Financial Releases
RFMD(R) Expands Capabilities in Beijing Facility
GREENSBORO, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 17, 2007--RF Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ: RFMD), a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance radio systems and solutions for applications that drive mobile communications, today announced a major expansion at its Beijing, China, facility. The expansion includes increased assembly capacity and the addition of new advanced capabilities. The expansion is expected to support RFMD's POLARIS 3 RF solution, which is currently scheduled to ramp production in the current quarter.
The increased capacity will approximately double assembly capabilities related to RFMD's industry-leading transmit modules. Capacity of wire bond and test capabilities will be expanded in the current quarter, and full capacity will be available by November 2007. In addition, new advanced capabilities added in RFMD's Beijing facility will include flip chip packaging technology and the Company's patent-pending internal RF shielding technology. RFMD is also developing proprietary RF test platforms internally, as well as working in conjunction with third party suppliers, for advanced transceiver module testing. At completion, the 200,000-square foot expansion and new enabling technologies are expected to streamline RFMD's supply chain, speed time to market and reduce manufacturing and inventory carrying costs.
"Our Beijing expansion reflects our commitment to support our customers with operational scale, technological innovation and an industry-leading cost structure," said Bob Bruggeworth, RFMD's president and CEO. "We are introducing new enabling technologies that support our market leadership in cellular front ends and position RFMD to deliver more highly integrated RF solutions that reduce overall costs and increase our dollar content in current- and next-generation cellular phones. Our patent-pending self-shielding technology, in particular, reduces the volume required for RF solutions by 30% to 50% and provides customers with RF components that are not sensitive to board placement. We expect our Beijing facility expansion will positively impact our ability to meet demand for our POLARIS 3 RF solution, as it ramps in the coming months and grows sequentially throughout calendar year 2008."
RFMD's POLARIS 3 is a complete RF solution. It features a highly integrated radio transceiver module that incorporates a single-chip CMOS EDGE transceiver, the full crystal oscillator and all necessary receive filter functionality. The solution also features RFMD's industry-leading front end technology, including the power amplifier and transmit/receive switch. Finally, the revolutionary POLARIS 3 RF solution includes integrated RF shielding and will benefit from RFMD's patent-pending integrated RF shielding technology.
When implemented, POLARIS 3 eliminates the need for costly and cumbersome metal RF shields on the phone board while reducing component placements by approximately 80 percent, leading to a remarkable savings in solution size and height.
RFMD is the industry leader in cellular front ends. With the ramp of POLARIS 3, RFMD is increasing its dollar content within its cellular RF solutions. Specifically, RFMD's POLARIS solutions command approximately three times the dollar content of cellular front ends.
About RFMD: RFMD (NASDAQ: RFMD) is a global leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance radio systems and solutions for applications that drive mobile communications. RFMD's power amplifiers, transmit modules, cellular transceivers and system-on-chip (SOC) solutions enable worldwide mobility, provide enhanced connectivity and support advanced functionality in current- and next-generation mobile handsets, cellular base stations, wireless local area networks (WLANs) and global positioning systems (GPS). Recognized for its diverse portfolio of state-of-the-art semiconductor technologies and vast RF systems expertise, RFMD is a preferred supplier enabling the world's leading mobile device manufacturers to deliver advanced wireless capabilities that satisfy current and future market demands.
Headquartered in Greensboro, N.C., RFMD is an ISO 9001- and ISO 14001-certified manufacturer with worldwide engineering, design, sales and service facilities. RFMD is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol RFMD. For more information, please visit RFMD's web site at www.rfmd.com.
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, representations and contentions and are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. You should be aware that the forward-looking statements included herein represent management's current judgment and expectations, but our actual results, events and performance could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. We do not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements or publicly announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, other than as is required under the federal securities laws. RF Micro Devices' business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including variability in quarterly operating results, the rate of growth and development of wireless markets, risks associated with the operation of our wafer fabrication facilities, molecular beam epitaxy facility, assembly facility and test and tape and reel facilities, our ability to attract and retain skilled personnel and develop leaders, variability in production yields, our ability to reduce costs and improve gross margins by implementing innovative technologies, our ability to bring new products to market, our ability to adjust production capacity in a timely fashion in response to changes in demand for our products, dependence on a limited number of customers, and dependence on third parties. These and other risks and uncertainties, which are described in more detail in RF Micro Devices' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any of these forward-looking statements.
RF MICRO DEVICES®, RFMD® and POLARIS are trademarks of RFMD, LLC. All other trade names, trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
CONTACT: RF Micro Devices, Inc.
Doug DeLieto, VP, Investor Relations, 336-678-7968
SOURCE: RF Micro Devices, Inc.