others” include revenues
from sales of Subsystems and other revenues.
(c) Operating income (loss) of “Others”
includes items such as impairment, restructuring charges, and other
related closure costs, start-up costs, and other unallocated expenses
such as: strategic or special research and development programs, acquired
in-process R&D and other purchase accounting impacts, certain corporate-level
operating expenses, patent claims and litigations, and the other costs
that are not allocated to product groups, as well as operating earnings
or losses of the Subsystems and Other Products Group.
The third quarter 2008 “Others” include a $133 million charge due to
purchase accounting items and $22 million of impairment and restructuring
charges.
Automotive, Consumer, Computer and Telecom Infrastructure Product Groups’
(ACCI’s) third quarter 2008 net revenues declined 1.4% sequentially
reflecting a decrease in Automotive due to tough automotive market conditions
while Consumer and Computer both increased sequentially. ACCI grew 9.6%
year-over-year to $1,085 million on strong growth of both automotive
and digital consumer products. ACCI’s operating profit improved sequentially
largely due to mix improvement, while declining on a year-over-year
basis driven by a combination of factors including negative currency
effects and increased R&D efforts.
Third quarter 2008 Industrial and Multisegment Product Sector (IMS)
net revenues of $901 million grew 4.2% sequentially and 12.0% year-over-year
led by MEMS, IPAD, Smartcards and Microcontrollers for both comparisons.
Q3 2008 IMS sales were composed of $574 million of ICs which grew 8%
sequentially and 21% year-over-year and $326 million of discrete products
which decreased 2% sequentially and 1% year-over-year.
IMS operating profit was $152 million, improving both sequentially and
year-over-year, reflecting improved volume, mix -- notably driven by
product innovation focused on Advanced Analog and ICs -- and efficiency,
which more than offset currency impacts.
Wireless Product Sector (WPS) net revenues in the third quarter of 2008
were $696 million. Excluding the NXP Wireless business contribution,
wireless sales increased 10.8% sequentially and 12.5% in comparison
to the year-ago quarter, reflecting improvements in product mix and
an expanded customer base. WPS’ Q3 2008 operating profit was $22 million,
lower than the prior year but sequentially improving, despite challenging
market conditions.
First Nine Months 2008 Results
The following income statement for the first nine months of 2008
incorporates the former NXP Wireless business since August 2, 2008 and
FMG for the first three months of 2008 and the first nine months of
2007.
Net
Revenues
(In Million US$ and %) |
First
Nine Months 2008 |
First
Nine Months 2007 |
Year-over-Year
Growth |
ST as
reported |
$7,566 |
$7,258 |
4.2% |
ST ex
FMG and NXP Wireless |
$7,026 |
$6,252 |
12.4% |
Net revenues for the first nine months were $7,566 million compared
to 2007 first nine months revenues of $7,258 million, as reported. Excluding
FMG and NXP Wireless, net revenues grew 12.4% in the similar period.
Gross margin, excluding the inventory step-up from the addition of NXP
Wireless increased to 36.9% of net revenues, compared to 34.9% of net
revenues for the 2007 first nine months. Excluding FMG and NXP Wireless,
gross margin for the similar period decreased from 38.0% to 37.2% reflecting
an estimated negative currency impact of 250 basis points. Operating
loss, as reported, was $59 million, compared to operating loss of $529
million in last year’s first nine months. Net loss was $421 million,
or $-0.47 per share, compared to a net loss of $496 million, or $-0.55
per share for the 2007 first nine months. Net loss included pre-tax
restructuring and impairment charges, in-process R&D costs, other-than-temporary
impairment charge on financial assets and the impairment related to
the Numonyx equity investment of $869 million ($0.97 per diluted share
impact) and $949 million ($1.05 per diluted share impact) for the 2008
and 2007 first nine months results, respectively.
Research and development expenses were $1,581 million, including $97
million of in-process R&D charges, associated with the acquisition
of Genesis Microchip and the addition of NXP Wireless, compared to $1,322
million in the 2007 first nine months. Selling, general, and administrative
expenses were $882 million compared to $803 million in the 2007 first
nine months, increasing primarily due to adverse currency effects.
In the 2008 first nine months, the effective average exchange rate
for the Company was approximately $1.52 to €1.00, compared to $1.33
to €1.00 for the 2007 first nine months.
The Company estimates that currency rates adversely impacted operating
income in the first nine months year-to-date comparison by about $340
million or approximately 450 basis points.
First Nine Months 2008 Financial and Operating Data by Product
Segment
The following table provides a breakdown of revenues and operating income
by product segment.
In
Million US$ and % |
First
Nine Months 2008 |
Product
Segment |
Net Revenues |
% of Net
Revenues |
Operating
income (loss) |
| ACCI
(Auto/Cons./Comp./Telecom Infra. Product Groups) (a) |
$3,231 |
42.7% |
$110 |
IMS (Industrial
and Multisegment Product Sector) |
2,538 |
33.5 |
374 |
| WPS
(Wireless Product Sector) |
1,454 |
19.2 |
12 |
FMG (Flash
Memories Group) (d) |
299 |
4.0 |
16 |
Others
(b) (c) |
44 |
0.6 |
(571) |
| TOTAL |
$7,566 |
100% |
$(59) |
(a) (b)and (c) defined in earlier table.
(d) Operating income for FMG in the period reflects the benefit
of suspended depreciation for Assets Held For Sale.
Outlook
Mr. Bozotti stated, “While ST has performed very well in the first
nine months of 2008, we are not immune to the major challenges the global
economy faces today. We are well positioned in our key markets and we
continue to execute on our strategy but we are facing the ongoing industry
downturn. Comprehensive measures have been taken and fab loadings are
being reduced to control inventory. We expect ST’s sequential
net revenue to be in the range between flat and -8%. This represents
for FY 2008 net revenue growth between 6.2% and 8.6%, excluding FMG
and the former NXP Wireless business. Despite the estimated sequential
quarterly decline in sales, the 2008 fourth quarter gross margin is
expected to improve sequentially to about 38.8%, plus or minus one percentage
point reflecting improved operational factors and a more favorable currency
rate, partially offset by reduced fab loading.”
This outlook is based on an assumed effective currency exchange
rate of approximately $1.40 = €1.00 for the 2008 fourth quarter,
which reflects current exchange rate levels combined with the impact
of existing hedging contracts. Additionally, this outlook includes the
results of the ST-NXP Wireless joint venture for the full quarter, which
began operations on August 2, 2008 but excludes an estimated $30 million
cost in fourth quarter 2008 due to inventory step-up purchase accounting
adjustment related to the former NXP Wireless business.
Recent Corporate Developments
- On July 28, 2008, ST and NXP announced the closing of the deal
bringing together key wireless operations of both companies into ST-NXP
Wireless, a deal they announced on April 10, 2008. The joint venture,
80% owned by ST, started operations on August 2, 2008 and launched
as a solid top-three industry player with a complete wireless product
and technology portfolio and as a leading supplier to major handset
manufacturers who together ship more than 80% of all handsets. ST-NXP
Wireless will be among the few companies with the R&D scale and
expertise to meet customer needs in 2G, 2.5G, 3G, multimedia, connectivity
and all future wireless technologies.
- On August 20, 2008, ST and Ericsson announced an agreement to merge
Ericsson Mobile Platforms and ST-NXP Wireless into a joint venture.
The 50/50 joint venture would have the industry's strongest product
offering in semiconductors and platforms for mobile applications and
will be an important supplier to Nokia, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, LG
and Sharp. The fabless joint venture would employ almost 8,000 people
with pro-forma 2007 sales of $3.6 billion. ST is expected to exercise
its option to buy NXP's 20 percent of ST-NXP Wireless before the closing
of this transaction.
Q3 2008 Products, Technology and Design Wins
Automotive, Consumer, Computer and Telecom Infrastructure
(ACCI) Product Highlights
- In digital consumer, ST announced the sampling of the STi7105 high-definition
(HD) video decoder, with enhancements for higher performance, lower
power, and lower bill-of-materials costs in set-top boxes (STBs) and
home media servers. ST also bolstered its leadership in DVB-S2 digital
satellite broadcast with a new ‘front-end’ STB chipset
for digital satellite HDTV equipment. The use of DVB-S2 by consumer
equipment manufacturers is increasing rapidly in a wide range of applications,
including Pay-TV and free-to-air STBs, integrated digital TVs (iDTVs),
PC TV cards and HD Blu-ray Disc equipment.
- Also in STBs, ST announced that Proview will use the STi7101 HDTV
decoder in its new XPS-1000 set-top box, which employs the SBTVD digital
terrestrial standard, for deployment in Brazil. Additionally, ST started
production for two new IPTV STB designs in France and a new standard-definition
H.264 satellite STB for deployment in India.
- In consumer audio, ST gained two design wins in Korea for its SoundTerminal
family of high-efficiency power ICs that integrate DSP capabilities
for flat-panel TV applications. The device is the latest in the SoundTerminal
family and integrates standard features along with the industry-first
inclusion of a dual-band dynamic-range compressor for Hi-Fi audio
and thin-TV loudspeaker protection.
- In communications infrastructure applications, ST gained two design
wins for ASICs that will be used by a world-leading manufacturer in
its enterprise switching products. In computer applications, ST gained
an important design-win for a 65nm SoC for a second-generation enterprise
hard disk drive (HDD) from a major HDD maker. ST also won a socket
in the data-security environment from a leading manufacturer, based
on the Company’s high-security solution for HDDs that meets
the FIPS 140-2 level 3 standard. In addition, ST successfully demonstrated
at IDF the world’s first MIPHY (Multi Interface PHY) Physical
Layer interface for the new 6Gbit/s Serial ATA (SATA) technology.
- In automotive powertrain and safety applications, ST gained a design
win from a major Japanese player for an alternator platform. The first
application will be in Europe with other car makers expected to use
it in Q4 2008. ST also made strong gains in low- and mid-end powertrain
applications, supplying smart power ICs and microcontrollers (MCUs)
to a major Asian car maker for 1- and 2-cylinder vehicles for emerging
Asian markets, and to a major European car maker for 4-cylinder vehicles
for the Russian market.
- In car-body applications, ST achieved a very important design win
from a key European tier-one supplier for smart-power products in
power management and external light control. Additionally, ST’s
market introduction of next-generation 8- and 32-bit MCUs has led
to numerous design wins in many countries.
- In car multimedia, ST gained a couple of key design wins for car-radio
kits. For the first, a leading European OEM chose an ST MCU, tuner
IC, audio processor and power amp, for a new after-market radio which
has been chosen by a car maker in China; the second kit was selected
by a US maker and includes audio processor and power amp, tuner IC
and CD/MP3 decoder chip. Additionally, a leading automotive OEM in
Europe selected ST’s STA2500D Bluetooth IC for use in Telematic
platforms for two leading car makers.
Industrial and Multi-Segment (IMS) Product Highlights
- In microcontrollers, ST extended its library of functions supporting
vector control of electric motors using the 32-bit Cortex-M3 based
STM32 MCU, which has already been designed into approximately 40 customer
motor-control applications.
- In non-volatile memory, ST introduced 1MHz two-wire serial EEPROMs
in 256-Kbit, 512-Kbit and 1-Mbit densities, allowing data rates up
to 2.5-times faster than the I2C Fast-mode.
- In MEMS motion sensors, ST gained design wins for its three-axis
accelerometers with several mobile phone makers in China and a major
Asian player. The Company also gained significant business from a
worldwide leader in the portable MP3 player market and also won a
significant contract with another of the major players in the gaming
market — ST already supplies MEMS accelerometers for the Nintendo
Wii. Additionally, ST’s complete free-fall detection solution,
which consists of a 3-axis motion sensor and software, was chosen
to protect user data stored on HDDs in the new ESPRIMO Mobile family
of professional notebooks from Fujitsu Siemens Computers.
- Also in MEMS, ST launched an ultra-compact gyroscope that provides
a choice of analog or digital absolute angular-rate outputs, and measures
fast angular displacements in applications such as intuitive man-machine
interfaces or enhanced-GPS for car navigation.
- In power conversion, ST introduced a new Pulse Width Modulation
controller, the first integrated device optimized for soft-switching
asymmetrical half-bridge converters. The company also gained a design
win from a major player in the PC market for two voltage-regulator
modules for the CPU power supply in a desktop reference design; in
addition to another design win for a new powerline communication transceiver
with a manufacturer in China for a sub-metering application. ST is
also ramping up production of: a new power management controller,
for a major Taiwanese motherboard OEM; and a DC/DC switching regulator,
for a major Japanese brand digital-still-camera.
- Also in power conversion, ST introduced into the market a new 10-12A
overvoltage-protected AC switch series, aimed at helping white goods
meet the latest energy and safety standards. ST also enlarged its
high-junction-temperature TRIAC family with a new sensitive series
dedicated to small appliances and industrial systems.
- In power MOSFETs, ST introduced a 250A power MOSFET with the lowest
on-resistance in the market and a new family of devices based on the
company’s innovative SuperMESH3 technology to increase the ruggedness,
switching performance and efficiency of lighting ballasts and switch-mode
power-supply applications. ST gained multiple design wins for its
MOSFETs, primarily in lighting and power-supply applications, including
one with a leading PC motherboard maker. In power bipolar devices,
ST’s low-voltage bipolars were qualified for use by a major
smart-metering-system customer. And in linear and interface devices,
ST gained design wins in various markets, including automotive and
audio applications.
- In advanced analog and logic ICs, ST announced a highly integrated
RGB LED driver and gained design wins for its logic ICs with major
notebook PC makers in China and Japan, and with a leading Japanese
LCD TV maker.
- In analog and mixed-signal ICs, ST announced a new series of clock-distribution
ICs and also sampled clock-distribution ICs to two major Asian mobile-phone
customers. Additionally, reset and temperature sensors were designed-in
at a major HDD maker and a real-time clock IC was designed-in at a
major GPS manufacturer.
Technology Highlights
- ST, Infineon Technologies and STATS ChipPAC announced an agreement
to jointly develop the next-generation of embedded Wafer-Level Ball
Grid Array (eWLB) technology for use in manufacturing future-generation
semiconductor packages.
- ST and the Waseda University Humanoid Robotics Institute (HRI) announced
the development of a high-performance, two-wheel inverted-pendulum
robot, called WV-1, which is the first result of an ongoing cooperation
for the research and development of technology and solutions for innovative
humanoid robots and medical-care robot systems.
All of STMicroelectronics’ press releases (including all releases
in Q3) are available at www.st.com/stonline/press/news/latest.htm.
SuperMESH and SoundTerminal are trademarks of STMicroelectronics.
All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their
respective owners.
Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical
facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking
statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act
of 1933 or Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each
as amended) based on management’s current views and assumptions
and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those
in such statements due to, among other factors:
- further deterioration on the worldwide financial markets, economic
recession in one or more of the world’s major economies and
the effect on demand for semiconductor products in the key application
markets and from key customers served by our products , which in turn
makes it extremely difficult to accurately forecast and plan future
business activities;
- our ability to adequately utilize and operate our manufacturing
facilities at sufficient levels to cover fixed operating costs particularly
at a time of decreasing demand for our products due to decline in
demand for semiconductor products;
- pricing pressures which are highly variable and difficult to
predict;
- the results of actions by our competitors, including new product
offerings and our ability to react thereto;
- the financial impact of obsolete or excess inventories if actual
demand differs from our anticipations;
- the impact of intellectual-property claims by our competitors
or other third parties, and our ability to obtain required licenses
on reasonable terms and conditions;
- the outcome of ongoing litigation as well as any new litigation
to which we may become a defendant;
- our ability to close as planned the merger of ST-NXP Wireless
with Ericsson Mobile Platforms as announced on August 20, 2008;
- the effects of hedging, which we practice in order to minimize
the impact of variations between the U.S. dollar and the currencies
of the other major countries in which we have our operating infrastructure
in the currently very volatile currency environments;
- our ability to manage in an intensely competitive and cyclical
industry, where a high percentage of our costs are fixed, incurred
in currencies other than US dollars;
- our ability to restructure in accordance with our plans if
unforeseen events require adjustments or delays in implementation;
- our ability in an intensively competitive environment to secure
customer acceptance and to achieve our pricing expectations for high-volume
supplies of new products in whose development we have been, or are
currently, investing;
• the ability of our suppliers to meet our demands for supplies
and materials and to offer competitive pricing;
- significant differences in the gross margins we achieve compared
to expectations, based on changes in revenue levels, product mix and
pricing, capacity utilization, variations in inventory valuation,
excess or obsolete inventory, manufacturing yields, changes in unit
costs, impairments of long-lived assets (including manufacturing,
assembly/test and intangible assets), and the timing, execution and
associated costs for the announced transfer of manufacturing from
facilities designated for closure and associated costs, including
start-up costs;
- changes in the economic, social or political environment, including
military conflict and/or terrorist activities, as well as natural
events such as severe weather, health risks, epidemics or earthquakes
in the countries in which we, our key customers and our suppliers,
operate; and
- changes in our overall tax position as a result of changes
in tax laws or the outcome of tax audits, and our ability to accurately
estimate tax credits, benefits, deductions and provisions and to realize
deferred tax assets.
Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and
uncertainties, which may cause actual results and performance of our
business to differ materially and adversely from the forward-looking
statements. Such forward-looking statements can be identified by the
use of forward-looking terminology such as “believes,” “may,”
“will,” “should,”, “would be” or
“anticipates” or similar expressions or the negative thereof
or other variations thereof, or by discussions of strategy, plans or
intentions. Some of the risk factors we face are set forth and are discussed
in more detail in “Item 3. Key Information—Risk Factors”
included in our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December
31, 2007, as filed with the SEC on March 3, 2008. Should one or more
of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions
prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described
in this release as anticipated, believed or expected. We do not intend,
and do not assume any obligation, to update any information or forward-looking
statements set forth in this release to reflect subsequent events or
circumstances.
Unfavorable changes in the above or other factors listed under “Risk
Factors” from time to time in our SEC filings, including our Form
20-F, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations
or financial condition.
Conference Call Information
The management of STMicroelectronics will conduct a conference call
on October 29, 2008 at 9:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern Time / 2:00 p.m. CET,
to discuss operating performance for the third quarter of 2008.
The conference call will be available via the Internet by accessing
the following Web address: http://investors.st.com.
Those accessing the webcast should go to the Web site at least 15 minutes
prior to the call, in order to register, download and install any necessary
audio software. The webcast will be available until November 7, 2008.
About STMicroelectronics
STMicroelectronics is a global leader in developing and delivering semiconductor
solutions across the spectrum of microelectronics applications. An unrivalled
combination of silicon and system expertise, manufacturing strength,
Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio and strategic partners positions
the Company at the forefront of System-on-Chip (SoC) technology and
its products play a key role in enabling today's convergence markets.
The Company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange, on Euronext
Paris and on the Milan Stock Exchange. In 2007, the Company's net revenues
were $10 billion. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com.
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