FSA Awards Dinner

FSA Awards Dinner
Santa Clara, CA — December 7, 2000 — The fabless semiconductor industry has refuted the criticism it received in the late 1980s and early 1990s to become the preferred business model, said Jodi Shelton, executive director of the Fabless Semiconductor Association (FSA), at its annual awards dinner.

Before a crowd of approximately 1200, a Merrill Lynch analyst offered some hope for companies that witnessed their stocks dive the past few weeks, comedian Jay Leno belted jokes regarding OJ Simpson, the presidential race, and the differences between men and women, and the FSA awarded some of the top fabless companies for their achievements.

With his talk "The Semiconductor in 2001: Moore Meets Darwin," Merrill Lynch semiconductor analyst Joe Osha attempted to comfort stockholders with worries about the sudden decline in the stock prices of semiconductor companies, effectively stating that the fabless model is the correct model and thus the seas should calm.

"The industry is merciless when it comes to weeding out dinosaurs," Osha said. "It's difficult for the dinosaurs to change. Companies running on the old model are in danger of becoming a brontosaurus. [However] the fabless model is poised to be the dominant force."

Osha also noted that the fabless semiconductor industry should center its attention on facilitating the supply chain. He continued, saying that semiconductor companies should emulate the model set forth by the foundries, offering exemplary service and management in numerous areas.

In an attempt to assuage fears about recent stock market fluctuations, Osha said that the investors know that the semiconductor cycle is not over and the industry will continue to be vital. Finally, Osha, with a nod to Leno's rival, David Letterman, cited the top ten reasons to buy semiconductor stocks. The number one reason, he said, "We need some place to invest earnings from all those dot.com stocks."

When Leno took the stage, he joked that the Republican nominees for President were the ultimate "Wizard of OZ" ticket: Dick Cheney needs a heart and George Dubya Bush needs a brain. The audience roared.

Finally, the awards were presented, with the help of new chairman of the FSA Willem Roelandts, president and CEO of Xilinx. Earlier, Shelton called the addition of Roelandts to the board of the FSA, which now has 17 members, a 'real coup.'

For the third consecutive year, Broadcom Corp. was winner of the Industry's Most Respected Public Fabless Company Award. Transmeta won the Industry's Most Respected Private Fabless Company Award. To determine the winners for these awards, ballots were sent out to fabless industry representatives, suppliers, and analysts.

Xilinx was awarded for being the Best Financially Managed Company — the FSA and semiconductor financial analysts selected the winner from companies listed on US stock exchanges. Dr. Robert S. Pepper, director emeritus of the FSA, won the Morris Chang Exemplary Leadership Award. Nvidia, PMC-Sierra, Silicon Image, and Transmeta grabbed the Favorite Fabless Picks Awards. Semiconductor financial analysts selected the favorite fabless companies.

In addition, thirty companies which doubled in revenue or net income received awards for Outstanding Financial Performance.

Three of the 29 winners (some companies received more than one award) are not members of the FSA — Lattice Semiconductor, Audiocodes, and Oak Technology. To become a member, companies must pay according to a sliding scale of $10,000 to $30,000 annually, stated an FSA committee member.