Chip startup outshines bigger IPOs

A Japanese chip design firm’s shareprice has almost doubled since the stock debuted in Tokyo last year, outperforming similarly sized or bigger initial public offerings globally amid bets on its unique business model.

Shares of Socionext Inc. are up about 84% since its listing on Oct 12 following an IPO that raised ¥76.8 billion ($602 million), Japan’s largest last year. It’s also the best three-month jump for a newcomer in Tokyo that raised that amount or more through a listing in almost two decades, data shows.

The surge came even after the shares sold at the top of a marketed range following an upsized deal. The IPO defied tough sentiment toward new offerings globally amid rising interest rates and faster inflation concerns.

Expected “steady sales growth and profit expansion” due to the company’s “unique solution system-on-chip business model” should support earnings even as market conditions for semiconductors deteriorate, SMBC Nikko Securities Inc analyst Takeru Hanaya wrote in a note this month.

The Yokohama-based company develops customised systems-on-chips for clients across the consumer, automotive and industrial fields. Enterprise customers increasingly seek application-specific chips and Socionext competes with Taiwan’s Faraday Technology Corp, Alchip Technologies Ltd, and Global Unichip Corp to fill that demand.

“Chips are a bad place to be for the next several months as everyone is guiding down demand and revenues. SoC designers are probably in a sweet spot against the fabs, but they will not be immune,” said Travis Lundy, analyst at Quiddity Advisors.