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Analysis |

UK, Iberia, Austria and Eastern Europe showed over-proportional increase

The European semiconductor distribution market (DMASS) reports strong Q4 2014. Q4/CY14 grew 10.3 percent over Q4/CY13. Discretes, Opto & Analog drive upswing.

The European semiconductor distribution industry displayed unusual strength in low-season Q4/CY14 and ended 2014 at a healthy growth rate. According to DMASS (Distributors’ and Manufacturers’ Association of Semiconductor Specialists) semiconductor distribution sales in Q4/CY14 grew by 10.3 percent to EUR 1.57 billion. The full year closed with sales of EUR 6.34 billion, 7.7 percent up on 2013 and close to record 2011. Georg Steinberger, chairman of DMASS, commented: “It is always good to see predictions being beaten by the reality. DMASS members did well in an increasingly steady business year and leveraged their regional strength. The 2014 results show healthy growth across the board, with very few problem zones.” From a regional perspective, the highlights were set by Eastern Europe, Austria, Iberia, the UK and Israel, all of which grew more than the DMASS average. Slightly down: Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Russia, the latter one showing effects of the sanctions applied by the EU. The major regions in Q4 in detail:
  • Germany grew 8.5 percent to EUR 474 Million
  • Eastern Europe by 23.7 percent to EUR 192 Million
  • Nordic by 6.8 percent to EUR 161 Million
  • Italy by 6.7 percent to EUR 139 Million
  • UK & Ireland by 12.3 percent to EUR 135 Million
  • France by 6.5 percent to EUR 122 Million
On an annualised basis, Germany remains the biggest market with over EUR 2 billion of sales, representing 32 percent of DMASS. Georg Steinberger: “What is important to notice is that the distribution industry has proven resilient to the overall economic slowdown in Western and Southern Europe. Which means there is a lot of market dynamics driven by innovation rather than macro-economic effects. What is also important is the fact that currency effects are becoming more critical again. The drop of the Euro versus the Dollar within the last 12 months is staggering.” On an annual basis, very few of the DMASS product categories were underperforming, most notably:
  • Memories (0.4 percent to EUR 484 Million)
  • Programmable Logic (-3.1 percent to EUR 484 Million)
  • Other Logic (-5.9 percent to EUR 303 Million).
On the positive side:
  • Discretes grew by 17.2 percent to EUR 363 Million
  • Power by 10.5 percent to EUR 639 Million
  • Sensors by 9.7 percent to EUR 137 Million
  • Optoelectronics by 13.4 percent to EUR 644 Million
  • Analog by 9.9 percent to EUR 1.8 Billion
  • MOS Micro by 8.5 percent to EUR 1.3 Billion
The actual growth drivers were RF, MOSFETs, LEDs, NAND-Flash-Memories and 32-Bit Microcontrollers. Georg Steinberger: “My long-held conviction is proven time and again – distribution is not about selling commodities but about creating demand for complex technologies. Double digit growth mainly happens with more sophisticated products, where system knowledge or software expertise are required as well as engineering support.”

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March 28 2024 10:16 am V22.4.20-2
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