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Soitec once again demonstrates its excellence in innovation through its rise in the 2024 ranking of patent filers published by the INPI (the French National Institute of Industrial Property).
This recognition highlights Soitec’s unwavering commitment to innovation and confirms its central role in the development of disruptive technologies, driven by a global strategy and a network of research centers spread across several continents.
For the first time, the patents filed originate from all of its innovation sites around the world, illustrating a collaborative approach that combines technological excellence with strong local roots.
With 76 patents filed in France in 2024, compared to 62 the previous year, Soitec:
- Confirms its 1st place among the most innovative mid-sized companies, for the second consecutive year;
- Rises to 22nd place nationally, up three places.
This achievement reflects the strength of Soitec’s innovation strategy, driven by its research, technology, and intellectual property teams. The company protects its technological advances with a robust patent portfolio, securing its innovations and ensuring product differentiation in the market through the exclusivity of its innovations. With approximately 400 patents filed worldwide each year, Soitec has established itself as an essential technology leader.
Pierre Barnabé, CEO of Soitec, stated:
“This progress in the INPI ranking demonstrates Soitec’s unwavering commitment to innovation and intellectual property. Our teams continue to develop breakthrough solutions that address the strategic challenges of our industry. By strengthening our patent portfolio, we consolidate our leadership position and create value for our customers and partners worldwide.”
Soitec’s continuous investments in R&D enable it to anticipate the needs of strategic markets and address the technological challenges of the future. With 14% of its revenue dedicated to R&D this year, the company develops innovative materials that accelerate the transition to more efficient and sustainable solutions in the field of mobile communications, artificial intelligence, and power electronics.
At the same time, Soitec continues to diversify its activities by introducing innovative new products. The company is at the forefront of Photonics-SOI technology, which facilitates the shift from electrical to optical interconnects – a key development for the evolution of data centers and telecommunications. Furthermore, Soitec’s SmartSiC™ silicon carbide wafers, produced using its patented SmartCut™ technology, enhance the performance and sustainability of power electronics applications, which are essential for electric mobility and the energy industry.
Another example is Soitec’s POI (Piezoelectric On Insulator), an innovative substrate also manufactured using its SmartCut™ technology. It is based on a high-resistivity silicon substrate, topped with an embedded oxide layer and a thin layer of single-crystal piezoelectric material, making it particularly suitable for advanced applications in optoelectronics and telecommunications.
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Soitec announced consolidated revenue of 226 million Euros for the third quarter of FY’25 (ended December 29th, 2024), down 6% on a reported basis compared to the third quarter of FY’24. This reflects a 10% decline at constant exchange rates and perimeter, a positive currency impact of 5% and a negative scope effect of 1%.
Pierre Barnabé, Soitec’s CEO, commented: “After a very strong sequential rebound in the second quarter, we maintained the third-quarter revenue at a fairly similar level. The good performance of the Mobile Communications division was driven by sustained momentum in POI, and a seasonal tailwind in RF-SOI sales. Despite seasonal restocking in the second half of the fiscal year, the customers continue to optimize RF-SOI inventory levels based on seasonality and market conditions, which will keep driving fluctuations over the next few quarters. At the same time, we are strengthening our position as a leader, notably with the introduction of new innovative 300mm products. The Automotive and Industrial division continues to be impacted by a weak automotive market. In Edge & Cloud AI, the momentum remains strong, supported by significant investments in cloud infrastructure across the industry to accelerate AI computing power, as well as increasing demand at the edge for lower energy consumption and processing costs.
Due to worsening conditions in the Automotive and Consumer markets, a couple of customers have requested to put some delivery requests on hold. As a consequence, we are adjusting our guidance for fiscal year 2025, with annual revenue expected to decrease by high single digit year-on-year. We are managing our EBITDA margin to be between 32% and 34%.
With the lack of visibility on our end markets for now, it is also too early to provide specific guidance for fiscal year 2026. Given current market conditions, we expect at this stage quite limited growth for fiscal year 2026.
Our fundamentals remain solid and will allow us to accelerate as end markets recover. We continue to enhance our technology leadership, to strengthen our SOI positioning with both existing and new customers, and to deploy our expansion into compound semiconductors with the acceleration of POI volumes and a fifth customer in qualification on SmartSiCTM.”
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Soitec announced the appointment of Ruth Hernandez as Chief Sales Officer. She will join the Executive Committee with responsibility for driving Soitec’s commercial success.
With a proven track record in the semiconductor industry, Ruth Hernandez brings 25 years of experience working with major semiconductor companies such as Texas Instruments, Maxim Integrated and GlobalFoundries across five countries. She will play a key role in driving the next chapter of Soitec’s long-term growth strategy and strengthening Soitec’s customer networks.
Ruth succeeds Yvon Pastol who will leave the company on January 31, after having led the global Sales organization since August 2020.
Ruth Hernandez said: “I am honored and excited to join the Executive Committee of Soitec, a world leader in innovative semiconductor materials. After 25 years in this dynamic industry, I am thrilled to contribute to driving global impact through Soitec’s cutting-edge technologies that combine performance and energy efficiency.”
Pierre Barnabé, Chief Executive Officer of Soitec, stated: “On behalf of Soitec, I am delighted to welcome Ruth Hernandez as our new Chief Sales Officer. She brings a wealth of experience from her strategic leadership roles at several world-class semiconductor companies. I would also like to take this opportunity to extend my warm thanks to Yvon Pastol, thanking him for his commitment and significant contribution to Soitec over the years. I wish him all the best in his future endeavours.”
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Resonac Corporation (formerly Showa Denko K.K.) and Soitec have signed an agreement to develop 200mm (8-inch) SmartSiC™ silicon carbide (SiC) wafers using Resonac substrates and epitaxy processes, in a major step for the deployment of Soitec’s high-yielding silicon carbide technology in Japan and other international markets.
SmartSiC™ silicon carbide is a disruptive compound semiconductor material providing superior performance and efficiency over silicon in high-growth power applications for electric mobility and industrial processes. It allows for more efficient power conversion, lighter and more compact designs and overall system cost savings – all key factors for success in automotive and industrial systems.
Christophe Maleville, Chief Technology Officer at Soitec, commented: “Silicon carbide is beingadopted for EV and industrial applications, where it brings a significant system cost advantage. To further accelerate this adoption, silicon carbide yield and productivity must be improved. Associating Resonac premium quality SiC materials with Soitec’s unique 200mm (8-inch) SmartSiC™ technology will support volume availability of record quality epi-ready substrate. The combination of our respective technologies and products will optimize these substrates using Resonac’s high-quality epitaxy. Soitec is proud and excited to be partnering with Resonac to develop a best-in-class combined SiC product offering for Japan and the world.”
Makoto Takeda, General Manager of Device Solutions Business Unit at Resonac, commented: “We are delighted to announce this partnership with Soitec, which is fully aligned with our broader commitment to sustainable and energy-efficient semiconductor solutions. By combining Resonac’s high quality monocrystalline silicon carbide wafers with Soitec’s unique SmartSiC™ technology, we will deliver improved production efficiency of 200mm (8-inch) silicon carbide wafers and diversify the epi-wafer supply chain.”
Soitec’s SmartSiC™ silicon carbide wafers, or engineered substrates, are produced using the company’s proprietary SmartCut™ technology to bond an ultra-fine layer of high-quality monoSiC ‘donor’ wafer to a low-resistivity polycrystalline (poly-SiC) ‘handle’ wafer. The resulting engineered substrate delivers significantly improved device performance and manufacturing yields. By allowing multiple re-uses of the prime quality mono-SiC wafer, the process also reduces overall energy consumption during wafer manufacturing.
Soitec has a new fabrication plant at its headquarters in Bernin, France, primarily dedicated to the production of SmartSiC™ wafers for electric vehicles, renewable energy and industrial equipment component applications.
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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.”
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Soitec and Tokai Carbon, a comprehensive manufacturer of carbon and graphite products, have entered into a strategic partnership for the development and supply of polycrystalline silicon carbide substrates specifically designed for Soitec SmartSiC™ wafers.
Silicon carbide is a disruptive compound semiconductor and SmartSiC™ engineered substrates accelerate the adoption of silicon carbide for electric mobility, industrial and smart grid applications by delivering superior manufacturing and cost efficiencies with an improved environmental footprint.
Under this partnership, which will see Tokai Carbon supply 150mm and 200mm poly-SiC wafers to Soitec, the two companies are harnessing their advanced R&D capabilities to enhance the SmartSiC™ ecosystem. Tokai Carbon’s advanced technology and manufacturing capacity in polycrystalline silicon carbide (polySiC) combined with the right to use Soitec specifications for polySiC coarse wafers compliant with Soitec SmartSiC™ is expected to make a strategic contribution to the global ramp-up of SmartSiC™ wafer production.
Cyril Menon, Chief Operations Officer of Soitec, stated: “This partnership with Tokai marks yet another key step in the ramp-up of Soitec’s SmartSiC™ technology to address fast-growing markets such as electric mobility and industrial electrification. Tokai’s top quality SiC products and R&D capabilities, combined with Soitec’s innovative SmartSiC™ technology, can help to accelerate global adoption of electric mobility and other SiC technologies. This is an important milestone in terms of perception and value creation for the SmartSiC™ ecosystem.”
Hajime Nagasaka, CEO of Tokai Carbon, commented. “The polycrystalline SiC substrate to be supplied to Soitec is a strategic product in our solid SiC product series. We are pleased to see our long years of research and development come to fruition in this way, and we have high expectations for this product in the SiC semiconductor market, which is expected to expand significantly in the future. The partnership with Soitec is also very meaningful in terms of contributing to the realization of a sustainable society.”
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X-FAB and Soitec will begin work to offer Soitec’s SmartSiC™ wafers for the production of silicon carbide power devices at X-FAB’s plant in Lubbock, Texas.
This collaboration follows the successful completion of the assessment phase, during which silicon carbide (SiC) power devices were manufactured at X-FAB Texas on 150mm SmartSiC™ wafers. Soitec will offer X-FAB’s customers easy access to the SmartSiC™ substrate through a joint supply chain consignment model.
X-FAB is the pioneer and leader of the foundry model in the fast-growing SiC market. Silicon carbide (SiC) is a disruptive compound semiconductor material with intrinsic properties providing superior performance and efficiency over silicon in power applications.
SmartSiC™ is a proprietary Soitec technology based on the company’s SmartCut™ process, in which a thin layer of a high-quality monocrystalline (mono-SiC) ‘donor’ wafer is split off and bonded to a low resistivity polycrystalline (poly-SiC) ‘handle’ wafer. The resulting substrate offers improved device performance and manufacturing yields. The process allows multiple re-uses of a single donor wafer, significantly reducing cost and related CO2 emissions.In this fast-growing market, Soitec is ramping production of SmartSiC™ substrates at its new plant of Bernin, near Grenoble (France). X-FAB is increasing production capacity for SiC devices at the Lubbock plant. The use of the SmartSiC™ substrate enables X-FAB’s customers to design smaller devices, resulting in efficiency improvements through an increased number of dies per wafer. The benefit of reduced CO2 emissions from the substrate manufacturing process will also contribute to X-FAB’s initiative to reduce its overall carbon footprint.
Sophie Le-Guyadec VP Procurement of X-FAB, states: “As the leading SiC foundry, we want to provide our customers the full range of opportunities to design innovative and robust SiC devices for electric vehicles, renewable power and industrial applications. To offer the most advanced silicon carbide processes and manufacturing capabilities, we jointly agreed to provide our customers easy access to Soitec’s innovative SmartSiC™ via a consignment model.”
Emmanuel Sabonnadiere, Soitec Executive Vice President Automotive and Industry comments: “Soitec’s SmartSiC substrates and X-FAB’s foundry services are a perfect fit to meet increasing demand for new SiC products. This cooperation is a significant milestone for the deployment of SmartSiC in the U.S. market and internationally, thanks to X-FAB’s global footprint.”Original – X-FAB
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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.
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Soitec announced consolidated revenue of 240 million Euros for the third quarter of FY’24 (ended December 31st, 2023), down 13% on a reported basis compared with 274 million Euros achieved in the third quarter of FY’23. This reflects a 12% decline at constant exchange rates and perimeter and a negative currency impact of 1%.
Pierre Barnabé, Soitec’s CEO, commented: “After the very strong sequential rebound achieved in the second quarter, we maintained our third-quarter revenue at a similar level, in line with our expectations. As we indicated during our last communication, the correction of RF-SOI inventories by our customers continues to weigh on revenue, offsetting the continued strong performance of FD-SOI, POI and Power-SOI, strong growth in Automotive & Industrial, and a solid level of revenue in Smart Devices.
We anticipate to continue to face challenging market dynamics on RF-SOI for another couple of quarters. While confirming that we expect a solid Q4’24, we are adjusting our revenue guidance for the full-year, with an organic decline of around 10% year-on-year and an EBITDA margin forecast of around 34%. Expansion into new products remains a key pillar of our strategy, and we are very satisfied with the successes we have achieved.
In Mobile Communications, FD-SOI penetration continues to progress, with the latest flagship smartphones embedding increasingly more content. POI activity accelerates, with two new customers in production in the quarter and more than ten in the qualification phase.
On SmartSiCTM, our roadmap is on track on all aspects: technology, industrial, supply and commercial. We have secured a second customer, with production scheduled to start in the second part of calendar year 2024.
The ongoing deployment of our strong megatrends across our three strategic end markets and our expanding product portfolio support our sustainable growth story. We now expect our $2.1bn revenue outlook to be postponed by around a year.”
FY’24 revenue guidance is revised: revenue is expected to be down around 10% year-on-year at constant exchange rates and perimeter as opposed to a mid-single digit decrease previously expected, and EBITDA margin at around 34% as opposed to around 35%.
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Soitec announced the launch of a new industrial installation allowing wafer rinse water to be partially reused in the production of ultra-pure water for cleanrooms at its French manufacturing facilities.
Thanks to this innovation, the first of its kind in Europe at this scale, Soitec intends to increase significantly the proportion water that can be reused in its industrial processes. The wastewater reuse rate at its historic site in Bernin (Isère) is thereby expected to rise from 19% in 2023 to over 35% in 2024.
This solution, developed by Soitec in Bernin over three years, represents an important milestone in Soitec’s continuous improvement of resource management, one of the key pillars of its sustainable development strategy.
Cyril Menon, Soitec Chief Operations Officer: “This manufacturing process innovation is an illustration of Soitec’s commitment over several years to limit the intake of fresh water, a critical resource for semiconductor materials production. It is a significant milestone that we have reached. The introduction of this new process demonstrates that we can produce more with less, contributing to a more sustainable future.”
Soitec puts efficient management of natural resources at the heart of its commitment to sustainable development. While water is essential for the semiconductor industry, Soitec is well aware that it is a rare and precious resource that must be used responsibly and equitably by all.
From 2015 onwards, Soitec committed itself to a series of action plans to mitigate its impact on water resources. Soitec reduced its overall water consumption per unit produced by 30% between 2021 and 2023, and is targeting a further 30% reduction by 2030.
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