Diodes Posts 60 Percent Revenue Gain in ’06
By Allison Bruce, Ventura County Star, Calif.
Feb. 7–Diodes Inc., a Westlake Village semiconductor company, had 60 percent revenue growth in 2006, and company leaders expect the company to continue to outpace the overall industry to increase its market share in the coming year.
The company generated revenue of $343.3 million in 2006, up from $214.8 million in 2005. Fourth-quarter revenue was up 54 percent from a year ago at $94.4 million. It was the company’s seventh consecutive quarter of record revenue, officials said in an earnings call with analysts Tuesday. Annual net profit was $48 million in 2006, up from $33 million in 2005.
It was a rapid-growth year for the company, which closed the acquisition of Anachip Corp. at the beginning of 2006 and acquired APD Semiconductor in November. The company continues to explore other acquisition targets.
The Anachip acquisition moved Diodes into a new area of the semiconductor business, both broadening its range of products and expanding its customer base.
The APD Semiconductor acquisition brought the company new technology that can be used to scale the performance in a chip up or down, allowing the company to make high-performance or low-cost chips.
“We feel our record performance for the quarter and the year reflects our customers’ acceptance of our broader product line and reaffirms our confidence in the soundness of our current strategy,” Diodes President and Chief Executive Officer Keh-Shew Lu said.
The fourth quarter brought strong demand for chips used in computers and consumer electronics, and increased demand for telecommunications, said Mark King, the company’s senior vice president of sales and marketing.
Computers made up 37 percent of the company’s total sales, consumer electronics 36 percent and telecommunications 15 percent.
There tends to be a seasonal slowdown in the computer and consumer electronics markets during the first quarter of the year. The expectation is that Diodes will have revenues from $90 million to $94 million in the first quarter of 2007.
Company officials said Diodes has good growth opportunities in the North American and European markets this year. The new technology gained through the acquisitions lets the company sell customers on the technology and then ask how they would like it tailored to their needs, rather than selling parts, King said.
ON THE NET: http://www.diodes.com
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