Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2007 - (Page 10)

AROUND THE WORLD DOUBLE DIGIT GROWTH in BRIEF ROCHESTER, NY – EMA Design Automation has added the complete PTC Product Development System to its offerings. The product development system brings together Pro/ Engineer design software, Windchill content and process management software, and Cadence Design Systems’ electrical design tools, such as the Allegro suite. TAIPAI, Taiwan – Unimicron Technology will invest $200 million in PCB capabilities in China. The Taiwan Ministry of Economic Affairs Investment Commission approved the investment, which will be made by Unimicron’s China-based subsidiary, United Microelectronics Corp. Tawainese companies have investment limits in China, and Unimicron is nearing its limits, according to published reports, which is why the investment will be made through a subsidiary. PLYMOUTH, MN – Innovex reported revenue of $21.8 million in the fourth quarter, a 17% sequential increase. The net loss was $7 .2 million, down from a $8.2 million loss in the third quarter. Revenue for 2007 was $87 .8 million, a decrease of 75% year-over-year. The fourth quarter included restructuring charges of $1 million. Innovex’s 2007 net loss was $29.1 million, compared to a net loss of $17 million in 2006. The year includes restructuring charges of $6.8 million. On Oct. 1, the company announced plans to relocate many of its corporate business functions to Lamphun, Thailand by January. ANAHEIM, CA – PCB fabricator Multi-Fineline Electronix reported fourth-quarter net income rose 36% to $3 million on a 51% hike in net sales to $166.7 million.The spikes were primarily a result of increases in net sales to the company’s four largest customers. For the year, net sales rose 1% to $508.1 million, while net income fell 93% to $3 million. Net income was impacted by reduced gross margins, as well as a third-quarter pre-tax charge of $7 million related to .8 deferred transaction costs expenses associated with the terminated offer to acquire MFS Technology Ltd. Net sales to all other customers grew in total by $145 million, or nearly 200% year-over-year. TAOYUAN, TAIWAN – CCL producer Iteq released third quarter results of NT$799 million profit, which is up about 40% from the same period last year. High demand for lead free and “green” CCL products is driving the company to expand its production capacity by 300 thousand units in the fourth quarter. Iteq is in planning for a FCCL production facility in Guangzhou. National Instruments Reports Record Q3 Revenue AUSTIN, TX – National Instruments reported record revenue of $184.4 million in the third quarter, up 12.4% year-over-year. Net income was $21.5 million, up 15% compared to last year. Operating margin and net margin were 13.3% and 11.7%, respectively. Virtual instrumentation and graphical system design products, which constitute the vast majority of the company’s product portfolio, had 14.3% year-over-year revenue growth, NI said. In contrast, sales of NI instrument control products, now representing less than 10% of the company’s revenue, were down 3% year-over-year, compared to an 8% decline in the second quarter. Year to date, the company reported record revenue of $536 million, up 11.8% compared to the first nine months of 2006. The company expects a record for revenue in the fourth quarter in the range of $200 million and $210 million. Aspocomp to Sell 80% of Asian Subsidiaries’ Shares HELSINKI – Aspocomp has signed an agreement to sell its holdings in subsidiaries in China and India, as well as certain equipment from its Salo plant, to a new holding company. Aspocomp will maintain 20% ownership, while 80% of the shares will be sold to Meadville Holdings Ltd., the parent company of the Meadville Group. Aspocomp’s assets to be contributed to the joint venture are valued at about $113.13 million. Meadville will pay about $89.63 million for its 80% holding. Aspocomp will use about $58.78 million of this consideration to repay its loan to Standard Chartered Bank in full and about $11.78 million to repay the working capital facilities of its Chinese subsidiary. The balance of the consideration will be used to partially repay Aspocomp’s interest bearing liabilities in Finland and to improve its liquidity. The joint venture may be listed in 2012 at the earliest, the parties agreed. As part of the agreement, Meadville will acquire 10% ownership of Aspocomp’s subsidiary in Oulu, Finland. Aspocomp’s holding in its Thai subsidiary will remain unaffected. The agreement with Meadville is subject to approval; the companies expect to finalize the transaction by the end of this month. TTM Sparks Strong Third Quarter SANTA ANA, CA – The Santa Ana trade winds couldn’t slow down TTM Technolo- gies in the third quarter. The PWB fabricator roared to a 32% year-over-year gain in net income to $8.2 million as gross margins rose 100 basis points to 19.2%. Net sales rose 114% to $163.1 million year-over-year, and 1% sequentially. Operating income more than doubled versus last year, and rose $2.1 million sequentially to $15.2 million. Net income was down 22% sequentially.The 2007 results include the acquisition of Tyco’s Printed Circuit Group, which TTM acquired in late 2006. The company paid down $11 million in debt during the quarter. Selling and marketing expenses dropped 0.3 points to 4.4% of sales. SG&A was flat at 5.5% of sales. PCB manufacturing sales were $140.5 million in the quarter, up from $138.7 million in the second quarter. Backplane assembly net sales were $30.7 million, down from $32.2 million. Aerospace and defense drove the upswing, offsetting softness in computing. TTM reported a book-to-bill ratio of 1.23 for the three months ending in September. TTM estimates fourth-quarter revenues of $164 million to $172 million. “The strength that we are seeing for the fourth quarter is broad-based across all of our end markets,” said president and CEO Kent Alder. DECEMBER 2007 10 PRINTED CIRCUIT DESIGN & FAB

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2007

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2007 Contents Our Line Market Watch Around the World Happenings ROI 2007 PCB Designer Salary Survey Interconnect Strategies Positive Plating RF Design Ad Index Noise Reduction Supply Chain DfM Off the Shelf Marketplace The Signal Doctor

Printed Circuit Design & Fab - December 2007

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