issue n°139 - I-Micronews

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