News Article
Wafer sales grow, but revenues fall at IQE
IQE’s first quarter results confirmed the tough conditions that epiwafer vendors are facing, as it saw revenues fall despite increasing wafer shipments.
In its results for the quarter ending March 31 IQE recorded revenues of £4.96 million ($8.1 million), 7% down on the previous quarter and 13% lower than the year-ago quarter. Operating losses eased 35% sequentially to £3.43 million as a result of cost cutting and reduced depreciation charges. Total cash outflow for the quarter was £4.217 million, leaving a cash reserve of £13.5 million.
The company reported that it was still experiencing heavy pricing pressure which resulted in lower revenues, even as wafer volumes continued to rise as IQE expands its market share. R&D costs now represent about 13% of sales and are mainly focussed on the company’s InGaP HBT product for the wireless market where it sees improving conditions. Qualification of this product is well underway with a number of customers.
Laser epiwafers for optical storage devices is another area that IQE is concentrating on and it has a new high-power product in qualification with a number of customers.
