According to Georg Steinberger, President of DMASS: "There were certainly some minor technical effects on work in Q4, such as more working days. However, 80% of the nearly 6% growth appears to be organic. This is an encouraging sign for 2017, as we are looking to build strong reserves. What remains concerning is that the overall semiconductor market is not really growing and that the pressure on the distribution channel continues to be unprecedented. The increased growth has definitely been offset by price and margin pressures.".
At the regional level, the major economies continued their positive trend in the fourth quarter. Growth drivers were predominantly Eastern European countries, Israel, Russia, Turkey, and the rest of EMEA, while Germany, the UK, and France grew slightly below the average. The Nordic countries, Benelux, and Italy even contracted. Germany grew by 3.1% to €533 million, Italy declined by 1.7% to €147 million, the UK and Ireland grew by 4.3% to €135 million, and France by 4% to €128 million. The Nordic countries contracted by 14.6% to €151 million, while Eastern Europe grew by 16.7% to €281 million.
Georg Steinberger: "There isn't much news on regional developments, except perhaps the increased shift from Northern Europe to the East and the fact that Russia seems to have somewhat overcome the effects of sanctions. With the German economy booming, it's odd that growth in high-tech products like semiconductors is rather subdued. However, on an annual basis, Germany remained in line with the DMASS average, so the warning signs may not actually apply. We're fairly certain that the other growth regions and countries mentioned above experienced currency gains, as they primarily invoice in US dollars.".
Regarding product performance, growth in the last quarter was decidedly digital, with MOS Micro, Programmable Logic, and other digital logic leading the way with double-digit revenue increases. MOS Micro grew by 13.2%, driven primarily by high-end non-PC microprocessors and MCUs, reaching €395 million; Programmable Logic grew by 17.2% to €137 million; and other logic grew by 15.7% to €100 million. Other notable double-digit growth areas included fiber optics, other optoelectronic products, DRAM, and NAND-Flash. The largest product group in distribution, analog products, grew by only 3% to €516 million.
