IQE shares plunge as Huawei ban hammers tech suppliers

(Reuters) – Shares in Britain’s IQE plunged as much as 40% on Friday after the tech supplier warned its 2019 revenue would miss forecasts, blaming a bigger than expected hit on the industry’s supply chain from U.S. restrictions on China’s Huawei.

The United States restricted Huawei Technologies from buying U.S. goods in May, saying the firm’s equipment could be used by Beijing for spying. The move ratcheted up trade tensions between the world’s two largest economies.

IQE, which makes semiconductor wafers for chips used in Apple Inc products among others, is also suffering from a global slowdown in demand.

It said it had recently received a reduction in forecasts from several chip customers in its wireless and photonics units, hitting anticipated revenues for those businesses.

Chief Executive Drew Nelson said IQE was operating in “unprecedented times” for the semiconductor industry.

The company now expects revenue of 140-160 million pounds ($178-$203 million) this year, compared with analysts’ consensus estimate of 175 million pounds.

IQE said this reflected a larger impact than previously forecast for risks related specifically to Huawei.

“It is now clear…

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