SAN JOSE – Printed circuit board and multichip module design software revenue rose 6.7% year-over-year to $157.2 million in the first quarter. The four-quarters moving average for PCB & MCM tools increased 8%, says the EDA Consortium, based on its survey of software developers.

Overall electronic design automation revenue increased 8.1% year-over-year to $1.67 billion. Sequentially, revenue decreased 6.2%, while the four-quarters moving average increased 7%. The total revenue for the most recent four quarters was $6.66 billion.

“The EDA industry continues to grow in the first quarter,” said Walden C. Rhines, board sponsor for the EDAC MSS and chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphics. “Services and IP were especially strong, and PCB was the strongest major product category. Geographically, the Asia Pacific region reported double digit growth, with the Americas and Europe/Middle East/Africa regions also positive.”

Companies tracked employed 29,360 professionals in the first quarter of 2013, up 5.41% year-over-year, but down 0.7% sequentially.

The largest category, Computer Aided Engineering, generated revenue of $599.1 million during the period, up 4.7% compared to the first quarter of 2012. The four-quarters moving average for CAE increased 9%. IC Physical Design and Verification revenue decreased to $340.1 million, a 3.1% decline year-over-year. The four-quarters moving average decreased 1%. Semiconductor Intellectual Property revenue totaled $470.3 million, up 20.2% compared to the first quarter last year. The four-quarters moving average increased 11.2%. Services revenue was $101.9 million, up 23.8% year-over-year. The four quarters moving average increased 3.5%.

The Americas, EDA’s largest region, purchased $710.6 million of EDA products and services in the first quarter, up 6.2% year-over-year. The four-quarters moving average for the Americas increased 6.3%. Revenue in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa was up 4.8% on revenues of $276.2 million. The EMEA four-quarters moving average increased 5.8%. First-quarter revenue from Japan decreased 0.6% to $259.8 million. The four quarters moving average for Japan increased 0.1%. Asia/Pacific increased to $422 million in the quarter, an increase of 20.5% year-over-year. The four-quarters moving average increased 14.1%.