Microchip Tech Tops Expectations

The company beat estimates and posted a stronger-than-expected guidance.
By Alexei Oreskovic ,

SAN FRANCISCO --

Microchip Technology

(MCHP) - Get Report

beat Wall Street estimates in its fiscal fourth quarter, and served up a stronger-than-expected financial forecast.

Shares of Microchip jumped 3.7%, or $1.32, to $36.72 in extended trading Monday.

Microchip's net income of $76.6 million, or 40 cents a share, was down sharply from the $127.7 million, or 57 cents a share, earned at this time last year.

But the results were three cents higher than the average analyst expectation, according to Thomson Financial.

Sales in the three months ended March 31 totaled $260.4 million, up 0.9% year-over-year, and a hair above the $257 million expected by analysts.

"I am very pleased to see our business return to a pattern of revenue growth," said CEO Steve Sanghi in a statement.

The Chandler, Ariz., company, which makes chips for automobiles and other devices, said revenue growth in the fiscal fourth quarter was led by sales of flash memory microcontrollers, as well as 16-bit microcontrollers and analog chips.

The company's financial report follows mixed results from some of its peers. Last week,

Freescale Semiconductor

and

Texas Instruments

(TXN) - Get Report

posted weak numbers.

But other chipmakers, including

Intel

(INTC) - Get Report

and

Broadcom

(BRCM)

have impressed the Street with better-than-expected financial forecasts for the months ahead.

Microchip said its book-to-bill ratio was 1.06 in the quarter, meaning that the company's orders were exceeding its current sales -- a sign of healthy future demand. Still, the company said it continues to watch economic conditions very carefully while monitoring the potential impact on its business.

Microchip said sales in the current quarter will be up 2% to 6% sequentially, which translates to a range of $265.6 million to $276 million, with EPS between 39 cents and 41 cents.

The Street was looking for $264.7 million in sales with EPS of 39 cents.

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