ebnews.com
Atmel exec predicts chip industry will
grow 10-15% this year
By Robert Ristelhueber
EBN
(02/06/01, 06:28:27 PM EST)
SAN FRANCISCO -- Bucking a gloomy trend, a top executive of
Atmel Corp. said that he expects the semiconductor industry will
grow 10-15% in 2001, and that shortages of some parts could
re-emerge by the end of the year.
"We anticipate a strong pick-up in the spring," Donald Colvin, vice
president of finance and chief financial officer for San Jose-based
Atmel, said at the Bank of America Securities Technology
Conference here.
Colvin said he didn't see an emerging problem with
overcapcity."Capital expenditures have been cut" throughout the
industry, he said. "Many competititors have delayed 12-inch fabs."
Since the current quarter is relatively soft, most of the year's growth
would be back-loaded in the second half, when the industry "could
come back to a shortage of parts," Colvin said. He later identified
flash and microcontrollers as devices that could be scarce by
year-end.
Colvin said Atmel expects worldwide cellular handset sales will hit
525 million units in 2001, compared to 415 million last year, with
2002 sales expected to reach 650 million. The cellphone industry is
in a transition year, with more feature-rich handsets beginning to
make penetration into the market, he added.
Atmel expects its own sales of silicon germanium products to take
off this year. Last year, those sales amounted to only about $8
million, but revenues are expected to hit $35 million in 2001, and
could top $100 million next year, Colvin said. BiCMOS SiGe
products are in development, he added. |
