STMicroelectronics Reports 2008 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Revenues and Earnings

    --  In discrete semiconductors, ST achieved a myriad of design wins,
        including: MDmesh II-based power MOSFETs for a solar-panel application;
        1200V IGBTs to be used in a UPS application; bipolar transistors for a
        leading printer maker; production ramp up of a UHF RF power chip for use
        in a public-safety mobile radio application; and a worldwide leader in
        UPS qualified a 600V hyper-fast IGBT for a new platform.

Wireless Product Sector (WPS) Highlights

    --  ST-NXP Wireless ramped up production of a 3G cellular platform at a
        tier-one customer. Additionally, its GSM/GPRS solutions continued to
        ramp-up in high-volume at major OEMs and were designed-in at leading
        module makers.

    --  ST-NXP Wireless announced mass production of the world's first 3G
        Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA) chipset platform, paving the way for a
        new range of converged fixed and mobile phones with enhanced multimedia
        capabilities. The Cellular System Solution 7210 UMA is the first product
        of its kind that combines UMA and 3G technology in a single solution,
        enabling 3G mobile phones to switch from cellular to WiFi networks,
        without breaking the call, allowing users to make cheaper calls and
        conserve their cellular airtime minutes.

    --  ST-NXP Wireless is ramping-up a high-performance audio device for mobile
        music applications with a leading mobile phone maker. The STw5210
        provides outstanding audio quality coupled with longer music playing
        time thanks to its innovative 'Playback Time Extender' (PTE) technology.

Technology Highlights

    --  ST became the first European company to join the Microsystems Industrial
        Group (MIG) industry consortium at the Microsystems Technology
        Laboratories (MTL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The MIG is an
        exclusive industry consortium that was founded in the 1980s to support
        the Microsystems Technology Laboratories infrastructure and provide
        direction to the MTL research and educational objectives.

    --  ST and INRIA, the French national institute for research in computer
        science and control, signed a strategic partnership agreement covering
        next-generation embedded systems. ST and INRIA will identify areas of
        research to address complex technological needs, enabling them to
        anticipate and respond to the challenges ahead with solutions shaped by
        real industry requirements.

All of STMicroelectronics' press releases (including all releases in Q4) are available at www.st.com/stonline/press/news/latest.htm.

BCD and Sound Terminal are trademarks of STMicroelectronics. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 or Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended) based on management's current views and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those in such statements due to, among other factors:

    --  the current economic downturn and ongoing uncertainty in global economic
        conditions may lead to a further decline in consumer demand in the face
        of tighter credit and negative financial news. Consequently, demand for
        our products could be different from our expectations due to factors
        such as changes in business and economic conditions, the impact on
        demand for semiconductor products in the key application markets and
        from key customers served by our products, and changes in customer order
        patterns including order cancellations, all of which make it extremely
        difficult to accurately forecast and plan future business activities;
    --  our ability to adequately utilize and operate our manufacturing
        facilities at sufficient levels to cover fixed operating costs
        particularly at a time of decreasing demand for our products due to
        decline in demand for semiconductor products;
    --  pricing pressures which are highly variable and difficult to predict;
    --  the results of actions by our competitors, including new product
        offerings and our ability to react thereto;
    --  the financial impact of obsolete or excess inventories if actual demand
        differs from our anticipations;
    --  the impact of intellectual-property claims by our competitors or other
        third parties, and our ability to obtain required licenses on reasonable
        terms and conditions;
    --  the outcome of ongoing litigation as well as any new litigation to which
        we may become a defendant;
    --  the current volatility in the financial markets and overall economic
        uncertainty increases the risk that the actual amounts realized in the
        future on our debt and equity investments will differ significantly from
        the fair values currently assigned to them; we hold significant
        non-marketable equity investments in the flash memory market segment
        through Numonyx, as well as through our current and planned joint
        venture in the wireless segment; declines in these market segments could
        result in significant impairment charges, restructuring charges as well
        as gains/losses on equity investments; our ability to execute
        successfully our plan to close during the first quarter of 2009 the
        merger of ST-NXP Wireless with Ericsson Mobile Platforms;
    --  the effects of hedging, which we practice in order to minimize the
        impact of variations between the U.S. dollar and the currencies of the
        other major countries in which we have our operating infrastructure in
        the currently very volatile currency environments;
    --  our ability to manage in an intensely competitive and cyclical industry,
        where a high percentage of our costs are fixed, incurred in currencies
        other than US dollars;
    --  our ability to restructure in accordance with our plans if unforeseen
        events require adjustments or delays in implementation;
    --  our ability in an intensively competitive environment to secure customer
              acceptance  and  to  achieve  our  pricing  expectations  for  high-volume
                supplies  of  new  products  in  whose  development  we  have  been,  or  are
                currently,  investing;
        --    the  ability  of  our  suppliers  to  meet  our  demands  for  supplies  and
                materials  and  to  offer  competitive  pricing;
        --    significant  differences  in  the  gross  margins  we  achieve  compared  to
                expectations,  based  on  changes  in  revenue  levels,  product  mix  and
                pricing,  capacity  utilization,  variations  in  inventory  valuation,  excess
                or  obsolete  inventory,  manufacturing  yields,  changes  in  unit  costs,
                impairments  of  long-lived  assets  (including  manufacturing,  assembly/test
                and  intangible  assets),  and  the  timing,  execution  and  associated  costs
                for  the  announced  transfer  of  manufacturing  from  facilities  designated
                for  closure  and  associated  costs,  including  start-up  costs;
        --    changes  in  the  economic,  social  or  political  environment,  including
                military  conflict  and/or  terrorist  activities,  as  well  as  natural  events
                such  as  severe  weather,  health  risks,  epidemics  or  earthquakes  in  the
                countries  in  which  we,  our  key  customers  and  our  suppliers,  operate;  and
        --    changes  in  our  overall  tax  position  as  a  result  of  changes  in  tax  laws
                or  the  outcome  of  tax  audits,  and  our  ability  to  accurately  estimate  tax
                credits,  benefits,  deductions  and  provisions  and  to  realize  deferred  tax
                assets.
 

« Previous Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7  Next Page »



© 2024 Internet Business Systems, Inc.
670 Aberdeen Way, Milpitas, CA 95035
+1 (408) 882-6554 — Contact Us
ShareCG™ is a trademark of Internet Business Systems, Inc.

Report a Bug Report Abuse Make a Suggestion About Privacy Policy Contact Us User Agreement Advertise