Soitec, a French supplier of semiconductor materials, has announced the withdrawal of its fiscal forecasts amidst ongoing market uncertainties and a persistent downturn in demand for automotive and industrial chips. The company will no longer provide guidance for fiscal year 2026 or its medium-term objectives, which included achieving a revenue target of $2bn with an EBITDA margin of nearly 40%. Moving forward, Soitec will shift to issuing revenue forecasts on a quarterly basis to better align with current market conditions.
“We remain confident in our solid fundamentals and in our ability to accelerate growth as soon as our end markets begin to recover,” said Soitec CEO Pierre Barnabé. “Our strong technology megatrends – 5G, energy efficiency and AI – and our unique expertise in engineered substrates continue to support the expansion of our addressable market from around five million wafers (200-mm equivalent) in 2024 to around 12 million in 2030.”
The company’s financial outlook for the first quarter of fiscal year 2026 anticipates a 20% decline in revenue year-on-year, primarily due to the anticipated phase-out of its Imager-SOI product line. This decline is significant when considering that the Imager-SOI generated $25m in revenue during the first quarter of fiscal year 2025. Additionally, Soitec’s capital expenditures are expected to decrease substantially to around €150m from €230m in fiscal year 2025, reflecting a strategic pivot in response to market shifts.
In an unexpected leadership change, chief financial officer Lea Alzingre has stepped down with immediate effect. Albin Jacquemont, who has previously held senior finance roles at major French firms such as Carrefour, Suez, and Darty, will replace her.
Back in February, Soitec had signalled limited growth prospects for 2026 and revised its 2025 guidance as its semiconductor wafer customers in the automotive and consumer electronics sectors decreased orders amid challenging market conditions. For the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2025, Soitec reported revenue of €327m, a slight decrease from €337m in the same quarter of the previous year. This was influenced by various factors including divestments — notably Dolphin Design’s mixed-signal IP activities and ASIC operations — and currency fluctuations.
The decision to divest Dolphin Design’s activities aligns with Soitec’s focus on advancing its core semiconductor materials business. Dolphin Design’s mixed-signal IP activities were acquired by Jolt Capital while NanoXplore took over the ASIC operations.
Investment planned despite market headwinds
While each of Soitec’s three divisions experienced stable organic changes in revenue during Q4 FY25 compared to Q4 FY24, these results reflect varying dynamics across different products. The Mobile Communications segment saw a slight organic decline which was somewhat offset by increased revenues in Edge & Cloud AI. Meanwhile, the Automotive & Industrial division remained stable overall but experienced strong demand for POI wafers used in smartphone filters and Photonics-SOI wafers for data centres.
Soitec also revealed plans to invest approximately €770m to expand production capabilities. This investment is aimed at achieving the $2bn revenue run-rate that should enhance operating leverage and improve cash generation. However, specific timing for these initiatives remains uncertain due to external market factors beyond the company’s control.
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