Texas Instruments Plans to Shutter Factories in Houston and Japan
"Revenue in the fourth quarter was higher than expected across all our major product lines, reinforcing our belief that we're at the bottom of this downturn. I'm pleased to say that despite the downturn and the lower factory utilization that came with it, cash flow from operations was strong and well above levels as compared with similar points in prior downturns. Our strategic focus on our core businesses and efficient investment in capacity are key to our strong generation of cash," said Rich Templeton, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "As we move into 2012, we enter the final phase of our planned exit from the baseband market, and thus further tighten our focus on Analog, Embedded Processing and Wireless."
To keep the good times rolling, TI announced plans to close two of its older semiconductor manufacturing facilities, one of which is located in Hiji, Japan, and the other in Houston, Texas. Each factory employs around 500 workers and combined they accounted for about 4 percent of TI's revenue in 2011.
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"These sites have made strong, high-quality contributions over the 30-plus years each has operated," said Templeton. "They demonstrate the tremendous cash flow potential associated with analog products, where factory lives are literally measured in decades. However, we're now at the point where each of these sites requires significant upgrades, and it makes financial sense to shift production to larger, more advanced facilities."
TI's future looks bright as the market for mobile devices continues to expand. Revenue from TI's OMAP applications processors doubled year-over-year and is the primary reason why TI's wireless revenue increased in the fourth quarter.