FRANKFURT: STMicroelectronics, Europe's third largest semiconductor maker, on Thursday posted solid double-digit revenue growth on demand for its phone and industrial sensors that marks a turnaround from six years of sales declines.
The Franco-Italian controlled diversified chipmaker forecast 5% growth in revenue for the current second quarter compared to the first quarter and around 12.3% year-to-year, and said it was on track to meet 2017 objectives.
"The positive momentum we have had over the last quarters has continued entering 2017," said chief executive Carlo Bozotti, who will remain in his position for one year after a long-running search failed to yield a replacement.
STMicro reported first-quarter net revenue of US$1.821 billion (1.67 billion euros), a rise of 12.9% year-on-year.
The results were in line with the average forecast of US$1.822 billion analysts expected, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.
The company said it enjoyed solid year-on-year growth in all of its product families, fuelled by a rise in its MEMS sensors business of 19.9%. Its long struggling imaging division more than doubled, driven by its Time-of-Flight products.
Net income for the first quarter turned to a profit of US$108 million from a year-ago loss of US$41 million.
Gross margins marked their sixth consecutive quarterly increase to 37.6%, beating the 37.2% that analysts on average had expected, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Margins are expected to rise to nearly 40% in 2018.
It forecast second-quarter margins around 38.1%, plus or minus 2 percentage points.
The company said it would propose a cash dividend of US$0.24, up from around US$0.21 in the previous year, payable in quarterly instalments, to be voted on at ST's annual shareholder meeting.
The stock, which is trading near nine-year highs, closed at 14.51 euros on Wednesday, up 35% year-to-date. - Reuters
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