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News

ATLANTA -- Siemens Energy & Automation today completed of the sale of its electronics manufacturing center business to EPIC Technologies. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Effective today, all current employees will transfer to EPIC. The two plants, located in Johnson City, TN, and South Lebanon, OH, employ a combined 500 workers.

Siemens purchased the Johnson City facility in 1991 from Texas Instruments, and acquired the South Lebanon operations from Eaton Corp. in 2000.

The sites manufacture electronics assemblies and other devices. EPIC will continue contract manufacturing at the facilities and will assume responsibility for Siemens' current orders.

"We are highly committed to maintaining the level of quality and customer service that EMC established under the Siemens brand and look forward to bringing a high level of lean manufacturing efficiency and EMS industry expertise to these operations," said John Sammut, president and CEO of EPIC, in a press release.

WILSONVILLE, OR -- Mentor Graphics reported record revenues of $214.9 million for its fourth quarter on strong demand for its IC verification and newer printed circuit board design tools. GAAP net income was $15.8 million, up $2.8 million.

"We saw significant momentum from our newer, emerging products as we received significant orders in cabling, embedded software, high speed board design and coverage-driven verification," chairman and CEO Wally Rhines said in a press release.

For the quarter bookings rose 35%. All regions performed well with Japan and Pacific Rim bookings up over 100%, Europe up 45% and North America up 15% over a year ago. Bookings were up 20% for the year.

Revenue by region was 40% North America, 30% Europe, 15% Japan and 15% Pacific Rim.

The company took one-time charges of $4.9 million, primarily for acquisitions and restructuring.

Pro forma gross margins were down slightly, to 86.7%.

"While we see no sign of an upturn for the overall EDA industry, we note that Mentor and other companies like us with young product lines continue to perform well in this environment," said Greg Hinckley, president.

The firm's book-to-bill is at its highest level since 1996 and backlogs are at their highest point since 2000.

Separately, Mentor guided for Q1 sales of $177 million and 2005 revenue growth of 7%, to $760 million.

SAN JOSE - Worldwide sales of semiconductors reached a record $213 billion in 2004, a year-on-year increase of 28% from 2003, the Semiconductor Industry Association reported today. December chip sales declined 3.5% sequentially to $18.4 billion, in line with historical seasonality.

It was the first time since 2000 that global chip sales surpassed $200 billion.

December sales were 14.6% higher than December 2003. Fourth-quarter sales, at $55.1 billion, declined 0.8% sequentially.

BANNOCKBURN, IL - The December 90-day moving average shipments of all types of circuit boards rose 8.7% year-on-year, according to the latest poll of U.S. PCB fabricators. Bookings shot up 30.6%, a sharp rebound from November.

The domestic book-to-bill ratio was 1.04, up 0.08 from November. November was marked the first time the indicator had dropped below 1.0 since April 2003, said IPC, which tracks the data.

The ratio is based on data collected by IPC from rigid and flex producers and is calculated by dividing three months worth of orders by sales. A ratio over 1.0 is considered an indicator of rising demand.

Separately, the ratios were 0.93 for rigid PCBs and 1.41 for flexible circuits.

Rigid boards, estimated by IPC to make up 82% of all domestic PCBs, actually slid in December, with shipments falling 1.3% and bookings down 6.1%. Flex sales grew 32%, and bookings rose - no typo - 274%.

For the year rigid shipments rose 16%, bookings 6.6%. Flexible shipments grew 67.4% and bookings were up 104.3%.

For the year, shipments rose 26.5% while bookings jumped 25.4%. For the month, shipments rose 1.6% and bookings 73.4% vs. November.

Flex sales include some value-added services in addition to the bare flex circuits.

In a statement, IPC cautioned that month-to-month comparisons should be made with caution as they may reflect cyclical effects.

Tempe, AZ - The manufacturing sector grew in January for the 20th consecutive month, despite a drop in new orders and backlogs. Production reversed a three month slide, said the Institute for Supply Management.

Calling the inventory growth "significant," ISM chairman Norbert Ore said, the PMI reflects "continuing strength in manufacturing. However, manufacturers continue to struggle with prices, particularly for energy.

The PMI measure of economic activity fell 0.9 points sequentially from the revised December number, to 56.4%. New orders fell 6.1 points to 56.5%. However, production rose 1.1 points to 57.8%. Employment was up 4.8 points, to 58.1%.

Electronic Components and Equipment, and Industrial and Commercial Equipment and Computers were among the sectors reporting growth.

LAGUNA, Philippines - EMS provider Integrated Microelectronics Inc. will produce the RadarGolf Handheld golf ball finder device designed by Radar Golf Inc.

IMI president and chief executive Arthur R. Tan said, "We began working with Radar Golf in December 2003 and it is very exciting to see this breakthrough product now so close to coming to market."

Earlier this week, Radar Golf announced in a press release that independent lab tests found the company's patented ball performed equal to or better than competitive balls from Titleist, Callaway, Nike and Maxfli. The tests measured both distance and spin. The ball conforms to U.S. Golf Association standards.

The novel ball contains proprietary ball positioning system technology. When used with the RadarGolf device, balls can be detected from 30 to 100 feet away.

First shipments are scheduled for June.

ELKHART, IN -- CTS Corp., about to be merged, posted its best sales quarterly sales results since the second quarter of 2001.

The company today reported fourth-quarter revenues of $142.5 million, up 10%, sequentially and 8% year-on-year.

Net earnings were $6.6 million, vs. $3.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2003.

Full-year revenues of $531.3 million topped 2003 revenues by 15%. The company, which makes electronics gear, posted net earnings of $20 million, well above 2003 earnings of $12.6 million.

WESTFORD, MA, - MatrixOne Inc. said second-quarter revenues increased 31% to $35.1 million from $26.9 million in the same period last year.

The net loss was $400,000, compared to a net loss of $7.2 million in the same period last year.

Software license revenues increased 64% to $15.4 million from $9.4 million last year.

"We are pleased to report another very positive quarter with strong sequential and year-over-year revenue growth and improved bottom-line results. Our operating performance during the second quarter reflects the continued improvements in our company-wide sales execution, expanded implementations within our existing customer base and the adoption of our solutions by strategic new customers who are fueling the growth of the PLM market," said Mark F. O'Connell, president and CEO of MatrixOne.

FRAMINGHAM, MA - Worldwide IT spending reached $965 billion in 2004 and will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 6% from 2004 to 2008, says a new research report.

Recovery is expected in hardware sales worldwide, with revenues forecast to reach $465 billion by 2008, IDC said today. The research firm predicts robust spending from consumer, communications and media, and government.

Banking, discrete manufacturing and government are the largest IT buyers.

U.S. IT spending will reach $416 billion in 2005, up 5.8% from 2004.

In a press release, IDC said, "These results indicate a positive outlook for the U.S. and worldwide IT market, particularly after 2005. With an improving business environment and recent GDP gains, companies are loosening their restraints for information technology investments."

The firm also forecast U.S. sales of PCs will reach $49 billion in 2005.

FRAMINGHAM, MA - The worldwide PC market remained strong in the fourth quarter as smaller businesses and holiday demand pushed sales 13.7% higher, IDC said today.

Total shipments rose to 51.5 million units for the quarter, the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit growth. Shipment growth topped earlier projections of 13%.

For the year, shipments were up 14.7%, to 177.5 million units.

IDC forecast 10% growth worldwide in 2005.

"PC replacements and new investment should continue to drive commercial growth at least through the end of 2005," said Loren Loverde, an IDC director.

The top five companies are Dell, HP, IBM, Fujitsu/Fujitsu Siemens and Toshiba. Apple grew more than 25% during the quarter, a significant improvement over prior quarters, reflecting the introduction of the G5 iMac as well as the "halo effect" from the popularity of Apple's music business.

ST. LOUIS - LaBarge Inc. today reported net sales rose 68% to $48.7 million and net earnings increased 94% to $2.7 million record highs for the fiscal second quarter ended Jan. 2.

The results include the company's Pittsburgh operation, acquired last February.

For the first half, net sales rose 57% to $92.4 million, while net earnings from continuing operations were up 81% to $5 million.

Total net earnings for the first half grew 88% to $5 million.

Gross margin in the second quarter was 21.6%, down from 22.4% a year ago. SG&A expenses as a percentage of sales fell to 11.9%, from 15%.

Total debt was $38 million, up a fraction.

Backlogs as of Jan. 2 were $145 million, down 3% sequentially and up 27% from last year.

Defense customers - primarily buyers of LeBarge's EMS services - accounted for 49% of sales. Shipments of capital equipment to industrial customers were 18%. The company also provides capital equipment for oil-and-gas and mining operations, commercial aerospace and government systems.

LaBarge guided for "substantially higher" year-on-year third-quarter revenues and earnings. The firm said sales and earnings would likely drop slightly sequentially.

For the fiscal year, the company expects revenues and earnings to grow at least 35%. The firm reported revenue of $131.5 million for fiscal 2004.

ELGIN, IL - Panasonic's capital equipment division has been renamed Panasonic Factory Solutions Company of America.

The name change for the unit, formerly Panasonic Factory Automation, took place Jan.1.

In a press release, the company said the change "unifies the company's capital equipment business globally under the Panasonic name, while reinforcing the greater consultancy role that PFSA has taken on for its customers."

Similar name changes are planned for Panasonic operations in Europe, Asia and China.