IQE sees signs of steady growth
The company says that although demand has remained weak during the past six months, it has seen the signs of a return to steady growth in demand for its products and services. Towards the end of this period there has been a rise in the number of customers sampling new products and the company anticipates that this will begin to add to sales in the fourth fiscal quarter as those products become qualified for customers’ production processes.
In particular IQE cites its aluminum-free laser products, for which it is the only outsource epiwafer supplier, its new strained silicon products, and the continued strength in demand for products for wireless IC manufacturers as reasons for optimism, although it cautions that timescales from sampling through qualification to production can be very slow.
