IQE plc FY2011 results: continued growth in sal...

IQE plc (AIM: IQE, "IQE" or the "Group"), the leading global supplier of advanced wafer products and wafer services to the semiconductor industry, announces its final results for the year ended 31 December 2011.

Financial highlights

• Revenues up 4% to £75.3m (2010: £72.7m) despite H2 inventory correction
• Continued improvement in gross margins, up from 22.8% to 24.1%
• EBITDA up 6% to £14.0m (2010: £13.1m)
• Pre-tax profit up 9% to £6.9m (2010: £6.3m)
• Retained profit up 12% to £8.4m (2010: £7.5m)
• Adjusted EPS of 1.86p (2010: 1.91p); basic EPS of 1.62p (2010: 1.63p)
• Capital expenditure of £17.4m (2010 £5.6m) reflects capacity expansion to meet anticipated sales growth
• Cash generated from operations of £10.8m (2010: £10.3m)
• Net debt of £3.9m (2010: Net funds £7.0m)

Operational highlights

• Excellent progress on qualification programmes to underpin continued revenue growth across broad customer base
• Capacity expansion progressing well providing customers with confidence over our ability to satisfy their increasing demand and surge requirements

Dr Drew Nelson, IQE Chief Executive, said:

"Our strong growth momentum was temporarily impacted in the fourth quarter by inventory corrections at two of our major wireless customers.  Despite this, I am pleased to report a year on year increase to record revenues and profits. These inventory corrections continued into the first quarter, but as anticipated, customer forecasts now reflect a return to growth as expected for Q2 and onwards. 

"New product qualifications have progressed very well, with newly qualified products now ramping into production and other qualifications nearing completion. Furthermore, our capacity expansion programme remains on track, which is providing customers with a high degree of confidence in IQE as a key supplier as they keep their allocation of supplier shares under review.

"Our optoelectronics business has a number of near term opportunities which have progressed well during 2011 and which could result in a number of key products ramping to volume production as early as 2013. Following the year end, we announced a strategic investment in Solar Junction Corporation and an exclusive long-term supply agreement, a move that will accelerate our penetration into the exciting, third generation CPV solar market.

"The Board remains confident that IQE is well positioned for strong growth in 2012 and beyond."

Contacts:

IQE plc	[phone]
Drew Nelson
Phil Rasmussen
Chris Meadows
Espirito Santo Investment Bank	+ 44 (0) 20 7456 9191
Richard Crawley
James Bromhead
Canaccord Genuity	+ 44 (0) 20 7050 6500
Simon Bridges
Cameron Duncan
College Hill	[phone]
Adrian Duffield
Kay Larsen

Note to Editors

IQE is the leading global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers with products that cover a diverse range of applications, supported by an innovative outsourced foundry services portfolio that allows the Group to provide a 'one stop shop' for the wafer needs of the world's leading semiconductor manufacturers.

IQE uses advanced crystal growth technology (epitaxy) to manufacture and supply bespoke semiconductor wafers 'epi-wafers' to the major chip manufacturing companies, which then use these wafers to make the chips which form the key components of virtually all high technology systems. IQE is unique in being able to supply wafers using all of the leading crystal growth technology platforms.

IQE's products are found in many leading-edge consumer, communication, computing and industrial applications, including a complete range of wafer products for the wireless industry, such as mobile handsets and wireless infrastructure, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, base stations, GPS, and satellite communications; optical communications, optical storage (CD, DVD), laser optical mouse, laser printers & photocopiers, thermal imagers, leading-edge medical products, barcode, ultra high brightness LEDs, a variety of advanced silicon based systems and high efficiency concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) solar cells.

The manufacturers of these chips are increasingly seeking to outsource wafer production to specialist foundries such as IQE in order to reduce overall wafer costs and accelerate time to market.

In February 2012, IQE made a strategic investment and exclusive wafer supply agreement with leading edge Concentrated Photovoltaic ("CPV") cell developer and manufacturer Solar Junction Corporation ("SJC"). The move marked a significant step in its strategy to become a leading global supplier of CPV wafers for the solar power markets.

IQE operates a number of global manufacturing and R&D facilities: Cardiff, Milton Keynes and Bath in the United Kingdom; Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Somerset, New Jersey and Spokane, Washington in the USA; and Singapore. The Group also has 11 sales offices located in major economic centres worldwide.

Overview and strategic opportunity

IQE is the global leader in the production of advanced 'compound semiconductor' wafer products that are processed by its customers into components or "chips." These enable a diverse range of today's high technology devices and systems, from smartphones to satellites, optical-fibre systems to next generation solar platforms . Compound semiconductors have unique optoelectronic, RF wireless and electronic properties which set them apart from traditional silicon based semiconductors, allowing much greater functionality and performance than can be achieved by silicon alone. This has resulted in compound semiconductors enabling a range of new technology devices, and emerging as the 21^st century semiconductor materials of choice.

IQE's strategy is focused on delivering technology and production leadership in these high-growth markets. The Group offers its customers the industry's broadest product range, access to the latest innovative technologies, unrivalled capabilities across a range of manufacturing platforms, facilities across three continents and a powerful intellectual property portfolio. 

The Group has developed a unique set of competitive advantages to provide its customers with world-leading epitaxial wafer foundry services. By delivering these advantages both consistently and globally, and through its strong operational performance, IQE has become the global leader in its field. IQE offers its customers a powerful set of USPs:

•          most comprehensive, IP rich product portfolio covering all major applications;
•          global multi-site production capabilities;
•          choice of all the key manufacturing platforms;
•          global presence with broad contact base and access to all the key global markets; and
•          competitive pricing enabled by economies of scale including purchasing power and research and development efficiencies.

IQE has a proven track record in developing, protecting and commercialising its intellectual property in support of four technology "megatrends," which the Board believes will be the main growth drivers for IQE over the next decade, namely:

•          high-speed connectivity;
•          sustainable clean energy generation and the efficient use of energy;
•          the explosion of personal consumer devices for enhanced lifestyle; and
•          the increased sophistication and performance of security related systems.

Each of the megatrends involves a wave of technology upgrades driven by economic, environmental, consumer or regulatory pressures, and each is being enabled to a very large degree by compound semiconductor materials and technology. IQE is contributing strongly to each of these megatrends across all of its business segments by providing the key technologies that are already transforming a wide range of end user markets.

Wireless

IQE enjoys a unique position in the RF wireless market, which accounted for around 70% of the Group's revenues in 2011. IQE provides a broad product portfolio that enables all the key radio frequency (RF) components found in wireless communications devices from handsets and smartphones through to tablets, PCs, location based systems (GPS), cellular base stations and satellite TV.  The overall wireless chip market grew at around 11% during the year whilst the proportion of smartphones shipped grew from 22% of total handset shipments in 2010 to 32% in 2011, bringing the total number of smartphone subscribers worldwide to approximately 960 million, which represents around 16% of total subscribers. The trend towards smartphones looks set to continue and industry analysts forecast smartphone penetration to reach 43% by 2014 (Source: Ovum/Morgan Stanley). This is a key driver for IQE as 3G/4G smartphones use multiple numbers of compound semiconductor chips compared with earlier generations of handsets.

IQE now supplies all 12 of the top RF wireless chip producers globally, to varying degrees. Although first half wireless revenues grew by a 23% (constant currency), second half revenues were impacted by inventory corrections at two of the Group's major customers. The impact of any future inventory corrections as a result of temporary market share shifts is being mitigated by further product qualifications across all wireless products and customers. These additional qualifications are progressing well, and when completed should result in a highly robust and risk averse strategy. The Group expects the inventory corrections to be complete by Q2 2012, and more rapid growth to resume.

Optoelectronics

In terms of wafers for optoelectronic applications, end user applications fall into three general areas: emitters and detectors, concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) and light emitting diodes for solid state lighting (SSL).

Emitters and detectors generally relate to laser type products and optical sensors that detect light. Products include lasers, vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs), and a range of optical sensing devices from PiN diodes to photodetectors. End uses for these optoelectronic devices include consumer products, industrial, aerospace, defence and optical communications. Consumer optoelectronics represent the fastest growing opportunities and IQE has several technologies which address these fast growing markets which include finger navigation devices, optical interconnects, miniature laser projectors (pico projectors), cosmetic applications using laser technology, and gesture recognition for gaming applications

The Group has also seen continued growth in demand for infrared materials for a wide range of commercial and military applications, a product range enhanced by IQE's acquisition of Galaxy Compound Semiconductors Inc ("Galaxy") in 2010. In combination with its Wafer Tech subsidiary, IQE is the global market leader for antimonide substrates used in infra-red applications such as night vision, security, search and rescue and aerospace.

IQE has developed a solid portfolio of IP in relation to concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) solar energy products and is engaged with all the major global players in the industry segment. At the start of 2012,  IQE's solar business was further supplemented by a strategic investment in US-based Solar Junction Corporation, a CPV solar product manufacturer, together with an exclusive long-term manufacturing agreement. CPV is the next generation of solar power generation, utilising the advanced properties of compound semiconductors. It is particularly well suited to sunny areas of the planet, where it is soon expected to be the lowest cost energy production technology of all, with lower generation costs than fossil fuels, nuclear and all other forms of renewable technologies. This move positions the Group to take full advantage of its technical leadership in advanced materials and to evolve CPV into a business with the current scale and profitability of the Group's wireless operation within the next few years.

The Group's strategy for solid state lighting is to develop an extensive IP portfolio to license within the multi-billion dollar global lighting market.

IQE's optoelectronics business continued to grow at a faster pace than the core wireless business, achieving year on year growth of over 27% (constant currency), including the impact of the acquisition of Galaxy in 2010 and optoelectronics now accounts for more than 20% of IQE's revenues in 2011.

Electronics

Finally, the Group is engaged in developing highly advanced products for electronic systems which can operate at much higher speeds and much less power consumption than equivalent silicon based devices. Much of this work is sponsored by some of the world's leading electronics companies, which have partnered with IQE to develop these advanced compound semiconductor devices, covering many applications from next generation superfast microprocessors, to highly efficient power semiconductors. Several additional patents were granted during 2011 to extend the powerful IP portfolio of the Group. The Group anticipates bringing the first of these products to market within the next two years, adding further growth to the exciting markets the Group now addresses.

Financial Review

Revenues grew from £72.7m in 2010 to £75.3m driven by increased sales volumes.   Revenues in the first half grew by 23% in US dollars (16% in sterling), but the Group's strong growth momentum was temporarily impacted in the fourth quarter by inventory corrections at two major wireless customers.  Despite this, full year revenues grew by 8% in constant currency (4% sterling).

Gross profit margins improved from 22.8% to 24.1%, reflecting continued strong management of costs, a beneficial product mix and further improved operating efficiencies.

Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by £1.4m to £10.8m (2010: £9.4m).  The cost in 2010 benefited from a £0.5m profit on sale of a property in Singapore. 

The increase in sales and the tight control of costs translated into EBITDA of £14.0m (2010: £13.1m) and an operating profit of £7.4m (2010: £7.2m).  Interest expense reduced from £0.9m to £0.5m.

The strong conversion of operating profit into cash delivered an operating cash inflow of £10.8m (2010: £10.3m).

The tax credit of £1.6m (2010: £1.2m) reflects the benefit of R&D tax credits and deferred tax credits.  Retained profit for the year was up 12% to £8.4m compared with £7.5m in 2010. 

Adjusted EPS (which exclude the charge for share based payments) were 1.86p (2010: 1.91p), and Basic EPS were 1.62p (2010: 1.63p).

The Group invested £17.4m (2010: £5.6m) in capital expenditure, which largely related to its capacity expansion programme to meet future sales growth and surge demand from customers.  In addition, £3.7m (2010: £3.4m) was invested in new product development.

Net debt at 31 December 2011 was £3.9m (2010: net funds £7.0m).

Operations

Two core aspects of IQE's operations strategy are its ability to supply customers with identical products from multiple locations to ensure a secure supply and its ability to provide the most advanced compound semiconductor materials available by virtue of its technology leadership.

Security of supply as a competitive advantage


The importance of IQE's multi-site strategy was emphasised during the first half when the Japanese nuclear disaster in Fukushima highlighted the fragility of supply chains dependent on single site operations.    As a consequence, The Group has witnessed increased interest in IQE in a number of areas.

Another aspect of providing customers with confidence of a secure supply is having sufficient capacity to meet their growth needs and surges in demand.  It is this confidence which builds long term partnerships and is central to winning market share.  This is why IQE engaged in a capacity expansion programme throughout 2011.  This expansion programme is on track and will see a significant increase in IQE's capacity during 2012 as these machines are qualified.  IQE's customers' reaction to the Group's expansion programme has been very positive and positions IQE very well to participate in the anticipated growth in the wireless market, and in gaining market share.

In a separate development, as part of the Group's constant improvement strategy, IQE has achieved increases in throughput which could add approximately 10% additional capacity from existing tools.  Introducing this high throughput process requires qualification with customers and hence the Group plans to introduce this during 2012 and 2013 as production schedules permit.

Technology leadership drives commercial leadership


One of the reasons that the outsource model for compound semiconductor materials has evolved is the significant level of intellectual property that is required to participate in this market.  However, IQE's strategy is to lead in its chosen markets, not just to participate. The commercial leadership that the Group has achieved stands as testament to the technology leadership that IQE has developed over its 20 year history, and is why IQE is working with industry giants at the forefront of the next generation of technologies.

IQE has made some significant advances during 2011 which continue to extend, its technology leadership.  Of particular note are the advances that the Group has made with BiHEMT and PHEMT technologies.

BiHEMT technology is a semiconductor material which has very advanced wireless communication properties.  IQE has been at the cutting edge of commercialising BiHEMT technology, and has the distinction of shipping more BiHEMT wafers than any other epi foundry, accounting for more than 80% of the world's BiHEMTs to date.  BiHEMTs are being used increasingly to replace HBT material to make power amplifiers for mobile phones.  This technology shift is very good news for IQE, and provides a clear opportunity to capture market share.   Notably, IQE completed a major BiHEMT qualification in early January 2012, which is in the process of ramping into volume production.   Further qualifications are underway, and are expected to begin to complete as early as the second quarter of 2012.

PHEMT technology is a semiconductor material which has historically been used to make switches for mobile phones.  The market for switches is benefitting from the increasing complexity of multiple bands in smartphones but, in addition, PHEMT materials are also being increasingly adopted for certain power amplifier applications.  The Group estimates that IQE has approximately a 60% share of the PHEMT market, which in part reflects the advanced technology that IQE has developed.  Encouragingly, IQE has made significant advances in the properties of its PHEMT materials to levels previously not considered possible.  These are in the process of being evaluated by customers, and initial feedback has been excellent.  The Group believes that this positions IQE in an extremely strong position to maintain, and even extend its market leadership.

Markets

IQE's three primary markets are wireless, optoelectronics and electronics:

Wireless


Approximately 70% of the Group's sales in 2011 were into the wireless communications market. 

IQE's customers in this market include the wireless chip companies, which process its wafers into RF integrated circuits or chips which enable electronic devices such as mobile phones to communicate with the outside world.  These chips essentially detect, amplify, switch or emit wireless signals and are known as pHEMTs (pseudomorphic High Electron Mobility Transistors), HBTs (Heterojunction Bipolar Transistors) and  advanced integrated components combining both pHEMTs and HBTs called BiHEMTs.

IQE has developed a unique market position, providing cost, technology and security of supply advantages to the chip companies. It is estimated that over 60% of wafer volume is now outsourced and the trend towards outsourcing is expected to continue as the industry continues to expand, and chip foundries constrain capital expenditure.

IQE is the largest epiwafer foundry and independent industry analysts estimate that IQE's market share is more than 30%, almost twice the size of its nearest competitor.

The introduction of new products involves complex and often long qualification processes to establish the performance and reliability of the chips made from epitaxial wafers. IQE is qualified and in production with all of the major wireless chip companies across a wide range of products. IQE's strategy is to continue to qualify more leading edge products across all customers to help provide mitigation for IQE against the potential impact of swings in market share between chip companies.

The wireless communications market has grown rapidly in recent years reflecting the increasing adoption of wireless technology, multiplied by the need for a greater content of compound semiconductor material per device, as wireless communications become more sophisticated.

Growth drivers include the following:

• More than 1.55 billion mobile handsets were sold in 2011. Handset sales are expected to show further growth in coming years, driven by new applications and functions and the adoption of wireless technology in developing economies.
   
• High-speed connectivity and added functionality drive the requirement for the advanced properties offered by compound semiconductor epiwafers. The global roll-out of wireless broadband networks such as 4G and LTE devices increasingly rely on higher levels of compound semiconductor content.
  
  
• Shipments of smartphone devices represented 32% of total handset shipments in 2011 compared with 22% in 2010. Globally, smartphone penetration is estimated to represent only 16% of the total handset market in terms of subscribers, indicating significant growth potential.
   
• Smartphone technology has been driven by the emergence of mobile "apps", social networking and location based services. Future drivers for smartphone sales include near field communications for contactless payments, and augmented reality for enhanced location based services.
   
• Mobile World Congress in 2012 showcased the launch of a plethora of 4G/LTE devices that will fully exploit higher communication speeds for data rich applications, video streaming and real-time gaming platforms.
   
• Wireless connectivity continues to gain traction: over 1.2 billion mobile web users worldwide with mobile devices accounting for 8.5% of global website hits.

Wireless chip companies are expected to show around 15% CAGR over the coming years. This growth will be driven by the need for more radio frequency functionality and greater complexity in wireless circuitry but will be partly mitigated by improved efficiencies and a drive towards reduced component footprints.

Optoelectronics

Optoelectronics represents a diverse range of products and sectors which accounted for more than 20% of IQEs sales in 2011. The diversity of optoelectronics markets coupled with the emergence of a number of high growth, mass-market applications, leads the Group to expect that the optoelectronics market  will become increasingly significant for IQE over the coming years. IQE's revenues from optoelectronics products showed 27% (constant currency) year-on-year growth during 2011.

In broad terms, optoelectronics refers to devices that convert electricity into light (lasers and LEDs) or light into electricity (optical fibre communication receivers and solar power generation). It is a diverse market with a broad range of applications including LEDs, lasers for data storage (CD, DVD, BluRay), lasers for office applications (laser printers, laser mouse), medical, cosmetic and industrial lasers, and components for optical fibre communication systems covering all applications from USB cables to long haul telecommunication networks.

IQE is targeting three high growth segments; optoelectronic emitters and detectors, advanced solar power generation and solid state lighting.

Optoelectronic emitters and detectors

This market offers a number of high growth opportunities including optical interconnects, laser projectors, optical storage, cosmetic applications, gesture recognition and finger navigation:

• Optical interconnects: enabling high speed data links for long haul communications, high capacity networks and replacements for existing copper interconnectors such as USB, HDMI, DisplayPort, etc.;
   
• laser projectors: high efficiency projection in cinemas, office and industrial applications, home cinema and portable devices (pico projectors);
   
• High speed, high density optical storage: CD, CVD, BluRay;
   
• Cosmetic and health applications: laser hair removal, wrinkle treatment, laser surgery, laser targeted drug delivery;
   
• Gesture recognition: gaming applications, hands free control of PCs and domestic electronic products; and

·         Finger navigation: track-pads on smartphones, PCs, tablets, remote control units and other consumer devices.


IQE is the market leader in advanced gallium antimonide and indium antimonide substrates for use in infrared sensing devices used in in a wide range of applications including night vision sensors and thermal imaging cameras. The Group's business is involved in a number of key government contracts for the development and supply of infrared materials based on antimonide materials.

Advanced Solar Power (CPV)

Solar cells which use compound semiconductors (called CPV or Concentrated PhotoVoltaics) provide the most efficient solution by using multiple layers of finely tuned materials to absorb sunlight across a wider range of wavelengths.  As a result the efficiency of this material is already in excess of 40%, with a roadmap to increase this to 50% and beyond. 

This compares with 12 to 18% efficiency from silicon solar panels, while thin film technology is typically around 10 to 15% efficient. There is very little scope to improve the efficiency of these technologies due to the fundamental properties of the materials used.

A further advantage of compound semiconductors is their tolerance of higher temperatures.  This means the cost of CPV systems is also reduced by using lenses which intensify sunlight and thereby reduce the amount of semiconductor required.

CPV has now reached price parity with fossil fuels and other alternative energy sources in high sunlight regions and is considered to be at an inflection point, with industry analysts forecasting 175% compound annual growth rates for CPV installations, which are expected to grow to over 1.5GW of generating capacity by 2015, representing an epiwafer market opportunity of $250m.

Early in 2012, IQE announced a strategic investment in Solar Junction Corporation, a US based CPV manufacturer with some key intellectual property. Solar Junction Corporation holds the world record for solar cell efficiency at 43.5%. IQE's investment in Solar Junction also gives the Group exclusive long-term manufacturing rights over its IP, which includes a technology roadmap to design solar cells with efficiencies in excess of 50%.

Solid state lighting (SSL)

A number of regulatory drivers underpin growth in demand for renewable and highly efficient lighting. Solid state lighting is widely viewed as the only credible long solution to replace the incandescent light bulb.  Efficient energy consumption will remain a key driver in the development and adoption of this technology, but the critical success factor is reducing cost and improving the ambience of these units. IQE believes that high quality gallium nitride provides the route map to achieving this, and IQE is developing a strong IP portfolio in order to license this technology.

Advanced Electronics

IQE's electronics business provides advanced epitaxy services on silicon. Although this division accounts for less than 5% of Group sales, it is of long term strategic importance to the Group as the silicon industry struggles to deal with the performance limitations of silicon, and looks to combine compound semiconductors with silicon as the solution. Key applications include:

• Power switching -  a highly efficient switching technology to reduce energy losses; and
  
  
  • Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS): accelerometers, bolometers and other sensors used to detect and measure motion, position and pressure.

The Group has also developed a powerful range of advanced, engineered wafers such as germanium-on-insulator (GeOI), germanium-on-silicon (GeOSi) and silicon-on-sapphire (SOS), which offer a high performance and low cost solution for next generation microprocessors, ultra-high speed/high density flash memory and MEMS devices such as motion sensors.

IQE has established a powerful position in these advanced technologies, working with some of the biggest names in the industry. This is reflected in a number of joint patents awarded in conjunction with Intel for the production of III-V materials on silicon substrates.

Current trading and outlook

IQE continues to make excellent progress in the qualification of additional products with its wireless customers, embedding the Group's products into a wide range of next generation devices and mitigating the impact of future swings in market share amongst the customer base.

At the same time, new and emerging products for optoelectronic applications are generating increased demand across all key market segments and the Group's recent investment and long-term supply agreement with Solar Junction Corporation accelerates its CPV strategy.

The inventory correction that affected the Group's wireless business during the final quarter of 2011 is returning to growth as expected and IQE remains uniquely placed to benefit from current and future technology  trends: high-speed communications, energy efficiency, security  and lifestyle - where IQE provides the key enabling technologies. 

The prospects for IQE's wireless markets coupled with continuing strength across the Group's other market sectors mean that the Board remains confident that IQE is well positioned to deliver strong growth in the current financial year and beyond.

Dr Drew Nelson OBE
President & Chief Executive Officer
21 March 2012

CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
for the year ended 31 December 2011

	Note	H2 2011 £'000 unaudited	H2 2010 £'000 unaudited	2011 £'000 audited	2010 £'000 audited
Revenue	2	37,014	39,633	75,318	72,650
Cost of sales		(27,249)	(30,366)	(57,142)	(56,050)
Gross profit		9,765	9,267	18,176	16,600
Selling, general and administrative expenses		(5,400)	(4,749)	(10,803)	(9,392)
Operating profit	2	4,365	4,518	7,373	7,208
Finance costs		(289)	(385)	(481)	(874)
Profit before tax		4,076	4,133	6,892	6,334
Tax		1,266	1,172	1,551	1,172
Profit for the year attributable to equity shareholders		5,342	5,305	8,443	7,506
Adjusted earnings per share	3	1.15p	1.31p	1.86p	1.91p
Basic earnings per share	3	1.02p	1.13p	1.62p	1.63p
Adjusted diluted earnings per share	3	1.09p	1.22p	1.74p	1.76p
Diluted earnings per share	3	0.96p	1.06p	1.51p	1.50p

EBITDA (Earnings before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation)
is calculated as follows:

			2011 £'000	2010 £'000
Profit attributable to equity shareholders			8,443	7,506
Taxes			(1,551)	(1,172)
Share based payments			1,284	1,302
Net finance costs			481	874
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets			4,175	3,619
Amortisation of intangible fixed assets			1,123	986
EBITDA			13,955	13,115
EBITDA was generated during the year as follows:
H1 EBITDA (unaudited)			6,109	5,417
H2 EBITDA (unaudited)			7,846	7,698
Full year EBITDA (audited)			13,955	13,115

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
for the year ended 31 December 2011

		2011 £'000	2010 £'000
Profit for the year		8,443	7,506
Currency translation differences on foreign currency net investments		432	3,095
Foreign exchange hedges		(598)	116
Total comprehensive income for the year		8,277	10,717

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
for the year ended 31 December 2011

	Share capital	Share premium	Retained earnings	Exchange rate reserve	Other reserves	Total equity
	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000	£'000
Balance at 1 January 2011	5,153	21,237	28,019	4,840	3,025	62,274
Comprehensive income
Profit for the year	-	-	8,443	-	-	8,443
Foreign exchange translation differences	-	-	-	432	-	432
Foreign exchange hedges	-	-	-	-	(598)	(598)
Total comprehensive income	-	-	8,443	432	(598)	8,277
Transactions with owners
Employee share option scheme	-	-	(344)	-	1,284	940
Other issues of ordinary shares	98	885	-	-	276	1,259
Total transactions with owners	98	885	(344)	-	1,560	2,199
Balance at 31 December 2011	5,251	22,122	36,118	5,272	3,987	72,750
Balance at 1 January 2010	4,435	1,150	20,513	1,745	1,994	29,837
Comprehensive income
Profit for the year	-	-	7,506	-	-	7,506
Foreign exchange translation differences	-	-	-	3,095	-	3,095
Cash flow hedges	-	-	-	-	116	116
Total comprehensive income	-	-	7,506	3,095	116	10,717
Transactions with owners
Employee share option scheme	-	-	-	-	446	446
Share placing	650	19,226	-	-	-	19,876
Other issues of ordinary shares	68	861	-	-	469	1,398
Total transactions with owners	718	20,087	-	-	915	21,720
Balance at 31 December 2010	5,153	21,237	28,019	4,840	3,025	62,274

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
as at 31 December 2011

	Note		2011 £'000	2010 £'000 restated
Non-current assets:
Intangible assets			32,706	30,401
Property, plant and equipment			37,348	23,804
Deferred tax asset			1,876	824
Total non-current assets			71,930	55,029
Current assets:
Inventories			15,122	11,847
Trade and other receivables			14,338	16,741
Cash and cash equivalents	5		3,233	12,507
Total current assets			32,693	41,095
Total assets			104,623	96,124
Current liabilities:
Borrowings	5		(49)	(4,077)
Trade and other payables			(23,157)	(20,073)
Total current liabilities			(23,206)	(24,150)
Non-current liabilities:
Borrowings	5		(7,105)	(1,409)
Other payables			(1,562)	(8,291)
Total non-current liabilities			(8,667)	(9,700)
Total liabilities			(31,873)	(33,850)
Net assets			72,750	62,274
Shareholders' equity:
Share capital			5,251	5,153
Share premium			22,122	21,237
Retained earnings			36,118	28,019
Other reserves			9,259	7,865
Total equity			72,750	62,274

The restatement of the 2010 balance sheet relates to the reassessment during 2011 of the fair value of inventory acquired with Galaxy Compound Semiconductors, Inc (as required by IFRS 3 (revised)). As a result the fair value of the inventory has been increased by £244,000, with an offsetting adjustment to goodwill. The restatement has no impact on net assets or shareholders' equity.

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
for the year ended 31 December 2011

	Note	H2 2011 £'000 unaudited	H2 2010 £'000 unaudited	2011 £'000 audited	2010 £'000 audited
Cash flows from operating activities:
Cash inflow from operations	4	4,942	8,359	10,823	10,250
Net interest paid		(258)	(351)	(515)	(904)
Income tax received		-	361	13	361
Net cash generated from operating activities		4,684	8,369	10,321	9,707
Cash flows from investing activities:
Acquisition of Galaxy Compound Semiconductors, Inc		(512)	1	(1,134)	1
Development expenditure		(2,015)	(1,640)	(3,666)	(3,379)
Investment in other intangible fixed assets		(268)	(218)	(328)	(389)
Purchase of property, plant and equipment		(6,593)	(3,918)	(15,517)	(4,995)
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment		48	-	90	1,467
Net cash used in investing activities		(9,340)	(5,775)	(20,555)	(7,295)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Issues of ordinary share capital		36	20,475	616	20,512
Loans and leases received/(repaid)		1,821	(12,003)	334	(14,741)
Net cash generated from financing activities		1,857	8,472	950	5,771
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents		(2,799)	11,066	(9,284)	8,183
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January				12,507	4,233
Exchange gains on cash and cash equivalents				10	91
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December	5			3,233	12,507

NOTES TO THE RESULTS                     

1.             Basis of preparation

These results have been prepared under the historical cost convention and in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as adopted by the European Union and interpretations in issue at 31 December 2011.

The preliminary results were approved by the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee on 20 March 2012. These results do not constitute statutory accounts within the meaning of the Companies Act 2006. All figures are taken from the 2011 audited annual accounts unless denoted as 'unaudited'. Comparative figures in the results for the year ended 31 December 2010 have been taken from the 2010 audited annual accounts.

These results will be announced to all shareholders on the London Stock Exchange and published on the Group's website on 21 March 2012. Copies will be available to members of the public upon application to the Finance Director at Pascal Close, Cardiff, CF3 0LW.

2.             Segmental analysis

The Group considers its three key market areas of wireless, optoelectronics and electronics to be its primary reporting segments, based on the reports reviewed by the board of directors that are used to make strategic decisions.

Revenues by business segment :	2011 £'000	2010 £'000
Wireless	55,156	55,062
Optoelectronics	18,551	15,393
Electronics	1,611	2,195
Total revenue	75,318	72,650
EBITDA by business segment :
Wireless	10,718	11,093
Optoelectronics	3,409	1,874
Electronics	(172)	148
Total EBITDA	13,955	13,115
Operating profit/(loss) by business segment :
Wireless	5,864	6,748
Optoelectronics	2,057	649
Electronics	(548)	(189)
Total operating profit	7,373	7,208

3.             Earnings per share

	2011 £'000	2010 £'000
Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders	8,443	7,506
Share based payments	1,284	1,302
Adjusted profit attributable to ordinary shareholders	9,727	8,808
	No	No
Weighted average number of ordinary shares	522,386,930	461,841,899
Dilutive share options	37,008,723	39,491,923
Adjusted weighted average number of ordinary shares	559,395,653	501,333,822
Adjusted earnings per share	1.86p	1.91p
Basic earnings per share	1.62p	1.63p
Adjusted diluted earnings per share	1.74p	1.76p
Diluted earnings per share	1.51p	1.50p

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year. 

Diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing the profit attributable to ordinary shareholders by the weighted average number of shares and 'in the money' share options in issue. Share options are classified as 'in the money' if their exercise price is lower than the average share price for the year. As required by IAS 33, this calculation assumes that the proceeds receivable from the exercise of 'in the money' options would be used to purchase shares in the open market in order to reduce the number of new shares that would need to be issued. 

4.             Cash generated from operations

	2011 £'000	2010 £'000
Operating profit	7,373	7,208
Depreciation of tangible assets	4,175	3,619
Amortisation of intangible assets	1,123	986
Gain on sale of tangible assets	(68)	(539)
Deferred income (government grants)	-	(44)
Cash costs related to acquisition of subsidiary	-	80
Share based payments	1,284	1,302
Operating profit before changes in working capital	13,887	12,612
(Increase) in inventories	(3,087)	(203)
Decrease/(Increase) in trade and other receivables	2,033	(1,968)
(Decrease) in trade and other payables	(2,010)	(191)
Net cash inflow from operations	10,823	10,250

5.             Analysis of net funds/debt

	At 1 January 2011 £'000	Cash flow £'000	Other non-cash movements £'000	At 31 December 2011 £'000
Cash and cash equivalents	12,507	(9,284)	10	3,233
Loans due after one year	(1,331)	(5,495)	(261)	(7,087)
Loans due within one year	(4,033)	4,019	14	-
Finance leases due after one year	(78)	13	47	(18)
Finance leases due within one year	(44)	1,143	(1,148)	(49)
Total borrowings	(5,486)	(320)	(1,348)	(7,154)
Net funds/(debt)	7,021	(9,604)	(1,338)	(3,921)

Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2011 comprised balances held in instant access bank accounts.

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