E-PHEMT orders bolster Agilent in soft chip market
Agilent Technologies semiconductor product group (SPG) saw a 9% year-on-year fall in revenue in the quarter ended April 30.
Sales fell to $414 million in the period, with the SPG s operating profit plummeting from $50 million one year ago to just $12 million.
The company, which makes a variety of III-V chips, including GaAs E-PHEMTs, laser chips and LEDs, has however seen a strong upturn in orders for some of its products following the traditionally-weak post-holiday period.
But now that cellphone handset manufacturers have finished flushing out their inventory channels, Agilent officials are confident of a modest rebound in the current quarter.
And orders for its GaAs-based E-PHEMT power amplifier products (see related stories) grew 33% year-on-year, said Agilent.
The company is making a bid to rise up the rankings of RFIC manufacturers, with a recent increase in its power amplifier offerings following the acquisition of the Korea-based supplier Wavics.
Other strongly-performing business areas include fiber-optics, where orders rose 12% on increased demand for Ethernet products, and Agilent's laser-based optical mouse, which is proving popular among computer gamers.
