SAN JOSE – Sales of printed circuit board and multichip module design software fell 6.2% year-over-year in the fourth quarter, the EDA Consortium announced.

Revenue slipped to $165.3 million, part of the first overall decline in quarterly EDA software sales in nearly six years.

The four-quarters moving average for PCB and MCM software decreased 5.5%.

Overall industry revenue declined 1.9% in the fourth quarter of 2015 to $20.6 billion year-over-year, EDAC said. The four-quarters moving average increased 5%.

“After 23 consecutive quarters of growth, EDA industry revenues declined slightly in the fourth quarter, compared to a particularly strong fourth quarter 2014," said Walden C. Rhines, board sponsor for the EDAC MSS and chairman and CEO of Mentor Graphics. “However, industry revenue increased 5% for calendar 2015 compared to 2014, and the semiconductor IP and services categories increased in the fourth quarter. Geographically, the Asia Pacific region continues to grow, while other regions saw modest declines this quarter.”

Tracked companies employed a record 34,169 professionals during the period, an increase of 7.7% compared to the same quarter in 2014, and up 2.2% sequentially.

Computer-aided engineering generated revenue of $645.3 million during the quarter, down 7.8% year-over-year. The four-quarters moving average for CAE increased 1.1%. IC physical design and verification revenue was $444.6 million, down 8.1% from the previous year. The four-quarters moving average increased 3.9%. Semiconductor intellectual property revenue totaled $702.2 million, up 9.2% compared to 2014. The four-quarters moving average increased 13.4%. Services revenue was $107.1 million, an increase of 5.4% year-over-year. The four-quarters moving average increased 3.1%.

The Americas, EDA’s largest region, purchased $906.5 million of EDA products and services, a decrease of 3.1% year-over-year. The four-quarters moving average for the Americas increased 6.1%.

Revenue in Europe, the Middle East and Africa decreased 1.7% compared to 2014 on revenues of $323.2 million. The EMEA four-quarters moving average decreased 1.3%. Fourth-quarter revenue from Japan decreased 8.4% to $189.3 million year-over-year. The four-quarters moving average for Japan decreased 1.1%. The Asia/Pacific region revenue increased 2% to $645.5 million. The four-quarters moving average increased 9.2%.

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