Analog Devices Q4 Revenue Up 33% Despite ‘Hiccup’ of COVID Shutdowns

“Organic supply” at Analog Devices was affected from some of the COVID-19 factory shutdowns in Southeast Asia “that affected much of the industry,” said CEO Vincent Roche on a call Tuesday with analysts for fiscal Q4 ended Oct. 30. Revenue in the quarter still grew 33% sequentially from fiscal Q3 ended July 31, he said. “But as we've been talking about it for the last couple of quarters, our supply has been limited and revenue really is a function of supply. So that hiccup did put a little bit of pressure on the revenue line, and you'll see that correct itself as we go forward.” The company’s fiscal 2021 “truly demonstrated the vital importance of semiconductors to the modern digital age,” said Roche. “As we enter 2022, our backlog and bookings remain robust and we continue to invest in manufacturing capacity.” The chipmaker took “decisive action to add capacity throughout the year with more than $340 million in capital expenditures,” said the CEO. “This is enabling us to better navigate the near-term supply/demand imbalance while achieving our long-term growth objectives.” In the company’s communications sector, fiscal 2021 “was an uneven year, as strength in wired was offset by weakness in the China wireless market,” said Roche. “Encouragingly, as we look to 2022, the proliferation of 5G is gaining momentum globally, especially in North America.” The company this past year introduced the industry's first software-defined radio transceiver “that includes a fully integrated digital front end,” he said. “This next generation transceiver platform enables us to defend and extend our position in traditional 5G” and emerging open radio access networks, he said.