Fairchild Semiconductor Extends Worldwide Market Share Leadership in Power Components

Business Wire, Oct 7, 2004

SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine -- --Strength in Computing and Consumer Segments Drives Growth

--Market Share and Revenues in Asia Pacific Twice that of Any Other Power Semiconductor Company

Fairchild Semiconductor (NYSE: FCS), the leading global supplier of high performance products that optimize system power, today announced that the company has extended its #1 position worldwide for power discrete and power analog components, according to leading market research firms Databeans, Gartner and iSuppli.

With power products representing 74% of Fairchild's sales, the company continues to capitalize on the world's demands for electronic products that converge applications onto smaller, lighter and more powerful devices. In high demand by consumers and businesses alike, end market products include high resolution flat panel displays for home entertainment and CRTs; power supply solutions for energy efficient motor control in white good applications; products that meet 1-Watt initiatives to drive down stand-by power consumption in set top boxes, color TVs, DVDs and chargers; and ultraportable laptops the size of a paperback.

For the second year in a row, Fairchild maintains its worldwide #1 position with a 9.7% market share, according to Gartner. Notably, the firm sizes Fairchild's share in two of the biggest and most strategically important power segments - consumer and computing - at 11.2% and 16.7% respectively. The next-closest competitors trail by at least 3 to 6 market share points.

Estimated to be a $9 billion market worldwide by 2008, according to market research firm Databeans, power management semiconductors efficiently convert, control and condition power. These components are used in all electronic devices to minimize power requirements and maximize performance - including extending battery life, reducing the costs of consumer appliances and meeting new energy standards.

"Fairchild recognized the opportunity in power components six years ago and aggressively focused our business on building the leadership position globally," said Kirk Pond, Fairchild's president, CEO and chairman of the Board. "Turning that vision into products that meet our customers requirements through state-of-the-art design and manufacturing facilities around the world has established Fairchild as The Power Franchise(R).

"Power semiconductor content is projected to grow at least twice as fast as the end markets for consumer appliances, PCs, automotive, displays, and home media over the foreseeable future," Pond continued. "Our sales have increased 31% since October of 2003 and we've established the #1 position in power products. We've grown our power business quickly and consistently by applying our resources to developing new power products such as our very successful green Fairchild Power Switches, expanding and optimizing our manufacturing capacity, and providing Global Power Resource(TM) Centers in support of customer design and support requirements worldwide.

"We're seeing exciting innovation in end market products ranging from consumer electronics to communications to computers," Pond commented. "Faster chips and higher performance demands consume enormous levels of power. Fairchild's components effectively manage power - providing many of these new applications a solution to reduce extreme heat issues. Additionally, the costs of energy are growing at staggering rates - IT energy costs in the US alone are about $8 billion a year. New worldwide regulations on standby power to reduce energy demands are driving whole new classes of devices. Fairchild's analog power management, power discrete, optoelectronics and supporting devices are helping our customers meet these demands, while enabling next-generation applications."

New Design Wins

Fairchild continues to win new designs across multiple end markets. Green Fairchild Power Switches - a business that has grown more than 60% during the last year - provide highly efficient power conversion for a wide variety of end markets including consumer electronics, industrial and white goods. A new family of LED drivers is winning success in handsets and ultraportables.

Recent Fairchild design wins include:

--Ultraportable components in Motorola, Samsung Electronics, Siemens, Sony/Ericsson and Kyocera products;

--Manufacturing display components in Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and FHP products;

--Consumer white good components in Daikin Industries and Samsung Electronics products;

--Computer and motherboard components in ASUSTeK, ECS, Gigabyte, Micro-Star International products;

--Network infrastructure equipment components in Cisco Systems, Lucent and Ericsson products; and

--Automotive system components for Delphi, DaimlerChrysler, Siemens and Bosch.

Market Leadership in Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific is the fastest growing region in the world for semiconductors and is projected by research firm iSuppli to represent 43% of the world's total available market by 2006. As one of the first to see this shift in demand, Fairchild established a strong presence there, commanding twice the market share and more than double the revenues of its next-closest competitor in Asia Pacific. More than 70% of Fairchild's revenues are now generated in the region.