• In other sensor products, ST introduced:
  • an integrated Serial Presence Detect EEPROM memory and temperature-monitoring IC, designed to protect DDR3 DRAM modules in computing products from ultra-mobile devices to high-performance servers. ST's solutions in this market have been accepted by all the key worldwide leaders of DRAM modules;
  • two new devices in its S-Touch™ family of single-chip touch-sensing controllers and gained an important design win from a mobile-phone manufacturer in Taiwan.

• In high-performance analog products, ST introduced:
  • a new smart pushbutton 'on/off' controller IC to enable next-generation mobile products to offer easy-to-use 'power-up,' 'power-down' and 'unfreeze/reset' functions that will prevent damage to the end-user product;
  • a class-G stereo headphone amplifier IC that achieves significantly higher efficiency than previous-generation devices, enabling listeners to enjoy high-quality sound for longer between battery charges;
  • the world's most integrated high-performance ultrasound pulse controller, enabling the next generation of high-performance ultrasound imaging systems.

• In power conversion ICs:
  • ST gained key design wins, including one from a major consumer manufacturer in Europe for a kit including three different DC-DC converters for a new 2011 TV platform, and another from a leading US game-console maker for voltage-regulator ICs – due for production ramp-up in Q2 2010.
  • ST is ramping up production for DC/DC converter ICs for the power management of AMOLED (Active-matrix organic-LED) displays in mobile-phone applications from two major global players, in Europe and Korea.
  • ST began delivery of a complete kit of components for Enel's automated smart meters. These will be installed by Endesa, the largest electricity supplier in Spain, replacing more than 13 million traditional power meters in Spain over the next few years.

• In power transistors:
  • ST announced its innovative STAC plastic air-cavity packaging, designed to enable high-power transistors for radio-frequency (RF) applications and to deliver performance and cost advantages over alternative devices in ceramic packages – these devices are now undergoing qualification with customers in applications including broadcast transmitters, RF plasma generation and magnetic resonance imaging.
  • ST gained several design wins for its IGBTs and power MOSFETs in automotive applications, for its Intelligent Power Modules for two platforms from a leading US computer power-supply maker, and for its MDmesh™ V power MOSFETs in photovoltaic applications with three different OEMs.

• In protection devices and AC switches:
  • ST introduced the industry's smallest four-line flow-through protection device for high-speed differential-line interfaces. ST also saw increasing demand for its recently announced DisplayPort-interface protection IC.
  • ST reinforced its presence in the home-appliances market with a new range of overvoltage protected AC switches specified at 800V. Ideal for 24/7-connected equipment, the switches simplify design by reducing the number of components per board.

• In general-purpose microcontrollers, ST announced several additions to its industry-leading 32-bit STM32 family, including:
  • new MCUs offering up to 1 Mbyte of Flash;
  • the STM32 Value Line of low-cost MCUs that bring the advantages of the family's advanced industry-standard ARM Cortex-M3 core to typical 16-bit applications;
  • technological advances in the family, such as 90nm embedded Flash and an Adaptive Real-Time (ART) memory accelerator to further improve performance and power consumption;
  • and a new multi-touch 'resistive' touchscreen controller chip for portable consumer devices.

• In memory ICs, ST was again ranked as the long-term leader in EEPROMs by iSuppli. From this position of strength, the Company launched an innovative dual-interface EEPROM chip, offering both wired and RF interfaces. The device is the first in a new family that provides the flexibility to remotely program or update electronic products, anytime during their lifetime and anywhere in the supply chain.

Technology Highlights

• ST and Mentor Graphics announced a three-year joint-development project, named DeCADE, to develop advanced design solutions for the 32-nm technology node, down to the 20-nm node. The collaboration seeks to build on advanced design solutions for SoC (System-on-Chip) development for digital and analog design.

• ST and CEA-Leti signed an agreement for ST to join the industry/research multi-partner program IMAGINE, led by CEA-Leti, for mask-less lithography for IC manufacturing.

ST-Ericsson Highlights

• During the quarter, ST-Ericsson announced:
  • the U6715 low-cost compact and power-efficient Android-ready platform, broadening the smartphone segment and making these advanced and customizable handsets affordable for the mass-market;
  • numerous enhancements to its U8500 advanced smartphone platform;
  • breakthrough performance with a dual-core smartphone platform – each core running at a clock speed of 1.2GHz;
  • a new family of single-chip 1080p HDMI transmitters to enable streaming of high-definition multimedia content from mobile devices to TVs;
  • and support, in conjunction with ARM, for the Android operating system on next-generation multicore mobile platforms.

• ST-Ericsson's TD-SCDMA technology was selected by HTC for its smartphones in China. The companies are developing both advanced mobile handsets, capable of providing users with the ultimate multimedia mobile experience, and low-cost models.

• Sagem Wireless selected ST-Ericsson as its platform provider for future Sagem Wireless devices, supporting a major part of the range of products in its portfolio.

• ST-Ericsson also announced development cooperation with China Mobile on TD-LTE, the next-generation 4G mobile technology.

All of STMicroelectronics' press releases are available at www.st.com/stonline/press/news/latest.htm.

All of ST-Ericsson's press releases are available at www.stericsson.com/press/press_releases.jsp.

Faroudja, SPEAr, iNEMO, S-Touch and MDmesh are trademarks of STMicroelectronics. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Use of Supplemental Non-U.S. GAAP Financial Information

This press release contains supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information, including adjusted operating income (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss), adjusted net earnings (loss) per share, net operating cash flow and net financial position.  

Readers are cautioned that these measures are unaudited and not prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as a substitute for U.S. GAAP financial measures. In addition, such non-U.S. GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to similarly titled information by other companies.

See Attachment A of this press release for a reconciliation of the Company's non-U.S. GAAP financial measures to their corresponding U.S. GAAP financial measures. To compensate for these limitations, the supplemental non-U.S. GAAP financial information should not be read in isolation, but only in conjunction with the Company's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP.

Forward-looking information

Some of the statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are statements of future expectations and other forward-looking statements (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 or Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, each as amended) that are based on management's current views and assumptions, and are conditioned upon and also involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those in such statements due to, among other factors:

• significant changes in demand in the key application markets and from key customers served by our products make it extremely difficult to accurately forecast and plan our future business activities. In particular, following a period of significant order cancellations, we recently experienced a strong surge in customer demand, which has led to capacity constraints in certain applications;

• our ability to utilize and operate our manufacturing facilities at sufficient levels to cover fixed operating costs in periods of reduced customer demand, as well as our ability to ramp up production efficiently and rapidly to respond to increased customer demand, and the financial impact of obsolete or excess inventories if actual demand differs from our expectations;

• our ability to successfully integrate the acquisitions we pursue, in particular the successful integration and operation of the ST-Ericsson joint venture;

• ST-Ericsson is a new wireless joint venture, representing a significant investment and risk for our business. The joint venture is currently engaged in restructuring initiatives and further declines in the wireless market, as well as the inability of ST-Ericsson to complete its ongoing restructuring plans or to successfully compete, could result in additional significant impairment and restructuring charges;