Yep Zrbra --->SNDK ( $70~$59) is sent to the chopping block (also LEXR got clipped in symp)
- SanDisk's margin forecast sends shares tumbling
Wednesday January 21, 8:29 pm ET
By Duncan Martell
(Rewrites first paragraph, adds additional analyst comment in paragraph 5)
SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 21 (Reuters) - SanDisk Corp. (NasdaqNM:SNDK - News), braced for tougher pricing in the market for memory cards used in cameras and MP3 players, on Wednesday forecast narrowing gross margins in the year ahead and its stock fell 13 percent even as quarterly profits more than quadrupled.
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The company's stock tumbled in after-hours trade after it said that average prices will decline moderately in the first half, and that price declines in the second half will reflect new capacity increases in the flash memory market.
In addition, SanDisk forecast first-quarter gross margin on its flash cards, or product gross margin, of 33 percent to 35 percent, down from 36.4 percent in the fourth quarter.
"They spooked investors on the gross margin guidance," said Satya Chillara, an analyst at WR Hambrecht + Co, who had forecast first-quarter product gross margin of 36.5 percent.
"Otherwise, everything was fantastic," Chillara said.
Shares of SanDisk slipped to $60.25 on Instinet from a $69.59 close on the Nasdaq. The stock has surged 26 percent since mid-December to its close on Wednesday.
It said fourth-quarter net income surged to $87.8 million, or 94 cents a share, from $19.6 million, or 26 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 99 percent to $389.3 million from $179.8 million.
Sales and per-share net income trumped even the most optimistic of analysts' expectations. Analysts polled by Reuters Research had forecast a profit, on average, of 78 cents a share, in the fourth quarter, within a range of 68 cents to 88 cents. Revenue was pegged at $355.4 million, with the highest estimate at $377.9 million.
SanDisk also said that it expects competition from new flash memory chip suppliers starting late in 2004 or 2005.
"This will challenge us to relentlessly drive down our costs through technology transitions and economies of scale, create new and exciting storage products, and expand our global sales reach and brand awareness among customers," said Eli Harari, president and chief executive, in a statement.
"That's always a concern," Chillara said. "But in 2004 we expect very little competition, but that's not enough to offset anything."
SanDisk said that in the last two quarters alone it had shipped almost as many megabytes of flash memory as in the prior 15 years combined.
The Sunnyvale, California-based company also declared a 2-for-1 stock split payable on Feb. 18 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 3.
For the first quarter, SanDisk said it expects a "modest seasonal decline" in product revenue of 5 percent to 10 percent and license and royalty revenue comparable with the fourth quarter of 2003, which were $35.9 million.
That implies first-quarter revenue in line with Wall Street expectations of $280.0 million to $371.6 million.
SanDisk said it expects 2004 revenue of $1.5 billion to $1.75 billion, also within the range of analysts' expectations. |
