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Silicon Motion (SIMO) to Offload FCI Product Line for $45M

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Silicon Motion Technology Corporation (SIMO - Free Report) has announced that it is divesting its mobile communications business (FCI product line) to Dialog Semiconductor Plc. for $45 million. Depending on regulatory approvals and closing conditions, the transaction is anticipated to close by 2019.

This product line comprises low power, multi-mode diversity LTE, mobile TV SoCs and battery-operated Wi-Fi products utilized in the Internet of Things (IoT). According to Wallace Kou, president and CEO of Silicon Motion, “This sale paves the way for us to focus even more in our core SSD controllers and related solutions for client devices, as well as data center and enterprise applications.”

Notably in the last reported quarter (fourth-quarter 2018), Mobile communications product (which include mobile TV SoCs) sales were $7.2 million, representing 6% of total revenues, declining 23.4% year over year. Sales from mobile storage products (which include Embedded Storage as well as Expandable Storage products) declined 10% from the year-ago figure to $113.4 million. Revenues from mobile storage products contributed 92% to overall product revenues.

Consequently, shifting focus on its Client SSD controllers segment and selling FCI product line will help the company in managing its business better.

During the fourth quarter, the company shipped SSD controllers which are 96-layer TLC-based client SSDs to US NAND partner, which is a positive.

Price Performance

Shares of Silicon Motion have lost 15.2% in the past one year, against the industry’s 3.9% rally.

Q4 Results Sneak Peak

Silicon Motion delivered fourth-quarter 2018 non-GAAP earnings of 83 cents per American Depositary Share ("ADS"), surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a couple of cents. The figure increased 5.1% from the year-ago figure but declined 12.6% sequentially.

Net sales declined 9% from the year-ago quarter and plummeted 11% sequentially to reach $123.4 million. The figure came almost in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $123 million.

To Conclude

Silicon Motion outshines peers in providing resources for research and development. It develops affordable versions of TLC NAND flash as well as high-density 3D NAND. Moreover, Silicon Motion’s robust liquidity position has enabled the company to undertake diligent capital deployment initiatives that supplement long-term growth.

We also believe that an expanding product portfolio is a key catalyst.

However, intensifying competition in the USB flash drive controller market remains a major headwind.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Silicon Motioncarries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader technology sector are Cadence Design Systems, Inc (CDNS - Free Report) , Synopsys, Inc. (SNPS - Free Report) and Symantec Corporation , each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Cadence Design, Synopsys and Symantec have a long-term earnings growth rate of 12%, 10% and 7.9%, respectively.

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