Tuesday, linear integrated circuits maker Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC ), reported a sharp drop in profit for the fourth quarter, as revenues decreased 32% from last year amid a global recession. Looking ahead, the company said forecasting operating results in the current environment was difficult given the continued uncertainty in the marketplace and customers continuing to be cautious with their ordering patterns.
The Milpitas, California-based company's net income for the fourth quarter plunged to $56.23 million or $0.25 per share from $103.15 million or $0.46 per share in the same quarter last year.
Results for the quarter included restructuring charges of $2.3 million for employee severance costs related to a reduction in workforce of about 130 employees, as well as a a gain of nearly $1.6 million or $0.01 per share net of deferred issuance costs, related to certain Convertible Senior Notes.
Excluding items, net income for the quarter decreased to $69.16 million or $0.31 per share from $114.40 million or $0.51 per share last year.
On average, 24 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.22 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time charges and gains.
In the preceding third quarter, Linear Technology's net income decreased to $54.47 million or $0.25 per share from $99.23 million or $0.44 per share in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, net income declined to $68.37 million or $0.31 per share from $109.98 million or $0.49 per share a year ago.
Revenues for the quarter under review decreased to $208.02 million from $307.08 million in the same quarter last year. Street analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $203.94 million for the second quarter.
For the sequentially preceding quarter, revenues were $200.93 million, down 32.5% from $297.87 million in the same quarter last year
Cost of sales for the quarter under review decreased to $53.45 million from $69.79 million in the year-ago quarter. Operating income for the quarter dropped sharply to $79.06 million from $144.76 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
Expenses for the quarter decreased to $75.50 million from $92.53 million last year. Research and development expenses for the quarter was $44.47 million, compared to $51.90 million, while selling, general, and administrative expenses was $28.69 million, compared to $40.63 million in the year-ago quarter.
Lothar Maier, CEO,Linear Technology said, "Revenues improved over the previous quarter as we grew sales 4%; however, we are still in a global recession. We continue to control our variable expenses where possible to reduce the impact on profits due to lower year-over-year revenues."
For the full year, net income decreased to $313.51 million or $1.41 per share from $387.61 million or $1.71 per share last year. Excluding items, net income for fiscal year 2009 declined to $362.19 million or $1.63 per share from $429.79 million or $1.91 per share in fiscal year 2008. Revenues for 2009 dropped to $968.50 million from $1.17 billion last year.
Analysts expected earnings of $1.37 per share on revenues of $964.32 million for 2009.
Amongst others in the sector, Norwood, Massachusetts-based chip maker Analog Devices Inc. (ADI), is expected to report third-quarter results on August 18. Street analysts are of the view that the company will earn $0.19 per share for the quarter on revenues of $477.10 billion.
Looking ahead to the first quarter, Linear expects revenues to be up 2% to 5% over the fourth quarter. The company indicated maintaining tight expense controls and expect to maintain operating margins in the upper thirties range as a percentage of net sales.
LLTC closed Tuesday's regular trading at $25.04, down $0.02 or 0.08%, on a volume of 7.82 million shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock gained $1.16 or 4.63%, trading at $26.20. In the past 52 weeks, the stock trended in a broad range of $17.69 - $34.40, with a three-month average volume of 5.28 million shares.
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