25 March 2021
IQE plc
(“IQE” or the “Group”)
2020 FULL YEAR RESULTS
Cardiff, UK
25 March 2021
Record revenue of £178m underpinned by the start of the 5G mega-cycle
IQE plc (AIM: IQE), the leading supplier of advanced wafer products and material solutions to the semiconductor industry, announces its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2020.
2020 Financials
FY 2020 £’m* | FY 2019 £’m* | Change (%) | |
Revenue | 178.0 | 140.0 | 27.1 |
Adjusted EBITDA | 30.1 | 16.2 | 85.8 |
Operating loss | (5.5) | (18.8) | |
Adjusted operating profit/loss | 5.4 | (4.7) | |
Reported loss after tax | (2.9) | (35.1) | |
Adjusted diluted EPS(p) | 0.29p | (2.46p) | |
Net cash generated from operations | 35.5 | 8.9 | 298.9 |
Adjusted cash flow from operations | 36.3 | 16.5 | 120.0 |
Capital investment (PP&E) | 5.0 | 31.9 | (84.3) |
Net cash/(debt)** | 1.9 | (16.0) |
* All figures £’m excluding adjusted diluted EPS.
** Net (debt) / funds excludes IFRS16 lease liabilities.
Adjusted Measures: The Directors believe that the adjusted measures provide a more useful comparison of business trends and performance. Adjusted measures exclude certain non-cash items, non-operational items and significant infrequent items that would distort period on period comparability. The following highlights of the full year results is based on these adjusted profit measures, unless otherwise stated.
"2020 was a year unlike any other and I’d like to extend my thanks to all of our staff who have shown their commitment and resilience in rising to the challenges we faced. Despite the global uncertainty that we encountered, the strength and diversification of our business enabled us to deliver record revenues of £178m, representing a 27% year-on-year increase.
Dr Drew Nelson Chief Executive Officer of IQE
At the same time, we have made positive progress against our strategy and recorded strong growth across our Wireless and Photonics divisions, despite the external pressures.
This progress, combined with the return to a cash positive position and the range of unique materials solutions for high performance devices in our development pipeline, ensures we are well placed to maintain our leadership position as the 5G mega-cycle gathers pace in the coming years."
Current trading and H1 2021 outlook
After a consistently strong year in 2020 across IQE’s broad portfolio of products, trading has continued positively in 2021. In particular, revenues for Wireless GaAs epiwafers are strong as a result of continued 5G handset market penetration and increased GaAs content. In addition, demand for 3D sensing, advanced sensing applications and communications products continues to remain positive.
IQE is well positioned for further 5G related GaN on SiC growth over the multi-year replacement cycle. In the first half of FY21, revenues of GaN on SiC are expected to be lower than in H1 FY20 amid lower market estimates for mMIMO deployment in Asia. Beyond the near term, the opportunities for this and other GaN on Si technologies are very strong as global roll outs of 5G gather pace.
The Group is experiencing a foreign exchange headwind in FY 21 on a reported basis, as the Group’s revenues are predominantly earned in USD but are reported in GBP.
The Group expects revenue and Adjusted EBITDA in the first half of 2021 to be similar to H1 FY20 on a constant currency basis.
Capital expenditure on PP&E for FY21 is expected to be in the range of £20m to £30m as the Group resumes investment in capacity for specific growth platforms, including three new reactors for Taiwan to underpin further growth in FY22. Capitalisation of development costs are expected to be in the range of £7m to £10m for the full year as the Group continues to invest in future products to meet anticipated growing demand for compound semiconductors driven by the macro trends of 5G and connected devices.
Contacts:
IQE plc
+44 (0) 29 2083 9400
Drew Nelson
Tim Pullen
Amy Barlow
Peel Hunt LLP (Nomad and Joint Broker)
+44 (0) 20 7418 8900
Edward Knight
Paul Gillam
Nick Prowting
Citigroup Global Markets Limited (Joint Broker)
+44 () 20 7986 4000
Christopher Wren
Peter Catterall
Headland Consultancy (Financial PR)
+ 44 (0) 20 38054822
Andy Rivett-Carnac: +44 (0) 7968 997 365
Chloe Francklin: +44 (0)78 3497 4624
Glossary
GaAs | Gallium Arsenide |
GaN | Gallium Nitride |
mMIMO | Massive MIMO (Multiple-Input, Multiple Output) |
SiC | Silicon Carbide |
VCSEL | Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser |
ABOUT IQE
http://iqep.com
IQE is the leading global supplier of advanced compound semiconductor wafers and materials solutions that enable a diverse range of applications across:
- handset devices
- global telecoms infrastructure
- connected devices
- 3D Sensing
As a scaled global epitaxy wafer manufacturer, IQE is uniquely positioned in this market which has high barriers to entry. IQE supplies the whole market and is agnostic to the winners and losers at chip and OEM level. By leveraging the Group’s intellectual property portfolio including knowhow and patents, it produces epitaxy wafers of superior quality, yield and unit economics.
IQE is headquartered in Cardiff UK, with c. 650 employees across nine manufacturing locations in the UK, US, Taiwan and Singapore, and is listed on the AIM Stock Exchange in London.
More: https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/iqe/news/rns/story/xjqzdgr