Here is most of that report. It was very positive. All news since has been positive.
New orders received in the fourth quarter exceeded shipments in each month of the quarter. Demand from communication and computer customers increased throughout the fourth quarter. For the first three weeks of February, new orders have continued to increase. The Company reported that based upon key customers' forecasts, it anticipates acceleration in demand during the coming year in each of its key markets - communications, test equipment and computer.
The Company's gross profit margin for the fourth quarter improved to a record 49.7% of net sales. The increase was driven by improvements in the product sales mix, including several new proprietary products launched during the quarter. The Company expects continued improvements in gross margin during fiscal 2000.
Semtech announced that its growth strategy during fiscal year 1999 resulted in the hiring of 52 experienced engineers, the introduction of 43 new product families and recording of more than 450 design wins.
Jack Poe, Chairman and CEO of the Semtech Corporation, commented "Our tremendous investment in design throughout fiscal 1999, which was a challenging year for the semiconductor industry, has started to pay significant dividends by accelerating our rate of new product introductions. The new products being introduced are increasingly complex, innovative and proprietary in nature. This flow of new products has allowed us to penetrate the top OEM customers in all of our key markets, increase revenues and expand gross margins. We are very optimistic about our business potential for fiscal 2000."
During the fourth quarter, cash and investments grew by $13 million. Inventories declined a total of approximately $2.5 million in the last two quarters combined. The Company stated that product inventories at customers remained low and lead times somewhat longer on certain products. |
