For second-quarter 2012,RF front-end component maker and foundry services provider TriQuint Semiconductor Inc of Hillsboro,OR,USA has reported revenue of$178m,down 22%on$228.8m a year ago and down 18%on$216.7m in Q1/2012(exceeding the 5%decline that quarter).
By market sector,Mobile Devices revenue was$112.3m(63%of total revenue),down 24%on$148.5m in Q1(68%of total revenue)and down 30%on$159.9m a year ago(70%of total revenue).TriQuint's largest customer(accounting for over a third of sales)is Foxconn Technology Group(Apple's Taiwan-based manufacturing partner).Apple uses TriQuint chips in both the iPhone and a version of the iPad,but has reported a quarter of lower-than-expected sales of the stop-gap iPhone 4S as buyers await the delayed launch of the new iPhone 5 model this fall.
Networks revenue was$44.9m,down 5%on$47.4m in Q1 and 2%on$45.8m a year ago.Nevertheless,due to declining less than Mobile Devices,Networks has risen from 20%of total revenue a year ago to 22%in Q1 and 25%in Q2.
Defense revenue was$20.8m(12%of total revenue),level with Q1 but down 10%on$23.1m a year ago(10%of total revenue).
"Mobile devices demand was soft in the second quarter as the smartphone industry prepares for a seasonally strong second half,"says president&CEO Ralph Quinsey.Even although 2G revenue more than halved(from$9.3m in Q1 to$4.3m in Q2),3G/4G uncharacteristically fell as a proportion of Mobile Devices revenue(from 80%in Q1 to 77.4%in Q2),partly due to Connectivity revenue rising slightly.
Of Networks revenue,Radio Access has fallen from 39%share in Q1 to 25%in Q2,while Transport has risen from 44%to 59%,with Multi-Market falling only slightly from 17%to 16%.
"Our Defense and Networks revenue was slightly up year-to-date with a healthy outlook for the remainder of the year,"Quinsey adds.
On a non-GAAP basis,gross margin was 27.9%,down from 30.4%last quarter and 41.4%a year ago,partly as TriQuint's manufacturing capacity constraints continued to limit its ability to capitalize on the increasing demand for smartphones.Operating expenses were$64.3m(operating margin of 36%of revenue),up from$61.4m last quarter.
Compared with net income of$4.1m($0.02 per diluted share)last quarter and$28.9m($0.17 per share)a year ago,TriQuint has reported its first quarterly net loss since early 2009.However,the loss of$15m,or$0.09 per share,was better than the expected$0.10-0.15.This was partly because litigation expenses(related to anti-trust and IP claims against Avago regarding BAW filters)actually fell from$3.9m to$3.7m(rather than the expected rise to$11m)due to settling the dispute prior to trial.
During the quarter,cash and investments fell by$32.5m to$162.4m,but this was due mainly to a stock repurchase of nearly 4.9 million shares for about$25m.
During Q2/2012,TriQuint started shipping multi-mode power amplifier(MMPA)module and bulk acoustic wave(BAW)filter content for a new Samsung Galaxy phone(operating via Verizon),and launched what is claimed to be the industry's first 802.11ac Wi-Fi RF module for next-generation smartphones and tablets.The firm also closed major design wins for fiber-to-the-home(FTTH)and optical networks.
In addition,TriQuint booked$13m in orders for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter and TPQ-53 Army radar,and announced a contract from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA)to lead a$12.3m development program focused on ultra-fast gallium nitride(GaN)switch technology for the Microscale Power Conversion(MPC)program.
"TriQuint is well positioned for revenue growth and improved financial performance in the second half of 2012,"believes Quinsey.
For third-quarter 2012,TriQuint expects revenue of$195-205m(up about 12%on Q2,though still down 5%year-on-year).Non-GAAP gross margin should be 30-32%.Net income per share is expected to recover to roughly breakeven.
