STMicro boosts quarterly revenue as auto demand drives sales

STMICROELECTRONICS revenue in the second quarter rose 13 per cent from a year earlier, slightly beating expectations, as demand from the auto industry drove sales.

The Franco-Italian chipmaker’s revenue rose to US$4.33 billion in the period, it said in a statement on its second-quarter results on Thursday (Jul 27). That compares to a US$4.29 billion estimate among analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.

Shares were little changed at 46.30 euros at 9:52 am in Paris.

“Overall we see these results showing the strong earnings momentum shown by the business in the past two years losing steam,” JPMorgan analysts including Sandeep Deshpande wrote in a note.

The results came after Texas Instruments and NXP Semiconductors reported strong results in their automotive divisions as the car industry’s pivot to electric vehicles fuels chip demand. STMicro’s Automotive and Discrete unit, which is its largest, continued to perform well, with revenue up 34 per cent to US$1.96 billion last quarter, beating estimates.

“Revenue performance continued to be driven by growth in Automotive and Industrial, partially offset by lower revenues in Personal Electronics,” STMicro chief executive officer Jean-Marc Chery said in the statement.

GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY

Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign UpVIEW ALL

STMicro narrowed its guidance for full-year revenue to US$17.4 billion, plus or minus US$150 million. The company’s previous forecast saw sales of between US$17 billion and US$17.8 billion for the year.

Inventory rose to 126 days at the end of the quarter, an increase from the previous quarter and up from 104 days a year ago. BLOOMBERG