Sees Q2 revenue 3.2 bln usd, gross margin around 40% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Paris, 25 Apr - Franco-Italian chip maker STMicroelectronics said its first quarter revenue came in at 3.465 billion dollars, down 19.1% from the fourth quarter and 18.4% lower year on year weighed down by Automotive and Industrial partially offset by growth in Personal Electronics.

"During the quarter, Automotive semiconductor demand slowed down compared to our expectations, entering a deceleration phase, while the ongoing Industrial correction accelerated," the company said.

The group's gross margin narrowed to 41.7% fro 45.5% in the fourth quarter and 49.7% a year ago.

Operating income fell a sequential 46.1% and an annual 54.1% to 551 million dollars for a margin of 14.9% from 23.9% at end December and 28.3% a year ago.

Diluted earnings per share fell 52.6% form the fourth quarter and 50.9% a year ago to 0.54 dollars.

For the second quarter, STMicro expects, at the mid-point, net revenues of 3.2 billion, down an annual 26% and a sequential 7.6% with a gross margin of around 40%.

For the full year it sees revenue of 14-15 billion and a a gross margin in the low 40's.

The company said it plans to maintain its Net Capex1 plan for FY24 at about 2.5 billion focusing on strategic manufacturing initiatives.

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(RADIOCOR) 25-04-24 08:29:54 (0175) 5 NNNN