INTER@CTIVE INVESTOR
Friday, January 08, 1999
Vitesse sneaks past estimates in 1Q
By Larry Barrett
January 7, 1999 7:05pm
ZDII
Another dose of good news for the chip industry came Thursday when Vitesse Semiconductor Corp. (Nasdaq: VTSS) topped Street estimates by a penny a share in its first quarter, earning $15.4 million, or 19 cents a share, on sales of $60.2 million.
First Call consensus pegged the Camarillo, Calif. company for a profit of 18 cents a share in the quarter.
The $60.2 million in sales represents a 73 percent improvement versus the year-ago quarter when it pocketed $10.4 million, or 13 cents a share, on sales of $34.7 million.
Its shares closed off 2 7/16 to 47 11/16 ahead of the earnings report.
"This was another very successfully quarter," said chief executive Lou Tomasetta in a prepared release. "Revenues increased by 73 percent over the first quarter of fiscal 1998 as a result of continued growth in our focus areas of communications and test equipment. Bookings continued to be strong in each of these areas."
In the past month, most chip analysts have upgraded the downtrodden semiconductor stocks. Citing reduced inventories and higher profit margins, analysts say the market might be on the road to recovery in 1999.
Last quarter, Vitesse made $16.5 million, or 21 cents a share, on sales of $54.1 million.
All 11 analysts covering the stock maintain either a "buy" or "strong buy" recommendation.
After falling to a low of 17 1/8 in October, Vitesse shares caught fire in late December. The stock hit its 52-week high of 50 ½ Wednesday.
First Call consensus expects it to return a profit of 83 cents a share in the fiscal year.
Source: ZDII
zdii.com |
