Altera Tops Estimates
SAN FRANCISCO --
Altera
(ALTR) - Get Report
shares popped in extended trading after the company outpaced Wall Street estimates for the first quarter, and raised its sales outlook.
The San Jose, Calif., maker of programmable chips reported strong sales of new products in the recently ended quarter, while reining in operating expenses.
Altera boosted its bottom line roughly 12% in the first quarter to net income of $83.9 million, or 27 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected Altera to earn 23 cents a share.
The company posted a 29.6% operating margin in the first quarter, up from 20.2% in the fourth quarter.
"We are very pleased to see the quarter's improved operating efficiency which represents a significant step towards our long term 30%-plus operating margin target," said CEO John Daane in a statement.
Shares of Altera surged 9.4%, or $1.80, to $21 in extended trading Wednesday.
Altera said sales for the three months ended March 28 totaled $336.1 million, ahead of its own guidance, thanks to strong sales of new products. At this time last year, Altera had sales of $304.9 million.
Altera posted double-digit year-on-year sales growth in its consumer, communications and computer chip businesses, while industrial chips posted a more modest 5% growth rate.
The company forecast that revenue in the current quarter will increase between 1% and 4% sequentially, which would translate into a revenue range of $339.5 million and $349.5 million. Analysts were looking for $336.6 million in sales with EPS of 25 cents.