STMicroelectronics reported rising revenue in the fourth quarter last year and expects sales to grow 19 percent in the current quarter as demand in the auto industry remains strong.
The Franco-Italian chipmaker posted net revenue of $4.4 billion for the fourth quarter. That is up 24 percent from a year earlier, the company said in a statement Thursday.
STMicro expects net revenue of $4.2 billion in the first quarter, above an analysts’ average forecast of $3.8 billion.
For the full year, STMicro sees sales growth of about 4 percent to 11 percent.
“Automotive and Industrial will be the key growth drivers of our revenues in 2023,” CEO Jean-Marc Chery said on a call after the results, adding strong demand and increased production capacity will boost sales.
Demand in the car industry, which is STMicro’s largest business area, has remained robust as producers recover from COVID-era supply shortages and make more electric vehicles.
Revenue in its personal electronics business will fall faster than the market this year due to shrinking orders from one of STMicro’s largest customers, Chery said, without elaborating. The company counts Apple as a major client in that division.
“We view today’s results positively, clearly showing ST’s resilience in the face of cycle pressures, in particular within its automotive division,” Citi analyst Andrew Gardiner wrote in a note.
Texas Instruments, one of STMicro’s peers, this week published its first sales decline since 2020. It did not offer predictions as to when orders for semiconductors and revenue might rebound.
