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As expected, Siltronic AG’s business performance in Q2 2024 was again characterized by weak demand in the wafer market, which resulted from continued increased inventories in the chip industry. Due to the lower wafer area sold, half-year sales of EUR 694.8 million were significantly lower than in the same period of the previous year (H1 2023: EUR 808.2 million). However, at EUR 351.3 million, sales in Q2 2024 slightly exceeded the previous quarter (Q1 2024: EUR 343.5 million) by 2.3 percent.
“Q2 was in line with expectations. On a positive note, the end markets, partially driven by Artificial Intelligence, will grow this year. However, this is not yet reflected in our order situation due to still elevated inventory levels. We are pleased that we were able to slightly increase our sales in Q2 compared to the previous quarter and continued to achieve a solid EBITDA margin of 25.8 percent,” comments Dr. Michael Heckmeier, CEO of Siltronic, on the development.
Business development in H1 2024 influenced by weak demand, sales prices almost stable
In Q2 2024, Siltronic generated sales of EUR 351.3 million, up 2.3 percent on the previous quarter (Q1 2024: EUR 343.5 million) due to the increase in wafer area sold. Sales prices were almost unchanged quarter-on-quarter. Sales of EUR 694.8 million were generated in H1 2024 (H1 2023: EUR 808.2 million). The decline is primarily due to the lower sales volume. Price and currency effects had no significant impact in the half-year comparison.
On the cost side, the increase in wafer area sold and higher depreciation due to investments had a particularly noticeable impact on the quarter-on-quarter comparison. As expected, a small loss from currency hedging transactions was recognized in the other operating result in Q2.
As a result, EBITDA in Q2 2024 remained almost unchanged compared to the previous quarter at EUR 90.6 million (Q1 2024: EUR 90.8 million) despite a slight increase in sales. At 25.8 percent, the EBITDA margin remained at a solid level (Q1 2024: 26.4 percent). In a half-year comparison, EBITDA fell to EUR 181.4 million (H1 2023: EUR 243.8 million), mainly due to lower demand, and reached a margin of 26.1 percent (H1 2023: 30.2 percent).
The decline in costs due to the lower sales volume was mitigated by a lower fixed cost dilution, and a lower currency hedging result was also noticeable in the half-year comparison. In addition, H1 2024 saw an increase in depreciation and amortization.
Net profit for the period fell from EUR 27.7 million in Q1 2024 to EUR 22.4 million in Q2 and from EUR 133.9 million in H1 2023 to EUR 50.1 million in H1 2024. In addition to the effects described above, a lower financial result due to investments contributed to the reduction. Earnings per share amounted to EUR 0.73 in Q2 2024 and EUR 1.59 in H1 2024.
Net assets and financial position still affected by high investments
With an equity ratio of 46.5 percent as of June 30, 2024, Siltronic continues to have a good balance sheet quality (December 31, 2023: 46.6 percent). Cash and cash equivalents and short-term financial investments fell by EUR 129.5 million to EUR 327.4 million in H1 2024.
This was due to net payments for investments of EUR 411.2 million with a focus on the new 300 mm fab in Singapore and the dividend payment of EUR 36.0 million to Siltronic AG’s shareholders. In the same period, these payments were opposed by cash inflows of EUR 171.4 million from operating activities and cash inflows of EUR 150.0 million from a loan that was partially drawn.
Due to the high level of investments, the net cash flow fell to EUR -252.8 million and was negative, as expected. Accordingly, net financial debt increased by a total of EUR 283.5 million to EUR 639.2 million compared to December 31, 2023.
Guidance for 2024
The Executive Board of Siltronic AG has specified its guidance published at the end of April and now expects Group sales to decline by a high single-digit percentage compared to the previous year. With a view to the financial year 2024, this is primarily due to lower volumes as well as each slightly negative exchange rate- (EUR/USD 1.10), price- and product mix effects.
The EBITDA margin is expected to be at the upper end of the previously communicated range of 23 to 25 percent. However, the EBITDA margin in H2 will not reach the level of H1. Profitability in H2 will be impacted by both slightly negative price and product mix effects as well as ramp costs for the new Singapore fab, which will start to impact earnings in Q4.
In addition, one production line is scheduled for maintenance in Q4, which will be bridged by inventory reductions and will also have a negative impact on the margin. Capex is expected to be in the range of EUR 500 million to EUR 530 million, with depreciation and amortization below EUR 300 million.
Original – Siltronic
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Renesas Electronics Corporation announced consolidated financial results in accordance with IFRS for the three and six months ended June 30, 2024.
Summary of Consolidated Financial Results (Note 1)
Summary of Consolidated Financial Results (Non-GAAP basis) (Note 2)
Three months ended June 30, 2024 Six months ended June 30, 2024 Billion Yen % of Revenue Billion Yen % of Revenue Revenue 358.8 100.0 710.6 100.0 Gross profit 203.6 56.7 402.9 56.7 Operating profit 110.6 30.8 224.1 31.5 Profit attributable to owners of parent 96.7 26.9 202.5 28.5 EBITDA (Note 3) 132.8 37.0 266.6 37.5 Summary of Consolidated Financial Results (IFRS basis)
Three months ended June 30, 2024 Six months ended June 30, 2024 Billion yen % of Revenue Billion yen % of Revenue Revenue 358.8 100.0 710.6 100.0 Gross profit 200.9 56.0 398.4 56.1 Operating profit 69.7 19.4 147.6 20.8 Profit attributable to owners of parent 59.8 16.7 139.6 19.6 EBITDA (Note 3) 120.6 33.6 246.3 34.7 Reconciliation of Non-GAAP gross profit to IFRS gross profit and Non-GAAP operating profit to IFRS operating profit
(Billion yen)
Three months ended June 30, 2024 Six months ended June 30, 2024 Non-GAAP gross profit
Non-GAAP gross margin203.6
56.7%402.9
56.7%Amortization of purchased intangible assets and depreciation of property, plant and equipment (0.3) (0.5) Stock-based compensation (0.8) (1.2) Other reconciliation items in non-recurring
expenses and adjustments (Note 4)(1.6) (2.7) IFRS gross profit
IFRS gross margin200.9
56.0%398.4
56.1%Non-GAAP operating profit
Non-GAAP operating margin110.6
30.8%224.1
31.5%Amortization of purchased intangible assets and depreciation of property, plant and equipment (28.7) (56.3) Stock-based compensation (9.2) (14.8) Other reconciliation items in non-recurring expenses and adjustments (Note 4) (2.9) (5.4) IFRS operating profit
IFRS operating margin69.7
19.4%147.6
20.8%- Note 1: All figures are rounded to the nearest 100 million yen.
- Note 2: Non-GAAP figures are calculated by removing or adjusting non-recurring items and other adjustments from GAAP (IFRS) figures following a certain set of rules. The Group believes non-GAAP measures provide useful information in understanding and evaluating the Group’s constant business results.
- Note 3: Operating profit + Depreciation and amortization.
- Note 4: “Other reconciliation items in non-recurring expenses and adjustments” includes the non-recurring items related to acquisitions and other adjustments as well as non-recurring profits or losses the Group believes to be applicable.
Original – Renesas Electronics
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STMicroelectronics reported second quarter net revenues of $3.23 billion, gross margin of 40.1%, operating margin of 11.6%, and net income of $353 million or $0.38 diluted earnings per share.
Jean-Marc Chery, ST President & CEO, commented:
- “Q2 net revenues were above the midpoint of our business outlook range driven by higher revenues in Personal Electronics, partially offset by lower than expected revenues in Automotive. Gross margin was in line with expectations.”
- “First half net revenues decreased 21.9% year-over-year, mainly driven by a decrease in Microcontrollers and Power and Discrete segments. Operating margin was 13.8% and net income was $865 million.”
- “During the quarter, contrary to our prior expectations, customer orders for Industrial did not improve and Automotive demand declined.”
- “Our third quarter business outlook, at the mid-point, is for net revenues of $3.25 billion, decreasing year-overyear by 26.7% and increasing sequentially by 0.6%; gross margin is expected to be about 38%, impacted by about 350 basis points of unused capacity charges.”
- “We will now drive the Company based on a plan for FY24 revenues in the range of $13.2 billion to $13.7 billion. Within this plan, we expect a gross margin of about 40%.”
Original – STMicroelectronics
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Soitec announced consolidated revenue of 121 million Euros for the first quarter of FY’25 (ended June 30th, 2024), down 23% on a reported basis compared with 157 million Euros achieved in the first quarter of FY’24. This reflects a 24% decline at constant exchange rates and perimeter and a slightly positive currency impact of 1%.
Pierre Barnabé, Soitec’s CEO, commented: “The low point reached in the first quarter of our fiscal year 2025 was anticipated and is in line with our expectations, in a challenging market environment. The absorption of our customers’ RF-SOI inventories is progressing and should be completed towards the end of the first half of our fiscal year 2025. Beyond this quarter, the gradual recovery in RF-SOI deliveries and the continued growth of our increasingly diversified product portfolio will underpin the revenue increase throughout the second part of fiscal year 2025. We therefore reiterate our full year guidance.
Looking ahead, Soitec’s organic growth will be underpinned in all three of its end markets by increasingly powerful megatrends: 5G expansion and the continued premiumization of smartphones, the ongoing digitization and electrification of the automotive sector, the proliferation of edge AI devices, and the expansion of cloud AI computing power capabilities in a more sustainable way. Our innovation and industrial roadmaps are designed to reinforce our leadership in SOI while accelerating the diversification of our portfolio of engineered substrates with new compound semiconductors, beyond SOI.”
Original – Soitec
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Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) reported second quarter revenue of $3.82 billion, net income of $1.13 billion and earnings per share of $1.22. Earnings per share included a 5-cent benefit for items that were not in the company’s original guidance.
Regarding the company’s performance and returns to shareholders, Haviv Ilan, TI’s president and CEO, made the following comments:
- “Revenue decreased 16% from the same quarter a year ago and increased 4% sequentially. Industrial and automotive continued to decline sequentially, while all other end markets grew.
- “Our cash flow from operations of $6.4 billion for the trailing 12 months again underscored the strength of our business model, the quality of our product portfolio and the benefit of 300mm production. Free cash flow for the same period was $1.5 billion.
- “Over the past 12 months we invested $3.7 billion in R&D and SG&A, invested $5.0 billion in capital expenditures and returned $4.9 billion to owners.
- “TI’s third quarter outlook is for revenue in the range of $3.94 billion to $4.26 billion and earnings per share between $1.24 and $1.48. We continue to expect our effective tax rate to be about 13%.”
Original – Texas Instruments
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NXP Semiconductors N.V. reported financial results for the second quarter, which ended June 30, 2024.
“NXP delivered quarterly revenue of $3.13 billion, consistent with our guidance, with all our focus end-markets performing in-line with our expectations. With our second quarter results and guidance for the third quarter NXP has successfully navigated the cyclical trough in our businesses and we expect to resume sequential growth. We continue to manage what is in our control enabling NXP to drive resilient profitability and earnings in a challenging demand environment,” said Kurt Sievers, NXP President and Chief Executive Officer.
Key Highlights for the Second Quarter 2024:
- Revenue was $3.13 billion, down 5% year-on-year;
- GAAP gross margin was 57.3% , GAAP operating margin was 28.7% and GAAP diluted Net Income per Share was $2.54;
- Non-GAAP gross margin was 58.6%, non-GAAP operating margin was 34.3%, and non-GAAP diluted Net Income per Share was $3.20;
- Cash flow from operations was $761 million, with net capex investments of $(184) million, resulting in non-GAAP free cash flow of $577 million;
- During the second quarter of 2024, NXP continued to execute its capital return policy with the payment of $260 million in cash dividends, and the repurchase of $310 million of its common shares. The total capital return of $570 million in the quarter represented 99% of second quarter non-GAAP free cash flow. On a trailing twelve month basis, capital return to shareholders represented $2.4 billion or 81% of non-GAAP free cash flow. The interim dividend for the second quarter 2024 was paid in cash on July 10, 2024 to shareholders of record as of June 13, 2024. Subsequent to the end of the second quarter, between July 1, 2024 and July 19, 2024, NXP executed via a 10b5-1 program additional share repurchases totaling $69 million;
- On April 9, 2024, NXP announced the 5nm S32N55 processor, the first device in the S32N family of vehicle super-integration processors. As the heart of the recently announced S32 CoreRide central compute solution, it offers scalable combinations of safe, real-time and applications processing to address automakers’ diverse central compute needs;
- On June 4, 2024, NXP announced a collaboration with ZF Friedrichshafen AG (“ZF”), a global leader in e-mobility, on next-generation SiC-based traction inverter solutions for electric vehicles (EVs). ZF will adopt NXP’s advanced GD316x high-voltage isolated gate drivers, to accelerate the adoption of 800-V and SiC power devices for next generation all electric vehicles; and
- On June 5, 2024, NXP and Vanguard International Semiconductor Corp. (“VIS”) announced the plan to create a manufacturing joint-venture VisionPower Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Pte Ltd (“VSMC”) which will build a new 300mm semiconductor wafer manufacturing facility in Singapore. The joint-venture fab will support 130nm to 40nm mixed-signal, power management and analog products, targeting the automotive, industrial, consumer and mobile end markets. The underlying process technologies are planned to be licensed and transferred to the joint venture from TSMC.
Original – NXP Semiconductors
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Aehr Test Systems announced financial results for its fiscal 2024 fourth quarter and full year ended May 31, 2024.
Fiscal Fourth Quarter Financial Results:
- Net revenue was $16.6 million, compared to $22.3 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023
- GAAP net income was $23.9 million, or $0.81 per diluted share, which includes the impact of a tax benefit resulting from the release of the Company’s full income tax valuation allowance of approximately $20.8 million, compared to GAAP net income of $6.1 million, or $0.21 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
- Non-GAAP net income was $24.7 million, or $0.84 per diluted share, which includes the tax benefit and excludes acquisition related costs and the impact of stock-based compensation, compared to non-GAAP net income of $6.8 million, or $0.23 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023.
- Bookings were $4.0 million for the quarter
- Backlog as of May 31, 2024, was $7.3 million. Effective backlog, which includes all orders received since the end of the fourth quarter, is $20.8 million.
- Total cash and cash equivalents as of May 31, 2024 were $49.2 million, up from $47.6 million at February 29, 2024
Fiscal Year Financial Results:
- Net revenue was a record $66.2 million, compared to $65.0 million in fiscal 2023
- GAAP net income was $33.2 million, or $1.12 per diluted share, which includes the impact of a tax benefit resulting from the release of the Company’s full income tax valuation allowance of approximately $20.8 million recognized in the fourth quarter, compared to GAAP net income of $14.6 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, in fiscal 2023.
- Non-GAAP net income, which includes the tax benefit and excludes acquisition related costs and the impact of stock-based compensation, was $35.8 million, or $1.21 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income of $17.3 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, in fiscal 2023.
An explanation of the use of non-GAAP financial measures and a reconciliation of Aehr’s non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures can be found in the accompanying tables.
Gayn Erickson, President and CEO of Aehr Test Systems, commented:
“Our full-year revenue and net income results exceeded our previously provided guidance and surpassed analyst consensus. Although we saw customer pushouts of silicon carbide devices due to slower electric vehicle (EV) demand in the second half of our fiscal year, we achieved another record year for annual revenue for Aehr.
“Wafer level test and burn-in of silicon carbide power semiconductors used in EVs was a key driver of our business in the last year, and we anticipate silicon carbide will continue to be a key contributor to revenue in the current fiscal year and beyond. To that point, we announced today that we received $12.7 million in orders from one of our silicon carbide test and burn-in customers for FOX WaferPak™ full wafer Contactors to support production of silicon carbide power devices for electric vehicles to be delivered over the next three months.
“The silicon carbide market continues to be an enormous opportunity for Aehr as we see more auto suppliers committed to silicon carbide in their EVs, as well as roadmaps that are based on modules for their electric motor power inverters. By 2030, battery EVs are forecasted to more than triple last year’s sales to 30 million or 30% of total vehicles manufactured worldwide.
“We remain actively engaged with a significant number of new silicon carbide device and module suppliers and seek to meet their anticipated capacity coming online beginning in 2025. We are also seeing growing demand for silicon carbide devices beyond the EV market, such as solar, data center, and other industrial applications for power conversion. We believe we are well positioned to continue to grow our business in silicon carbide, and we expect to receive first orders from a significant number of additional silicon carbide customers by the end of this fiscal year.
“We are also seeing traction with several emerging opportunities for our test and burn-in solutions in new target markets and expect bookings and revenue across a much broader range of customers and markets this fiscal year.
“One of the key new market opportunities we are focusing on is the growing demand for Artificial Intelligence (AI) processor test and burn-in at both the wafer level and the packaged part level.
“We are currently working with an AI accelerator company and have secured a commitment from them to evaluate our FOX solution for use in production wafer level burn-in of their high-power processors. Upon successful demonstration of wafer level test results and throughput, we expect they will utilize our new high-power FOX-XP systems for production of their next generation AI processors, starting this fiscal year.
“We also announced today in a separate press release our acquisition of Incal Technology, a manufacturer of highly acclaimed reliability test and burn-in solutions of a wide range of semiconductor devices and markets, with a new product family of ultra-high-power test solutions for AI accelerators, graphics & network processors, and high-performance computing processors. We believe that between wafer level and package part, the reliability test and production burn-in market for AI processors exceeds $100 million annually, and with this combined product portfolio we believe we have the opportunity to capture a meaningful share of the market this fiscal year.
“This past year we announced our first order for a FOX wafer level test and burn-in system for gallium nitride (GaN) devices. While silicon carbide will be the semiconductor material of choice for EV traction inverters, GaN is expected to gain significant penetration in the on-board charging market as well as other automotive, solar, and data center power conversion applications. We are working with several of the GaN market leaders, and received a significant number of WaferPak orders throughout the year for gallium nitride reliability test and qualification. We have now received our first forecasts for wafer level production burn-in systems to be delivered during this fiscal year. We continue to be encouraged by this market and believe it will be significant in market size for semiconductors and has the potential to be a solid market opportunity for Aehr’s solutions.
“Within the silicon photonics market, we shipped the first order from a major silicon photonics customer for the new high-power configuration of our FOX-XP system this last fiscal year. This new configuration expands our market opportunity by enabling cost-effective volume production test of wafers of next-generation photonic ICs that are targeted for use in the new optical I/O or co-packaged optics market. Nvidia, AMD, and Intel have all discussed the potential for adding optical chip-to-chip communication for performance improvement and power savings for AI processors and High-Performance Computing chips.
“Looking ahead, we believe Aehr has significant opportunities for growth in fiscal 2025 and beyond with our industry-leading product portfolio, and we look forward to updating you on our progress throughout the year as we seek to capitalize on these exciting new opportunities.”
Fiscal 2025 Financial Guidance:
For the fiscal year ending May 30, 2025, Aehr expects total revenue of at least $70 million and net profit before taxes of at least 10% of revenue.
Original – Aehr Test Systems
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Analog Devices, Inc. announced financial results for its fiscal second quarter 2024, which ended May 4, 2024.
“ADI delivered second quarter revenue above the midpoint of our outlook, despite continued macro and inventory headwinds. Further, the strength and resiliency of our business model, coupled with disciplined cost control, enabled us to achieve profitability and earnings per share above the high-end of our outlook,” said Vincent Roche, CEO and Chair.
“We believe inventory rationalization across our broad customer base is stabilizing, clearing a path for us to return to sequential growth in the third quarter. This, coupled with improving new orders, gives us optimism that we are at the beginning of a cyclical recovery.”
Roche continued, “The continued proliferation of the Intelligent Edge presents ADI with numerous concurrent secular growth vectors. AI, where we have been increasing our investments, is expected to accelerate these trends as it increasingly extends from centralized applications in data centers to a myriad of applications at the physical edge. As a leader of real-world data creation, processing, and connectivity, our solutions are becoming increasingly important to customers in the AI-driven era. As such, my confidence in ADI’s ability to drive long term value for all stakeholders remains resolute.”
For the third quarter of fiscal 2024, company’s forecas revenue is $2.27 billion, +/- $100 million. At the midpoint of this revenue outlook, reported operating margin is expected on the level of approximately 20.1%, +/-200 bps, and adjusted operating margin of approximately 40.0%, +/-100 bps. Analog Devices is planning for reported EPS to be $0.71, +/-$0.10, and adjusted EPS to be $1.50, +/-$0.10.
The company’s third quarter fiscal 2024 outlook is based on current expectations and actual results may differ materially as a result of, among other things, the important factors discussed at the end of this release. These statements supersede all prior statements regarding business outlook set forth in prior ADI news releases, and ADI disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Performance for the Second Quarter 2024 Financials
Original – Analog Devices
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Soitec announced its revenue for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024 and its full-year results of fiscal year 2024 (ended on March 31st, 2024). The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors during its meeting.
- Q4’24 revenue reached €337m, down 2% at constant exchange rates and perimeter compared to the record quarter Q4’23
- FY’24 revenue amounted to €978m, down 10% both at constant exchange rates and perimeter and on a reported basis, in line with latest guidance
- FY’24 EBITDA margin at the level of 34%, also in line with latest guidance
- FY’24 net profit, reached €178m, an 18% margin
- FY’25 outlook confirmed: Soitec expects revenue to be stable year-on-year at constant exchange rates and perimeter and EBITDA margin to reach around 35%
- Changes in the Board of Directors: Frédéric Lissalde to be proposed as Director at the next Annual General Meeting
Pierre Barnabé, Soitec’s CEO, commented: “Fiscal year 2024 was a challenging year, marked by the impact on our sales of RF-SOI inventories correction across the entire smartphone value chain. Despite these difficult market conditions, we succeeded in maintaining a solid level of profitability, while continuing to invest both in innovation and industrial capacity to prepare for the future.
Regarding our fiscal year 2025, the RF-SOI inventory correction will continue to impact our revenue through the first part of the year. However, we are seeing early signs of improvement downstream, led by the ongoing return to growth of the smartphone market, which gives us confidence in the recovery of our RF-SOI sales in the second half of the year. At the same time, we will continue to benefit from strong performance of our other SOI products, and from the successful expansion of our product portfolio, with increased penetration of POI and the ramp-up of SmartSiC.
Looking ahead, we remain very confident in our ability to leverage the significant growth drivers underpinning our three end-markets. Coupled with the increasing adoption of engineered substrates to deliver more powerful and energy-efficient solutions to a growing number of customers, our continued diversification and expansion of our product portfolio, in both SOI and Compound substrates, supports our clear vision towards $2bn revenue in the medium term, with significant margin expansion potential,” added Pierre Barnabé.
Original – Soitec
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Applied Materials, Inc. reported results for its second quarter ended Apr. 28, 2024.
Applied generated revenue of $6.65 billion. On a GAAP basis, the company reported gross margin of 47.4 percent, operating income of $1.91 billion or 28.8 percent of net revenue, and earnings per share (EPS) of $2.06. On a non-GAAP basis, the company reported gross margin of 47.5 percent, operating income of $1.93 billion or 29.0 percent of net revenue, and EPS of $2.09.
The company generated $1.39 billion in cash from operations and distributed $1.09 billion to shareholders including $820 million in share repurchases and $266 million in dividends.
“Applied Materials continues to deliver strong performance in 2024, with fiscal second quarter revenue and earnings towards the high end of our guided range,” said Gary Dickerson, President and CEO.
“Applied Materials has the most enabling portfolio of materials engineering technologies for chips that underpin tectonic shifts in technology including AI, IoT, electric vehicles and clean energy, which puts us in a great position to grow along with these long-term, secular trends.”
Original – Applied Materials
