Dialog Semiconductor says Apple supply deal in place until at least 2020
The boss of chip maker Dialog Semiconductor attempted to soothe investor fears today, saying Apple will keep using its products to at least 2020.
Chief executive Jalal Bagherli told German newspaper Euro am Sonntag that Apple has already commissioned chips for 2019 and 2020.
The tech giant is the UK-based manufacturer’s biggest customer. But Dialog’s shares have slipped over the past year, losing half its value, as investors became concerned that Apple would create its own chips.
Shares dropped by a third in morning trading one day in December, after German private bank Bankhaus Lampe said Apple could move business away from the firm.
The slide in the company’s value has opened it up as a potential target for a hostile takeover.
But Bagherli said it would be counter-productive to create a pre-emptive defence against such a move.
“A defence, including an anchor shareholder or poison pills to scare off bidders, are not in the interest of a stock-listed company,” he said.
It is estimated that half of Dialog’s revenue is derived from its supplier deals with Apple. In its most recent results, Dialog recorded yet another analyst-beating record quarter.
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