Southern Africa
Altron has reported satisfactory results for the year ended 28 February 2003, with revenue up 15% from R9,9 bn to R11,4 bn. Operating income rose by 20% from R763 to R912 m and attributable earnings increased by 51% from R308 to R464 m.
Spescom has reported its 2003 interim financial results. Revenues for continued operations increased by 20% from R154 to R186 m, over the corresponding period last year. Headline earnings of R22,4 m were generated in contrast to a loss of R68,5 m reported for 2002 fiscal half. Spescom executive chairman, Tony Farah ascribed the significant improvement in profitability to various factors including enhanced margins on proprietary product revenues. "The value of Spescom's globalisation strategy, with its focus on investment in growth through the development of proprietary technology, is now being realised," he said. "The closure of loss-making operations coupled with enhanced efficiencies also contributed to the increase in profitability." Farah noted that the strengthening of the rand was a double-edged sword in that offshore revenues, reported in rands, are lower, however the debt is materially reduced. "Exchange rate translation gains accounted for approximately 50% of headline earnings generated during this period," he said. Group debt reduction remains a high priority for Spescom and initiatives in this regard were ongoing, he said.
Technology group IST says it is accelerating its quest for external growth prospects on the back of a strong balance sheet with a substantial cash component. In its 2002/03 annual report, chief executive, Harry Coetzee says that management have clear strategies for further development of the group, which has been characterised by its steady performance improvement over the past three years. "For some time now we have been looking at appropriate acquisitions. The object of this exercise is not so much to diversify the group as to strengthen and expand our existing businesses in their established markets," he said. "The intensified focus on external opportunities does not mean that the group will in any way be relaxing its commitment to sustained organic growth," he adds. IST said its local sales growth target is set at 20% for the current year and it will also be seeking to increase export sales. Each division is expected to generate at least one new product or significant product enhancement during this period, and to penetrate at least one new market sector.
Spescom's London-based operation, Spescom Limited (UK), has announced the signing of an interoperability agreement with Harris, a leading supplier of line test and network management systems. Spescom UK specialises in developing technology predominantly aimed at the access network environment. According to Spescom UK's technical director, Keith Richards, the conclusion of the agreement with Harris is significant in that it will make Spescom's NTelite product interoperable with Harris equipment, thereby broadening the market for this new technology. NTelite is a new generation intelligent network termination device that replaces current line boxes within the home and enables operators to perform enhanced remote line testing, he said. Spescom is currently manufacturing the product in high volume at its facility in Scotland.
Dimension Data said that as part of its Black Economic Empowerment strategy on promoting SMMEs within the ICT sector, it was the main sponsor of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) conference. The conference was held at Dimension Data's new South African head office, The Campus. Didata corporate affairs manager, Tshepo Mahlangu: "South Africa has an urgent need to create more entrepreneurs. Most recent statistics reveal that 3,7% of our population are entrepreneurs, compared to an international average of 10%. SMMEs now form the growth driver of the world's largest economies and are driving much of today's global growth creation. In the US, Japan and Germany, SMMEs contribute more than half of the GDP in each of those economies."
ALSTOM S.A. subsidiaries, CHI Control, ALSTOM Automation and Meissner form ALSTOM Low Voltage Equipment (A.L.V.E.). The group is offering a series of in-house product training courses to satisfy the market requirement for 'hands-on' as well as theoretical training. The courses include product applications, functions and benefits, and are taught by experienced instructors who are familiar with both theoretical aspects and the 'real-world' applications. The standard courses are: Basic PLC programming, Advanced PLC programming, Motor protection theory, Soft starters, Variable speed drives, Basic product knowledge, and Introduction to different topologies of the UPS. For info contact Jill Burrows, 011 827 9124, [email protected].
Overseas
Business
Analog Devices reported increased sales and profits in the second quarter for its fiscal year 2003. The company reported net income of $71,3 m on sales revenue of $502 m for the quarter, and forecast revenues to grow at between 3 to 5% sequentially during the third quarter. Revenues increased 21% from the Q2 of fiscal 2002 and 7% on a sequential basis, the company reported. Net income increased 19% from the first quarter of fiscal 2003. "Both revenue and earnings were above the high end of estimates we provided on 13 February, primarily as a result of stronger sales of analog products and continued strength in sales of DSP products," said Jerald Fishman, president and CEO. Revenues from analog product revenues grew 7% sequentially and accounted for approximately 78% of the company's business and DSP products grew 8% sequentially and accounted for around 22%.
Agilent Technologies posted sales of $1,467 bn for Q2 of 2003, up 1% from $1,457 bn in the like period a year ago and relatively flat from $1,410 bn in previous quarter. The company reported a loss of $146 m in the period, which includes $74 m of net restructuring charges and intangibles amortisation. This compares to a loss $253 m. In the previous period, it reported a loss of $369 m.
Companies
Infineon Technologies has announced its plans to acquire automotive sensor maker SensoNor of Horten, Norway, for 48 million euro. SensoNor runs its own wafer fab in Norway where it makes multiple types of micromachined sensors and also offers foundry services in MEMS. Infineon said the planned friendly takeover would make it the market leader in the tyre pressure sensor segment. The advantage of this transaction lies in combining the two companies' existing development and production expertise, it said. SensoNor's tyre pressure sensors have already been fully qualified by leading car manufacturers with whom long-term supply agreements have been concluded.
DSP Group, a leader in developing and providing solutions for the residential wireless market, has announced it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Teleman Multimedia, for $5 m in cash. Teleman has developed an advanced silicon platform for video compression and decompression designed to interface with image sensors and panel displays.
Artisan Components, a Californian intellectual property group, has formed an analog and mixed-signal group following its recent acquisition of NurLogic Design, a specialist in analog IP and high-bandwidth connectivity cores.
RF Micro Devices and Silicon Wave, a leading supplier of ICs for wireless personal area networks (WPAN), have agreed to enter into a strategic relationship for Bluetooth solutions manufacturing and distribution. Within the relationship, Silicon Wave will grant manufacturing licences to RFMD for its single-chip UltimateBlue 3000 radio processor and standalone CMOS Bluetooth radio modem solutions, while RFMD will be responsible for the supply chain of Silicon Wave's CMOS Bluetooth solutions and will be the exclusive distribution channel for these products.
CRL Opto, UK, has been selected to lead a consortium involving Thomson, DSM Desotech, the French Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) and the University of Hull to develop novel photopatternable light emitting polymer OLED-on-silicon displays (p-OLEDs). The European Commission collaborative project, known as Photoledd, aims to demonstrate a stereoscopic 3D binocular display system based on a single organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. The project aims to demonstrate that economic manufacture of both 2D and 3D direct-view and miniature OLED displays can be made through the development of p-OLEDs by conventional photolithography techniques.
IBM Microelectronics and Sony's Europe Semiconductor and Devices division have jointly unveiled a digital-TV set-top-box (STB) reference design that includes chips from both companies. It said the design could reduce time-to-market for STBs to less than three months.
STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments have announced that they will offer ICs based on technology developed jointly with Nokia, that together compose standard CDMA chipsets. The chipset ICs will be marketed by ST and TI to handset manufacturers worldwide for cdma2000 1X and 1xEV-DV (1x Evolution for Data and Voice) mobile Internet handsets. The complete CDMA chipset will include an analog baseband/power management chip, a digital baseband chip, associated protocol software, RF chips and reference designs.
IBM said it plans to establish a design centre in Bangalore, India, to provide design services for IC, PCBs and complete systems for companies in India and across Asia. The skill set on offer will range from ASIC logic designers, physical design, verification, mechanical design, server system firmware, PCB design plus embedded and application software expertise, especially in Linux, said IBM.
Plastic Logic and Gyricon Media have announced that they have created the world's first bistable reflective display driven by an inkjet-printed active matrix backplane. Presented at SID 2003, the display combines Gyricon Media's SmartPaper technology and Plastic Logic's inkjet-printed plastic electronics. This first experimental prototype features 3000 pixels (63x48) at 50 dpi on a glass substrate. The two companies expect future developments will increase display size and resolution, and to migrate to flexible plastic substrates.
Cambridge Display Technology (CDT) has announced it has entered into a two year R&D agreement with Thomson of France. The companies will develop technologies relating to full colour matrix light emitting polymer (LEP) displays including inkjet printing. The joint project will combine the CDT's experience in LEPs and inkjet printing technology and will include Thomson's testing and display development experience.
The SCO Group, owner of the UNIX operating system, has announced that it has licensed its UNIX technology, including a patent and source code licences, to Microsoft. It said the licensing deal ensures Microsoft's IP compliance across all Microsoft solutions and will better enable Microsoft to ensure compatibility with UNIX.
Almost 60 organisations from Europe, North America and Asia Pacific have joined the newly formed SEMI International MEMS Steering Group (IMSG). The IMSG joins the Silicon Manufacturers' Group (SMG) and the Chemical and Gas Manufacturers' Group (CGMG) as the third SEMI (Semiconductor Equipment Materials International) special interest group. Micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) are microsystems that combine electronic and moving parts and are often fabricated in silicon using semiconductor manufacturing process technologies and equipment. SEMI noted that regional MEMS activities had reached a point where there was a need to globalise the effort under a common working group. SEMI has been involved in MEMS on a regional basis since 1994, primarily in Europe.
Industry
The global fuel cell industry will generate more than $18,6 bn in 2013, according to new findings from Allied Business Intelligence. Fuel cell sales will be generated from three main market applications: automotive, stationary, and portables. ABI projects that sales could generate near $35 bn if market conditions improve for automotive fuel cells, driven by strong government endorsement from three major regions - the US, EU, and Japan.
Although DSL and video compression technologies are improving, In-Stat/MDR says it does not expect a sudden spike in the video delivery services market. The research firm finds that, at present, telcos are taking their time making the decision to deliver these services and, in some cases, regulatory delays have also had an impact. However, while 2002 was a slow year for telco video deployments, equipment suppliers are seeing increasing activity in 2003. According to In-Stat, improvements will make it possible to reach more potential subscribers at a lower cost. H.264 equipment is expected to be available in 2004, which will lower the bandwidth necessary to transmit a standard definition video stream. ADSL2 and ADSL2+ increase the data rates and extend the reach of ADSL, enabling the delivery of multiple video streams to more households. Further improvements in the rate and reach of ADSL and VDSL will continue, reducing the need for fibre all the way to the home in order to deliver high-bandwidth services, such as high-definition television.
Motorola said it intends to establish a new $90m research company in China and plans to invest $500m over the next five years on equipment and other operations at the Chinese subsidiary.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has voted to adopt new spectrum leasing rules as a way to increase access to spectrum for wireless applications. The commission noted that demand for spectrum has increased dramatically as a result of explosive growth in wireless communications technologies and user demand for wireless services. The action authorises and encourages licensees to freely lease their unused or unneeded spectrum capacity, which will increase the amount of spectrum available to prospective users and new wireless technologies.
LG Philips Displays, the joint venture between the cathode ray tube businesses of Royal Philips Electronics and Korea's LG Electronics has announced that it would close two of its UK plants. The company blamed the drop in market demand for CRT monitors and the growing market for flat panel displays.
The World Semiconductor Council (WSC) has issued a call for China to open its markets fully to all foreign semiconductor products. At the Council's seventh annual meeting held in Nice, France, it said that China has made great strides in opening its market as part of its World Trade Organisation accession, including eliminating its tariffs on semiconductors and other information technology goods. However, currently China applies a VAT of 17% to all semiconductors, but companies designing and manufacturing semiconductors in China receive a substantial rebate of the VAT paid on those semiconductors. This reduces the VAT burden on domestically-designed or produced semiconductors to only 3%. Discrimination has the effect of limiting market access, it said, distorting patterns of trade and investment, and negates the benefits China promised to provide when it joined the WTO. The WSC has called for China to lower its VAT rate to 3% for all semiconductors, regardless of origin.
The television receiver market is the next major growth opportunity for liquid crystal display panel vendors according to a new report from Stanford Resources. LCD-TV unit shipments are expected to grow 20-fold from 2002 and go from 1,4 million units in 2002 to 28,8 million units in 2007. Unit sales are expected to be 3,2 million in 2003, more than double the 2002 number.
According to a Dow Jones report, China's exports of integrated circuits jumped 79% while domestic production of ICs rose 44% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2003. The country's manufacturing output of ICs went up to 3,04 billion units in the first quarter. Of that, complex logic devices accounted for 617,9 million units, an increase of 24%, the report said. Production of mobile phones jumped 81% in the first quarter, while sales jumped 97%, Dow Jones reported.
MIPS Technologies has announced it will lay off one third of its workforce, as part of a restructuring plan to return the company to profitability. The company said it would focus on developing synthesisable processor cores, architectural innovations and complete solutions to try and maintain leadership in target markets. It will also cease further development of custom processor cores, it said.
National Semiconductor is closing its cellular baseband business unit, resulting in the loss of 340 positions, as part of 'profit-improvement' actions. The company said it expects to incur charges of approximately $25m to $30m in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year, for severance and impairment of assets. National expects to save, in total, around $30m per quarter, or approximately $120m annually.
French company, PHS MEMS, a foundry manufacturer of microelectromechanical components has announced the availability of MEMS-based integrated passive devices and advanced processes to use within RF modules on a custom basis. The intention is to allow discrete passive components - resistors, capacitors and inductors - that are normally placed on the supporting PCB alongside an RF component, to be brought into a single package thereby reducing size and cost.
Personal computer shipments are projected to reach 136,9 million units in 2003, a 6,6% increase from 2002 and PC revenue is set to total $170,6 bn in 2003, up 3,3% from 2002 revenue, according market research company, Gartner.
The Business Show Shanghai 2003, originally scheduled for 9-12 July, 2003 at the Shanghai International Exhibition Centre in China, has been postponed due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in mainland China. The new exhibition dates have not yet been announced.
With the absence of a currently available standardised wireless technology that offers robust multimedia transport of multiple digital streams, ultra-wideband (UWB) could be the technology that delivers the bandwidth and QoS that many consumer electronics companies have been looking for. According to In-Stat/MDR, UWB proponents have seen the gap that Wi-Fi is leaving in the home networking market, and are stepping up their development process to capitalise on this opportunity. As a result, a UWB standard is expected to be ratified by early 2005, and standard-based end-products should roll out in late 2005 and 2006. Chipsets are expected to roll out once ratification of 802.15.3a is near, probably in the 2H 2004 - 1H 2005 timeframe, according to In-Stat/MDR.
Agilent Technologies has received Frost & Sullivan's 2003 Product Line Award for its line of test and inspection solutions for printed circuit board assembly. In addition to the product line award, Frost & Sullivan's surface mount technology (SMT) and Electronic Components group also awarded its Product of the Year award for 2003 to the Agilent 5DX series 5000 automated X-ray inspection (AXI) system. The 5DX system can detect up to 90% of all physical manufacturing defects quickly and precisely, said Agilent.
With subscription video on demand (S-VOD), network personal video recorders (N-PVR), and 'anything on demand' (X-VOD) technologies all being made ready for widespread deployment throughout the world, the market for VOD Servers is heating up, reports In-Stat/MDR. The research firm expects that efforts on the part Of Concurrent Computer, SeaChange, and nCube to promote the market for VOD services are finally ready to pay off. However, their market dominance will begin to wane in 2006, as companies that make Distributable Servers take over the market with lower cost points and smaller form factors. The 'big three' VOD Server companies have worked hard to establish this market, it says, but Microsoft, Intel and the Internet are catching up, providing lower bit rates for each VOD stream, and higher performance at lower cost points.
Matsushita Electric Industrial has announced that it has completed a switchover to using lead-free solder on PCBs for its Panasonic consumer electronic products and for its line of home appliances. The company said some components and boards from other suppliers may still have some lead solder.
Technology
IBM has rolled out what it says is its most powerful mainframe computer to date. The zSeries 990 is based on the first dual-core version of IBM's proprietary CMOS mainframe microprocessor. Each z990 subsystem has up to 64 Gbytes RAM and 12 2,0 GBps I/O connections. A fully configured system could have 32 active CPUs, 256 GB RAM and 96 GBps of peak I/O throughput, delivering 9000 MIPS of performance.
Worldwide interest in ultra-wide-band (UWB) wireless has increased greatly with the release in February 2002 by the FCC of its first authorisation for UWB. Picosecond Pulse Labs (PSPL) has reported seeing increased interest from customers in using various PSPL products for UWB. The company therefore, is offering interested parties a free application note - UWB Signal Sources & Antennas - that it says helps answer and explains some common UWB questions. See: www.rfglobalnet.com/nl/30986/91022
University of Maryland physicists claim to have come one step closer to a quantum computer by demonstrating the existence of entangled states between two quantum bits (qubits), each created with a type of solid state circuit known as a Josephson junction. Entanglement is an effect of quantum mechanics that blurs the distinction between individual particles such that it is impossible to describe the particles separately no matter how far apart you physically move them. "Entanglement is essential to quantum computing because it is the linked quality that builds exponentially more information into quantum bits than is possible with classical computing bits," said Andrew Berkley, the paper's lead author. As an example, six quantum bits can represent 64 pieces of information. He said the findings moves further along the road toward a quantum computer, and indicate that Josephson junctions could eventually be used to build such a computer.
Cambridge-based Adiabatic Logic has developed an intelligent output driver (IOD), which it claims can deliver up to 75% power savings in chip I/O for portable battery-powered devices. The technology focuses on recycling the power used during on-board communication between the ICs. Results from a SPICE simulation and a discrete circuit demonstrator confirm typical power saving of between 50 to 75% compared to the power use of a conventional series terminated drive schemes, it said. According to Adiabatic, the IOD uses the speed of submicron CMOS to actively mimic the voltage-current drive characteristics of a classic driver with a source (or series) terminator resistor. It does this in such a way that the bulk of the current is delivered to the load capacitance non-resistively from a reservoir capacitance maintained at a mid-rail voltage, assisted by the inherent inductance of the load. The on-chip reservoir capacitance delivers charge on rising edges and recovers charge on falling edges thereby recycling energy, which is conventionally wasted.
E Ink and Royal Philips Electronics have unveiled their latest jointly-developed advanced paper-like display prototype at this year's Society for Information Display Exposition. The engineering samples are representative of the first high-resolution display products using commercial-grade components. Said to be a crisp, easy-to-read display, it features a resolution at 160 pixels per inch (ppi), significantly higher than anything demonstrated previously. The resolution was obtained by an improvement in E Ink's display material and Philips' thin-film-transistor (TFT) backplane and driver electronics, E Ink said. While the customer will ultimately design the form and function of the end product, the prototypes shown were in a dual-display electronic reader case designed by Philips.
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