"While 2014 marked a peak year for semiconductor revenue growth, the health of the semiconductor supply base and end market demand, position the industry for another year of strong growth in 2015," said Dale Ford, IHS' chief analyst. "Overall, semiconductor revenue growth will exceed 5% in 2015 and many component categories and markets will see improved growth over 2014."
Of the top 25 semiconductor suppliers, 21 companies grew in 2014. The four companies suffering declines included three Japanese organisations.
According to IHS, five of the seven major component segments saw improved growth compared to 2013 and all major component markets saw positive growth.
Every application market was found to have delivered strong growth, with the exception of consumer electronics. Industrial electronics led all segments with 17.8% growth, followed by data processing (+13.7%) and automotive electronics (+10%). Demand for wireless communications was not as strong, but the sector still grew by 7.8%.
Intel retained its number one position, growing revenues by 6.3% to $49.96bn; equivalent to a market share of 14.1%. Samsung took the number two slot with sales of $38bn, with Qualcomm at number three ($19.29bn).
Acquisitions still play an important role, says IHS, pointing to MediaTek's purchase of MStar propelling it into the top 10. Similarly, Avago was boosted by its acquisition ofLSI, moving up nine places to number 14.
It believes NXP and Infineon will be competing for positions among the top 10 in 2015 with the boost from their mergers/acquisitions of Freescale Semiconductor and International Rectifier.
