National Semiconductor Profit Plunges
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (
) - Though
National Semiconductor
(NSM)
reported a 63% profit tumble in its 2010 first quarter, the chipmaker echoed positive demand sentiments from others and guided higher than expected for the next quarter.
After the market close on Thursday, National Semi said its second quarter would show sales between $325 million and $340 million, an uptick of 3% to 8% sequentially and higher than the $315.9 million currently forecast by many.
On Wednesday,
Texas Instruments
(TXN) - Get Report
also boosted its guidance for the third quarter, saying analog chips should drive the better showing. Dutch-based
ASML
(ASML) - Get Report
followed that up with its own upward adjustment to its sales outlook on Thursday.
"Demand was better than we expected, especially for our power management products going into broad industrial applications," National Semi CEO Brian Halla said of the quarter in a statement. "As a result, we were able to get our gross margins back above 60 percent."
National Semi's just completed results still managed to beat top and bottom-line estimates. Sales totaled $314.4 million during the quarter as compared to $456.6 million in the year-earlier quarter.
Profit fell to 29.8 million, or 13 cents per share, from $79.6 million, or 33 cents, last year. Results during the first quarter also included a $6 million restructuring charge from shuttered plants in Texas and China.
According to a group of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, many were expecting the company to show earnings at 7 cents along with revenue of $300.5 million.
The company also said in a press release that bookings moved up by 17% sequentially due to higher order rates in North America, Europe and Japan.
National Semi added 25 cents to close at $15.97. But after the opening bell this morning, shares were bidding lower by 2.4%.
-- Written by Sung Moss in New York
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