Business leaders see more stable semiconductor market in future, as per a survey

The boom bust cycles of semiconductor industry may end due to the broadening of application markets for semiconductor chips as per a survey by KPMG. KPMG said it has surveyed 193 semiconductor industry business leaders in companies based around the world, half of them in companies based in Asia Pacific, to create the 2013 KPMG Semiconductor Industry Confidence Index, which remains flat at 57. In the 2012 survey, the index increased from 46 to 57, indicating expectations of strong industry growth. “Muted optimism best describes the semiconductor outlook for 2014, and lower levels of anticipated revenue growth reflect more short-term uncertainty than a year ago,” says Gary Matuszak, global chair of KPMG’s Technology, Media and Telecommunications practice. “We see reductions at the upper ends of growth predictions yet higher percentages of respondents predicting modest improvements. This reflects both the industry’s penetration into broader applications and broader geographic markets, resulting in less volatility combined with a slowing growth rate for mobile devices.” KPMG says about three-quarters of the semiconductor executives, similar to last year, say their company’s revenue growth will increase in the next year. However, those expecting revenue to increase more than 10 percent dropped by a third. But the KPMG finds business leaders are more optimistic about annua...