Osram Emphasizes Semiconductor Technology for Photonics

Osram is consistently driving its focus on fast-growing high-tech markets. In addition to smart lighting technologies, future developments will focus on the market fields of visualization, sensing and treatment, in which the biological effects of light on humans and plants will be the main focus.
 
The company is shaping its portfolio in this direction, sharpening its profile as a high-tech supplier. LED-based products already account for around 70% of consolidated sales. On this basis, the company wants to develop into a champion of photonics.
 
“Osram is very well positioned strategically and financially for the technologies and trends of the future. We are becoming the leading photonics champion,” said Olaf Berlien, CEO of OSRAM Licht AG, at the Osram Opto Semiconductors Market and Technology Day in Munich. “Our semiconductor segment OS forms the technological backbone of our strategic development.”
 
The portfolio of the Osram Opto Semiconductors business unit enables applications in areas such as autonomous driving, horticulture and state-of-the-art building control. In the medium to long term, these future fields offer great growth opportunities over the industry cycle, even if the segment’s growth rates temporarily dip below the level of previous years due to currency developments and uncertainties in the automotive industry.
 
From 2020 onwards, Osram Opto Semiconductors expects revenue growth at constant currency levels to be approximately 10% with an adjusted EBITDA margin between 23% and 29%. For the next fiscal year 2018/19 plans revenue growth is expected to be between 5% and 10% with an adjusted EBITDA margin between 22% and 26%.
 
Growth is driven by novel photonics solutions, such as dazzle-free pixel high beam with ever higher resolution, and energy-efficient LED horticulture light, which enables plants to be cultivated indoor and can increase yield and vegetable quality. Technological drivers include the further miniaturization of LEDs and innovative 3D sensor solutions, for example for facial recognition in smartphones. Forward-looking digital offerings such as the IoT platform Lightelligence, which is currently being made available to customers and partners, complement and expand the company’s capabilities far into the future.