By Pacific Coast Business Times Staff Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Camarillo chipmaker Semtech Corp.’s $180 million, all-cash acquisition of an Orange County firm is paying off with profits and a new product mix analysts say sets the semiconductor company up for steady, high-margin growth in coming years.

In December, Semtech, which has a market capitalization of about $1.1 billion and makes chips for consumer products such as the BlackBerry and a host of commercial and industrial devices, bought Irvine-based Sierra Monolithics. Semtech saw potential in the firm’s chips for the next generation of 40-gigabit and 100-gigabit Internet equipment.

Analysts say the deal brings Semtech a better balance of consumer chips and commercial and industrial semiconductors, which tend to see fewer sales swings while bringing in better profits per-chip.

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