From Paris to Tokyo, from the biggest broad-line suppliers to the most modest boutiques, from high-fliers serving hot markets to low-profile players plodding away in slow-growth segments - virtually no semiconductor company was immune from the miserable conditions in the global semiconductor industry during the first quarter of 2009, according to iSuppli.

Worldwide semiconductor revenues in the first quarter slid to US$44.3 billion, down 18.8% from US$54.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008, and a decline of 33.8% from US$66.8 billion in the first quarter of 2008. Revenues went down 36.2% from the start of the present sharp downturn in the third quarter of 2008, said iSuppli.

Even prior to the downturn, the chip industry experienced an extended period of lethargy, iSuppli indicated . Quarterly semiconductor revenues peaked six quarters ago in the third quarter of 2007.

"Of the 130 plus semiconductor suppliers tracked by iSuppli on a quarterly basis, only six managed to expand their revenues in the first quarter compared to fourth-quarter 2008," said Dale Ford, senior vice president of market intelligence for iSuppli. "Even among these six suppliers, four increased their revenues by only 1-3 %."

Meanwhile, every major region of the world suffered double-digit percentage declines in chip revenues in the first quarter compared to the prior quarter, according to iSuppli.

"Although the first quarter is typically weak for the global semiconductor industry, the sharp declines in semiconductor during that period and in the fourth quarter of 2008 reflect the impact of the global economic downturn on the worldwide chip business," Ford added.

Regional variations

Companies headquartered in the Americas fared the best during the downturn, with a combined revenue decline in US dollars of 30.8% since third-quarter 2008, iSuppli said. European-headquartered companies suffered the worst decline, with their combined revenues falling by 44.5% during the same period. Japanese suppliers fared nearly as badly as their European counterparts, suffering a contraction of 43.5%, according to iSuppli.

However, the picture is very different if company revenues are maintained in the local currency and not converted to US dollars, said iSuppli. European supplier revenues fell by only 36.1% since third-quarter 2008 if their revenues are measured in euros. On the other hand, Japanese company revenues fell by nearly 51% during the same time if their revenues are measured in yen.

Korea- and Taiwan-based suppliers saw steep revenue declines between the third and fourth quarters of 2008 followed by much more moderate declines between the fourth and first quarters. In contrast, Japanese companies suffered the biggest hit on revenues in the first quarter of 2009 when their combined revenues fell by nearly 31% compared to fourth-quarter 2008, according to iSuppli.

The bright side

On a positive note, the first quarter of 2009 is likely to represent the bottom of the semiconductor market decline and revenues in the fourth quarter of 2009 will exceed those in fourth-quarter 2008, iSuppli predicts. On a sequential basis, revenues will rise by 7.1% in the second quarter, by 10.4% in the third quarter and by 4.9% in the fourth quarter.

Looking back at the first quarter, iSuppli has found one notable performance among all the suppliers - that of Taiwan's MediaTek. The company in the first quarter expanded its revenues by 10% on both sequential and annual bases.

Source: iSuppli, compiled by Digitimes, June 2009

Source: iSuppli, compiled by Digitimes, June 2009