Strategic alignment of business portfolio and management structure lay foundation for future growth
ERFURT, Germany — (BUSINESS WIRE) — March 5, 2014 — Analog/mixed-signal foundry group X-FAB Silicon Foundries today announced sales of USD 290 million for fiscal year 2013, an increase of 12 percent compared to the previous year with sales of USD 259 million. NRE revenue as an indicator for future growth has been increasing during the past four years with a compound annual growth rate of 17 percent. In 2013, bookings amounted to USD 320 million, up approximately 27 percent year-over-year. The book to bill ratio for 2013 came in at 1.1. Operating income (EBIT) in 2013 amounted to USD -16 million, which is an increase of USD 36 million compared to the previous year, and earnings before tax (EBT) were at USD 18 million. The current year kicked off with further growth. First quarter sales in 2014 are expected to increase by 18 percent compared to the same quarter last year.
In addition to its financial reporting, X-FAB announced that Rudi De Winter will become sole chief executive officer of X-FAB Group as of June 2014, a move he and Hans-Juergen Straub planned and prepared together for the past three years while they served as co-CEOs. Hans-Juergen Straub, who has served as CEO since X-FAB’s inception 22 years ago, will continue to serve on the Board of Directors of X-FAB Silicon Foundries SE.
In recent years, X-FAB successfully aligned its offerings and expertise to match market and customer demand. X-FAB now is engaged in three major business areas:
- More than Moore. X-FAB remains one of the leading “More than Moore” Foundries offering its customers a broad spectrum of analog/mixed-signal technologies combined with outstanding support. Major target markets are the automotive and industrial segments.
- MEMS. X-FAB has become a major MEMS foundry with sales in that field increasing significantly. In 2013, MEMS revenue grew by approximately 50 percent year-over-year. Customers benefit from X-FAB’s more than 20 years of experience and have access to the expertise of two dedicated MEMS fabs located in Erfurt and Itzehoe, Germany; these fabs offer a wide range of MEMS technologies ready for high-volume manufacturing. MEMS customers also benefit from having direct access to the CMOS fabs of X-FAB for integrating MEMS and CMOS on a single chip. X-FAB expects further growth in MEMS business and currently is expanding its MEMS manufacturing capacities.
- Outsourcing partner. X-FAB is a well-established partner for outsourcing scenarios. In recent years, X-FAB observed an increasing number of inquiries by customers seeking to establish a second source to free in-house capacity or find an alternative source due to a fab closure. To date, X-FAB has completed more than 60 process transfers including special technologies, such as a project to manufacture lithium batteries on silicon wafers.
Two changes in organizational structure enable X-FAB to support the strategic alignment and position itself for further growth. X-FAB introduced a MEMS Business Unit as well as a dedicated outsourcing team.
“I feel strongly now is the best time for a change,” said Hans-Juergen Straub, Co-CEO of X-FAB Group. “X-FAB is in fine shape and the strategic alignment is completed. I will be delighted to see the company grow and am convinced that X-FAB will continue to play a vital role in making the European semiconductor industry a hot spot for sophisticated ‘More than Moore’ technologies.”
Rudi De Winter, Co-CEO of X-FAB Group, added: “I would like to thank Hans-Juergen Straub for his contribution to X-FAB, in particular for growing the company to become a well-respected worldwide player in the semiconductor industry. I am enthusiastic about continuing to work together with X-FAB’s customers and the X-FAB team on our wide portfolio of “More than Moore” technologies, and to further grow a successful foundry business.”
About X-FAB
X-FAB is the leading analog/mixed-signal foundry group manufacturing silicon wafers for analog-digital integrated circuits (mixed-signal ICs). X-FAB maintains wafer production facilities in Erfurt, Dresden and Itzehoe (Germany), Lubbock, Texas (US) and Kuching, Sarawak (Malaysia), and employs approximately 2,400 people worldwide. It manufactures wafers based on advanced modular CMOS and BiCMOS processes with technologies ranging from 1.0 to 0.13 micrometers, for applications primarily in the automotive, communications, consumer and industrial sectors. For more information, please visit www.xfab.com.
Acronyms
| BiCMOS | Bi-polar complementary metal oxide semiconductor | |||
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer | |||
| CMOS | Complementary metal oxide semiconductor | |||
| MEMS | Microelectromechanical systems | |||
| NRE | Non-recurring engineering |
