IQE regains some value after trading update

The price of shares in AIM-listed semiconductor producer IQE (LON:IQE) has climbed by 35.75% to 27.15p (as of 14:50 GMT) after saying that production during the first quarter had been strong. Management said that while the current situation was still developing, the company’s role as a manufacturer of critical infrastructure in the US it is less likely to be affected by lockdown scenarios.

CEO Dr Drew Nelson commented: “We remain confident in IQE’s ability to adapt to changes in global technology markets as a result of our geographic and product diversity. We have also made significant strategic and operational progress in 2019, including the completion of the infrastructure phase of our global expansion projects.

The spread of coronavirus has introduced significant near-term uncertainty into global economies and markets. However, to date we have not experienced any significant disruption to our current production or order intake relating to coronavirus, but we have implemented appropriate business continuity measures and we are well placed to withstand the near-term market uncertainty. We continue to monitor this fast-moving situation very closely”.