SAN JOSE, CA -- Sanmina-SCICorporation announced the promotion of Hari Pillai to president and COO, replacing Joe Bronson. Mr. Pillai was most recently the president of global EMS operations for the company and has worked for Sanmina-SCI for 14 years. Mr. Pillai had a leadership role during Sanmina- SCI's entry in the EMS market and was instrumental in the planning and implementation that lead to end-market diversification into industries including medical, defense and aerospace.
“Hari is a long standing and well respected member of our management team who has a clear understanding of the industry and the company's strategy, goals and objectives. He is a results oriented leader with a proven track record of consistently delivering positive results. His broad experience in all facets of the business makes him a natural successor to the president and COO role,” stated Jure Sola.
Regarding the past president Joe Bronson who took over last August, Jure Sola commented, “I want to thank Joe Bronson for his support during this past year as he helped the company strengthen its management team and position Sanmina-SCI for the future. With Joe's support we have had the opportunity to set the foundation for Hari to take over as president and COO. Going forward, Joe will assist me in an advisory capacity as I continue to take advantage of his extensive global operational and financial experience and enable the company to make further progress."
SAN JOSE, CA -- Sanmina-SCI Corporation reported financial results for Q4 and the fiscal year that ended September 27, 2008. Sales were down slightly YoY for the quarter and up narrowly for the year. Gross profit was 7.8% for Q4 and 7.4% for the year, both ahead of the previous year’s performance.
SAN JOSE, CA -- Tessera Technologies, Inc. has been awarded a confidential interim judgment that asserted the Tessera patents are valid and enforceable and that certain of Amkor’s products are made under the asserted Tessera patents.
An arbitration panel found unanimously in favor of Tessera for monetary damages based on Amkor’s material breach of its license agreement and failure to pay royalties, with the exact amount of damages to be decided at a later date.
The arbitration panel ordered that damages for past royalties for infringing packages from March 2002 through March 2008 be apportioned using percentages set by the panel, subject to certain offsets. Damages experts for each of the parties are to calculate the amount of past royalties due as damages to Tessera based upon the parameters established in the interim order and submit a joint report by November 17, 2008.
Amkor believes the final damage award will be well below the $85 to $115 million originally claimed by Tessera in its initial arbitration filing.
The patents at issue in the arbitration are U.S. Patent No. 5,852,326 (the '326 Patent), U.S. Patent No. 6,433,419 (the '419 Patent), U.S. Patent No. 6,465,893 (the '893 Patent), and U.S. Patent No. 5,679,977 (the '977 Patent).
TAIPEI, TAIWAN– In March, Compal Electronics predicted annual notebook production would reach 60 million units by 2010. The company also planned to increase its production capacity in China and Vietnam. But now Compal will take a “less aggressive approach” to investment capacity in both countries and has readjusted its shipment forecasts. Instead of expanding further in China, the company will refocus toward optimizing production at its four existing plants. An increase of 30% to 40% in related production efficiency is expected. Its annual shipment forecast for 2009 has been recently reduced to 35 million, down from September’s forecast of 30 million to 40 million units. In addition, the annual shipment goal has been reduced from 32 million to 27 million units. The company sites a dramatic drop in customer demand for the adjustments. The reduced shipment goal still might not be reached. Notebooks shipped during the third quarter totaled 6.9 million units, and industry insiders are predicting an annual shipment of 26 million to 26.3 million units. Despite the downturn, Compal has stated that its workforce will not be affected–the company is planning to add 300 technician jobs in 2009. Ray Chen, president, believes Compal needs to focus on “continuing its research and developing ability” because it is critical for future growth.
