Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
99
ANNUAL REPORT
999999999999999999999999999999
Key figures
Letter to shareholders
MICRONAS IN THE MARKET
Basis for global growth prospects
Consumer Division
60 million TV stereo processors
AudioVideo
Set-top boxesMultimedia
WorldSpace
Automotive Division
System solutions for automobiles
ControllersHall sensors
MICRONAS IN THE YEAR UNDER REVIEW
29 percent sales growth
Favorable sales and earning performanceSolid equity base
Intensive research and developmentExpanded capacity in wafer production
New 0.5µ technologyComprehensive improvements in Backend
High environmental standardsStable headcount
Advanced quality managementInformation technology
Strong rise in consumer salesIncreased sales of automotive products
MICRONAS PROFILE
Five-year comparisonKey share data
Management structure and governing bodiesSubsidiaries and participationsMicronas Group management
Portrait in brief
03
04
06
07
0708080909
10
1011
12121212131313141414141415
1718222324
26
1999 1998 1999 1998CHF 1000 CHF 1000 EUR 1000 EUR 1000
Net sales 321 742 280 708 200 800 175 421Net profit/loss for the period 24 821 – 44 602 15 491 – 27 873Capital expenditures 54 353 90 379 33 922 56 480R&D expenses 36 188 38 278 22 585 23 921Shareholders’ equity 158 024 57 657 98 476 36 031Equity ratio in % 37.4 19.7 37.4 19.7Cash flow from operating activities 84 134 – 25 159 52 508 – 15 722Earnings per share 13.29 – 27.54 8.29 – 17.21Equity per share 74.50 35.70 46.43 22.31
MICRONAS GROUPKEY FIGURES AT A GLANCE
Ladies and Gentlemen
The 1999 business year was a very posi-tive one for the Micronas Group, with significant improvement in all of therelevant performance data and finan-cial key figures. Sales grew by about 29 percent, while operational cash flowreached CHF 84.1 million. The com-pany produced an annual profit of CHF24.8 million, compared with the sub-stantial, restructuring-driven loss of theprevious year. The equity ratio im-proved from 19.7 percent to 37.4 per-cent and earnings per share came toCHF 13.29. Meanwhile, headcountremained at the previous year’s level.
These results were made possible bythe diligence of our employees at everylevel, and by their outstanding com-mitment to realizing the new corporatestrategy. The Micronas Group wasalso helped by the fact that the repos-itioning coincided with a recovery inkey sales markets.
The comprehensive updating of pro-duction equipment and the introductionof state-of-the-art production tools andprocess technologies also played amajor role in the marked year-on-yearproductivity gains. The introduction of 0.5µ technology and the transitionfrom 5-inch to 6-inch wafers went ac-cording to plan, as did the entry intoservice of a new galvanizing facility.These innovations have laid the foun-dations for the group’s further growth.The strategy of concentrating on twocore business areas, consumer andautomotive, has proved to be correct.
Our new products met with a good re-sponse from the market during the year under review. In consumer elec-tronics, we developed chips that arenow being used in all the different TVaudio standards worldwide. By theend of 1999 we had already soldover 60 million of these audio chips.Our products for «cinema sound at
home», which facilitate a high-qualitytelevision and video experience, arealso much in demand. Our most ambi-tious projects include the MP3 decoderchips – vital for «Internet radio» – theMicronas Starman chipset for receivingdigital satellite radio throughout theworld, and our Hall sensors for auto-motive electronics.
We further expanded our marketingand sales organization during the yearunder review and strengthened ourdirect contact with customers in theproduct development phase. Europe isstill our most important regional mar-ket, but we have gained significant ground in Asia and the USA.
In order to finance this strong growthand make important investments forthe future, we increased our share-holders’ equity substantially during theyear under review. We were able to go to the market for this capital increasethanks to a resolution by the generalshareholders’ meeting. The board of di-rectors and executive board welcomedthis decision as a major vote of confi-dence at a time when the subsequentsuccess was by no means certain. Thepublic offering raised a total of CHF83.6 million for the company. As aresult, Micronas is now in a position toexploit targeted opportunities to ex-pand and has the flexibility required tofurther improve its position in the mar-ket. The board of directors and execu-tive board have started to take appro-priate soundings.
In addition to the listing on the SwissStock Exchange, we launched our shares on the Frankfurt Neuer Markt inthe summer of 1999, parallel to thecapital increase. The Neuer Markt isGermany’s market for growth stocks.The listing was very successful, withthe opening price substantially higherthan the price fixed for the capital in-crease. Around 65 percent of the newlyissued shares went to institutional clients, with private investors taking up
the rest. The dual listing has benefitedour shareholders by increasing theliquidity of Micronas shares and furtherbroadening their distribution in themarket.
The structure of the Micronas Groupwas further refined over the course ofthe year under review. We consolidatedour European activities into a newlyestablished national holding companybased in Freiburg im Breisgau (Ger-many). As well as helping to focus oper-ations, this holding structure shouldpromote the long-term strategic orien-tation and further development of theMicronas Group. Details of the neworganizational structure are given onpage 37 of this Annual Report.
We can claim with some pride that theMicronas Group is now well positionedto confront the challenges presented by the dynamic semiconductor market.We are concentrating on specific prod-uct ranges in the high-end segmentand are thus less exposed to the largegeneral fluctuations experienced by the industry. In certain areas we haveestablished ourselves as a strong market leader, and we continue to setnew technological standards. Our highly developed products enable us to create competitive advantages forour customers.
Against this background we expect tosee further growth in sales and profitsthis year. The new year has started promisingly and the outlook for the firsthalf of 2000 is good. However, in thefast-moving semiconductor market,with its very short product life cycles,making a reliable forecast remains arelatively difficult exercise.
Though caution is always required, weare confident that the Micronas Groupwill be able to further improve its posi-tion in the international market. Thisconfidence is based on a belief in ourabilities and on the goodwill of an everwider circle of shareholders.
TO OUR SHAREHOLDERS
Dr. Wolfgang Kalsbach
Dr. Franz Betschon
BASIS FOR GLOBAL GROWTH PROSPECTSMicronas has established a strong market position in promising, high-growth semiconductor applications for the consumer electronics and auto-motive sectors. Micronas concentrates on the superior quality seg-ments of these industries. The products are specifically tailored to industryand customer needs.
Micronas’ worldwide marketing and sales organization is structured geo-graphically. Marketing to major global customers is additionally coordinated at the company’s operational headquarters in Freiburg imBreisgau. The sales organization is further supported by a network of inde-pendent distributors and agents.
Outside Europe, the company maintains sales and applications offices in San Jose (California), Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Hong Kong, China and Singapore, established at the start of 1999. The company IT networkallows all offices worldwide to use the same infrastructure for communica-tion and order processing.
Looking back over its entire history, Micronas can boast over 1400 patentsand patent applications based on more than 240 inventions. Every year produces another 40 or 50 innovations. One hundred and fifty people areemployed in the research and development department.
Audio In 1999 around 125 milliontelevision sets (TV) and about 60 mil-lion analog video recorders (VCR) weremanufactured worldwide. Micronasoffers a comprehensive range of fullycompatible audio processors for vari-ous TV and VCR applications in the midand high-end segments of the market. These market segments account forabout 30 percent of all TVs manufac-tured in the world and around 25 per-cent of all VCRs.
The company’s current range of prod-ucts covers all today’s analog anddigital TV audio standards, including
NICAM and Astra Digital Radio.Micronas is the only manufacturer inthe world to offer an integrated solu-tion unifying all the existing audio standards in a single audio processor.
The Micronas strategy of making theaudio product range globally compat-ible has so far proved very successful in the market. By the end of 1999, over60 million MSP audio processors hadbeen installed in consumer equipment.
Working closely with its customers,Micronas can identify market require-ments at a very early stage, and is thus
in a position to influence the direc-tion of new trends. Thanks to the widespectrum of Micronas audio proces-sors, TV and VCR manufacturers canselect the combination of sound func-tions (such as bass, treble, volume, surround sound, Virtual Dolby Surround,graphic equalization, etc.) and audiostandards that best suits their require-ments at any particular moment in time.
In the «Advanced Audio» market, thedevelopment and market penetration ofMP3 players has been particularlyspectacular. MP3 is currently the mostwidely distributed and one of the best
60 MILLION TV STEREO PROCESSORSConsumer Division Micronas’ Consumer Division supplies integrated circuits (ICs) for processing images, sound and data in consumer electronicsproducts. The company’s customers include all the well-known manu-facturers of TV equipment around the world, as well as producers of radios, satellite receivers, PCs and other consumer goods.
methods for compressing – and sub-sequently decompressing – digitalizedaudio signals.
The MP3 player is the first product in anew generation of consumer audioequipment that exploits the broad pene-tration of PCs and the rapid growth of the Internet. The demand for MP3players is directly dependent on theavailability of content (e.g. music) inMP3 format. This content can be down-loaded from the Internet or playedfrom a conventional audio CD usingspecial software on a PC.
The Micronas strategy is to developfurther chipsets and compression tech-nologies to open up a multitude of new markets. Today, portable audioplayers – based on Flash memory andhard discs – MP3 CD players, voicerecording machines, playback equip-ment for talking books and products forthe games market are already avail-able. In the future Micronas will also beoffering solutions for digital recordingequipment with superior audio quality.
At the start of 1999, the «secure digitalmusic initiative» (SDMI) was launchedto protect the interests of the musicindustry. Micronas is an active memberof the SDMI and implements the re-quired standards in its new products.Micronas will continue to develop products for this very dynamic market,for example new audio standards likeAdvanced Audio Coding (AAC).
Products The audio signal proces-sors (MSP) for multi-channel TV soundor simulated surround sound (DolbyPrologic Surround, Virtual Dolby Sur-round), which were announced in 1998and went into production during theyear under review, marked an impor-tant milestone for Micronas. SeveralEuropean manufacturers have decidedto fit the majority of their stereo TVsets with these high-quality audio sys-tems using Micronas products.
In autumn 1999 at the InternationaleFunkausstellung (International Broad-casting Exhibition) in Berlin the public was introduced to the next step in the evolutionary chain: Dolby Digital.This is a sound recording format thathas been used for many years in thecinema. New media (DVD = digital ver-satile disk; digital television) open up sources for previously unheardsound quality to the home TV. Thanksto a sophisticated overall concept,manufacturers can now integrate this
audio system into their existing equip-ment architecture at little extra cost. In the audio segment in particular,Micronas currently offers a more com-plete and better performing productportfolio than any of its competitors.Technical product presentations inEurope, Asia and the USA have alreadygenerated numerous new businessopportunities.
Micronas’ chip for «Advanced Audio»purposes (MP3), which has been avail-able since autumn 1998, is alreadybeing widely used in portable Walkman-type audio playback systems. Theadvantage of these products is thatthey are based on non-volatile-memorysemiconductors, and for the first timethere is no need for mechanical com-ponents. They can also exploit thepotential offered by PCs and the Inter-net. The system was developed furtherfor speech-recording equipment andlaunched on the market together with aPC application software. The result isan attractive range of multi-use equip-ment, for example the combination dictaphone and music player. MP3 en-hancements for existing products have also been well received. Theseinclude mobile phones with MP3 func-tions from Samsung and Ericsson, and the MP3 adapter that enablesSony’s Playstation to play MP3 CDs.
Video The total market for televisionsmay be divided into two segments:high-end digital sets (double scan TV,LCD/Plasma TV and Projection TV) andconventional analog equipment (singlescan). Digital sets currently account for only 10 percent of the market vol-ume. However, they represent 25 per-cent of sales, where the componentscontribute a relatively large proportionof the added value. It can be expectedthat the trend towards an increaseddigitalization of TV sets will continue.
Micronas offers compatible compo-nents for differing requirements. Thecompany’s «product family» strategylets the set manufacturer cover severalclasses of equipment and all TV stand-ards without having to develop separ-ate solutions for each. The attractiveMicronas concepts for the high-endmarket segment ensure global compa-tibility and offer numerous additionalfunctions for improved picture quality.In addition, existing developments can easily be reused, facilitating costsavings and simpler logistics.
Micronas also offers complete system
solutions to TV manufacturers withlimited development capability. Thesolutions range from application hard-ware and software to near-productionend-equipment. In order to strengthenits position in the consumer video market, Micronas will continue persis-tently to integrate more functionalityinto the individual components, andadapt to the changes imposed by newbroadcasting techniques and displaytechnologies.
Products The video products madeby Micronas handle the entire process-ing of picture signals. This enables aTV to receive and display all worldstandard TV signals. In addition to thestandard functions such as brightness,contrast, color intensity, synchroni-zation, and horizontal and vertical hold,numerous other functions for improv-ing the picture are integrated. Theseproducts can be used in all classes ofTV throughout the world.
Set-top boxes Set-top boxes(STBs) are TV reception devices that donot have their own screens or loud-speakers. As such they can only be usedtogether with an existing television set. New transmission technologies(e.g. satellite and cable), new broadcaststandards (e.g. digital broadcasting)and pay TV are accessible on the homeTV by using STBs.
Beside traditional analog transmissionof picture and sound information, thenew, purely digital transmission of the TV signal via cable, antenna andsatellite gains importance. In the longterm, analog transmission will prob-ably be replaced altogether by digitalbroadcast technology.
The STB market is currently dominatedby satellite boxes for analog TV or pay TV. While the first signs of satura-tion are being seen for satellite pay TVin the industrial nations (USA), theemerging markets are only just begin-ning to introduce satellite television.
According to Micronas estimates, world-wide demand in 1999 came to about 8 million units. The next year is likelyto see this demand top the 10 millionmark.
Micronas is pursuing a strategy of integrating into STBs the audio andvideo products that are already used inhigh volumes in TV sets. During thetransitional phase between analog anddigital TV standards in particular, the
characteristics of the Micronas inte-grated circuits (with IC-internal digitalsignal processing) are proving very advantageous, as they already offer adigital interface for hybrid STBs or,alternatively, a cost-effective integrationof the STB functions into the tele-vision set.
Micronas offers products for process-ing sound, receiving digital broadcastsand decoding analog video and datasignals (e.g. Teletext). It has establisheda good position in this specialized market.
Products The current introduction of digital television broadcasting opensup new business opportunities forMicronas in the area of set-top boxesand multimedia PCs. These devicesconvert the new digital transmissionprotocols into signals that can be pro-cessed or displayed by existing equip-ment. Thanks to their mixed analog/digital architecture, Micronas productsare very good for the joint processingof «old» and «new» media. Several large manufacturers in theUnited States are using Micronas’audio and video products in high vol-umes. Product cycles and requireddelivery times are much shorter than in the TV business.
Multimedia About 100 million PCsystems were sold in 1999. PCs of thelatest generation have rapid bussystems, standardized interfaces andmodern operating systems whichfacilitate sophisticated processing ofaudio and video data. The modulararchitecture of the PCs also enables theend user to add on functions when first purchasing the computer or at asubsequent date (add-on market).
A growing proportion of new PCs areequipped to deal with multimedia, e.g. they can receive, process and play
back audio-visual information.
Based on many years of experience asa partner for TV manufacturers and as a producer of integrated circuits (ICs)for the TV industry, Micronas offers afamily of ICs for receiving and process-ing TV signals within a PC.
Customers manufacturing goods for theglobal market profit directly from themulti-standard capabilities of Micronasproducts. Since most of the develop-ment work for multimedia productstakes place in the USA, Micronas pro-vides application and marketing sup-port with the help of its local Americanoffices.
The standard USB (universal serial bus)is prompting an expansion of the multimedia market. In future, all PCperipherals, such as the mouse, key-board, modem and loudspeakers, will have identical connectors and willthus be very easy to use. Market re-search suggests that 90 percent of allnew PCs sold in the year 2000 will beequipped with USB.
The broad acceptance of the USBstandard also suggests that it will havea long lifetime. With its first USB audiochip Micronas aims to lay the founda-tions for a family of USB audio com-ponents. Micronas expects that furtherdevelopments towards multi-chan-nel audio, such as Dolby Digital, oradaptation to consumer audio throughthe addition of an audio interfacingmatching the Sony/Philips standard(SP/DIF), will be possible.
Products In order for a PC to pro-cess analog signals, these signals mustfirst be converted into digital format.Micronas offers a product family spe-cifically designed to convert audio,video and Teletext data in this way. Thelatest TV tuner cards use this system
to provide surround sound (Dolby ProLogic Surround, Dolby Virtual Surround).
Micronas has developed an interfacecomponent for USB applications thatallows digital audio signals to bepassed on directly to the loudspeakersvia the USB bus. By using digital signalprocessing technology, the chip facili-tates the implementation of various fea-tures, such as equalization, adaptivebass enhancement and active frequencymodulation. The main target is thus theadd-on market for loudspeakers. Thischip is also interesting to PC manu-facturers, since it can replace the soundcard in a PC. This multimedia innova-tion is promoted out of Micronas’ San Jose office in California’s Silicon Valley, and with Gateway as the firstcustomer for USB loudspeakers, a largepotential market has been opened up.
WorldSpace In 1990 the US com-pany WorldSpace was established, withthe aim of providing a comprehen-sive multimedia information and enter-tainment platform for developing andemerging nations with little or noaccess to modern mass media. BecauseWorldSpace uses satellites for broad-casting, reception should be possiblejust about everywhere. The first stage,broadcasting of radio programs viadigital satellite radio, has been launched.
Since 19 October 1999, the WorldSpacesatellite «Afristar» has been supplyingthe African continent with informa-tional and entertainment programs.Micronas is supplying three of the fourJapanese radio manufacturers with aspecial chipset for receiving digitaldata. While the first 100 000 radioswere put on the market by WorldSpace,marketing by the equipment manu-facturers began. The second satellite«Asiastar» should be in operation bythe middle of 2000 and will open up afurther attractive sales market.
Controllers Despite a stable carproduction volume the amount of elec-tronics used in vehicles continues toincrease. By 2001, we expect there to beabout US$ 250 worth of semiconduc-tors in the average vehicle. Currently, 60 percent of the approximately 50 million cars produced every year world-
wide are equipped with electronicinstrumentation (controllers) based onmicroprocessors. The market is char-acterized by very demanding require-ments in terms of the quality and ro-bustness of the products as well as interms of the suppliers’ on-time deliveryperformance. Although automotive
products have long life spans, com-petitiveness is determined by the speedof the innovation cycle.
Micronas cooperates with systems suppliers on research and development.This collaboration helps identify themarket’s needs and requirements early
SYSTEM SOLUTIONS FORAUTOMOBILESAutomotive Division The portfolio of the Automotive Division comprisesmicrochips that are used for a wide variety of automotive applications. Thesechips are increasingly replacing mechanical components and create the option to integrate new functions into the vehicle. Micronas’ customers inthis area are mainly companies that supply systems to the automotive industry.
The Automotive Division has two product lines: Controllers for use in electronic car instrumentation and Hall sensors for engine management, drive regulation and security and comfort systems.
The future will strengthen existing synergy between the consumer and auto-motive electronics divisions.
on. Micronas designs its products fromthe earliest stage in such a way thatthey can be adapted to different require-ments with little extra effort. Further-more, by using its know-how from theconsumer division, Micronas is in aposition to develop products that cansatisfy modern trends in automobileconstruction (increased security, in-creased comfort, better communica-tion, new entertainment systems, tele-matics).
Finally, it is important to note that thefactors that determine market successhave changed fundamentally. Unitprice used to be the dominant criterion,but now customers are more con-cerned about software developmenttime. Micronas has taken account ofthis trend by developing higher per-formance product concepts that enablecustomers to reduce their time-to-market cycles significantly.
Last year Micronas further intensifiedits active collaboration with car manu-facturers and systems suppliers at very early stages of development. Thelong design, development and testingphases in this industry mean, how-ever, that the results of this collabora-tion only become apparent after anumber of years. Micronas believes thatits approach constitutes a necessaryand positive long-term strategy.
Products Micronas controllers areused in car instrumentation. By imple-
menting several functions on one chip – e.g. indicators for speed, revolu-tions per minute, maintenance inter-vals and fuel consumption – Micronascan meet the manufacturer’s demandfor space-saving solutions. The compo-nents are designed in such a way thatMicronas can take account of changesmade by the customer right up untilproduction begins. With their repro-grammable Flash capabilities, the chipscan also be programmed during pro-duction or even in the finished car (line-end programming).
Hall sensors Hall sensors are usedto detect magnetic fields and to trans-form those into electrical signals.Applications for these sensors can bedivided into two types. Hall sensorsused for potential-free measurement ofelectrical currents and sensors to measure mechanical movements andpositions without direct mechanicalcontact. The Hall sensors themselvesare extremely small, which means theyare very easy to install directly, even in inaccessible places.
The automobile industry constitutesthe most important market for MicronasHall sensors. They are already used for numerous applications, e.g. electricwindows, window-screen wiper sys-tems, camshaft sensors, lamp controls,active drive regulation, ABS, elec-tronic seat and mirror adjustment, fluidlevel indication, electric sunroofs andspeed sensors. The trend in automobile
electronics is moving towards decen-tralized, networked subsystems. Theserequire electronic sensors with addi-tional integrated intelligent functions.
Beyond these applications, Hall sensorscan also be found in a large number of industrial and consumer applications,where they fulfill many different func-tions (switching, etc.).
Micronas’ strategy is to work with thesystem suppliers and carmakers from avery early stage of the product devel-opment process. The benefits andopportunities provided by the availabletechnologies can then be incorporat-ed directly into the list of requirementsfor new systems.
Products Micronas already providesseven different Hall sensor familiescovering a wide range of the sensor ap-plications in automobiles. Becauseeach family includes several variantswith different magnetic characteristics,there is a suitable product for justabout any application.
With the HAL800, Micronas offers a sensor with on-chip memory that thecustomer can configure to his or herrequirements. The programmability ofthis sensor allows the same sensortype to be used in different applications.
Furthermore, the sensor can be adapt-ed to the specific application during themanufacturing process.
Favorable sales and earning perfor-
mance Consolidated net sales increasedfrom the previous year’s CHF 280.7million to CHF 321.7 million. After ad-justing for the disposals made in thewake of restructuring and the drop insales that this entailed, year-on-yearsales growth was 28.9 percent.
Both strategic business areas contrib-uted to this increase in sales. TheConsumer Division once again recordedthe greatest sales volume with a total of CHF 253.8 million. This represents78.9 percent of overall group sales and a year-on-year growth rate of 31.0percent.
The Automotive Division also showeda very positive performance, with salesof CHF 67.9 million, or 21.1 percent of the group total. Sales of automotiveproducts were 21.8 percent higher than in the previous year.
The chart on page 21 gives a regionalbreakdown of sales. Europe continuesto account for the greatest volume of sales, with CHF 201.7 million. Asiahas made good progress and its CHF86.8 million of sales represents 27.0
percent of the overall total. There is agreat potential for growth in the Ameri-can market. In the year under review,CHF 25.5 million of sales were made tothe USA, which is equivalent to 8.2 percent of the total. Other regions ofthe world contributed CHF 6.7 millionto overall sales.
Earnings were good during the periodunder review. Cash flow generated fromoperating activities went up to CHF84.1 million, and net profit for the 1999financial year came to CHF 24.8 mil-lion. Thanks to unexpectedly strongdemand, this is much higher than originally forecast. Shareholders andthe public were informed of this favor-able development at the end of Sep-tember, when it became clear that earn-ings were going to deviate positivelyfrom the forecast figures. This CHF 24.8 million net profit compares with aloss of CHF 44.6 million in the pre-vious year, which was caused primarilyby the cost of restructuring.
Solid equity base Following the suc-cessful restructuring and repositioningof the Micronas Group, the board ofdirectors and executive board worked
to secure a lasting improvement in the company’s equity capital position.
The general shareholders’ meeting of20 April 1999 decided to increase thecompany’s authorized capital. The cap-ital increase, carried out in the middleof July, priced the newly issued sharesat CHF 181.00 each (EUR 112.70). Theissue was a complete success and the shares were significantly oversub-scribed. By placing 500 000 shares, the company raised CHF 83.6 million.
At the end of the year, group share-holders’ equity stood at CHF 158 mil-lion, compared with CHF 57.7 million at the end of 1998. This substantialstrengthening of the equity ratio – itwas at 37.4 percent on the balancesheet date – has created conditions thatwill allow Micronas to exploit oppor-tunities for targeted expansion in agrowing market.
In addition to the Swiss Stock Exchangeexisting shares, as well as the onesissued in the capital increase, were alsolisted on Frankfurt’s Neuer Markt. Thelaunch of Micronas shares on thisdynamic market has also proved a great
29 PERCENT SALES GROWTHThe Micronas Group successfully mastered the challenges of the 1999business year. The major aspects of the restructuring are complete; salesand earnings have been boosted by the company’s adaptation to the changed market situation and its refocusing on high-potential segments of the market. Micronas’ strong market presence was bolstered by the posi-tive development of key sales markets and by a correspondingly livelydemand for Micronas chips.
success and the shares now enjoy evenwider distribution and greater liquidity.
Intensive research and development
In order to ensure the continuing hightechnical standards set by the com-pany, Micronas invested CHF 36.2 mil-lion in research and developmentduring the 1999 financial year. Thisfigure compares with the CHF 38.3 mil-lion spent in 1998. After adjusting fordisposals, this item of expenditureactually came to CHF 33.9 million. TheR&D ratio – R&D expenditure as a per-centage of sales revenue – thus cameto 11.3 percent.
1999 saw a series of successful prod-uct launches from Micronas. The MP3products secured access to the youngand very dynamic multimedia market.The audio and video products alsobroke into new areas of the market.Despite the fast pace of development,there was no significant rise in head-count in the research and developmentarea, though there were increasedefforts to collaborate with external de-velopment partners.
New products were almost exclusivelydeveloped for the 0.5µ CMOS pro-cess. Possibilities for making the struc-tures even smaller were evaluated, and in TV product development thenumber of transistors per chip went pastthe 2 million mark for the first time.
In the year under review a develop-ment technique new to Micronas andthe import of external know-how helpedto introduce an important new prod-uct to the market. Thanks to continuousdevelopment, soft- and hardware de-velopment tools were kept up to datewith the latest technology. Methods foron-chip error detection and correctionwere greatly refined.
During the year under review, Micronasoptimized its Consumer Division’s ICfamily, making it even more attractivefor globally active customers. TheseMicronas products can process allworldwide standards, and they allowthe customer to develop and produceTV sets for different price categories at a relatively low cost.
There was an expansion and an intensi-fied integration of the video productfamily in terms of 100Hz and LCD appli-cations. As part of this process, Micro-nas started product development for ≤ 0.35µm semiconductor technologies. New products in the TV audio sector
opened up access to the digital set-topbox market. Multi-channel 3D surroundtechniques were integrated for use inhigh-end TV sets. At the same timeMicronas developed a range of «Virtual3D» ICs, which can generate compar-able effects just by using the two speak-ers fitted to normal TVs.
In multimedia, the MP3 product familywas equipped with additional func-tions, such as speech recording andplayback. The power consumption ofthese products was steadily reduced inorder to extend the end-product’s battery lifetime. The IC temperatureoperating range was extended beyondthe usual limit for consumer goods,enabling them to be used in portabletelephones.
Today’s PCs are broadly standardizedin terms of digital interfaces, withexternal equipment such as printers,scanners, loudspeakers, etc. Thisprompted us to launch a new productfamily for audio applications (USBbus). Our video decoders for PC appli-cations were improved and transferredto the cost-efficient 0.5µ technology.
The Automotive Division started volumeproduction of the 0.5µ products devel-oped in 1998. Some of these productsare manufactured together with non-volatile memory components. The nextgeneration of microcontrollers for display instruments in the automotivesector is now prepared.
Sensor manufacture was switched tothe more cost-effective 6-inch waferproduction line. Additional product ver-sions – including on chip program-mable Hall sensors – were developedfor various applications.
Expanded capacity in wafer production
The switch to a 6-inch wafer produc-tion line in the new wafer factory inFreiburg was completed on schedule in August 1999. This means that sinceconstruction of the new cleanroompremises began in May 1997, all stageshave been completed on time, includ-ing the installation and the commence-ment of operation of new productionequipment and the gradual switch from5-inch to 6-inch production. As a re-sult we have been able to achieve ourgoal of increasing capacity via in-creased silicon wafer size by 47 percent.
New 0.5µ technology Volume produc-tion of microchips using the new 0.5µtechnology increased steadily over
the whole year. By the end of 1999,over half of wafer production volumewas accounted for by this technology. For all Micronas business areas, 0.5µ products exist that have been quali-fied and released for production bycustomers. This technology is nowbeing employed as standard for all newproduct runs. At the end of 1999, 70percent of the total capacity of the Frei-burg production plant was available for this new technology. Provided newproduction equipment is delivered and qualified on schedule, investmentsmade in the final quarter of 1999 willlead to a further increase in capacityfor 0.5µ products to 90 percent by thesecond half of 2000.
Comprehensive improvements in
Backend Micronas’ Backend take careof the assembly, testing, labeling and packaging of the ICs that come outof wafer fabrication. The ICs are thenforwarded to the finished goods stock.In 1999, investment in backend areasfocused primarily on expanding capaci-ty and further increasing the degree ofautomation in the testing of mixed signal ICs, as well as on preparing andimplementing a new automated galva-nizing line in the assembly chain.
By purchasing four new-generationSoC testing systems (SoC = system on chip) and two wafer testers, wegreatly enhanced production capacityfor audio testing and laid the foun-dations for developing tests for the nextgeneration of video ICs. Thanks to their superior mechanical performance, five new handling systems have facili-tated extremely short changeovertimes and a parallel testing capability.This marks another breakthrough in the efficiency of mixed signal testersand thus in cost-reduction for testingas a whole.
The on-schedule operational launch ofthe new galvanizing line in October1999 allowed us to achieve a much higher degree of automation in assem-bly. As a consequence, there has beena drastic reduction in the consumptionof chemicals and a substantial im-provement in process security. Theoperational launch has gone accordingto plan and a significant volume ofwork is already routed through the newequipment.
The newly developed MCP (multi-chippackage) product was manufactured in high volumes for the first time in1999. It was used for the Flash version
of the Micronas Dashboard Controller.The improvement in wafer testingtechnology made it possible to achievea significant reduction in testing costsfor the very cost-sensitive controllerproducts, thus contributing to the com-petitiveness of this range.
In advanced packaging, the aggressivelaunch of ball grid arrays created apackage platform that is a prerequisitefor successful entry into the market for portable products.
High environmental standards
Micronas is well aware that the manu-facture of semiconductors can have a significant impact on the environ-ment. The company has thus been working for years to reduce its con-sumption of energy and water.
The risks associated with the storage,transportation and use of chemicalshave been reduced significantly byintelligent plant technology and logis-tics. The quantity and degree of con-tamination of waste water from the galvanizing process has also been dra-matically reduced through the instal-lation of a new waste-water treatmentplant.
Micronas began developing an environ-mental management system in thespring of 1999, reflecting the company’sdesire to systematize its ongoing im-provement process. Working on the basisof the DIN EN ISO 9001 quality manage-ment system, the company is currentlyintroducing a combined environmen-tal management and safety at workscheme. The aim is to gain DIN EN ISO14001 certification in the year 2000.
Stable headcount Following the reduc-tion of headcount in 1998 in the wakeof restructuring, staffing levels have re-mained more or less unchanged in the period under review.
Personnel expenses naturally remainedthe largest single item of expendituresduring the period under review, account-ing for around 35 percent of the totalnet sales. This expenditure is a con-sequence of the high quality demandsplaced on staff and the operation ofshifts to ensure 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week running of the production facilities.
At the end of the year under review,889 of the 1 229 staff worked in produc-tion, and 150 in research and devel-opment. These were by far the most
employee-intensive areas of the com-pany (see chart on page 25 for details),accounting for 82.9 percent of the total headcount.
In order to keep the expertise of ourstaff at the high levels required, Micro-nas pays a great deal of attention totraining. Our close relationships withtechnical colleges and universitiesenable us to identify and recruit the bestnew talent at an early stage. Micronas’employees are very loyal, and over20 percent of them have been with thecompany for 25 years or more.
Advanced quality management Micro-nas’ quality management system iscertified in accordance with QS-9000and fulfils the requirements laid downin international standard ISO 9001, as well as the additional requirementsof the American automotive industry.
The switch from 5- to 6-inch wafer production, the introduction of 0.5µ tech-nology, and the expansion of subcon-tracted construction and testing activ-ities required a large number of productand process qualifications during theyear under review. Most of these werecompleted successfully.
Activities to improve results, and production in general were supportedby a comprehensive analysis of pilotruns. New equipment allows both fine cross sections of the ICs and on-chiprepairs to be carried out. As a result,the long period spent in wafer manu-facture before a hypothesis can be con-firmed has been reduced from severalweeks to just a few days or even hours.This acceleration of the learning pro-cess is vital to Micronas to launch prod-ucts on time.
Rapid correction cycles, allied with thecontinuing improvement of methodsfor determining the cause of errors,have also meant Micronas has beenable to match, or even improve on, themaximum failure rates stipulated by its customers.
Information technology During the yearunder review, we successfully com-pleted the changeover from the SAP R2to the R3 business system. This proj-ect was launched at the end of 1997after a preparatory phase, and was fin-ished on schedule after one and a half years. The introduction of R3 hascontributed to a substantial reduc-tion in IT costs. It also provides theplatform for future e-business projects.
Preparations for the year 2000 datechange constituted a major project lastyear. All Micronas products wereinvestigated and cleared for year 2000compatibility. All the relevant systemswere also identified and tested for Y2Kcompliance, with alterations madewherever necessary. A detailed change-over and emergency plan ensuredthat the company was prepared for alleventualities.
Thanks to the excellent preparatorywork, the transition into the year 2000was completely problem-free for Micro-nas and all the companies that use itsproducts.
Strong rise in consumer sales Micro-nas’ consumer business continued to develop very well in 1999. The over30 percent year-on-year increase insales greatly exceeded expectations.Net sales revenues reached CHF 253.8million, compared with CHF 193.8 mil-lion in 1998. As well as the generallypositive development of the market,this improvement was also due to thelaunch of new products and the ac-quisition of new market areas.
In traditional TV business, Micronas fur-ther expanded its solid position in themarket for stereo and 100Hz flicker-freesets. Last year saw Micronas’ share of the particularly interesting high-endTV market increase faster than its shareof the small-screen and low-price TVset market. The company’s audio andvideo components are thus increas-ingly found in new flat-screen displayunits, such as plasma TVs and LCDscreens, as well as in video projectors.Even though some of these productsare initially being used primarily by thecommercial sector, the prospects areequally good for significant volumegrowth in the home entertainment sec-tor in the near future.
TV manufacture is increasingly beingtaken over by large, globally activecompanies. Micronas already enjoysvery close business relationships andpartnerships with many of these com-panies. In 1999 Micronas closed thelast product gaps in the worldwide uti-lization of its TV products and cannow offer complete video/audio/datasolutions for global use at an optimalcost structure for the first time. In the second half of last year, the firstmanufacturer successfully started serialproduction – at no less than ten pro-duction sites – of a TV chassis withMicronas stereo ICs, which can be used
all over the world. This smooth pro-duction launch was possible due to a great deal of logistical support fromMicronas.
Micronas stereo decoders were launch-ed in the video recorder market in1998. In 1999 these decoders alreadyaccounted for a good 10 percent ofconsumer business. These products arepurchased almost exclusively by Japa-nese and Korean customers, who aresupported by the local Micronas offices.
In MP3 player business, the Micronaschipset has achieved a leading positionin the market through its superior characteristics, good customer supportand fast delivery times. The almost 2 million MP3 chipsets sold by the endof 1999 made a significant contributionto the company’s good performance in consumer business.
The worldwide sales organization is a key component of the Micronas busi-ness process, and the company hasorganized itself to suit the customers’local requirements. Many Japanesecompanies are relocating large propor-tions of their TV set production toMalaysia. The new Micronas office inSingapore will help to support thesecustomers. In partnership with ChangHong, one of China’s biggest televisionmanufacturers, Micronas set up a development laboratory in Mianyang in mid-1999.
Micronas conducts customer satis-faction surveys at regular intervals.Compared with the last survey in 1996,the 1999 customer satisfaction indeximproved significantly in many key
areas. Micronas scored particularlyoutstanding marks – in comparison toits closest competitors – for logistics,quality and customer support.
Increased sales of automotive prod-
ucts Sales by the Automotive Divisionwent up to CHF 67.9 million in 1999.This represents an improvement of21.8 percent over the previous year’sfigures. A large proportion of the addi-tional sales were accounted for by circuits for automobile instrumentation.The family of individually adaptable circuits introduced a few years ago com-pleted their market penetration phasein 1999 and achieved the planned salesvolumes. An unexpectedly large in-crease in sales of post-programmablechips (Flash versions) had a positiveinfluence on the overall sales figures.
Not only product characteristics, butalso flexible response to customerrequests and the high quality of goodsdelivered, have contributed to the positive sales trend. Supplier assess-ments by customers confirm this.
Sales of Hall sensors continued thetrend begun in 1998. Despite haltingthe production of the low-cost sensorsat the end of 1998, turnover in 1999was almost as high as in the previousyear. Sales in the remaining marketsegment for high-end sensors (mainlyfor use in automobile manufacture)increased significantly. This is particu-larly noteworthy as although the pro-grammable sensors were ready forvolume production as scheduled in themiddle of 1999, Micronas’ key custom-ers had to postpone projects for whichthey were intended until this year.
As a result, these components contrib-uted little to 1999 sales, but will have apositive impact on the results in thecoming years.
Further versions of the programmablesensors are currently in development,and a broader spectrum of applicationswill soon be encompassed. Some ofthese sensors will be taken to the proto-type stage in the coming year.
Active collaboration with car manu-facturers and systems suppliers duringearly stages of development was further intensified last year. However,the long design, development andtesting phases typical of the industrymean that the results of this work willnot be seen for a few years yet. Moves into the Asian market are goingahead as planned. A whole series ofprojects are currently in the testingphase, or even close to a final decision.In order to improve the marketing ofautomotive products in Europe, a furtheroffice has been opened in Turin. Sincethe start of 2000 this office has beensupporting the Italian and French sup-pliers and car manufacturers.
We are currently reorganizing our salesand marketing structure in NorthAmerica. The aim of this process, whichwill be completed in the first half of 2000, is to build up an active, directand comprehensive customer carestructure for the world’s biggest marketfor automotive products. BecauseMicronas has so far had only a smallpresence in North America, and becausethe US market is so overwhelminglyimportant, this project has the veryhighest priority.
Consolidated figures in CHF 1000 1999 1998 1 1997 2 1996 1995
Net Sales 321 742 280 708 123 066 62 077 54 345
Cost of materials 39 946 36 215 18 610 11 823 7 229
Subcontracting 19 045 29 073 14 885 9 647 7 187
Personnel expenses 112 026 123 024 55 799 26 077 20 902
Other operating income (–) and
expenses (+), net 52 971 92 778 20 630 – 1 924 10 970
Depreciation and amortization 46 421 50 489 19 525 7 957 4 306
Operating profit/loss 51 333 – 50 871 – 6 383 8 497 3 751
in % of net sales 16.0 – 18.1 – 5.2 13.7 6.9
Financial income and expenses, net – 8 074 – 5 872 – 1 448 – 811 – 996
Loss from associates 0 0 – 203 0 0
Amortization of goodwill 0 0 – 171 0 0
Other income, net 212 456 1 733 958 638
Profit/loss before taxes and
minority interest 43 471 – 56 287 – 6 472 8 644 3 393
in % of net sales 13.5 – 20.1 – 5.3 13.9 6.2
Income taxes – 18 650 11 687 – 1 028 – 1 253 – 616
Minority interest 0 – 2 1 -2 0
Net profit/loss for the year 24 821 – 44 602 – 7 499 7 389 2 777
Capital expenditures 54 353 90 379 78 214 12 881 16 528
Research and development expenses 36 188 38 278 16 881 9 995 6 870
in % of net sales 11.2 13.6 13.7 16.1 12.6
Total assets 422 279 292 027 382 239 94 808 54 421
Shareholders’ equity 158 024 57 657 98 170 57 125 16 878
Cash flow from operating activities 84 134 – 25 159 80 285 5 359 n.v.
Average number of employees 1 219 1 477 1 615 399 334
Number of employees at year-end 1 229 1 230 1 620 387 412
1 Micronas Group 31.12.1998 Balance sheet items excluding Micronas Oy and Analoogdisaini AS.2 Micronas Group including Micronas Intermetall 01.10. – 31.12.1997.
FIVE-YEAR COMPARISON IN SWISS FRANCSMICRONAS GROUP
Consolidated figures in EUR 1000 1999 1998 1 1997 2 1996 1995
Net Sales 200 800 175 421 76 907 38 793 33 961
Cost of materials 24 930 22 632 11 630 7 388 4 518
Subcontracting 11 886 18 168 9 302 6 029 4 491
Personnel expenses 69 916 76 880 34 870 16 296 13 062
Other operating income (–) and
expenses (+), net 33 059 57 979 12 892 – 1 202 6 855
Depreciation and amortization 28 971 31 552 12 202 4 973 2 691
Operating profit/loss 32 038 – 31 790 – 3 989 5 309 2 344
in % of net sales 16.0 – 18.1 – 5.2 13.7 6.9
Financial income and expenses, net – 5 039 – 3 670 – 905 – 507 – 622
Loss from associates 0 0 – 127 0 0
Amortization of goodwill 0 0 – 107 0 0
Other income, net 132 285 1 083 599 399
Profit/loss before taxes and
minority interest 27 131 – 35 175 – 4 045 5 401 2 121
in % of net sales 13.5 – 20.1 – 5.3 13.9 6.2
Income taxes – 11 640 7 303 – 642 – 783 – 385
Minority interest 0 – 1 1 – 1 0
Net profit/loss for the year 15 491 – 27 873 – 4 686 4 617 1 736
Capital expenditures 33 922 56 480 48 878 8 050 10 329
Research and development expenses 22 585 23 921 10 549 6 246 4 293
in % of net sales 11.2 13.6 13.7 16.1 12.6
Total assets 263 151 182 494 238 870 59 248 34 009
Shareholders’ equity 98 476 36 031 61 349 35 699 10 547
Cash flow from operating activities 52 508 – 15 722 50 172 3 349 n.v.
Average number of employees 1 219 1 477 1 615 399 334
Number of employees at year-end 1 229 1 230 1 620 387 412
1 Micronas Group 31.12.1998 Balance sheet items excluding Micronas Oy and Analoogdisaini AS.2 Micronas Group including Micronas Intermetall 01.10. – 31.12.1997.
Currency exchange rates CHF/EUR
Following exchange rates have been used for the conversion from CHF to EUR:
1996–1998 Rate on 1.1.1999 1,6002
1999Profit/loss and cash flow statements Average rate 1,6023Balance sheet Year-end rate 1,6047
FIVE-YEAR COMPARISON IN EURO MICRONAS GROUP
in percent 1999 1998 6 1997 7 1996 1995
Return on equity (ROE) 1 23.0 – 57.2 – 9.7 20.0 20.4
Return on assets (ROA) 2 9.9 – 18.4 – 3.3 10.5 5.5
Equity ratio 3 37.4 19.7 25.7 60.3 31.0
Net dept to equity 4 – 74.5 – 13.9 – 60.3 – 17.4 75.9
Current ratio 5 1.9 1.0 1.1 3.0 1.7
1 ROE = Net profit/loss for the year + Minority interest x 100Shareholders’ equity + Minority interest (average)
2 ROA = Net profit/loss for the year + Interest income and expenses, net + Income taxes x 100Total assets (average)
3 Equity ratio = Shareholders’ equity + Minority interest x 100Net assets
4 Net debt to equity = Long-term loans + Current portion of long-term liabilities + Short-term borrowings – Cash and cash equivalents – Short-term financial investments x 100Shareholders’ equity + Minority interest
5 Current ratio = Current assetsCurrent liabilities
6 Micronas Group 31.12.1998 Balance sheet items excluding Micronas Oy and Analoogdisaini AS. 7 Micronas Group including Micronas Intermetall 01.10. – 31.12.1997.
in CHF 1000 1999 1998 1997 1996 1995
Total assets 564 136 81 093 110 083 55 686 23 316
Investments 50 352 19 595 19 593 18 900 18 900
Issued capital 21 311 16 250 16 250 13 000 10 667
Shareholders’ equity 126 956 44 474 107 384 53 036 20 467
Net profit/loss – 1 177 – 62 910 3 300 1 184 19
Dividend paid 0 0 0 845 0
KEY PERFORMANCE BENCHMARKSMICRONAS GROUP
KEY FIGURESMICRONAS SEMICONDUCTOR HOLDING AG
31.12.1999
Number of registered shares (nominal value CHF 10) 2 131 060
Number of dividend-bearing shares as at 31.12. 2 121 060
Nominal capital CHF 1000 21 311
EBIT per share 1 CHF 27.48
Earnings per share 2 CHF 13.10
Shareholders’ equity per share CHF 74.50
Share price and market capitalization Swiss Stock Exchange
Share price
High CHF 447
Low CHF 77
Year-end CHF 430
Market capitalization 3
High CHF 1000 948 114
Low CHF 1000 163 322
Year-end CHF 1000 912 056
Share price and market capitalization Neuer Markt Frankfurt
Share price
High Euro 277
Low Euro 114.50
Year-end Euro 265
Market capitalization 3
High Euro 1000 587 534
Low Euro 1000 242 861
Year-end Euro 1000 562 081
1 EBIT per share = Operating profit/lossNumber of shares (average for the year)
2 Earnings per share (EPS) = Net profit/loss for the yearNumber of shares (average for the year)
3 Calculation based on listed shares as at 31 December 1999
KEY SHARE DATA
PERFORMANCE 01.01.99 TO 31.01.00SWISS MARKET INDEX
PERFORMANCE FROM STOCK MARKET LISTINGNEUER MARKT
800Ja
nu
ary
Jan
uar
y
Price in % Micronas reg.
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
Feb
ruar
y
Mar
ch
Ap
ril
May
Jun
e
July
Au
gu
st
Sep
tem
ber
Oct
ob
er
No
vem
ber
Dec
emb
er
Swiss Market Index (SMI)
370
15.0
7.99
31.0
1.00
29.0
7.99
12.0
8.99
26.0
8.99
09.0
9.99
23.0
9.99
07.1
0.99
21.1
0.99
04.1
1.99
18.1
1.99
02.1
2.99
16.1
2.99
03.0
1.00
17.0
1.00
320
270
220
170
120
70
Price in % Micronas AG NEMAX All Share
STOCK EXCHANGE TRADING
Micronas registered shares are traded on the Swiss Stock Exchange and on the Neuer Markt in
Frankfurt am Main.
Switzerland Germany
Securities number: 441 600 Securities number: 910 354
Ticker symbol: MASN Stock exchange abbreviation: MNSN
MAJOR SHAREHOLDERS
As at 31 December 1999, the following shareholders registered in the Share Register controlled
a voting stake of more than 5%:
MicroValue 6.0%
Julius Bär funds 5.5%
SHAREHOLDER STRUCTURE AT YEAR-END 1999
Number of shares Number of shareholders
> 100 000 3
10 000 – 99 999 16
500 – 9 999 119
1 – 499 2 262
KEY DATES
Annual General Meeting 14 April 2000 in Zurich, World Trade Center
3-month results 5 May 2000
6-month results 18 August 2000
9-month results 3 November 2000
Board of Directors
of Micronas Semiconductor Holding AG
Dr. Franz Betschon
Chairman of the Board of Directors
Dr. Rudolf W. Hug
Dr. Thomas Lustenberger
Alfred M. Niederer
Dr. Leonardo E. Vannotti
Micronas Group management
Dr. Wolfgang Kalsbach
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Manfred Häner
Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
Hans-Jürgen Désor
Vice President Consumer
Klaus Heberle
Vice President Automotive
Dr. Ulrich Sieben
Vice President Technology
Nikolaus Kaeppeler
Vice President Operations Frontend
Wilfried Lowinski
Vice President Operations Backend
Hans Pfander
Vice President Quality
Werner Spieth
Vice President Human Resources
Statutory auditors
Statutory auditors and group auditors pursuant to Art. 727ff of theSwiss Code of Obligations are ATAG Ernst & Young, Zurich.The main companies that belong to the Micronas Group are audit-ed by member firms of Ernst & Young.
MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE AND GOVERNING BODIESMICRONAS GROUP
Micronas Semiconductor GmbHFreiburg, Germany
Micronas Ltd.Glenrothes, Scotland
Micro Analog Systems OyEspoo, Finland
Micronas GmbHFreiburg, Germany
Micronas Holding GmbHFreiburg, Germany
100%
19%
26.6%
0.0021%
99.9979%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%100%
Micronas Semiconductor Holding AGZurich, Switzerland
Nanotron GmbHBerlin, Germany
Micronas Korea Ltd.Seoul, Korea
Micronas Hong Kong & China Ltd.Hong Kong
Micronas Semiconductor SABevaix, Switzerland
Micronas Asia K.K.Tokyo, Japan
Micronas Semiconductors Inc.San Jose, USA
SUBSIDIARIES AND PARTICIPATIONSMICRONAS SEMICONDUCTOR HOLDING AG
as at 01.02.2000
Micronas Holding GmbH
Freiburg i. Br. (Germany)Ordinary capital: EUR 500 000Activities: Management of participationsand consolidated group management
Micronas GmbH
Freiburg i. Br. (Germany)Ordinary capital: EUR 24 000 000Activities: development, production, sales
Micronas Semiconductor GmbH
Freiburg i. Br. (Germany)Ordinary capital: DEM 375 000
Micronas Ltd.Glenrothes (Scotland)Ordinary capital: GBP 2Activities: production
Micronas Asia K.K.
Tokyo (Japan)Ordinary capital: JPY 10 000Activities: sales
Micronas Korea Ltd.
Seoul (Korea)Ordinary capital: KRW 240 000 000Activities: sales
Micronas Semiconductors Inc.
San Jose (USA)Ordinary capital: USD 2Activities: sales
Micronas Hong Kong & China Ltd.
Hong KongOrdinary capital: HKD 10 000Activities: sales
Micronas Semiconductor SA
Bevaix (Switzerland)Ordinary capital: CHF 2 500 000
Bottom, from left:
Dr. Wolfgang KalsbachChief Executive Officer (CEO)
Manfred HänerChief Financial Officer (CFO)
Klaus HeberleVice President Automotive
Wilfried LowinskiVice President Operations Backend
Nikolaus KaeppelerVice President Operations Frontend
Hans PfanderVice President Quality
Top, from left:
Dr. Ulrich SiebenVice President Technology
Hans-Jürgen DésorVice President Consumer
Werner SpiethVice President Human Resources
Micronas is an internationally active semiconductor group with holding com-pany headquarters in Zurich (Switzerland). The group develops, manufacturesand markets integrated circuits and sensors for the consumer electronics, multimedia and automotive electronics industries. The Micronas strategy is tocontinue expanding its position as a worldwide semiconductor supplier pro-viding video, sound, data and sensor technology, as well as to use new techno-logical developments to exploit opportunities for long-term business success.
Micronas Group’s operational center is in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany).Research and development, production and the coordination of sales and mar-keting activities are all concentrated here. Micronas also has a test center inScotland and an in-house sales network throughout Europe, the USA and Asia.
The Micronas Group goes back to 1989. The company was floated on the SwissStock Exchange in 1996, and since 1999 its shares have also been listed on theNeuer Markt in Frankfurt. Micronas currently employs around 1 200 people.
MICRONAS GROUPPORTRAIT IN BRIEF
Micronas Semiconductor Holding AGTechnoparkTechnoparkstrasse 1CH – 8005 Zurich, SwitzerlandPhone +41 1 445 39 60Fax +41 1 445 39 61
Micronas Holding GmbHHans-Bunte-Strasse 19D – 79108 Freiburg, GermanyPostfach 840D – 79008 Freiburg, GermanyPhone +49 761 557 5688Fax +49 761 557 5690
This report is also available in German.
Concept, editors Hirzel.Neef.Rasi.Schmid., ZürichDesign SIMKO GmbH, Zürich / Richard Feurer , Zürich
Photography Felix Streuli, Langnau a. A. / Aldo Todaro, ZürichPrepress Sota Repro AG, ZürichPrinting Spefa Druck AG, Zürich
02.00
The German version is legally binding.
