Anadigics cuts losses with market-share gain
GaAs manufacturer Anadigics has posted much-improved finances thanks largely to healthy demand for high-end cell-phones that require more complex RF architectures.
In the quarter that ended on April 1, 2006, the Warren, NJ, firm reported sales of $35.7 million, up 7% sequentially despite the traditionally downward seasonality of the cell-phone market, and up 64% on the equivalent period last year.
"Growth was driven by strong demand for GSM/EDGE/W-CDMA power amplifiers, wireless LAN and tuner ICs," said CEO Bami Bastani. "Our market share expansion and increased content in these key growth markets represent a powerful combination."
GaAs industry analyst Asif Anwar from Strategy Analytics agrees that Anadigics is measuring up well against its chief competitors: "I think Anadigics has surprised its rivals and although I don t believe [the company] is about to shoot to the top, I think the early demands from the EDGE and W-CDMA/EDGE market offers opportunities for companies like Anadigics to compete effectively against the likes of RF Micro Devices and Skyworks."
While the strong revenue growth is expected to continue, Anadigics is still posting a loss at the bottom line, with its 6-inch GaAs fab continuing to suffer from underutilization.
Excluding an expense recorded for stock compensation, the company made a loss of $3.2 million in the most recent quarter. But the bottom line is also much-improved from one year ago, when the reported loss figure was $10.8 million.
The Anadigics balance sheet is also looking much healthier now, thanks to a public stock offering that raised $53.2 million earlier in the year. At least some of that cash will be invested in development of new technologies to keep Anadigics on its current growth path.
