Paris (awp/afp) – Dismissed to everyone’s surprise last week, the boss of Soitec, one of the rare French semiconductor stars, promised Thursday a “smooth transition”, after the short governance crisis that shook the company and its share price in recent days.
“With the management committee, I will of course do everything in my power to ensure a smooth transition” with the future general manager, explained to financial analysts Paul Boudre, an unsuccessful candidate for his own succession.
“I fully respect the decision of the board of directors” to appoint Pierre Barnabé (one of the current leaders of the French IT group Atos, editor’s note), added Mr. Boudre, who presented the quarterly results of the company in the presence of ‘Éric Meurice, Chairman of the Board of Directors.
Soitec manufactures materials on which its customers can then etch semiconductors. Its star product, silicon on insulator, is present in all smartphones in the world.
The announcement of the arrival of Mr. Barnabé at the end of Mr. Boudre’s mandate (next July) surprised financial analysts and other experts in the sector last week.
They expected a renewal, at least temporary, of Mr. Boudre, who in a few years led a brilliant turnaround in this company of nearly 2,000 employees, which came very close to filing for bankruptcy in 2015 but now growing and very profitable.
Exceptionally, the company’s executive committee dissociated itself from the decision of the board of directors and asked it to reconsider, in a letter sent to the press.
“I am sorry” that the “unexpected” appointment of Mr. Barnabé, and the “emotion” aroused internally, “led to this overreaction”, declared Mr. Meurice.
“We apologize for not having clarified” the fact that several candidacies were being examined to succeed Mr. Boudre at the end of his mandate, he added.
Stock market fall
Since the announcement of this departure and the publication in the press of the “rant” of the management committee, Soitec shares have plunged by more than 20% on the Paris Stock Exchange.
Thursday afternoon, it was worth 165.50 euros, far from its pre-crisis price (205 euros on January 19).
The reasons for the divorce between Mr. Boudre and the board of directors remain difficult to decipher. Its president invoked the need to appoint a new general manager, as the company enters new dimensions.
Soitec plans in its strategic plan to reach a turnover of 2 billion dollars by 2025-2026, against 237 million euros in 2015-2016, when Mr. Boudre began the recovery of the business.
This increase in sales would be based in particular on new production of silicon carbide-based substrates, which will play a key role in the semiconductors used by electric vehicles.
The company must build a new factory, for which France is in competition with Singapore.
“A location has clearly been identified. We will announce our decision by the end of this exercise”, or March 31, 2022, said Thursday Mr. Boudre.
Soitec announced Wednesday evening a record profit of 208 million euros for the third quarter of its staggered 2021-2022 financial year. The company expects revenue growth of 45% this fiscal year to around $975 million.
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