AXT, Inc. Receives Up to $18.6 Million Purchase Order From IQE
Purchase Order Affirms AXT's Position as an Industry Leader in the Supply of Large Diameter Gallium Arsenide Substrates
FREMONT, CA--(Marketwire - December 18, 2007) - AXT, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXTI), a leading
manufacturer of compound semiconductor substrates, announced today that it
has been awarded a production order from IQE plc (AIM: IQE) for
semi-insulating gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrates for IQE's 2008 worldwide
substrate requirements. This agreement is valued at approximately $15.1
million, with an option to purchase an additional $3.5 million of
substrates. All substrates ordered under this contract are to be shipped
by the end of 2008. The substrates ordered by IQE are primarily 6-inch
semi-insulating GaAs.
IQE is a leading global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers with
products that cover a diverse range of applications, supported by an
innovative outsourced foundry services portfolio that allows the Group to
provide a 'one stop shop' for the wafer needs of the world's leading
semiconductor manufacturers.
"AXT is well positioned to be able to accommodate IQE's increasing demand,
particularly in larger diameter gallium arsenide substrates," said Drew
Nelson, president and chief executive officer of IQE. "Its expansive
manufacturing capacity, unique raw material capability and broad product
portfolio make it an ideal partner to support our strong growth plans for
2008."
"As a result of close collaboration on qualifying on various wireless
related requirements, we are very pleased to have been chosen as a major
supplier to IQE," said Phil Yin, chairman and chief executive officer.
"This agreement recognizes our unique capability to scale our manufacturing
in order to meet the needs of our customers and underscores our success in
providing a consistently high-quality product, backed by superior
engineering support and customer care."
About AXT, Inc.
AXT designs, develops, manufactures and distributes high-performance
compound and single element semiconductor substrates comprising gallium
arsenide (GaAs), indium phosphide (InP) and germanium (Ge) through its
manufacturing facilities in Beijing, China. In addition, AXT maintains its
sales, administration and customer service functions at its headquarters in
Fremont, California. The company's substrate products are used primarily
in lighting display applications, wireless communications, and fiber optic
communications. Its vertical gradient freeze (VGF) technique for
manufacturing semiconductor substrates provides significant benefits over
other methods and enabled AXT to become a leading manufacturer of such
substrates, particularly in optoelectronics applications. AXT has
manufacturing facilities in China and invests in five joint ventures
producing raw materials. For more information, see AXT's website at
http://www.axt.com.
About IQE plc
IQE is the leading global supplier of advanced semiconductor wafers with
products that cover a diverse range of applications, supported by an
innovative outsourced foundry services portfolio that allows the Group to
provide a 'one stop shop' for the wafer needs of the world's leading
semiconductor manufacturers.
IQE uses advanced crystal growth technology (epitaxy) to manufacture and
supply bespoke semiconductor wafers ('epi-wafers') to the major chip
manufacturing companies, who then use these wafers to make the chips which
form the key components of virtually all high technology systems. IQE is
unique in being able to supply wafers using all of the leading crystal
growth technology platforms.
IQE's products are found in many leading-edge consumer, communication,
computing and industrial applications, including a complete range of wafer
products for the wireless industry, such as mobile handsets and wireless
infrastructure, Wi-Fi, WiMAX, base stations, GPS, and satellite
communications; optical communications, optical storage (CD, DVD), laser
optical mouse, laser printers & photocopiers, thermal imagers, leading-edge
medical products, barcode, high efficiency LEDs and a variety of advanced
silicon based systems.
The manufacturers of these chips are increasingly seeking to outsource
wafer production to specialist foundries such as IQE in order to reduce
overall wafer costs and accelerate time to market.
IQE also provides bespoke R&D services to deliver customized materials for
specific applications and offers specialist technical staff to manufacture
to specification either at its own facilities or on the customer's own
sites. The Group is also able to leverage its global purchasing volumes to
reduce the cost
of raw materials. In this way IQE's outsourced services, provide compelling
benefits in terms of flexibility and predictability of cost, thereby
significantly reducing operating risk.
IQE operates six manufacturing facilities located in Cardiff (two) and
Milton Keynes in the UK; in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and Somerset, New
Jersey in the USA; and Singapore. The Group also has 11 sales offices
located in major economic centers worldwide.
Contact Information: Contacts:
Wilson W. Cheung
Chief Financial Officer
(510) 683-5900
Leslie Green
Green Communications Consulting, LLC
(650) 312-9060