STMicroelectronics reported U.S. GAAP financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018.
ST reported fourth quarter net revenues of $2.65 billion, gross margin of 40.0 per cent, operating margin of 16.8 per cent, and net income of $418 million or $0.46 diluted earnings per share.
STMicro’s FY at a glance
Jean-Marc Chery, STMicroelectronics President & CEO, commented, “ST delivered a solid performance in the fourth quarter, with net revenues and operating income increasing sequentially 5.0 per cent and 11.5 per cent, respectively. Net revenues in 2018 increased by 15.8 per cent year-over-year led by imaging, automotive and power discrete”.
He further informed, “2018 has been an important year for ST. In line with the objectives we had set, we achieved significant revenue growth across our product groups, as well as a strong expansion of profitability and cash flow from operations.
“Our first quarter outlook is for revenues of about $2.1 billion at the mid-point, decreasing year-over-year by about 5.7 per cent. Sequentially, this represents a decrease of about 20.7 per cent, reflecting the combined impact of increased unfavorable dynamics in some of the end markets we serve, on top of normal first quarter seasonality. From a profitability perspective, we expect a gross margin of about 39 per cent at the mid-point,” said Chery.
Commenting on ST’s target for 2019, Chery said, “For 2019 our key objectives are to continue outperforming our served market, to balance our end market and application focus and to execute on our strategic technology, R&D and manufacturing programs. Therefore, we expect to invest between $1.2 to $1.3 billion in CAPEX.”
