There’s rejoicing in puce circles in Paris (puce – literally flea – is French slang for chip) following the news that the SGS Thomson Microelectronics SA managed to move into profit for the third quarter: the company reports that it recorded a pre-tax operating profit of $4.5m for the quarter, the second one in succession, and that it represents 1.8% of consolidated bill ings against a 13% loss last time.