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News

WALLINGFORD, CT – Amphenol Corp. reported fourth-quarter 2005 net income of about $200 million while sales rose 26% to $508.1 million.

For the year ended Dec. 31, the company reported sales of $1.81 billion, up 18.3% over a year ago and a new company high.

Fourth quarter results include sales by the former Teradyne Connection Systems of $35 million in December.

Interconnect products – 89% of the company’s overall sales – was up 27% “with excellent profitability,” said Amphenol chairman and CEO Martin H. Loeffler.

The company said growth was broad-based and included all major geographic regions. Growth was especially strong in the mobile device market. Cable products was up 14% over the prior year.

Operating income margin in the quarter was 18.5%, down from 18.8% last year. Excluding the impact of TCS, which in December had operating income margins of 7.5%, the fourth quarter margin was 19.3%. Cash flow from operations was $75 million.

The company guided for 2006 revenues of $2.25 billion to $2.3 billion. For the first quarter it forecast revenues of $535 million to $545 million. The TCS acquisition is expected to be accretive for 2006, but slightly dilutive in the first half.

VANCOUVER – Brio Technology Co., the North American arm of Brio Technology Ltd., a Beijing-based EMS company, will move into a new 130,000 sq. ft. building in next month.

Within the new facility, which spans eight floors, one floor is slated for prototype and preproduction runs.

Foothill Ranch, CA – Valor Computerized Systems has opened a dedicated business unit in Latin America. Dante Dominguez will serve as general manager for the region.

Over the past year Valor has built up its presence in Central and South America, adding local engineering resources. According to the company, local markets show significant signs of revival, proving to be effective competitors to offshore markets.

Glen Cove, NY— PCB manufacturer Photocircuits Corp. has received approval to proceed with the sale of substantially all of its assets, including the assumption of certain liabilities, to a long term equity investor.

A private equity investor is currently the leading bidder in the auction. The firm has stated its intention to operate the business with the current management team and employees.

The final purchase price is subject to other offers that might arise at the formal auction on February 6.

The sale will bring Photocircuits nearer to the completion of its reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U. S. Bankruptcy Code.

NEW YORK -- End-markets for electronics products continue to grow at a modest pace, boosting semiconductor sales, a leading market watcher said today.

"We believe that end-markets grew at a modest pace in Q4. Handsets, mobile PCs, and consumer electronics were strong, but our checks in Taiwan did uncover a modest inventory build in PC components," Jack Romaine, an analyst with SG Cowan, wrote in a note issued today.

HELSINKI -- Aspocomp Group, the second largest PCB company in Europe, plans build a printed circuit board plant in Chennai, India, the company said today.

Aspocomp will invest 60 million euros in the the plant, India's first HDI production facility, Aspocomp said.

TEMPE, AZ -- Three-Five Systems Inc. has filed a joint plan of reorganization with its wholly owned subsidiary, TFS-DI Inc. in their respective bankruptcy cases.

The plan proposes a reorganization of both companies into a single post-bankruptcy entity.

If approved, the reorganized TFS's operations will be limited to the liquidation and monetization of all its non-cash assets. These assets comprise the cash and non-cash assets of the two companies, which will be substantively consolidated under the plan, TFI said in a filing.

The company anticipates that sufficient cash will exist in the consolidated estate on the plan's effective date to pay all claims of all creditors in all classes and that there will be final cash distributions to company shareholders.

NORTH BILLERICA, MA -- BTU International Inc. has decided on Shanghai as its new Asia-Pacific headquarters.

The company also named Boris Mathiszik director of sales for the Asia-Pacific region. Mathiszik was vice president, x-ray inspection at Phoenix/X-ray Systems.

ELM CITY, NC – Following a late December fire that devastated its manufacturing plant, Fawn Electronics has relocated into a temporary site in Wilson, NC, where it is performing final integration while working feverishly to reestablish full production.

Early in the morning of Dec. 22, fire ripped through the company's plant in Elm City, destroying much of it. The fire has been ruled accidental. Work has been subcontracted while the new site is brought online.

HALF MOON BAY, CA -- Attendees on the second day of the SEMI Strategic Materials conference learned how Japanese materials suppliers joined together to cut costs, and were given an optimistic outlook on the convergence of front-end and back-end processes in chip making.

Yoshifumi Kawamoto, director general manager, R&D department, CASMAT, outlined the formation of the R&D consortium established in 2003 by Japanese materials suppliers. Member companies include JSR, Sumitomo Chemical, Sekisui Chemical, Tokyo Ohka Kogyo, Nitto Denko, Hitachi Chemical, Toray Industries and others.

BEIJING -- China imported more than $19 billion worth of technology last year, up 37.5% over the previous year and setting a new record.

More than 43%, or $8.27 billion, of the total import value of technology came from foreign enterprises operating in China. That’s up 23.6% from 2004.

Trenton, NJ – Tyco International Ltd. has confirmed its plan to split into three public companies. Electronics and healthcare units will be spun off from the remaining operations (which include security and fire-protection services) during the first quarter of 2007. Tyco expects about $1 billion in costs for tax liabilities and the refinancing of debt.

“We believe separation is a logical next step in Tyco's solution,” said Ed Breen, chairman and chief executive, during a conference call with analysts and investors. “The biggest issue to me actually was growth. That's really the thing we looked at.”