Tuesday, linear integrated circuit maker Linear Technology Corp. (LLTC) reported a 12% drop in second quarter profit, primarily due to the absence of a non-recurring gain on the early retirement debt and lower tax rate present last year. Revenues for the quarter increased 3% from the prior year period. Looking further, the company has projected a 7% to 10% revenue growth sequentially.
The Milpitas, California-based company reported net income for the second quarter of $75.5 million or $0.33 per share, compared to $86.24 million or $0.38 per share in the year-ago quarter.
The second quarter of fiscal 2009 had a gain on the early retirement debt of $14.6 million and a lower tax rate of 20.7% compared to 24.5% in the most recent quarter.
Non-GAAP net income was $93.91 million or $0.41 per share, compared to $104.10 million or $0.46 per share in the same quarter last year.
On average, 20 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.31 per share for the quarter. Analyst estimates typically exclude special items.
Commenting on the results, Lothar Maier, Chief Executive Officer said, "The Company began to recover from the global recession in the first quarter, but we continued to be relatively cautious as we entered the second quarter given the economic climate and level of uncertainty among our customers. However, the recovery continued throughout the second quarter and we experienced stronger than expected bookings with particular strength in the industrial, communications and computer end-markets."
Revenues for the quarter increased 3% to $256.4 million from $249.2 million in the prior-year quarter. Twenty two analysts had a revenue consensus of $247.05 million for the second quarter.
Operating income for the second quarter increased to $115.60 million from $108.99 million in the corresponding quarter last year.
Expenses for the quarter edged down to $79.14 million from $79.93 million last year. Research and development expenses for the quarter were $46.68 million, compared to $45.79 million, while selling, general, and administrative expenses were $32.46 million, compared to $32.57 million in the year-ago quarter.
In the immediately preceding quarter, the company reported a sharp decline in earnings, hurt by a 24% decrease in revenues over last year amid the global recession. Net income for the first quarter was $60.69 million or $0.27 per share on revenues of $236.14 million.
For the six-month period, the company's net income decreased to $136.22 million or $0.60 per share from $188.55 million or $0.83 per share last year. Revenues for the first half of fiscal 2010 fell to $492.50 million from $559.55 million in the year-ago period.
Looking ahead for the third quarter, Linear expects revenue growth to be in the range of 7% to 10% over second quarter, as a result of strong second quarter bookings and a related positive book-to-bill ratio that was higher than the company has experienced in the past several quarters.
Analysts currently expect the company to generate revenues of $257.55 million for the third quarter.
The company also announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.23 per share from the previous level of $0.22 per share. The dividend will be paid on February 24, 2010 to stockholders of record on February 12, 2010.
Among Linear's rivals, National Semiconductor Corp.'s (NSM) second quarter profit rose 30% from last year, when results were weighed down by a hefty restructuring charge. The company reported net income for the second quarter of $47.0 million or $0.20 per share, on net sales of $344.6 million.
Another competitor, Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), expects fourth quarter earnings to be $0.47 to $0.51 per share, and revenue to be $2.90 billion to $3.02 billion. Street analysts are of the view that the company will earn $0.47 per share for the quarter on revenues of $2.93 billion.
LLTC closed Tuesday's regular trading at $30.23, down $0.41 or 1.34%, on a volume of 5.65 million shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock gained $0.42 or 1.39%, trading at $30.65. In the past 52 weeks, the stock trended in a broad range of $20.26 - $31.21, with a three-month average volume of 3.54 million shares.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.