Silicon Laboratories Tops 1Q Forecasts; Shares Up

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Chip maker Silicon Laboratories Inc. reported a sharp decline in first-quarter earnings Wednesday, but topped Wall Street expectations and said demand improved during the first three months of the year.

The company's net income came to $671,000, or a penny per share, compared with $10.8 million, or 21 cents per share, in the year-earlier quarter.

Excluding stock compensation and other one-time costs, the company said it earned 22 cents per share, well above the 11 cents projected by analysts, according to Thomson Reuters. Analysts typically exclude special items from their estimates.

Sales for the quarter dropped to $83.7 million, down 15 percent from $98.2 million. Again, analysts expected worse, projecting revenue of $77.8 million, on average.

"With the first quarter behind us, we are feeling good about our business, even in light of what we recognize is a very weak global economy," Chief Executive Necip Sayiner said in a statement. "We see Q1 as the cyclical bottom in terms of revenue and expect to benefit from strong product cycles and share gains going forward."

For the second quarter, the company predicted sales of $92 million to $97 million. Analysts were looking for $81.2 million.

The company's shares jumped $3.14, or 11 percent, to $32.16 in morning trading.