Apple is designing its own power-management chips for use in iPhones as early as 2018, triggering a more than 20 percent slide in shares of supplier Dialog Semiconductor.

If confirmed, the move would reduce Apple’s dependence on the Anglo-German chipmaker, which itself is heavily reliant on the smartphone industry and has been trying to diversify its customer base.

By 1526 GMT Dialog shares were still down a shade more than 19 percent at 30 euros.

Investors are particularly jittery after Apple said in April that it planned to replace graphics chip supplier Imagination Technologies, sending the London-listed stock down 70 percent in a single session. Imagination was subsequently sold off in two separate deals.

In the past dozen years U.S. tech giant Apple has dropped several smaller chip suppliers, ultimately forcing them to merge with bigger rivals.

Responding to the Nikkei report, which quoted unnamed sources, a Dialog spokesman said its business situation had not changed.

“The level of visibility into the design cycle of our leading customers remains unchanged and the business relationships are in line with the normal course of business,” the spokesman said.

Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Source: reuters