lpavlou - weren’t the basic CLN terms outlined last year?
From 18 Nov 2024 RNS:
“The Group is in the process of negotiating a proposal from Lombard Odier, its largest shareholder, regarding short-term financing to help IQE navigate the ongoing market softness. Lombard Odier’s willingness to extend up to c.£15 million via a convertible loan note with a conversion price of 15p per share (the “Proposed Financing”) is a strong demonstration of Lombard Odier’s confidence in the embedded value within the Group. The Group intends to consult with its other major shareholders regarding the Proposed Financing following this announcement.” |
CLN is the key here.How much and for how long?What interest rate?What conversion price?This could be very dilutive to existing shareholders if it's not opened up to everyone. For them to announce it, means the deal is done and should be announced early next week. |
Is it not at present steading the ship! Figures not falling like a rock (maybe slow bleed, who knows.) |
LTS ✅ on all points.
Good to see a TU without more disasters but then again how could the world lead in VCSEL production have even lower revenue than £115m?!
As Crosswires says, one to tuck away and hope in 2-3 years they have found a way to prosper and get back to £175m revenue again. |
Thank goodness we are on the turn.
I find it hard to believe that a ‘barrow boy’ like Americo Lemos will ever be taken seriously again ! |
 IQE shares soar! Really This is money? This article shows why 99% of “news” isn’t worth reading.
I suspect the positive note about AI driving phone cycle upgrades is probably not true. Sadly we have arrived at a place where all new phones are only incremental upgrades, certainly been the case now since iPhone 12 and arguably ten “X” was the game changer. What we need is additional new devices across industries that require new VCSEL volumes to be sold such as GaN for data centre, storage etc
It’s hard to work out how IQE will prosper right now because the AI market has not exactly been stuck in a rut and yet there are no new deals and no major volume upgrades to current deals or we would see major projected revenue growth.
IQE continues to baffle and puzzle and most articles related to it seem to hark on about Apple and nothing else almost like the wider community don’t really know what else IQE exists for.
Re Americo’ departure, there is no point asking IR, they won’t be telling us anything we don’t already know which is nothing and I would suggest we will never know. Clearly something that required the company to essentially pretend he never existed means it was an immediate dismissal event anyhow.
What we do know is he probably was a “snake oil” merchant and IQE board should take responsibility as they fell for it in the first place. We now all find ourselves in a position worse than when Nelson was in charge |
I own a lot still, though have been flipping for 10-20% over the past couple of months.
I want to be positive, but I see 2 possible negatives in the statement:
1) As LLOL pointed out, the language on Taiwan sounds softer, slower and indeed less certain than I had expected. Maybe there are secret positive reasons for this, but......
2) As indiestu has hinted at, the convertible is crucial and potentially painful. Equally importantly they needed good news to help clinch it, so the figures indicated are probably at the high end of their range of wiggle room.
I think these points help to explain the limited share price move today.
Did anyone recently write to IR to ask when there would be more disclosure about the departure of S. Lemos? |
IQE set for AI boost to smartphone demand
The global semiconductor industry typically goes through relatively short cycles of rising and falling demand.
Booming use of the wafers led to an unprecedented shortages in 2021 and 2022, before a combination of rising inflation, geopolitical tensions and a pandemic hangover led to an industry slump in 2023.
Last year showed improvement, with global semiconductor sales up 15.2 per cent year-on-year in January 2024, but the recovery proved 'uneven'.
Going forward analysts at Peel Hunt warned 'the great 'unknown' for IQE and the broader industry is 'the ongoing tariff war' and export controls brought in by the Chinese government.
But Peel Hunt said on Thursday the demand picture should improve for IQE.
'While much of the industry bellwether TSMC's buzz is on AI, its management also expects smartphones to be boosted in the coming periods via AI-driven shortening of upgrade cycles; and an AI-related increase in semis content,' it said.
'We believe this bodes well for IQE on the other side of the current cyclical downturn.' |
Let's wait and see the size, discount and terms for the convertible loan notes. I'd hazard a guess that existing shareholders are going to get shafted on this. Why a convertible and not a raise? Probably because they need cash quickly. It could be done by the end of the day. |
I'm happy with that statement - especially with the share price so low. Good to note the positive reaction to the strategic review - they just need to get all their very expensive kit making a full contribution to the bottom line. With both the USA and the UK banking and investing in data centres and artificial intelligence compute AND with the need for speed and energy efficiency compound semiconductors is the way to go. Let's hope iqe can grab some of it - I suspect the market will start to come to them. |
scars - I, too, am cautiously optimistic that 2024 may have called the bottom for now.
I wouldn't hold out any hope of Chips Act expansion though, particularly now Trump is at the helm again. Surely his team would take one look at IQE's US operations, see they're subsidiaries of a UK outfit & pronounce them ineligible for home-grown MAGA funding. That's assuming he even pursues Chips Act funding in its previous form, which looks unlikely.
My reading is that any grants at State/County level were contingent upon Federal Chips Act funding. So it's all or nothing. |
Lord, I see 2025 as a more positive year especially with greensboro end of the year, so as stated took a small position at around 12p, expecting to get back to support at around 17p at some point this year. Can't see any negatives given todays news, so as you say support around the current level is great. News later in the year on Taiwan would be a big bonus. 10% up already, 17p - 30% more great.. sounds solid to me... |
The board discussed the potential huge government Greesnboro grant many times when it first surfaced and I don’t believe it’s likely to happen over and above the small amount the county has committed to. Other than that the press release is PR copy and pasted so doesn’t really add anything to the conversation about IQE that we don’t already know. |
The article below came out on Boxing Day 26th December and details why IQE is still at the "FOREFRONT" of CRYSTA GROWTH Technology in production and development of many
Wafers(Epi- Wafers)etc ..for Chip Companies which help provide the componennts for
as they say "virtually all high technology systems". |
crosswires - I fear you're right.
But just because something's clear doesn't make it any more acceptable.
Simply shows contempt for the people paying their salaries & keeping the lights on. Shareholder loyalty works both ways.
scars - today's TU may well create a bit of support around the current level. But it'll take positive news from Taiwan or a significant profits uplift before we really "get a bit of confidence back in the sp". |
Never the less this is positive news! Expecting some kind of short to mid term share price recovery. The only way is up just need to get a bit of confidence back in the sp, |
It’s clear that after three months the board will not be discussing the CEO exit and Lemos hasn’t even updated his Linkedin apart from a cryptic “Stay tuned”. Assume there is a 6 months clause so maybe he might say something post this (although if he somehow transgressed then he clearly won’t) and there is probably an NDA anyways. All very odd as you say…
You’d think they would mention how the search for a permanent CEO was going in the update. Radio silence all round 🤷🏼‍♂️ |
Unless some major impropriety has been committed, it’s pretty much unheard of for the CEO of any PLC to be ousted overnight, without even a parting word of thanks from the Board.
Yet almost three months on, IQE remains completely tight-lipped on the subject. Apparently quite content for its shareholders to be treated like mushrooms - kept in the dark & fed on sh!t. It’s really totally unacceptable. |
Agreed no more bad news is good, although initial market reaction is muted, certainly no great recovery in business. I can see a year ahead where the share price doesn’t gain too much, unless we hear more concrete news on a Taiwan sale as predicted earnings are pretty much stagnant. As I have said before it’s one to tuck away and forget about for a while to come…
I do think we saw the bottom in terms of share price though and in a few years anyone who bought down here will be happy. |
I was a day out on the TU but at least there was no more bad news. Not much to be excited by either but then I guess that was unrealistic right now. It doesn’t seem Taiwan is imminent and certainly it might be difficult to arrange all that a listing would entail by H2 2025, but there is no rush. With the wider explosion for GaN (especially so in that region) I don’t see the value of the Taiwanese concern falling in value, only the opposite. Next year is more likely |
Hardly “fantastic news”. FY revenue just £3m above repeatedly downgraded expectations. Only marginally up on 2023, which in itself was the poorest year by far in the last five+.
It was only a couple of years ago we were told to expect a tripling of revenues by 2027!
By recent IQE standards, it seems anything that doesn’t materially undershoot & disappoint is a hugely positive surprise.
I’m delighted things are stabilising for now. But it’s not exactly a cause for great celebration yet, even if my most recent top-up purchase is finally in the money (today at least).
It sounds as though progression to a Taiwanese IPO or part/full sale is still a long way off. We’re told - despite this seemingly being a top priority - “the review remains at an early stage”. Hmmmmm. |
Positive update, as I said before probably won’t see fire works, but steady progress is all that is needed from these low levels |
Fantastic news,seems like we have at last a BOD who seem to know how to make our undervaluated assets sweat and increase shareholder value.This with the upcoming
boost from Taiwan will hopefully lead us on the path to growth
Well done to the new BOD |
Lets see how the market reacts, GLA |
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