STMicroelectronics reports dip in sales on global manufacturing slump

By Louis Goss

Microchip manufacturer STMicroelectronics on Thursday said its revenues started to dip in the final three months of 2023 as it warned of a further slowdown in sales over the first quarter of 2024 caused by the slump in the global manufacturing sector.

The Swiss semiconductor maker, which counts Apple and Tesla as some of its major customers, reported a 3.2% drop in its fourth-quarter revenue, to $4.28 billion, as slow sales to its industrial customers offset a slight uptick in orders from the automotive industry.

STMicroelectronics' (FR:STMPA) (STM) Paris-listed shares fell 1% on Thursday having increased 7% over the previous 12 months.

The company, which was formed in 1987 through a merger between France and Italy's rival state-owned chipmakers, blamed the dip in its revenue on the slowdown in global industry which has seen manufacturing output falter over the previous year.

"We continued to see stable end-demand in automotive, no significant increase in personal electronics, and further deterioration in industrial," STMicroelectronics CEO Jean-Marc Chery said.

The Geneva headquartered company saw sales from its automotive and discrete group, which supplies chips to carmakers and accounts for almost half of firm-wide revenue, increase 21.5% in the fourth quarter, to $2.06 billion.

This increase was, however, offset by a 25.8% drop in sales from its analog, MEMS and sensors group - which sells chips used for various functions including in smartphones, self-driving cars, and in the robots used in manufacturing - to $993 million.

Sales made by STMicroelectronics' microcontrollers and digital ICs group also fell, sliding 11.5% to $1.23 billion. Microcontrollers are self-contained computers used in various devices ranging from cars and power tools to medical devices and remote controls.

STMicroelectronics lower sales saw it generate net income worth $1.08 billion in the fourth quarter, down 1.8% year-on-year.

The company said it now expects its sales to drop by a further 15.2% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2024, to $3.6 billion, due in part to a drop in its gross margins.

JPMorgan's analysts, led by Sandeep Deshpande, said STMicroelectronics is now well positioned to benefit from any improvement in the global semiconductor market, which is showing signs of a recovery from the recent slump that started in 2022.

"After a downturn that started in '22, the company's consumer end market related exposure is likely bottoming out with potential improvement in [the second half of 2024]. In the auto electrification market, STMicro is market leader in Silicon Carbide, which remains in short supply and hence will retain robust pricing," JPMorgan's analysts said.

-Louis Goss

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01-25-24 0522ET

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