ST made a few concessions to the virus in its earnings report yesterday but nothing particularly drastic.

After a good Q1 with sales up 7.5% y-o-y, followed by the generally expected Q2 glitch, ST is expecting full year revenues of  $8.8 to 9.5 billion. Last year’s revenues were $9.56 billion.

The second half is the key. “We plan for growth in the second half over the first half of the year to be in the range of $340 million to $1.040 billion,” said ST CEO Jean-Marc Chery. 

The company kept all its all manufacturing bases operational throughout Q1 albeit at reduced workforce levels.

A major market for ST – pautomotive – is expected to  be down 25-15% this year representing between 67 and 77 million light vehicles.

Q2  is expected to be the most difficult  quarter for auto with a recovery in Q3 & Q4.

A tight rein on expenses during this period will be marked by the management team reducing their salaries for two quarters as their contribution.

Further moves to conserve cash will be a 30% reduction in the dividend and a reduction in capex from the planned $1.5 billion to between $1 billion and $1.2 billion .