In brief: RFMD, TriQuint, Vistec
RFMD dispatches Polaris 3 to China
RF Microdevices will add flip-chip packaging technology and its proprietary RF shielding capability to its Beijing site, while expanding wire bonding and testing facilities at the same location.
This move comes in preparation for the ramp-up in production of the Greensboro, North Carolina company s Polaris 3 RF transceiver module, which John Lau of investment analysts Jefferies and Company says is being so well received at Nokia that it will offset the revenue shortfall caused by Motorola s woes.
Polaris 3 s appeal lies in the combination of RFMD's highly integrated transceiver, power amplifier and transmit/receive switch with RF shielding to produce components which can go anywhere in a handset.
Surprise charge upsets TriQuint figures
$4 million dollars of unexpected excess inventory, likely resulting from the drop-off in Motorola orders, will hit Triquint Semiconductor's financials for the second quarter of 2007.
The resulting charge means that the Hillsboro, Oregon, based chip maker only anticipates net income between $1 million and $2 million when it announces its results on July 25, rather than the $6 million it had previously predicted.
The company now anticipates 2007 sales to grow between 14 and 18 percent compared to 2006, and earnings to increase by between 10 and 20 percent over the same period.
Vistec s Gaussian beam business goes west
Vistec is moving its Gaussian beam business from Cambridge, UK, to Albany, New York, as part of a reshuffle of its company structure.
The semiconductor production technology firm is also integrating its Electron Beam and Lithography businesses into a single Electron Beam Lithography group which, alongside the existing Semiconductor Systems division, means Vistec now only comprises two business units rather than three.
The prospects for the newly organised business are cautiously optimistic, according to Papken Der Torossian, Chairman of Vistec Semiconductor Systems.
“We expect 2007 to become a strong year again since we have experienced strong demand in the semiconductor equipment market in the first half of 2007, especially for process control equipment,” Der Torossian said, “but there are signals that there might be a slowdown in the third and fourth quarter.”
