Semicon update: Good and bad news in June

Semicon update: Good and bad news in June

While recovery momentum strengthened, with Q2 sales up 3 percent on Q1, the Jan-May YTD WSTS numbers for standard logic were revised downwards by a sizeable US$1.4 billion

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

LONDON, UK: According to Malcolm Penn, chairman and CEO, Future Horizons, June’s WSTS results brought both good and bad news! The good news being that the recovery momentum strengthened, with Q2 sales up 3 percent on Q1.

"This was significantly better than even we dared to predict in last month’s Report, despite the fact we raised eyebrows and disbelief by suggesting a 2.3 percent quarter on quarter growth," he says.

The bad news was the Jan-May YTD WSTS numbers for standard logic (and thus, the total ICs and total SC) were revised downwards by a sizeable US$1.4 billion, a restatement that will knock two percentage points off the 2008 year on year growth number!

On a year-on-year basis, total semiconductor sales and ASPs in June were up 12.2 and 11.8 percent respectively, with logic the star performer (up 25.3 and 16.6 percent), followed by analog (14.5 and 0.2 percent) and micro (12.2 and 6.5 percent), let down only by memory (minus 5.8 and minus 10.2 percent respectively).

In the non-IC categories, opto was up 25.2 and 10.1 percent respectively, followed by total discretes at 8.4 and 15.7 percent. Taking memories out of the mix and June’s total semiconductor sales and ASPs were up 17.5 and 17.4 percent respectively, with units virtually flat on the same period last year.

The first half year growth was up 5.9 percent in units but down 0.5 percent in ASP yielding a sales growth of plus 5.4 percent. This would have been plus 6.5 percent were it not for the $1.4 billion logic IC sales restatement. Again taking memories out of the equation and the results are even stronger at plus 5.5 percent in units and now plus 5.1 percent in ASP, yielding a first half year sales growth of plus 10.9 percent, 12.4 percent discounting the logic IC restatement.

More details on the global semiconductor market update to follow later.

©CIOL Bureau