Introduction
This is the June 25, 2012 edition of the COMMENTARY entitled, “The EDA and MCAD/MCAE Almanac – Nominal Q1 2012.”
Recent History of Combined Commentaries
The last comprehensive report that combined financial data from both the EDA and MCAD/MCAE industries was the EDA WEEKLY initially posted in EDACafe.com and MCADcafe.com on December 12, 2011, entitled,
http://www10.edacafe.com/nbc/articles/view_article.php?articleid=1038335
Next in the sequence was a “Mini-Almanac” summary report posted as a BLOG-ONLY version on April 23, 2012, which carried the masthead as follows:
Industry Commentary
Dr. Russ Henke
The writer of the following article has posted over 100 articles on EDACafe.com since 2003, in the form of Quarterly Commentaries on the worldwide EDA. EDA IP, and MCAD/MCAE Industries as well as monthly Editorials covering vendors, products, finances and new developments. Beginning April 2012 these … More ».........
“New Commentary: EDA & MCAD/MCAE Industry Mini-Almanac – Nominal Q4 2011”
Accordingly, the COMMENTARY contained herein will cover EDA and MCAD/MCAE vendor financials for Nominal Q1 2012, from reports issued between April 25, 2012 and May 23, 2012.
Background
Over the years since 2003, Henke Associates has issued quarterly Commentaries and WEEKLIES that dealt with high tech software vendors in the fields of Electronic Design Automation (EDA), Electronics Intellectual Property (Electronics IP), and in the companion fields of mechanical computer aided design (MCAD) and mechanical computer aided engineering & analysis (MCAE).
Familiar vendor names have included Cadence, Mentor Graphics, Synopsys and others in EDA; ARM Holdings, Rambus and others in Electronics IP; and ANSYS, Autodesk, Dassault Systemes, PTC and others in MCAD/MCAE. The vast majority of these articles (now numbering well over 100) have been separately posted on either EDACafe.com or MCADCafe.com, both specialty electronic newsletters among others issued daily by International Business Systems (IBSystems) of Campbell CA. Commentaries tended to run daily for a full calendar quarter and EDA WEEKLIES ran daily for at least four weeks.
Beginning in 2011, the writer occasionally combined reports on EDA and on Electronics IP into single issues of EDA WEEKLY. Readers will recall for example the April 04, 2011 issue, entitled, “The EDA and the Electronics IP Almanac: Q4 2010.” The same EDA and Electronics IP combo also appeared on June 27, 2011 for Q1 2011 financials.
But as readers quickly observed in the August 22, 2011 EDA WEEKLY, the G5 Electronics IP financial results for Q2 2011 held the center stage alone, although the then-recent gyrations of the worldwide economic environment also received its due in coverage. The same was true of the Q3 2011 G5 Electronics IP financial results posted November 14, 2011.
Other Combinations
More rare have been occasions when one particular article appeared in both the EDACafe.com and MCADCafe.com newsletters, such as the article on ANSYS multi-physics of July 2010. These types of occurrences were and are destined to be frequently repeated going forward as the fields of mechanical design automation & simulation merge more and more with electronics design & simulation.
Occasionally it is also useful to combine the financial reports from EDA and MCAD/MCAE into single issues, when the stars line up schedule-wise. Such was the case here in September 2011, December 2011, and April 2012, and is of course the case here in June 2012.
This June 25, 2012 Issue
Accordingly, this issue of the COMMENTARY, which is entitled, “The EDA and MCAD/MCAE Almanac – Nominal Q1 2012,” first posted on June 25, 2012, will report in detail on the financial results for nominal Q1 2012 of the following groups of four (4) vendors each:
Selection History of Vendor Coverage Choices for EDA
For the quarterly EDA Industry Commentaries published in EDACafe.com starting in May 2003, Henke Associates chose nine (9) publicly-traded entities: Altium, Ansoft, Cadence, Magma, Mentor Graphics, Nassda, Synopsys, Synplicity and Verisity.
Subsequently, Verisity and Nassda were acquired by EDA vendors Cadence and Synopsys, respectively, and hence were dropped from independent coverage in quarterly EDA Commentaries. More recently, EDA vendor Synplicity was acquired by Synopsys, and EDA vendor Ansoft was acquired by MCAE vendor ANSYS. Consequently, both Synplicity and Ansoft no longer independently appeared in the EDA Industry reports. Finally, in May 2011, SpringSoft, Inc. replaced Altium Limited on our G5 EDA list.
Since the Synopsys acquisition of MAGMA was fully consummated during the early part of 2012, MAGMA financials are now subsumed by those of Synopsys; accordingly, MAGMA has been eliminated from our EDA list.
Finally, after being included in these pages as a charter member of the quarterly EDA Group from 2003 through 2010, Altium was replaced by SpringSoft for 2011 coverage.
Selection History of Vendor Coverage Choices for MCAD/MCAE
In the very first MCAD Industry Commentary published in May 2003 in MCADCafé.com, then-recent yearly and quarterly financial performances of a selected group of nine (9) public Mechanical Computer Aided Design (MCAD) and Mechanical Computer Aided Engineering (MCAE) vendor companies were analyzed and compared. The entities initially covered were ANSYS, Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes, UGS PLM, ESI Group, Moldflow, MSC.Software, PTC and Tecnomatix.
As a result of the acquisition of Tecnomatix by UGS that closed April 1, 2005, Tecnomatix was eliminated from coverage thereafter as a separate entity. On May 7, 2007 UGS announced the close of its acquisition by Siemens AG effective May 4, 2007. Thereafter, the business went to market as UGS PLM Software (and later as Siemens PLM Software), a global division of the Siemens Automation and Drives (A&D) Group. Over the years UGS itself had bounced back and forth between being a public company and a private company under different ownerships. Regrettably, we have been able to gain very little insight into UGS' financial performance itself from public Siemens' corporate reports after the Siemens acquisition. Occasionally we will include Siemens PLM Software news items that bear on the industry as a whole. Then, on June 25, 2008, Autodesk completed its acquisition of Moldflow Corporation, so thereafter Moldflow was eliminated from separate coverage.
On July 07, 2009 MSC.Software announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with affiliates of Symphony Technology Group (STG) under which a company controlled by STG would acquire all of MSC's outstanding shares in a one-step cash merger transaction. This acquisition of MSC.Software by STG was finally consummated on October 14, 2009. No financial results for MSC.Software were published for Q3 2009, and none since. Unless and until such data are subsequently made available, MSC.Software has been dropped from financial reporting coverage herein, although occasionally MSC.Software news items that bear on the industry as a whole will be mentioned. Readers may be interested to see the MCAD/MCAE Commentary about a late August 2011 interview with CEO Dominic Gallello of MSC.Software at this URL:
Henke Associates recognizes that some MCAD/PLM/MCAE vendors have expanded their offerings into the world of “multi-physics” by moving beyond pure MCAD into other disciplines, such as fluid dynamics and electronic analysis (e.g. ANSYS). These Commentaries will also report on these new areas as appropriate. (The EDA WEEKLY article posted on EDACafe.com on July 19, 2010, entitled, “ANSYS turns 40!” dealt with ANSYS multi-physics, and it is available in the EDACafe.com EDA WEEKLY archives). ANSYS took an even larger step in the direction of Silicon Valley with last year’s purchase of Apache. And of course Dassault Systemes added certain EDA capabilities to its EDA repertoire with the acquisition of ELSYS.
There is no better indicator that the worlds of EDA and MCAD/MCAE are coming together than to realize that two of the top four MCAD/MCAE vendors listed above participated aggressively in the 49th EDA Design Automation Conference held a few weeks ago here in San Francisco (ANSYS & Dassault), joining the four listed EDA vendors Cadence, Mentor, SpringSoft and Synopsys at this premier annual EDA showcase:
The EDA companies for their parts are also embracing the benefit of offerings from partnerships and even acquisitions of mechanical systems entities which allow their users to iterate or interface smoothly into the complex but lucrative world of systems analysis and design, such as Mentor’s late 2009 acquisition of the computational fluid dynamics & thermal analysis software enterprise Flomerics and the subsequent formation of the MGC Mechanical Analysis Division. These and other moves build invaluable vendor experience, allowing vendors to take on more and more complex systems challenges that in the past they were prone to avoid. These moves allow such vendors to stake out new business opportunities which are hard for others to duplicate. This topic has been pursued in different forms for several years in articles in these pages, such as:
...and new articles to come in the months ahead.
Structure of the Presentation in this Issue
The two Groups of Vendors, four in EDA and four in MCAD/MCAE as listed above, will be reported separately herein. Then near the end of the article, the individual reports on each of the 8 vendors end with summary charts of revenues and earnings. Recent stock performances in the form of Yahoo Finance stock charts will also be included when available and instructional. A relatively new feature added here for EDA and MCAD/MCAE vendors, as they were for IP suppliers recently, are Google P&L graphs for most vendors if available. Year-end reports will usually contain bar graphs where each bar represents a year, whereas reports on interim quarters, such as this issue, will feature graphs were each bar represents a quarter.
Who will it be?
Keen readers will notice that a replacement for MAGMA in these EDA Commentaries has not yet been named. (MAGMA was acquired by Synopsys late last year). Ah, but the replacement EDA vendor for future reports has been chosen! A major portion on next month’s EDA Commentary will be devoted to this replacement vendor, restoring the EDA Group to five members. The MCAD/MCAE list will also be rounded up to five by including the latest results from The ESI Group in the next quarterly report.
Now, to honor the MCAD/MCAE vendors who completed and published their nominal Q1 2012 financial reports a number of days earlier than their EDA brethren, we present the MCAD/MCAE G4 individual reports first, followed by the EDA G4, and then the by-now familiar Summary Tables of EDA and MCAD/MCAE Revenues, Earnings, and Returns on Sales (ROS %).
So Enjoy!
On May 03, 2012, ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ: ANSS) announced growth in both revenue and diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2012.
ANSYS Highlights for Nominal Q1 2012
- GAAP revenue of $185.3 million
- GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.48
- Operating cash flows of $83.6 million
- GAAP operating profit margin of 36.6%
Total GAAP revenue for nominal Q1 2012 was $185.345 million, an increase of 17.3% over the $158.047 million in the corresponding year ago nominal Q1 2011, but 6.5% below the $198.210 million achieved in the just prior Q4 2011. Guidance provided by ANSYS three months ago for Q1 2012 was for revenue in the range of $182.8 - $189.8 million.
GAAP net income for Q1 2012 was $45.539 million, a YOY increase of 7.81% over Q1 2011’s $42.241 million, but down some 4.05% from the $47.460 million earned in sequential Q4 2011.
Diluted earnings per share increased 7.8% to $0.48 for Q1 2012 over the $0.45 EPS for the first quarter of 2011. Guidance provided three months ago was for Q1 2012 to achieve GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.43 - $0.49.
The growth in the first quarter of 2012 was spread across all major geographic regions and among a broad array of industries, according to ANSYS.
"ANSYS is off to a strong start in 2012, as evidenced by our first quarter results. These results reflect the impact of the persistent dedication and efforts of the global ANSYS team and demonstrate our continued progress in executing on our long-term vision," stated Jim Cashman, ANSYS President & CEO.
"We entered into the year with momentum, and we continue to be pleased with the combined financial performance and the integration progress of the Apache business. The results of the first quarter of 2012 are highlighted by a record deferred revenue balance of $299.4 million, strong margins and cash flows, non-GAAP earnings in the upper end of our guidance range, major account expansion and continued growth of all major product lines,” said Cashman.
”We also saw a 39% increase in our non-GAAP lease revenue for Q1 2012 as compared to Q1 2011, which is largely indicative of the influence of the Apache license model combined with the impact of some customers shifting their purchasing decisions to our annual lease offering. While the growth in our lease business does affect short-term license revenue growth, it also contributes to the deferred revenue balance and helps to build our recurring revenue base. While we continued to meet or exceed on a number of key financial metrics, we also see opportunities for focus and execution improvement. As 2012 continues to unfold, we believe we are well positioned to invest and capitalize on the global market opportunities for growth, leveraging our extensive customer base and technological leadership position to drive results and continue to deliver on our commitments," Cashman concluded.
Second Quarter and Fiscal Year 2012 Guidance
On May 03, 2012 the Company expected the following for the quarter ending June 30, 2012:
- GAAP revenue in the range of $191.2 - $198.2 million
- GAAP diluted earnings per share of $0.46 - $0.51
The Company likewise expected the following for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2012:
- GAAP revenue in the range of $806.6 - $826.6 million
- GAAP diluted earnings per share of $2.05 - $2.17
ANSYS, Inc. self description
ANSYS brings clarity and insight to customers' most complex design challenges through fast, accurate and reliable engineering simulation. Our technology enables organizations ― no matter their industry ― to predict with confidence that their products will thrive in the real world. Customers trust our software to help ensure product integrity and drive business success through innovation. Founded in 1970, ANSYS employs more than 2,200 professionals, many of them experts in engineering fields such as finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics, electronics and electromagnetics, and design optimization. Headquartered south of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., ANSYS has more than 65 strategic sales locations throughout the world with a network of channel partners in 40+ countries. Visit www.ansys.com for more information.
ANSYS News
ANSYS, Inc. Signs Definitive Agreement to Acquire Esterel Technologies S.A.
Acquisition Broadens Capabilities as Simulation Leader
On May 29, 2012 ANSYS, Inc. and Esterel Technologies S.A. ("Esterel") a leading provider of embedded software simulation solutions for mission critical applications, announced that they signed a definitive agreement whereby ANSYS will acquire Esterel Technologies for a cash purchase price of approximately euro 42 million (or approximately US$53 million), subject to certain working capital adjustments at close. The agreement also includes retention provisions for key members of management and employees. Headquartered in Elancourt, France, Esterel has about 80 employees and reported revenues of approximately euro 15 million for fiscal year 2011. The transaction, currently anticipated to close in the third calendar quarter of 2012, is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.
The Esterel SCADE solution enables software and systems engineers to design, simulate and produce embedded software, the control code built into the electronics in aircraft, rail transportation, automotive, energy systems, medical devices and other industrial products that have central processing units. Modern products are increasingly complex systems of hardware, software and electronics. For example, today's complex aircraft, rail and automotive products often have tens of millions of lines of embedded software code, from flight controls and cockpit displays, to engine controls and driver assistance systems. Esterel is often chosen when the embedded software is critical for safety and compliance reasons. Esterel provides software and systems engineers a solution to accurately model and simulate the behavior of the embedded software code to gain insight earlier in the design process and trace it to its requirements. Esterel solutions also reduce engineering time and cost by automatically generating certified and dependable embedded software code from these high fidelity models. Esterel certified code generators are currently compliant with more than 10 certification standards including aerospace, defense, rail transportation, automotive, industrial systems and nuclear plants.
The acquisition of Esterel complements ANSYS® software solutions by extending the ANSYS Simulation Driven Product Development™ vision to encompass both hardware and software systems. A combined solution will enable customers to gain greater insight into the behavior of the embedded software as it interacts with the hardware (sometimes called the physical plant) including electrical, mechanical and fluidic sub-systems. The complementary combination is expected to accelerate development and delivery of new and innovative products to the marketplace while lowering design and engineering costs for customers and enhancing product safety. The combination of these two industry leading companies reaffirms ANSYS' commitment to deliver cutting edge, customer-driven solutions.
"We are very excited about the model-based embedded code simulation and production solutions Esterel adds to ANSYS, as well as the quality of its 230 global top-tier customers," said Jim Cashman, president and CEO of ANSYS. "Today's products are getting smarter. They have more electronics and software and this requires a systems engineering approach to product development. The combination of these two great companies will uniquely enable customers to comprehensively simulate complete systems and predict with confidence that their products will thrive in the real world. Further, we believe that the combination will foster innovation by gaining engineering insight across disciplines that have historically been silos."
"Both companies have a strong commitment to their customers and employees while sharing a passion for innovation and cutting edge technology," said Eric Bantegnie, co-founder, CEO and president of Esterel. "The complementary nature of software and hardware simulation provides key technological strengths that enhance our ability to deliver comprehensive, high-fidelity, world-class system simulation technologies that customers demand. We believe Esterel customers will leverage the integration of our embedded software development products into a complete model-based systems engineering solution. This unique combination will reduce costly reliance on physical testing and streamline system engineering processes, while also improving the speed and success of our customers' product development efforts. Together we will meet the stringent requirements of upcoming certification standards, such as ISO 26262 in Automotive or DO-178C in Aerospace."
Integration
The two companies are developing integration plans that leverage and build on the cultural similarities and the best practices from each organization. Due to the absence at this time of US GAAP estimates of the acquisition-related impact of purchase accounting adjustments, including the allocation of the purchase price among goodwill, in-process R&D, other intangibles, deferred revenue and equity-based compensation expenses, ANSYS is currently unable to provide GAAP estimates of future earnings. The company intends to provide updated financial guidance after the closing of the transaction.
About Esterel Technologies S.A.
Esterel Technologies is the worldwide leader of model-based design, verification and code generation tools for critical system and software development. Esterel Technologies is a privately held company with European headquarters in Elancourt, France, U.S. headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts and direct sales offices in Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia and China. Esterel is supported by channel and service partners worldwide. For additional information, visit the Esterel Technologies website at www.esterel-technologies.com.
On May 17, 2012
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) reported financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2013, which corresponds to nominal Q1 2012 for purposes of the current article.
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Nominal Q1 2012 Autodesk Highlights
Three months ago, Autodesk provided guidance that the Company expected revenues for nominal Q1 2012 to be between $575 million and $590 million. GAAP EPS guidance three months ago was between $0.29 and $0.31. “We had a solid start to the year as our overall business continued to deliver double-digit year-over-year revenue growth,” said
Carl Bass, Autodesk president and CEO.
“We were pleased with the performance of suites as customers are embracing the substantially greater functionality and value that our design and creation suites deliver. Our year-over-year revenue growth was also fueled by strength in Asia Pacific and the Americas, while economic conditions contributed to uneven results in EMEA and emerging countries. Our manufacturing and Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) businesses achieved strong year-over-year results as more and more customers turned to Autodesk to solve their most complex design and engineering challenges,” said Bass. First Quarter Operational Overview EMEA revenue was $224 million, an increase of 4% compared to the first quarter last year as reported and 2% on a constant currency basis. Revenue in the Americas was $208 million, an increase of 14% compared to the first quarter last year. Revenue in Asia Pacific was a record $157 million, an increase of 19% compared to the first quarter last year as reported and 13% on a constant currency basis. Revenue from emerging economies was $82 million, an increase of 6% compared to the first quarter last year as reported and 6% on a constant currency basis. Revenue from emerging economies represented 14% of total revenue in the first quarter. Revenue from the Platform Solutions and Emerging Business segment was $229 million, an increase of 9% compared to the first quarter last year. Revenue from the AEC business segment was $163 million, an increase of 16% compared to the first quarter last year. Revenue from the Manufacturing business segment was $146 million, an increase of 18% compared to the first quarter last year. Revenue from the Media and Entertainment business segment was $51 million, a decrease of 5% compared to the first quarter last year. Revenue from Flagship products was $336 million, an increase of 4% compared to the first quarter last year. Revenue from Suites was $166 million, an increase of 34% compared to the first quarter last year. Revenue from New and Adjacent products was $87 million, an increase of 9% compared to the first quarter last year. As customers migrate from stand-alone Autodesk products to Suites, the Company anticipates that its revenue from Suites will increase as a percentage of total revenue and that its revenue from Flagship products will similarly decline. Deferred revenue at the end of the first quarter was a record high of $727 million, an increase of 17% compared to the first quarter last year and 1% sequentially. Shippable backlog was $6 million, a decrease of $19 million compared to the first quarter last year and $21 million sequentially. At the end of the first quarter, “channel inventory weeks” stood at a record low of approximately one week. A decrease in channel inventory and shippable backlog was expected as a result of Autodesk’s transition to increased use of electronic software delivery. “Our revenue growth and continued focus on cost controls drove strong improvement in our non-GAAP operating margin,” said
Mark Hawkins, Autodesk executive vice president, chief financial officer.
“Revenue growth and operating margin expansion remain key focus areas as we continue towards our long-term goal of growing revenue by a compounded annual growth rate of 12-14% (capturing fiscal 2011 through fiscal 2015) and expanding our non-GAAP operating margin to at least 30%. During the quarter we accomplished significant changes including a new channel partner framework and a move to an industry focused organizational alignment, among other things, that we believe will better position the company for future growth. These changes, combined with our outstanding products and market position, give us confidence to achieve our long-term goal,” said Hawkins. Business Outlook The following are forward-looking Autodesk statements that are based on mngement’s current expectations and assumptions, and involve risks and uncertainties. some of which are set forth below. Autodesk’s business outlook for the second quarter and full year assumes a continuation of the current economic environment and foreign exchange currency rate environment. For nominal Q2 2012, the Company expects revenue between $590 million and 600 million, and GAAP EPS between $0.29 and $0.34. For all of Nominal 2012, net revenue is expected to increase by at least 10% compared to Nominal 2011. Autodesk anticipates 2012 GAAP operating margin to increase by approximately 120 basis points. Both second quarter and full year outlooks assume an annual effective tax rate of approximately 26% for GAAP results. This rate does not include the federal R&D tax credit benefit, which expired on December 31, 2011, or one-time discrete items. The assumed effective tax rate will be adjusted if or when there is a renewal of the tax credit. Autodesk self-description Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries – including the last 17 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects – use Autodesk software to design, visualize, and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com. Autodesk and AutoCAD are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and service offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. |
Autodesk News – A reminder to readers that Autodesk is much more than an MCAD/MCAE Company
Autodesk Positioned to Transform Construction Industry Through Vela Systems Acquisition
BIM Now Possible on Mobile Devices at Construction Sites with Autodesk Cloud-Based Solutions
One June 8, 2012 Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) announced the acquisition of Vela Systems, a provider of cloud and mobile field management software for the construction industry. The addition of Vela Systems field management products to Autodesk’s growing portfolio of cloud and mobile products is helping to extend the value of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and project data to construction customers in the field. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
“BIM has tremendous value in the planning and design aspects of construction projects, but if you can’t get that rich data into the field, at the point of construction, you are leaving out the critical ‘last 100 yards’ in the process. Integrating Vela Systems and its cloud and mobile products with the Autodesk BIM portfolio transforms the business of construction, delivering valuable information to job sites anywhere in the world,” said Amar Hanspal, Senior Vice President, Information Modeling and Platform Products Group.
Based in Burlington, Massachusetts, Vela Systems extends the power of BIM with cloud and mobile technologies that enable project and company-wide programs for streamlined management of quality, safety, commissioning and field construction. The powerful reporting tools provide immediate visibility into issues in the field, allowing for proactive management and resolution, rather than time consuming and expensive overruns caused by a reactive approach. Vela Systems software and services are integrated with current Autodesk integrated project management software including Autodesk Navisworks, the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry’s standard comprehensive set of integration, analysis, and communication tools for project review.
“Vela Systems has been a longstanding partner of Autodesk, and has been leading the charge in the field. The confluence of cloud computing, iOS mobile devices like the iPad and BIM has enabled a new way to deliver and manage construction projects of all types. With the acquisition, we will accelerate this revolution in field management through a broader solution and greatly enhanced distribution,” said Josh Kanner, co-founder, of Vela Systems.
Combined with the Autodesk BIM portfolio, the Vela Systems software has already helped contractors, owners, architects and engineers accelerate project schedules, reduce project risk, and improve the flow of information, including key data and project photos, between project stakeholders. Autodesk users can now reduce reliance on manual processes to track progress, document work activities and resolve issues. With the Vela Systems integration, users can also visualize the as-designed building in the field to improve quality and fidelity to design intent; streamline reviews; save money with more efficient workflows by linking physical tasks to a virtual model; and capture critical data on materials, systems, and equipment.
Business Outlook
This transaction is expected to have no impact on guidance issued on May 17, 2012.
About Autodesk BIM Solutions
BIM is an intelligent model–based process that provides insight for creating and managing building and infrastructure projects faster, more economically and with less environmental impact. Autodesk BIM solutions for building and infrastructure lifecycles are based on intelligent models created with Autodesk Revit building design software products and AutoCAD Civil 3D civil engineering software. Helping to expand the benefits of BIM is a powerful set of complementary solutions for visualizing and simulating projects virtually, documentation and professional drafting, and data management and collaboration. Autodesk Building Design Suite 2013, Autodesk Infrastructure Design Suite 2013 and Autodesk Plant Design Suite 2013 offer comprehensive sets of tools to support BIM workflows in single, cost-effective packages.
On April 26, 2012 Dassault Systèmes (DSY.PA) reported its IFRS unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012, which corresponds to Nominal Q1 2012 for purposes of the EDA/MCAD Almanac for Q1 2012. These results were reviewed by the Dassault Systems’ Board of Directors on April 25, 2012.
Summary Highlights
- Q1 2012 EPS growth to €0.58 (IFRS)
- Nominal Q1 2012 performance led by Asia, where total revenue was up 15% in constant currencies
- DS is expanding 3DExperience to nature with a new brand: GEOVIA
- DS signed an acquisition agreement with Gemcom Software International, said to be a leader in mining industry software
- DS is updating its 2012 financial objectives for Q1 performance and currency exchange rates
- DS Board has proposed a 30% increase in annual cash dividend
2012 First Quarter Financial Summary (IFRS)
(millions of Euros)
amt.
Q1 Total Revenue 462.4
Q1 Software Revenue 419.9
Q1 EPS 0.58
“Our established PLM business continues to strongly progress as evidenced by new licenses revenue growth in our key brands such as ENOVIA. As announced last quarter, we are ready to pioneer the world of Information Technology to the next level: 3DExperience, as our clients are in the business of creating the best consumer experience,” commented Bernard Charlès, Dassault Systèmes President and Chief Executive Officer.
“Furthering our purpose to provide 3D experiences capable of harmonizing products, nature and life, we are announcing today plans to expand our 3DExperience platform to the world of nature with the creation of a new brand, GEOVIA, to model and simulate our planet. A first important step is the planned acquisition of Gemcom, a global leader in mining industry software solutions. Together, our goal is to help natural resources companies increase their innovation in critical areas including predictability, efficiency, safety and sustainability.”
IFRS total revenue increased, reflecting double-digit growth in both software and services and other revenue. IFRS software revenue was up. Services and other revenue increased largely reflecting the growing proportion of V6 services activities.
The Company saw broad-based growth across new industries, including a good level of activity in consumer goods and consumer packaged goods sectors.
Software revenue in high growth countries increased, with notable strength in China, and a good performance in Korea and India.
By region, total revenue growth was highest in Asia, driven by high growth countries and a better dynamic in Japan. Americas’ performance improved and Europe, after two years of sustained investment, delivered a reasonable growth rate.
New licenses revenue increased 18%, led regionally by Asia and well supported by double-digit growth in the Americas and Europe. ENOVIA delivered a very high year-over-year increase in new licenses revenue.
Recurring software revenue rose 6%, reflecting growth in maintenance from higher new licensing activity, strong maintenance renewals and rental licensing led by SIMULIA.
IFRS PLM software revenue was up, led by ENOVIA.
SolidWorks software revenue increased on double-digit growth in both new licenses revenue and recurring software revenue. New commercial seats licensed in the quarter totaled 13,408.
IFRS earnings per diluted share increased to €0.58.
Summary Business, Technology and Corporate Highlights
PSA Peugeot Citroën improves powertrain digital manufacturing efficiency with Dassault Systèmes solutions. On February 16th, Dassault Systèmes announced that PSA Peugeot Citroën has deployed DELMIA in its powertrain division, extending Dassault Systèmes’ footprint in the digital manufacturing domain. Replacing solutions from the competition, DELMIA now supports assembly simulation, painting, factory layout, stamping and powertrain. PSA Peugeot Citroën works with the same tools and methodologies in all major departments of the group.
As announced in a separate press release today, Dassault Systèmes has created a new brand, GEOVIA, which aims to model and simulate the planet. As a first step in this initiative, Dassault Systèmes and Gemcom Software International, a leading software company in the mining industry, signed a definitive agreement pursuant to which Dassault Systèmes will acquire Gemcom Software International for cash consideration of approximately USD360 million. The completion of the acquisition is subject to normal closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed in July 2012. See News Item below this entry.
Business Outlook
Thibault de Tersant, Senior Executive Vice President and CFO, commented, “Our very healthy new licenses revenue results benefited from our industry and geographic diversification strategies. During the first quarter, we saw broad growth across new industries and a strong dynamic in high growth countries.”
“Looking ahead, we anticipate a continued good trend in the second quarter. With respect to the second half of 2012, while we remain optimistic on our business, we believe it is appropriate to maintain our cautious stance given the volatility of the economic environment. Therefore, we are updating our 2012 fiscal year financial objectives for the full amount of the first quarter over-performance, and are updating our currency assumptions. We are leaving unchanged our underlying revenue growth assumptions in constant currencies for the remainder of the year in total.”
Dassault Systèmes self description
Dassault Systèmes, the 3D Experience Company, provides business and people with virtual universes to imagine sustainable innovations. Its world-leading solutions transform the way products are designed, produced, and supported. Dassault Systèmes’ collaborative solutions foster social innovation, expanding possibilities for the virtual world to improve the real world. The group brings value to over 150,000 customers of all sizes, in all industries, in more than 80 countries. For more information, visit www.3ds.com.
CATIA, SolidWorks, ENOVIA, SIMULIA, DELMIA, 3D VIA, 3DSwYm, EXALEAD, and Netvibes are registered trademarks of Dassault Systèmes or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries.
Dassault Systemes News
Dassault Systèmes To Acquire Gemcom Software International
Expanding 3DExperience to Nature
On April 26, 2012 Dassault Systèmes announced its intent to acquire geological modeling and simulation company Gemcom Software International (Gemcom) for approximately US$360 million. Privately-held Gemcom is the world leader in mining industry software solutions, headquartered in Vancouver.
“With the acquisition of Gemcom, coupled with our 3D Experience platform capabilities, our objective is to model and simulate our planet, improving predictability, efficiency, safety and sustainability within the Natural Resources industry and beyond,” said Bernard Charlès, President and CEO, Dassault Systèmes. “To support this ambitious goal, we have created a new brand, GEOVIA. Raw material provisioning and long term resource availability is a major concern for society. Today’s announcement is a significant step towards fulfilling our purpose of providing 3D experiences for imagining sustainable innovations to harmonize products, nature and life.”
Today’s mining industry, the primary user of Gemcom’s software, is growing quickly. There are more than 5,500 operating mines worldwide and approximately 15,000 mining projects. The associated mining software market is experiencing strong growth, with third-party analysts estimating a double digit trend for the foreseeable future.
”This acquisition will clearly benefit Gemcom’s customer base, bringing global support and enterprise collaboration. Advanced technologies in 3D modeling and simulation will not only enable engineers and geologists to model and visualize resources but also improve sustainable mine productivity,” said Rick Moignard, President and CEO, Gemcom. “We believe that with Dassault Systèmes’ support we will be able to address global issues for our customers as a real partner. None of our competitors can match that in this industry.” Rick Moignard will become the CEO of the newly created GEOVIA brand, after completion of the Gemcom acquisition.
After the closing of the transaction, Gemcom’s 360 employees and management will remain in place and continue serving the mining industry. By leading the new GEOVIA organization, Gemcom’s management will champion the further development of Dassault Systèmes’ strategy of modeling the natural world. In addition, Gemcom’s current offices will further extend the overall geographic reach of Dassault Systèmes in Australia, Africa, Canada, South America, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Indonesia, and Russia.
Dassault Systèmes and Gemcom have entered into a definitive acquisition agreement whereby Dassault Systèmes will acquire Gemcom in an all cash transaction. The completion of the acquisition is subject to normal closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to be completed in July 2012, and Gemcom to be accretive to Dassault Systèmes non-IFRS earnings,
About Gemcom Software International
When mining companies seek to increase mine productivity, they turn to Gemcom for technology and services. The Company is home to world-renowned mining solutions like GEMS, Surpac, Minex, Whittle, and InSite, and to industry thought leaders who are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in mining. Established in 1985, Gemcom is privately held and owned by JMI Equity Fund VI, L.P., the Carlyle Group, Pala Investments Holdings Limited and has a global reach delivering comprehensive solutions in all major mining centres in more than 130 countries. Every major mining company, including BHP Billiton, Codelco, De Beers, Newmont and Vale is a Gemcom client. Through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions, the Company has become the largest global supplier of mining software solutions. For more information, visit www.gemcomsoftware.com.
On April 25, 2012 PTC (NASDAQ: PMTC) reported financial results for its fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2012, which corresponds to the Nominal Q1 for EDA/MCAD Almanac reporting purposes.
PTC had actual GAAP revenues of $301.12 million in nominal Q1 2012, up 11.89% compared to $269.13 million in nominal Q1 2011. However, PTC’s net income in Q1 2012 was only $3.57 million, down 81.23% compared to $19.02 million in Q1 2011. Accordingly, Q1 2012 EPS was only $0.03 vs $0.36 in Q1 2011. Guidance three months ago for nominal Q1 2012 was for GAAP revenue of $304 to $319 million and GAAP EPS of $0.06 to $0.11, including a $20 million restructuring charge.
- Nominal Q1 2012 GAAP revenue of $301 million and GAAP EPS of $0.03
- Q1 license revenue of $75 million
- Q1 revenue contribution from MKS (acquired on May 31, 2011) and 4CS Solutions (acquired on September 2, 2011) was $22 million on a GAAP basis
- GAAP operating margin of 2.3%
- No material impact from currency effects relative to Q1 guidance assumptions
- Nominal Q2 2012 Guidance: Revenue of $300 to $315 million
- GAAP EPS of $0.15 to $0.20
- Assumes $1.30 USD / EURO. Revenue guidance assumes approximately $22 million contribution from MKS and 4CS
- FY'12 Targets:
- GAAP revenue of $1,262 to $1,282 million and GAAP EPS of $0.76 to $0.84
- Assumes $1.30 USD / EURO. Revenue guidance assumes approximately $90 million contribution from MKS and 4CS
Nominal Q1 2012 Results Commentary
Heppelmann added, "While we are disappointed with our (Nominal Q1 2012) results, our market momentum and competitive positioning remain strong and we expect our pipeline to benefit over time from our focus on increasing sales capacity. Our organizational realignment around five market segments is progressing on plan and, importantly, we remain committed to driving long-term operating margin improvement."
Jeff Glidden, chief financial officer, commented, "We delivered $0.03 GAAP EPS in part due to better than anticipated services margins and continued discipline on operating expenses. We ended Q1 2012 with $224 million of cash, up from $187 million at the end of Q4 2011, reflecting strong operating cash flow, $40 million used to repay our revolving credit facility and $15 million for stock repurchases."
Outlook Commentary
Glidden continued, “The 2012 targets assume a GAAP tax rate of 20% and 121 million diluted shares outstanding.”
Glidden added, “For Q2 2012, the GAAP EPS target is $0.15 to $0.20.”
PTC self description
PTC enables manufacturers to achieve maximum value from their product strategies with software and services designed to optimize key business processes throughout the entire product lifecycle - from conception and design to sourcing and service. PTC's integral solution portfolio enables customers to unleash product innovation, improve collaboration and ensure product data integrity within engineering and across the enterprise, supply chain and service partner networks. Founded in 1985, PTC employs over 6,000 professionals serving more than 27,000 customers worldwide. More information can be found at www.ptc.com.
PTC and all other PTC product names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Parametric Technology Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries.
News from PTC
PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann Declares New Era of Manufacturing Competitiveness Driven By Product and Service Advantage
On June 4, 2012, at its annual worldwide gathering of customers, PlanetPTC Live in Orlando, Florida, PTC® (Nasdaq: PMTC) declared a new era of manufacturing competitiveness driven by technology solutions that help companies achieve product and service advantage. In his keynote address, PTC president and CEO Jim Heppelmann argued that the world is poised to enter what The Economist magazine recently labeled a "third industrial revolution." In this new era, a concerted focus on strategy will lead a renaissance in global manufacturing which will, in turn, put companies using PTC technology solutions in increasingly important roles helping create new value for their companies, and helping them achieve a competitive edge in the 21st Century.
"Over the past few decades, global manufacturers have made massive investments in technology and process change aimed at improving operational efficiency," said Heppelmann. "Today, however, we are reaching the limits of the competitive edge these investments can deliver. Manufacturers need to be operationally efficient to stay in the game, but they can no longer achieve meaningful advantage from that alone. The time has come for a new source of competitive advantage - product and service advantage - from technology and process change that improves strategy decision-making across the enterprise, from engineering to the supply chain to sales and service networks."
Fundamentally, PTC technology solutions transform the way companies create and service products by enabling them to make better, smarter, faster strategy and planning decisions. These decisions relate to how products are designed and engineered, how a supply chain is optimized, how quality and compliance is assured throughout the manufacturing process and, ultimately, how service is efficiently delivered against a product once sold. Individually, these planning decisions help deliver a strategy that supports a brand. Collectively, they are the new source of competitive advantage.
Over its 25 year history, PTC has developed a deep expertise in helping companies optimize the processes associated with each stage of the product lifecycle. In recent years, through a combination of organic development and acquisition, PTC has built a broad portfolio of technology solutions that it combines with its process expertise to assist customers in achieving greatness. In 2012, PTC has gone one step further and reorganized the company itself to align directly with the organizational structure of the modern manufacturing enterprise. Specifically, PTC has established five internal leadership teams focused on driving its technology solution strategies in the areas of product lifecycle management (PLM), computer-aided design (CAD), application lifecycle management (ALM), supply chain management (SCM), and service lifecycle management (SLM).
"A new era is upon us," concluded Heppelmann. "To win in the new century requires a new way of thinking. For manufacturers, it's about making fundamentally smarter strategy decisions. Today, advantage goes to those who differentiate their product and service offering, and PTC is proud to align itself with leading global brands that are poised to win in the new competitive era by achieving product and service advantage."
On April 25, 2012 Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ; CDNS), now calling itself “The Leader in Global Electronic Design Automation,” reported its financial results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2012, a time period which corresponds to the Nominal Q1 2012 designation of this EDA newsletter.
Cadence reported nominal Q1 2012 revenue of $315.830 million, up 18.7% compared to revenue of $266.102 million reported for the same period in 2011. On a GAAP basis, Cadence recognized net income of $31.104 million, (or $0.11 per share on a diluted basis) in the first quarter of 2012, up by a factor of 4.92 compared to net income of $6.323 million, (or $0.02 per share on a diluted basis) in the same period in 2011.
Guidance provided three months ago stated that, for the first quarter of 2012, the company expected total revenue in the range of $305 million to $315 million. First quarter GAAP net income per diluted share was expected to be in the range of $0.08 to $0.10.
“Cadence is off to a good start for 2012, with strong operating performance leading to an increase in our outlook,” said Lip-Bu Tan, president and chief executive officer.
“We continue to roll out new technology, including the newest release of our Encounter digital design platform targeted at the 20-nanometer node, as well as new design IP products for memory, networking and high-performance computing.”
“Our operating performance in Q1 gives us confidence that we will achieve our long term profitability and growth objectives,” added Geoff Ribar, senior vice president and chief financial officer.
“I am also pleased by the reduction in DSOs, accounts receivable and deferred revenue, driven by our ongoing efforts to match cash collections with the timing of revenue recognition.”
Business Outlook
For nominal Q2 2012, the company expects total revenue in the range of $315 million to $325 million. Second quarter GAAP net income per diluted share is expected to be in the range of $0.13 to $0.14.
For the entire year 2012, the company expects total revenue in the range of $1,270 million to $1,300 million. On a GAAP basis, net income per diluted share for 2012 is expected to be in the range of $0.45 to $0.49.
Cadence self description
Cadence enables global electronic design innovation and plays an essential role in the creation of today's integrated circuits and electronics. Customers use Cadence software, hardware, IP, and services to design and verify advanced semiconductors, consumer electronics, networking and telecommunications equipment, and computer systems. The company is headquartered in San Jose, California, with sales offices, design centers, and research facilities around the world to serve the global electronics industry. More information about the company and its products and services is available at
www.cadence.com.
News about Cadence from Gabe Moretti May 02, 2012
Cadence Expands OrCAD Capture Marketplace
Cadence Design Systems, Inc. has expanded the availability of its Cadence OrCAD Capture Marketplace to the entire OrCAD and Allegro PCB design community through a standard desktop browser, as well as the addition of several new apps and a trial period for paid apps. Launched in September 2011, OrCAD Capture Marketplace extends and enhances a PCB engineer's design environment by providing the industry's first online store for apps, as well as access to symbols, footprints, simulation models, and PCB-design related multimedia, including application notes, movies, and whitepapers.
The expansion of OrCAD Capture Marketplace allows users to view and download content through any web-enabled device. This gives the entire engineering team easy access to OrCAD Capture Marketplace content and information. Currently, nearly a third of the apps on the website are SKILL®-based apps for version 16.5 of OrCAD/Allegro PCB Editor that provide new or enhanced functionality to the tool.
Offering a 'try-before-you-buy' approach, the new trial period for paid apps allows users to evaluate the full version of an app within their PCB design environment before committing to a purchase. Trial periods for app evaluations range from seven to fifteen days.
"In the six months that the marketplace has been active, the overwhelming response from OrCAD users has validated our vision that there is a pervasive, industry-wide need for on-demand content to enhance and extend the PCB design environment," said Josh Moore, director of product marketing for OrCAD, System and Software Realization Group, Cadence. "Until now, access to OrCAD Capture Marketplace has only been available to OrCAD Capture users on the latest release, yet there have already been over 2,000 downloads. The expansion of our OrCAD Capture Marketplace to desktop browsers will extend access to all OrCAD and Allegro users."
On May 25, 2012 Mentor Graphics Corporation (NASDAQ: MENT) announced financial results for the company’s fiscal first quarter ended April 30, 2012, a period which corresponds to Nominal Q1 2012 for EDA Commentary purposes.
The company reported nominal Q1 2012 revenues of $247.918 million, net income of $28.182 million and GAAP earnings per share of $0.25. These results compare to year-over-year revenues of $230.035 million in Q1 2011, a net loss of $2.353 million, and an EPS of -$0.02.
Q1 2012 Guidance supplied 3 months ago was for revenues of $255 million and GAAP EPS of $0.19.
In reporting its Q1 2012 results, the company raised guidance for fiscal year GAAP earnings per share by $.07 to $1.20.
“Strength in our business continued in the first quarter, with record first quarter revenue and earnings,” said Dr. Walden C. Rhines, chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphics.
“The release of our next-generation emulation platform during the quarter has attracted broad customer interest, and we have a very full sales funnel. We are also seeing increasing demand for our Calibre family of products at advanced process nodes, as the explosion of capacity at 28nm is driving significant design activity. With 20nm processes being certified now, and beginning production later in the year, we expect that the ongoingmove to the 28nm and 20nm generations of technology will drive an exceptionally large increase in design activity. This will benefit Mentor and the whole electronic design automation industry through 2013.”
During the nominal first quarter, the company announced the availability of the Veloce®2 platform, the next generation of emulation solutions for the verification of electronic system and system-on-chip (SoC) designs.
This included the announcement of a new environment called Veloce VirtuaLAB, giving verification engineers access to a full environment for verifying complex electronics systems prior to first silicon availability without requiring the building of hardware test systems.
The company also announced the latest release of the PADS® desktop solution for PCB design, with new features addressing design-for-manufacturing analysis, high-speed and interactive routing.
Additionally the quarter saw the latest release of the Questa® functional verification platform for complex SoC, ASIC and FPGA designs.
“Continued focus on cost controls, a favorable product mix, and better than forecasted profitability in the business have allowed us to raise earnings guidance for the year. We also reaffirm revenue guidance at $1.1 billion for the year as we expect increased Veloce2 emulation shipments beginning in the second quarter as production capacity increases,” said Gregory K. Hinckley, president of Mentor Graphics.
“We are pleased that we have achieved an operating margin in the first quarter that is already near our fiscal year target. With a record backlog at the start of the year and strong demand for our products at advanced process nodes, we remain confident in our outlook for the rest of the fiscal year.”
Outlook
For the full fiscal year 2013, the company reaffirms that it expects revenues of about $1.1 billion, and raises its outlook for GAAP earnings per share by $.07 to $1.20.
For the nominal second quarter, the company expects revenues of about $240 million, and GAAP earnings per share of $0.10.
Mentor Graphics self description
Mentor Graphics Corporation is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world’s
most successful electronic, semiconductor and systems companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues in the last fiscal year of about $1,015 million. Corporate
headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com/.
(Mentor Graphics, Veloce, Questa and PADS are registered trademarks of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company and/or product names are the trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.)
Breaking News from Mentor Graphics
24th Annual MGC PCB Technology Leadership Awards
On June 18, 2012 Mentor Graphics Corporation announced the call-for-entries of its 24th annual Technology Leadership Awards (TLA) competition, continuing its tradition of recognizing excellence in printed circuit board (PCB) design.
The modern PCB portion of Mentor Graphics was covered extensively in the EDA WEEKLY July 25, 2011, in an article entitled, “Back to the Future”:
Started at the PCB Division in 1988, the TLA program is the longest running competition of its kind in the electronic design automation (EDA) industry. It recognizes engineers and CAD designers who use Mentor’s innovative technology to address today’s complex PCB systems design challenges and produce industry-leading products.
Expert Judges
Prominent experts in the PCB industry will judge the 24th Annual contest, including: Happy Holden, director of electronics technologies, Gentex Corporation; Gary Ferrari, technical support director, FTG Circuits; Pete Waddell, president of UP Media, publisher of Printed Circuit Design & Fab/Circuits Assembly Magazine; Andy Kowalewski, senior interconnect designer, AdvantagePCB; and Rick Hartley, senior principal engineer, Avionics Division of L-3 Communications. Brief BIOS and snapshots of each of the judges are given at the end of this article
"I'm pleased to see Mentor's continued support for this program,” stated Andy Kowalewski, senior interconnect designer, AdvantagePCB. “PCB designers are constantly facing new challenges and finding innovative solutions to address them. The Technology Leadership Awards are a great way to showcase the leading-edge design approaches they're utilizing, and recognize the designers and their contribution to the PCB industry.”
The writer of this EDA & MCAD/MCAE Almanac has been invited to participate as an honorary TLA judge this year as well, to recognize his strong support of the fledgling TLA Contest when he was VP/GM of the PCB Division in the early years of both the division’s existence and the TLA Contest’s existence. “One of the keys to the success of the TLA program back then was to tap well-known industry experts to judge customer entries. That tradition continues 20 years later as Mentor Graphics has again achieved PCB market leadership,” says the writer.
Back in the early 90’s, the PCB Division GM often traveled to nearby or distant customer sites with the respective MGC sales teams, for formal presentations of these Awards, such as the presentation by GM Henke (center) to Siemens Plessey Radar on the Isle of Wight, UK, shown below:
This year, entrants will be able to submit their design accomplishments in any of seven categories representing a wide variety of industries:
- Consumer electronics and handheld
- Industrial control, instrumentation, security and medical
- Military and aerospace
- Computers, blade and servers, memory systems
- Telecom, network controllers, line cards
- Transportation and automotive
- University
“Our annual PCB Technology Leadership Awards contest provides a worldwide opportunity for talented designers to showcase innovative designs. Each year we see ever increasing challenges and the use of new technologies implemented,” said Dan Boncella, director of marketing, Systems Design Division, Mentor Graphics. “The submissions for this contest are really quite impressive. We are expecting this year’s competition to be bigger than ever, with entries from many major electronics companies as well as from smaller teams.”
Several of the winning boards FROM LAST YEAR’S AWARD WINNERS are imaged at various locations in these paragraphs, without attribution.
Winners of the 2012 awards will be named for each category as well as a Best Overall Design recipient. The timeframe for submitting entries is from June 11th through July 31, 2012.
Want to enter?
Entrants can apply online at
www.mentor.com/go/tla. This web page also has a video from the judges with helpful hints on how to win.
About the Technology Leadership Awards Contest
Mentor’s Technology Leadership Award contest is open to any designs created with Mentor’s PCB solutions, including the Board Station®, Expedition™ Enterprise and PADS® design flows. Judging will be based on overcoming complexity challenges, such as small form factor, high-speed content, design team collaboration, advanced PCB fabrication technologies and design-cycle time reduction. Judging will start July 31, 2012 and winners will be announced September 23, 2012 on a worldwide web broadcast.
Meet the Judges of the 24th TLA Contest
Happy Holden is the Director of Electronics Technologies at GENTEX Corporation, the world’s preeminent supplier of auto-dimming and rear-camera electronic mirrors. A frequent speaker and lecturer on advanced PCBs and HDI the last 42 years, he retired as CTO for Hon Hai’s Mobile Interconnect Products Business Group of China and Taiwan. Prior to joining Hon Hai, he was the Senior PCB Technologist for Mentor Graphics’ System Design Division in Longmont, CO; then Advanced Technology Manager at NanYa/Westwood Associates and Merix Corporations. He took early retirement from Hewlett-Packard after over 28 years. Mr. Holden formerly managed Hewlett-Packard's application organizations in Taiwan and Hong Kong. His prior assignments with HP had been as director of PCB R&D and PCB Engineering Manager. Happy has received the IPC President’s Award in 1995 for contributions to printed circuits world-wide. Mr. Holden has written over 130 technical papers and PCB chapters in 3 books plus contributing and being an Assistant Editor for the Coomb’s 4th, 5th and 6th Editions of the PC HANBOOK. In 2009 he wrote the popular (free) HDI HANDBOOK from pcb007 (http://hdihandbook.com). He holds degrees in Chemical Engineering and Computer Science. He is a member of the IPC, SMTA, IMAPS and the IEEE.
Rick Hartley is a Senior Principal Engineer at L-3 Communication, Avionics Systems, as well Principal Engineer of Hartley Enterprises, through which he consults and teaches internationally. His 47 year career has focused on circuits and PC boards for computers, aircraft avionics and telecommunications. The past 37 years were dedicated to PC board and circuit development with emphasis on control of noise. Rick is a past member of the Editorial Review Board of Printed Circuit Design Magazine and has written numerous technical papers on methods to control EMI and signal integrity. He is currently on the IPC Designers Council Executive Board.
A board designer for over 31 years, Andy Kowalewski has a technical background in avionics (HF, VHF and UHF) air-ground-air & radio link communications, radar & navigational aids. Starting as a technician with tubes, then on to board design, he evolved from hand drafting to CAD in 1985. He has owned/operated a service bureau, designing under contract both in Australia and worldwide. He is currently working with an advanced service bureau in Sydney, Australia. Andy was one of the first designers certified as a CID (Certified Interconnect Designer) through the IPC Designers Council in 1995, now also certified as an Advanced Interconnect Designer (CID+). A past President of the North Texas Chapter of the Designers Council & Past Chairman of the Designers Council Executive Board, Andy remains a member of the Designers Council. A Master Instructor qualified to teach and certify other instructors, Andy is active in teaching Basic and Advanced Certification workshops. He is a past member of the Editorial Review Board of Printed Circuit Design magazine, and has written advanced design articles for that magazine. He has spoken at conferences and taught seminars and workshops throughout the USA, in Australia, China, Malaysia and the UK.
Pete Waddell is president of UP Media Group, publisher of Printed Circuit Design and Fab magazine and Circuits Assembly magazine. UPMG also produces the PCB Design Conference and the Printed Circuit University online education site. During his publishing career Pete has been editor and publisher of several magazines in the electronic and PCB markets including Printed Circuit Design magazine and PC Fab magazine, and conference chair for the PCB Design Conferences. Before coming to the publishing world Pete spent 20 years as a PCB and electromechanical designer working on commercial and military applications. He started his career as a draftsman in the structural steel and civil engineering fields.
Gary Ferrari is currently the Director of Technical Support for ITG Circuits. Gary has over 40 years experience in electronic packaging with an emphasis on printed board (PWB) design and manufacturing. He has held senior operations, quality and engineering positions in both OEM- and supplier-based environments, and has served as the executive director and co-founder of the IPC Designers Council. He has chaired a number of IPC technical committees on design, including the popular IPC-2221/2222 Design subcommittee. He served as chairman of the IPC Technical Activities Executive Committee, guiding IPC technical activities during his term. He has written numerous technical articles, and has provided design for manufacture (DFM) consulting services to the industry. Gary spearheaded IPC's highly successful PWB Designers Certification Program, which has trained and recognized over 3000 designers to date. Gary was honored with the IPC “President’s Award” in 1990, recognizing his contributions to the electronic interconnection industry, as well as to the association.
On April 19, 2012 SpringSoft, Inc. (TAIEX: 2473) announced consolidated revenue of US$ 20.427 MILLION, net income of US $5.116 million, and earnings per share of $0.03 for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012.
“Q1 2012 was an important milestone for us with the release of the third generation of our market leading chip‐level debug product, Verdi3," said Johnson Teng, COO of SpringSoft.
"This major new upgrade contains significant performance and productivity innovations and is being deployed by our customers worldwide. We also saw continued penetration of our Verdi Interoperability Apps (VIA) with the announcements that ST Electronics has adopted VIA to create custom debug application, and Synopsys integrated their new Protocol Analyzer product with Verdi using VIA."
SpringSoft self-description
SpringSoft, Inc. is a global supplier of Electronic Design Automation (EDA) software to the semiconductor and electronic systems industries. The company is the largest in Asia specializing in IC design software. SpringSoft has dual headquarters in Hsinchu, Taiwan, and in San Jose, California and is publically traded on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TAIEX 2473).
SpringSoft's unique automation technologies save engineers time at key pain points in the design and verification of complex digital, analog and mixed-signal ICs, ASICs, microprocessors, and SoCs. Our products comprise two distinct lines: The Novas line of verification enhancement solutions, and the Laker line of custom IC design solutions. These solutions share the common characteristic that they automate tedious, time consuming tasks to allow engineers to focus on activities that add value.
SpringSoft products have been in commercial use for over a decade. Today, thousands of engineers save time using our solutions at semiconductor and systems companies around the world including all of the global top 20 IC Fabless and Integrated Device Manufacturers. We nurture extraordinary relationships with our customers.
SpringSoft, Inc. (TAIEX: 2473) is a global supplier of innovative automation technologies for the design and verification of complex digital, analog and mixed-signal SoCs. Its award-winning product portfolio is used by more than 400 of today's leading semiconductor companies, foundries, and electronic systems OEMs. Headquartered in Hsinchu, Taiwan, SpringSoft is the largest company in Asia specializing in IC design software and a recognized industry leader in customer service with multiple R&D sites and local support offices around the world. For more information, visit www.springsoft.com.
Verdi3, Certitude, ProtoLink, Laker3 and Laker are trademarks of SpringSoft, Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
NEWS from SpringSoft
SPRINGSOFT SHOWCASED ITS LATEST GENERATION CHIP DESIGN AND VERIFICATION TECHNOLOGIES AT 49TH DAC
On May 29, 2012 SpringSoft, Inc., asserting its identity as a global supplier of specialized IC design software, confirmed that it planned to host a series of activities at 49th Design Automation Conference (DAC) in San Francisco, CA, June 4 through June 6, 2012, that would feature and did feature the next-generation of its award-winning Verdi3 Automated Debug Platform and Laker3 Custom IC Design product family. SpringSoft also sponsored numerous annual DAC programs and industry consortium events in collaboration with other EDA and semiconductor leaders and standards groups.
At this year’s DAC, SpringSoft’s focus on delivering ‘Innovative Solutions, Interoperable Platforms and Intelligent Choices’ was highlighted through interactive demonstrations of the latest chip design and verification solutions in its Exhibit Booth #1030. In addition, SpringSoft’s DAC booth was the venue for the inaugural VIA Exchange Pavilion showcasing third-party tool and flow integrations with Verdi ecosystem partners that address key pain points in the chip development process and emerging technologies, including the creation, analysis, and debug of verification intellectual property (VIP), BIST, assertions, and DFT as examples.
At SpringSoft’sDAC Booth
SpringSoft demonstrated products that make it easier for engineers to do more functional verification in less time in the face of increasing complexity of multiple methodologies, languages, and abstractions:
- NEW Verdi3 Automated Debug Platform delivers performance and capacity gains and enables users to personalize, customize and enhance the interoperability of its open debug cockpit.
- Certitude™ Functional Qualification System, said to advance the state of the art in functional qualification of complex simulation and formal verification environments and critical sign-off flows.
- ProtoLink Probe Visualizer provides debug platform for FPGA prototype boards that is said to increase real-time design visibility by at least 1000X and integrates Verdi platform to accelerate debug across multiple FPGAs and multiple pre-fab or custom-made boards.
Demonstrations were conducted of SpringSoft’s Laker™ Custom IC Design solutions for analog, mixed-signal and custom digital design, claiming superior productivity and unmatched interoperability:
- NEW
Laker3 Custom Design Platform optimized for OpenAccess performance and interoperability in
28 and 20-nanometer flows with the Laker Advanced Design Platform (ADP), Laker Custom Layout Automation System, Laker Custom Digital Place and Laker Custom Digital Route tools. - NEW Laker Analog Prototoyping tool automates the process of analyzing advance process effects and generating constraints to guide circuit layout. First tool of its kind to offer automated constraint generation, layout exploration and rapid implementation in a unified flow.
- Laker Blitz Chip-level Editor provides fast import, editing and export of large GDSII data files required at process nodes for chip finishing applications, such as IP merging, SoC assembly and full-chip DRC.
SpringSoft also conducted other activities at DAC
- DAC User Track Session, Poster Session 2U.25: “LDE (Layout Dependent Effects) Aware Design Solution in Advanced Technologies” presentations by SpringSoft and TSMC on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
- IPL Alliance 6th Annual Luncheon: “Reaping the Benefits of iPDKs” on Tuesday, June 5, 2012
- Accellera Systems Initiative Luncheon: “Accellera Systems Initiative Rolls Out the Unified Coverage Interoperability Standard” on Wednesday, June 6, 2012
TSMC DAC Theatre (#2430): “LDE-aware Analog Layout” presentation by Dave Reed, SpringSoft 4th Annual “ I Love DAC” 2012, sponsored by SpringSoft, Atrenta, and Cadence.
On May 23, 2012 Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ: SNPS), calling itself a world leader in software and IP used in the design, verification and manufacture of electronic components and systems, reported results for its second quarter of fiscal year 2012, the quarter corresponding to nominal Q1 2012 for EDA Commentary purposes.
For nominal Q1 2012, Synopsys reported revenue of $432.561 million, compared to $393.670 million in year ago nominal Q1 2011, an increase of “only” 9.88%. [But that 9.88% adds nearly $39 million in revenue!].
"We delivered strong results in the second quarter, and are raising annual guidance to reflect both the robustness of our base business and the rapid integration of Magma," said Aart de Geus, chairman and CEO of Synopsys.
"Electronic design automation is the key technology that enables the development of electronics around the world. Synopsys is leading the way – with state-of-the-art products and support, and the vision and resources required to help take our customers to the next level of success."
GAAP Results
On a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis, net income for nominal Q1 2012 was $21.0 million, or $0.14 per share compared to $81.1 million, or $0.53 per share, for Q1 2011. [Writer’s Comment: However, net income for last year’s nominal Q1 2011 included a one-time $32.8 million, or $0.21 per share, tax benefit associated with a settlement with the IRS for audits for fiscal years 2006 through 2009. The comparison of these two quarters is futher warped by the fact that net income for Q1 2012 included $30.2 million of costs associated with the acquisition of Magma Design Automation. Still these benefits and costs are real; the message here is that one cannot make a value judgment based on numbers for any single quarter].
Financial Targets
Synopsys also provided its financial targets for the nominal Q2 2012 and the full year 2012. These targets do not include any future acquisition-related expenses that may be incurred in 2012. These targets constitute forward-looking information and are based on current expectations.
Q2 2012 Targets:
- Revenue: $440 million - $448 million
- GAAP expenses: $371 million - $387 million
- Other income and expense: ($2) million - $0 million
- Fully diluted outstanding shares: 149 million - 153 million
- GAAP earnings per share: $0.29 - $0.34
- Revenue from backlog: greater than 90%
Full Year 2012 Targets:
- Revenue: $1.740 billion - $1.760 billion
- Other income and expense: $0 - $3 million
- Fully diluted outstanding shares: 148 million - 152 million
- GAAP earnings per share: $1.04 - $1.16
- Cash flow from operations: $320 million - $340 million
Synopsys self description
Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq:SNPS) is a world leader in electronic design automation (EDA), supplying the global electronics market with the software, intellectual property (IP) and services used in semiconductor design, verification and manufacturing. Synopsys' comprehensive, integrated portfolio of implementation, verification, IP, manufacturing and field-programmable gate array (FPGA) solutions helps address the key challenges designers and manufacturers face today, such as power and yield management, system-to-silicon verification and time-to-results. These technology-leading solutions help give Synopsys customers a competitive edge in bringing the best products to market quickly while reducing costs and schedule risk. Synopsys is headquartered in Mountain View, California, and has approximately 70 offices located throughout North America, Europe, Japan, Asia and India. Visit Synopsys online at http://www.synopsys.com/.
News from Synopsys
Synopsys Announces Aart de Geus and Chi-Foon Chan to Become Co-CEOs
On May 23, 2012 Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) announced that Chairman of the Board and CEO Aart de Geus and President and COO Chi-Foon Chan will become co-CEOs, effective immediately. Appointing Dr. Chan as co-CEO formally recognizes the contributions he has made in co-leading Synopsys for more than 10 years. Drs. de Geus and Chan will continue to share responsibility for managing the company, and the organizational structure and responsibilities will remain the same.
"Chi-Foon and I have worked successfully as a close-knit team for over a decade to help elevate Synopsys into its present leadership position," said de Geus. "Synopsys has excellent technical, market and financial strengths, as well as a management team capable of scaling the company for continued growth, portfolio broadening and globalization. Explicitly sharing the CEO position is both galvanizing and timely as we now focus on setting the company's direction for the next decade of growth and customer focus."
"I am excited about addressing the opportunities that we see ahead for our company," said Chan. "Synopsys has many talented employees who are dedicated to helping our customers achieve their goals. Building on the entrepreneurial spirit of our management, the execution strength of our worldwide teams, and the healthy technical and economic position of the company, Aart and I look forward to leading the company into its next phase of customer impact and growth."
Chan joined Synopsys in 1990 as vice president of applications and services from NEC Corporation USA, where he was general manager of the microprocessor group. Over the years, he pioneered many aspects of the company including the initiation of Synopsys' IP business. He was appointed president and chief operating officer in 1998, at which time he also joined the Synopsys Board of Directors.
EDA & MCAD/MCAE VENDORS SUMMARY FINANCIALS Q1 2012
Table 1 below sets out a summary of the Nominal Q1 2012 revenues for the four selected EDA vendors and the four selected MCAD/MCAE vendors covered in this June 25 issue of the Almanac.
Several observations may be made from Table 1:
- Both sets of vendors in total experienced the usual fall off of revenues in Q1 2012 following the traditional robust Q4 2011 of the preceding year. The EDA group of 4 revenue total in Q1 2012 was off -5.30% compared to Q4 2011, whereas the MCAD/MCAE group of 4 revenue total in Q1 2012 was off -6.29% compared to Q4 2011.
- Three of the four EDA vendors covered for Q1 2012 actually scored revenues in Q1 2012 slightly larger than they did in the just prior Q4 2011, but Mentor Graphics missed by more than $50 million, or -22+%, bringing the EDA G4 total Q1 2012 revenue in below its total Q4 2011 level. Still, Q1 2012 for the EDA G4 in total was easily larger than any other EDA G4 quarterly total in 2011, except Q4 2011.
- Nevertheless, the MCAD/MCAE group enjoyed over 65% more revenue in Q1 2012 than the EDA group, similar in % amounts to all the other like comparisons of quarters shown in Table 1, although the gap tended to narrow slightly between the beginning and end of 2011.
- Q1 2012 was universally less than Q4 2011 for all members of the G4 MCAD/MCAE vendors.
- For the year 2011, the order of revenue totals for the Big 3 EDA companies remained the same as in most recent years: Synopsys was number 1, followed by Cadence number 2 and then MGC number 3. However, all 3 of the Big 3 EDA vendors eclipsed the billion dollar mark in revenue for the first time in 2011.
- In MCAD/MCAE, Dassault Systemes won the most-full-year 2011 revenue title, followed closely by Autodesk, PTC, and ANSYS in that order.
- Among the eight vendors, Cadence had the best YOY % revenue growth Q1 2012 vs. Q1 2011 at nearly 19%, and ANSYS delivered a close second at just over 17%.
Turning to Earnings in Table 2, we observe the leadership in total $ profit and profitability of fhe G4 MCAD/MCAE vendors listed over their EDA brethren, the result of both larger total revenues and a larger % Return on Sales (ROS).
ABOUT THE WRITER:
Since 1996, Dr. Russ Henke has been active full time as president of HENKE ASSOCIATES, a San Francisco Bay Area high-tech business & management consulting firm. The number of client companies served by HENKE ASSOCIATES during those years now numbers more than fifty. Engagement lengths have varied from a few weeks up to ten years and beyond.
During his previous corporate career, Henke operated sequentially on "both sides" of MCAE/MCAD and EDA, as a user and as a vendor. He's a veteran corporate executive from Cincinnati Milacron (Research Scientist), SDRC (President & COO), Schlumberger Applicon (Executive VP), Gould Electronics (President & General Manager), ATP (Chairman and CEO), and Mentor Graphics (VP & General Manager).
Henke is a Fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) and served on the SME International Board of Directors. Henke was also a board member of SDRC, PDA, ATP, and the MacNeal Schwendler Corporation, and he currently serves on the board of Stottler Henke Associates, Inc.
Henke is also a member of the IEEE and a Life Fellow of ASME International.
In April 2006, Dr. Henke received the 2006 Lifetime Achievement Award from the CAD Society, presented by CAD Society president Jeff Rowe at COFES2006 in Scottsdale, AZ. In February 2007, Henke became affiliated with Cyon Research's select group of experts on business and technology issues as a Senior Analyst. This Cyon Research connection aids and supplements Henke's ongoing, independent consulting practice (HENKE ASSOCIATES).
Dr. Henke was also a contributing editor of the EDACafé.com EDA WEEKLY from November 01, 2009 until March 31, 2012, posting thirty-two EDA WEEKLY articles during that period; URL's available. Effective April 01, 2012 he contributes to EDA COMMENTARY and MCAD COMMENTARY, and also writes a periodic blog for EDACafe.com and/or MCADCafe.com.
Since May 2003 HENKE ASSOCIATES has also published more than 100 independent commentary articles on MCAD, PLM, EDA and Electronics IP on IBSystems' MCADCafé and EDACafé. Such Commentaries are now part of the EDA and/or MCAD COMMENTARY entries.
Further information on HENKE ASSOCIATES, and URL's for past Commentaries, WEEKLIES, etc., are available at