issue n°139 - I-Micronews
issue n°139 - I-Micronews
issue n°139 - I-Micronews
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14 | ISSUE N°139 | 7/02/13<br />
POWER ELECTRONICS<br />
Fairchild semiconductor reports results for the fourth quarter and full year 2012<br />
Fairchild reported fourth quarter sales of $333.4 million, down 7 percent from the prior quarter and 2 percent<br />
lower than the fourth quarter of 2011.<br />
Fairchild Semiconductor, a leading<br />
global supplier of power semiconductors,announced<br />
results for the<br />
fourth quarter and full year ended December<br />
30, 2012. Fairchild reported fourth quarter<br />
sales of $333.4 million, down 7 percent from<br />
the prior quarter and 2 percent lower than<br />
the fourth quarter of 2011.<br />
Fairchild reported a fourth quarter net loss<br />
of $13.6 million or $0.11 per share compared<br />
to net income of $24.7 million or $0.19 per<br />
diluted share in the prior quarter and $21.3<br />
million or $0.17 per diluted share in the<br />
fourth quarter of 2011. Gross margin was<br />
29.8 percent compared to 33.5 percent in<br />
the prior quarter and 30.0 percent in the<br />
year-ago quarter.<br />
Full year revenues for 2012 were $1.4 billion,<br />
down about 12% from 2011. Fairchild<br />
reported net income of $25 million or $0.19<br />
per diluted share in 2012, compared to net<br />
income of $146 million or $1.12 per diluted<br />
share in 2011. The company reported 2012<br />
After acquiring the majority of Compact<br />
Dynamics, the development specialist<br />
for electric and hybrid cars, in May<br />
2010, Semikron International GmbH now<br />
have acquired the remaining 30 percent of<br />
shares that were so far held by the three<br />
Managing Directors, Maximilian Eck,<br />
Bernhard Hoffmann and Dr. Andreas Gründl.<br />
All three of them will leave Compact<br />
Dynamics GmbH on February 28, 2013, as<br />
scheduled, and will remain active consultants<br />
to the company.<br />
adjusted net income of $71 million or $0.55<br />
per diluted share, compared to $170 million<br />
or $1.30 per diluted share in 2011.<br />
«We saw better than seasonal distribution<br />
sell through and a significant improvement<br />
in bookings during the fourth quarter,» said<br />
Mark Thompson, Fairchild’s chairman and<br />
CEO. «The solid sell through contributed to<br />
our larger than expected channel inventory<br />
reduction of $17 million during the fourth<br />
quarter. Bookings were up substantially in<br />
the fourth quarter and we have a solidly<br />
positive book to bill so far in the first quarter.<br />
We also reduced internal inventory another<br />
2% and now have very lean channel and<br />
internal inventories at levels not seen since<br />
we emerged from the recession. We believe<br />
we are well positioned to translate improving<br />
demand into higher sales and margins as we<br />
progress through 2013.»<br />
Fourth quarter financials<br />
«Gross margin decreased 370 basis points<br />
sequentially due primarily to lower factory<br />
At the same time, Semikron International<br />
GmbH have apppointed, with immediate<br />
effect, Oliver Blamberger the new General<br />
Manager of Compact Dynamics. As of March<br />
01, 2013, Mr. Blamberger will be the solely<br />
responsible business manager for Compact<br />
Dynamic, while closey cooperating with the<br />
mother company.<br />
«I am proud to be holding a key position<br />
within such a highly innovative and exciting<br />
field of technology», says Blamberger. «We<br />
loadings as we further reduced inventories,»<br />
said Mark Frey, Fairchild’s executive vice<br />
president and CFO. «R&D and SG&A<br />
expenses were $86.9 million which was better<br />
than guidance due primarily to spending<br />
controls. In the reconciliation of GAAP to non-<br />
GAAP results there are three noteworthy<br />
items totaling nearly $23 million for the fourth<br />
quarter. The largest is the realized loss we<br />
recorded after selling all our remaining<br />
auction rate securities in the quarter.<br />
There is also a restructuring expense related<br />
to organization streamlining and a small VAT<br />
expense due to an internal IP sale. Free<br />
cash flow was a positive $49 million for the<br />
fourth quarter which was driven by lower<br />
capital spending, reduced internal inventory<br />
and improved cash conversion cycle time.<br />
Given this strong cash flow we paid down our<br />
debt another $50 million in the fourth<br />
quarter to $250 million, the lowest level in<br />
our history.»<br />
www.fairchildsemi.com<br />
Semikron acquire all shares in electric and hybrid car drives developer<br />
Compact Dynamics<br />
Oliver Blamberger appointed new general manager / Three managing directors to leave company as scheduled.<br />
are delighted to have found in Mr.<br />
Blamberger an experienced business leader<br />
to lead our innovative team into the future»,<br />
said former business owners, Maximilian<br />
Eck, Bernhard Hoffmann and Dr. Andreas<br />
Gründl.<br />
www.semikron.com<br />
Power-One enters into<br />
strategic alliance with<br />
Panasonic<br />
Companies will collaborate to<br />
develop, produce and market<br />
energy storage systems for<br />
residential and non-residential<br />
markets worldwide.<br />
Power-One, a global manufacturer of<br />
renewable energy and energy-efficient<br />
power conversion and management<br />
solutions, and Panasonic Corporation, a<br />
worldwide leader in the development and<br />
manufacture of electronic products and<br />
solutions, announced today that they have<br />
entered into a strategic alliance to develop,<br />
produce and market energy storage systems<br />
for the residential and non-residential<br />
markets worldwide combining Power-One<br />
inverters with Panasonic lithium-ion batteries<br />
and systems.<br />
As part of the agreement, the companies will<br />
leverage their respective research and<br />
development and sales and marketing<br />
resources for joint product and market<br />
development around the world. Initial efforts<br />
will focus on developing the residential,<br />
commercial and utility-scale, grid-connected,<br />
energy storage systems business in Europe<br />
and the U.S. as well as the non-residential<br />
segment in Japan. Additionally, the companies<br />
have committed to develop the large-scale<br />
commercial and utility photovoltaic inverter<br />
business in Japan.<br />
Energy storage systems have been garnering<br />
a lot of attention lately for their ability to<br />
reduce investment in equipment through<br />
power leveling and the reduction of peak<br />
power consumption in large scale renewable<br />
energy systems as well as for their use<br />
as backup power supplies in the event of<br />
natural disasters and other emergencies.<br />
It is estimated that the size of the global<br />
market for energy storage systems will<br />
exceed $11 billion by 2020, mainly in Europe,<br />
North America, and Japan, where renewable<br />
energy technology is now being adopted.<br />
www.power-one.com<br />
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Eric Lidow,<br />
co-founder of<br />
International Rectifier,<br />
died at 100<br />
Lidow’s career was remarkable not<br />
only because he worked every day<br />
in it - more than 60 years at IR<br />
alone - but that he entered into it<br />
in the first place.<br />
Eric Lidow, a photovoltaics whiz kid who<br />
fled Nazi Germany with $14 in his<br />
pocket and went on to become a<br />
power-electronics pioneer and<br />
multimillionaire philanthropist in the United<br />
States, died Jan. 18 at the age of 100. Mr.<br />
Lidow co-founded IR in 1947 and served as<br />
Chairman of the company’s board of<br />
directors until his retirement in May 2008.<br />
Over the course of more than six decades,<br />
Mr. Lidow transformed International Rectifier<br />
from a start-up company that developed<br />
selenium photoelectric cells and selenium<br />
rectifiers into a world leader in power<br />
management technology. Mr. Lidow served<br />
as the Company’s Chairman and Chief<br />
Executive Officer until 1995, after which<br />
time he assumed the position of Executive<br />
Chairman.<br />
www.irf.com