FSA Announces Worldwide Public Fabless Revenue Growth of 37 Percent Year-Over-Year in Q1 2004

SAN JOSE, Calif. (May 26, 2004) – The Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA), the global voice of fabless and hybrid semiconductor companies and their foundry and supply-chain partners, today announces that Q1 2004 worldwide public fabless company revenue grew 37 percent over Q1 2003, totaling $8.2 billion.

QUALCOMM's [NASDAQ: QCOM] CDMA Technologies (QCT) division led all public fabless companies in sales in Q1 with $711 million. Broadcom [NASDAQ: BRCM] was second with $573 million, while NVIDIA [NASDAQ: NVDA] was third with $472 million. The top 20 companies included five Taiwanese fabless companies: MediaTek [TSE: 2454], A-DATA [TSE: 3260], VIA Technologies [TSE: 2388], NovaTek [TSE: 3034] and Sunplus Technology [TSE: 2401].

Top 20 Fabless Companies by Q1 2004 Revenue

Note: Non-U.S. companies highlighted in yellow.

Geographically, U.S. public fabless companies comprised 76 percent of Q1 2004 revenue, followed by Taiwan with 20 percent of total quarterly revenue. China and Europe each accounted for two percent, and Canadian fabless companies reported less than one percent of fabless sales.

FSA research also concluded that there were 19 merger/acquisition (M&A) deals in the fabless sector Q1, totaling $1.5 billion. This was the most fabless M&A activity since Q1 2000, when there were 20 deals worth $5.5 billion.

The FSA also noted that 18 fabless companies have been involved in initial public offering (IPO) activity to date, compared to no fabless IPO activity during the same timeframe in 2003.

More detailed fabless financial activity is included in the FSA’s latest comprehensive financial publication entitled “Global Fabless Financial Report.” In addition to quarterly earnings analysis, the report includes foundry updates and IPO and M&A activity. For more information on obtaining this report, visit http://www.fsa.org/store.

About the Fabless Semiconductor Association
The FSA is the global voice of fabless and hybrid semiconductor companies and their foundry and supply-chain partners. Incorporated in 1994, the Association (www.fsa.org) is focused on the perpetuation of the fabless business model throughout the worldwide semiconductor industry. The organization encourages the relationship between semiconductor companies and suppliers; facilitates business partnerships; creates awareness of the fabless/outsourced business model; disseminates industry data; and fosters standards and policies.

FSA members include fabless companies, integrated device manufacturers (IDMs), foundry providers, packaging/assembly houses, intellectual property providers, electronic design automation companies, OEMs, photomask companies, design software companies, investment bankers, venture capitalists and other companies. FSA members represent more than 21 countries spanning North America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Middle East.

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