STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications, reported financial results for the first quarter ended April 1, 2017.
First quarter net revenues totaled $1.82 billion, gross margin was 37.6%, and net income was $108 million, or $0.12 per share.
“The positive momentum we have had over the last quarters has continued entering 2017,” commented Carlo Bozotti, STMicroelectronics President and Chief Executive Officer.
“In the first quarter, both revenues and gross margin were better than the mid-point of the guidance. Year-over-year, revenues increased 12.9%, with a synchronized and well-balanced growth across product groups, regions and sales channels. Both operating and net income significantly improved year-over-year, increasing to $129 million and $108 million, respectively, in the first quarter. Free cash flow, during a quarter of higher capital spending to support our growth plans, doubled to $62 million on a year-over-year basis.
“Our objective for 2017 is to achieve sustainable revenue growth and margin expansion through our strategic focus on Internet of Things and Smart Driving. Our results in this first quarter are putting us on the right trajectory.”
First Quarter Review
First quarter net revenues decreased 2.1% sequentially; a better than seasonal performance and 30 basis points better than the midpoint of the Company’s guidance. On a sequential basis, both Analog and MEMS Group (AMG) and Automotive and Discrete Group (ADG) performed better than the Company average, with AMG revenues up by 1.6% and ADG down by 1.2%. On a sequential basis, Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group (MDG) revenues decreased by 2.8% due to lower sales of discontinued businesses partially offset by growth in general purpose microcontrollers. As expected, Imaging Product Division revenues, reported in others, decreased sequentially reflecting seasonality.
On a year-over-year basis, first quarter net revenues increased by 12.9% on solid growth across all product families. Analog and MEMS Group (AMG) revenues increased 19.9% compared to the year-ago period driven by strong growth in MEMS and analog products. Microcontrollers and Digital ICs Group (MDG) revenues increased year-over-year by 11.4%, or 14.6% excluding discontinued businesses, mainly due to strong growth in general purpose microcontrollers and growth in digital products. Automotive and Discrete Group (ADG) revenues increased year-over-year by 5.6% reflecting growth in automotive and strong growth in power discrete products. Imaging Product Division revenues in the first quarter more than doubled compared to the year-ago quarter driven by ST’s Time-of-Flight technology.
By region of shipment, Asia Pacific, EMEA, and the Americas grew on a year-over-year basis 17.4%, 8.0%, and 5.7%, respectively.
