NVDA ($92 ...)1st-qtr net income rises 41 percent
(Adds per-share, sales forecasts, details from conference
call)
SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 22 (Reuters) - Graphics
semiconductor maker Nvidia Corp. on Tuesday reported fiscal
first-quarter net income that rose 41 percent -- bucking the
trend among other chipmakers -- as sales surged 62 percent.
Santa Clara, California-based Nvidia <NVDA.O> said that for
the quarter ended April 29, net income rose to $25.9 million,
or 31 cents a share, from $18.3 million, or 24 cents, a year
earlier. Sales rose to $240.9 million from $148.5 million.
Unlike other semiconductor companies, which have seen sales
and profits crumble amid the worst slump in the chip industry
since 1985, Nvidia's sales and profits continue to grow as PC
makers and others buy its graphics chips while
three-dimensional images and gaming become increasingly
complex.
"The first quarter of fiscal 2002 represents the beginning
of our next growth phase," said President and Chief Executive
Jen-Hsun Huang in a statement. "We have successfully extended
our graphics franchise into the mobile and Apple (Computer
Inc.) markets, while strengthening our position in our core
desktop PC and workstation markets."
Excluding acquisition-related charges, amortization of
goodwill and purchased intangible assets, Nvidia had a
first-quarter profit of $33 million, or 40 cents a share,
compared with year-ago figures of $18.3 million, or 24 cents.
On that basis, the results were in line with the average
consensus estimate of 39 cents, according to Thomson
Financial/First Call.
Nvidia's Chief Financial Officer Christine Hoberg said on a
conference call that financial guidance for fiscal 2002 was
unchanged from its Feb. 14 earnings release. That guidance is:
sales of $260 million for the second quarter, $294 million for
the third and $330 million for the fourth period.
Earnings per share, excluding one-time items, are forecast
to be 41 cents for the second quarter, 45 cents for the third
and 49 cents for the fourth period, Hoberg said.
Shares of Nvidia -- whose chips will be in Microsoft
Corp.'s Xbox video game console -- rose $2.70, or 3 percent, to
$92.90, close to its year-high of $95.28, bucking the trend of
other chip stocks, which have plunged in the last six months.
((Duncan Martell, San Francisco bureau,
duncan.martell@reuters.com // (415) 677-2536))
REUTERS
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