Brit Apple semi supplier IQE's CEO departs amid reshuffle

In an unexpected personnel shake-up, IQE chief Americo Lemos has left the listed British semiconductor materials supplier effective immediately after less than three years at the helm.

This leaves AIM Stock Exchange listed and Cardiff based IQE – which has employees across manufacturing locations in the UK, US and Taiwan – to grapple with a tumultuous market. Its struggles have seen its shares take a 74 percent nosedive on the stock exchange over the past 12 months.

Brought in to lead the company back in January 2022, Americo Lemos has a resume including stints at both Qualcomm and Intel. Lemos was given the task of guiding IQE into a new era by diversifying the semi company into hot growth sectors such as micro-LEDs and GaN-on-SiC. IQE has faced fierce competition from all sides coupled with shaky demand.

In its latest half year 2024 earnings for the six months ended 30 June 2024, IQE reported [PDF] a loss after tax of £15.1 million ($19.6 million), albeit better than the £21.3 million ($27.6 million) loss recorded a year earlier.

Group revenue grew to £66 million ($86 million) from £52 million. The wireless segment reported revenue of £38.8 million ($50.3 million), an increase of 73 percent year-on-year, but photonics revenue was down 4 percent to £26.8 million ($34.7 million).

IQE also posted CMOS++ revenue of just £0.5 million ($650k), down 70 percent, as it continues to deprioritize the "CMOS division," which will no longer be reported separately from next year. Among other things, the supplier makes epitaxial wafers, used in various products including the facial recog sensors in iPhones.

Stepping into the CEO hot seat on an interim basis is IQE's finance chief CFO Jutta Meier - the IQE board is currently searching for Lemos's permanent successor. Meier herself is a relatively new addition to IQE as she joined in January after spells at Intel and GlobalFoundries. The move comes as IQE looks to stabilize itself in the market and keep investors reassured that the ship can be steered through choppy waters.

IQE also intends to see out its current plans to list its Taiwan business on the TWSE, an IPO that is scheduled for the first half of 2025 to raise funds and satisfy growing frustrations from current investors.

IQE has made some big plays in the realms of photonics and wireless, including GaN-on-SiC – which promises more power efficiency, reduced size and weight. Lemos's tenure saw attempts to shift IQE's legacy tech towards these newer growth areas, but the move has yet to pay off in a big way amid demand fluctuations. Rivals such as MACOM, for example, which is one of the world's leaders in GaN on silicon carbide technology in spaces such as RF and military grade tech, have already cornered large parts of the market. IQE said in its H1 2024 report it had "made progress" in its diversification efforts, pointing to "increased GaN capacity enabling qualification ramp-up."

IQE chair Phil Smith who has served as chair since 2019 is also stepping down, although he will remain with the company as a non-executive director. Mark Cubitt, who was named chair-elect earlier this month, will take over the role. With the personnel change, it is expected that IQE will focus on generating cash and the upcoming IPO of its Taiwan biz.

Outgoing IQE chairman Phil Smith said in a statement: "Whilst IQE continues to navigate the semiconductor market recovery, we are confident that the company's renowned technical expertise is well aligned to long-term growth market vectors.

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"In Mark and Jutta, we have two excellent individuals with the necessary sector and leadership skills to capture that growth in partnership with our customers, employees and broader stakeholders. Their immediate priorities will include a focus on executing on the near-term pipeline as well as cash generation across the Group and on unlocking embedded value by pursuing the IPO of our Taiwan business."

He said the pair would also "examine other efforts to optimize our asset base and ensure that resources are centred around IQE's strategic areas of expertise."

For IQE, this leadership gap is more than just a personnel issue, as whomever it puts into the new CEO hotseat will not be just filling a chair, but will need to stabilize a company that looks very much on the ropes. ®