TriQuint chops guidance, buys filter firm
TriQuint Semiconductor is to acquire TFR Technologies, a company that makes thin-film resonator filters, for around $3 million in cash.
Based in Bend, Oregon, TFR manufactures electronic filters based on bulk acoustic wave (BAW) or film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR) technology. The company comprises 21 employees and stands to generate a revenue of $3-4 million in 2004, said TriQuint.
Although TFR s products are used mostly by the US military at the moment, TriQuint CEO Ralph Quinsey is convinced that they are also ideally suited to the high-volume consumer sector in cell phone, Wi-Fi and WiMax applications. The acoustic filters would be used in integrated front-end radio products sold by TriQuint.
TriQuint plans to integrate BAW manufacturing with its existing surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter production facility in Orlando, Florida. The transfer process is expected to take around 18 months, with high-volume production slated for 2006.
BAW filters can operate at a higher frequency than current SAW technology, which typically works up to around 2.5 GHz. In comparison, TFR s BAW filters can reach over 10 GHz.
Quinsey said that TFR s potential would be "unlocked" once BAW filter production had been transferred to Florida, allowing low-cost devices to be made in high volumes. TriQuint would then look to penetrate commercial markets with the technology.
TriQuint has also revised downwards its financial guidance for both the current quarter and the first quarter of 2005. Blaming a slight weakness in the handset market, as well as the planned reduction in revenue resulting from its exit from the optoelctronics modules business, the company now expects revenue in the current quarter to be $73-74 million, down from the $76-$80 million figure previously predicted.
The opening quarter of 2005 is now expected to be a further 5% down on the current quarter, resulting partly from the seasonal nature of the cell phone handset market.
