Company Profile

STMicroelectronics is the world’s fifth largest semiconductor company with net revenues of US$9.84 billion in 2008.
The Company’s sales are well balanced among the semiconductor industry’s five major high-growth sectors (approximate percentage of ST’s sales in 2008 (1)): Communications (36%), Consumer (17%), Computer (16%), Automotive (15%) and Industrial (17%).
According to the latest industry data from iSuppli, ST holds market leadership in many fields. For example, the Company is the leading producer of application-specific analog chips and power conversion devices. It is the #1 supplier of semiconductors for the Industrial market, set-top box applications, and MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems) chips for portable and consumer devices, including game controllers and smart phones. ST also occupies leading positions in fields as varied as automotive integrated circuits (#3), chips for computer peripherals (#3), and the rapidly expanding market for MEMS overall (#5).
Product PortfolioST aims to be the leader in multimedia convergence and power applications, offering one of the world’s broadest product portfolios, including application-specific products containing a large proprietary IP (Intellectual Property) content and multi-segment products that range from discrete devices to high-performance microcontrollers, secure smart card chips and MEMS devices.
The Company provides solutions for a wide array of Digital Consumer applications, with a particular focus on set-top boxes, digital TVs and digital audio, including radio. In the Computer Peripherals arena, ST provides leading solutions in data storage, printing, visual display units, power management for PC motherboards, and power supplies. A wide range of ST’s ASSPs (Application Specific Standard Products) power sophisticated Automotive systems such as engine control, vehicle safety equipment, door modules, and in-car infotainment The Company also supplies industrial integrated circuits (IC) for factory automation systems, chips for lighting, battery chargers and power supplies, as well as chips for advanced Secure Access applications.
ST pioneered and continues to refine the use of platform-based design methodologies for complex ICs in demanding applications such as mobile multimedia, set-top boxes and computer peripherals. The balanced portfolio approach allows ST to address the needs of all microelectronics users, from global strategic customers for whom ST is the partner of choice, for major System-on-Chip (SoC) projects to local enterprises that need fully-supported general-purpose devices and solutions.
To maximize the benefit of scale that is becoming increasingly important in some semiconductor markets, ST completed the creation of two joint ventures in 2008. In the memory field, ST, Intel and Francisco Partners formed a new company, Numonyx, dedicated to providing non-volatile memory solutions, including NAND and NOR Flash memories as well as MCP (multi-chip package) memory solutions, for a wide variety of consumer and industrial applications. ST holds a 48% share in Numonyx.
ST has also been very active in the wireless arena. In mid 2008, ST and NXP combined their key wireless semiconductor operations in a joint venture, in which ST held 80%. In February 2009, ST acquired the minority stake from NXP and merged its wireless operations with Ericsson Mobile Platforms to create ST-Ericsson, a 50/50 joint venture focusing on semiconductors and platforms for mobile applications.
Research & Development and ManufacturingSince its creation, ST has maintained an unwavering commitment to R&D and is one of the industry’s most innovative companies. In 2008, ST spent US$2.15B in R&D, which was approximately 22% of the Company’s 2008 revenues. ST’s process technology portfolio includes advanced CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) logic including embedded memory variants, mixed-signal, analog and power processes. In advanced CMOS, ST is a partner in the IBM consortium for the development of next-generation process technologies, including 32nm and 22nm CMOS process development, design enablement and advanced research adapted to the manufacturing of 300mm silicon wafers. ST and IBM also cooperate at ST’s Crolles 300mm facility in the development of value-added CMOS derivative SoC technologies.
ST has a worldwide network of front-end (wafer fabrication) and back-end (assembly and test and packaging) plants. ST’s principal wafer fabs are presently located in Agrate Brianza and Catania (Italy), Crolles, Rousset and Tours (France), and Singapore. The wafer fabs are complemented by highly efficient assembly and test facilities located in China, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco and Singapore.
AlliancesFrom its birth, ST has established a worldwide network of strategic alliances, including product development with key customers, technology development with customers and other semiconductor manufacturers, and equipment- and CAD-development alliances with major suppliers. These industrial partnerships are complemented by a wide range of research programs conducted with leading universities and research institutes around the world, in addition to playing a key role in Europe’s advanced technology research programs such as CATRENE (Cluster for Application and Technology Research in Europe on NanoElectronics), a successor to MEDEA+, and industry initiatives such as ENIAC (European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council).
Sustainable ExcellenceSTMicroelectronics was one of the first global industrial companies to recognize the importance of environmental responsibility, its initial efforts beginning in the early 1990s. Since then ST has made outstanding progress; for example, energy and water consumption per product unit have been reduced by 5% and 9% per year, respectively, since 1994 and CO (2) emissions have been reduced by 61% over the same timescale. In 2006 and 2007, ST achieved absolute reductions in CO (2) emissions despite increased production volumes. Over the past 15 years, the Company’s sites have received more than 100 awards for excellence in all areas of Corporate Responsibility, from quality to corporate governance, social issues and environmental protection.
ST is a member of the key sustainability indices DJSI (Dow Jones Sustainability Index), FTSE4Good and ASPI (Advanced Sustainability Performance Index), and its corporate responsibility policy is detailed in its Principles for Sustainable Excellence (2), while its performance in terms of economic, social, environment, health & safety, product responsibility and supply chain issues is reported in detail in its annual Corporate Responsibility Report (3).
Facts and FiguresSTMicroelectronics was created in 1987 by the merger of SGS Microelettronica of Italy and Thomson Semiconducteurs of France. Since its formation, ST has grown faster than the semiconductor industry as a whole and it has been one of the world’s Top Five semiconductor suppliers since 2005.
The group totals over 50,000 employees, 16 advanced research and development units, 39 design and application centers, 15 main manufacturing sites and 78 sales offices in 36 countries.
Corporate Headquarters, as well as the headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, (EMEA) are in Geneva. The Company’s U.S. Headquarters are in Carrollton (Texas); those for Asia-Pacific are based in Singapore and Japanese operations are headquartered in Tokyo. The “Greater China” region, which includes Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, is headquartered in Shanghai.
ST’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: STM), on Euronext Paris, and in Milan on Borsa Italiana. As of December 31, 2008, the Company had approximately 910 million outstanding shares, more than 70% of which are publicly traded on the various stock exchanges, while 27.5% are held by STMicroelectronics Holding II B.V., a company whose shareholders are Cassa Depositi e Prestiti and Finmeccanica of Italy, and Areva and CEA of France (4).
(1) based on the full year 2008 revenues that incorporated the former NXP Wireless business since August 2, 2008 and Flash Memory Group for the first three months of 2008(2) www.data-sheet.org (3) www.okdatasheet.com (4) www.mostchip.com (5)ST holds 1.2% of the float in its Treasury
Updated February 2009