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Technology Stocks : Earnings: Semiconductor -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SusieQ1065 who wrote (145)	1/26/2002 11:53:05 AM
From: SusieQ1065	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 266

RFMD ($18-$16-$18) P/E none...Earnings in line, Rev's light, guides down for MarQ. 15-Jan-02 16:06 ET RF Micro Device (RFMD) 18.21 -0.17: Reports Q3 net of $0.02 a share, in line with consensus. Rev was $100.6 mln (consensus $102.72 mln). Co guides down for the MarQ; sees EPS of $0.01 on rev of $90-$95 mln (consensus $0.04 and $106 mln). Tuesday January 15 7:03 PM ET RF Micro Third Quarter Earnings Fall Audio/Video Payne's Picks: Don't Get Your Hopes up for an Early Recovery - (Yahoo! Finance Vision) FinanceVision Exclusive: Check Point's CEO Comments on Q4 Results, and Gives Future Guidance - (Yahoo! Finance Vision) RFMD CFO: Visibility changing in the industry, we can respond - (ON24) By Ben Klayman CHICAGO (Reuters) - RF Micro Devices Inc. (Nasdaq:RFMD - news), which makes circuits for mobile telephones and other wireless systems, on Tuesday posted lower fiscal third-quarter profits because of the slowdown in customer spending, and forecast fourth-quarter earnings below Wall Street estimates. The Greensboro, North Carolina-based company said that based on its current backlog of orders it expects to earn 1 cent a share in the fourth quarter ending March 31 on revenues of $90 million to $95 million. Analysts were expecting earnings per share in the fourth quarter of 4 cents, with a range of 1 cent to 8 cents, according to First Call. They had estimated RF Micro's revenues in the quarter will be $100.54 million, up from $55 million in the same period last year. Analysts said RF Micro coming up short versus Wall Street expectations was not its fault, but reflected a softness in the market. ``They're doing everything that they possibly could be asked to do in terms of getting design wins and improving their (profit) margins,'' U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray analyst Samuel May said. RF Micro said it was fully booked for the low end of its estimated revenue range for the fourth quarter. ``Though we anticipate revenues will dip slightly in the current quarter, we expect this decline to be less than the seasonal decline that's been widely forecast for the handset industry over the last month or so,'' President and Chief Executive David Norbury said on a conference call with analysts. ``Beyond March, we believe our strategic investments and focus will position us extremely well to continue to grow in excess of the handset market,'' he added. RF Micro's third-quarter net income fell to $3.5 million, or 2 cents a diluted share, from $7.8 million, or 5 cents a diluted share, in the same period last year. Analysts had expected RF Micro to earn 2 cents a share, with a range of 1 cent to 3 cents, according to industry tracker Thomson Financial/First Call. Revenues for the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2001, rose 25.8 percent to $100.6 million from $79.9 million last year, and increased about 2 percent from $98.3 million in the previous quarter. RF Micro had said repeatedly it expected to earn 1 cent to 2 cents a share on revenues of $99 million to $103 million for the quarter. LOOKING FOR HINTS OF SLOWING DEMAND J.P. Morgan H&Q analyst Edward Snyder said investors were watching RF Micro's results to see whether they need to be worried about a slowdown in handset demand. RF Micro agreed with some Wall Street estimates that global handset market for the year will grow 10 percent to 20 percent, although there were some order delays and cancellations in December. January orders have been ``pretty solid,'' Chief Financial officer Dean Priddy said. ``We've got our fingers crossed that if there is an inventory overhang, it's pretty small,'' Norbury said. ``From our largest customers, we get the sense that they're relatively optimistic for the second half of the year,'' he added later in the call. The company's largest customers are the world's two largest handset makers, Nokia (news - web sites) (NOK1V.HE)(NYSE:NOK - news) of Finland and Motorola Inc. (NYSE:MOT - news). Both handset makers are scheduled to report fourth-quarter results next week. Before the results were announced, RF Micro's stock closed off 17 cents at $18.21 in Nasdaq trading. Since the beginning of last year, the stock has slightly underperformed its peers in the Nasdaq 100 Index (^NDX - news). Over the same period, RF Micro's stock has declined about 33 percent. RF Micro also said its gross profit margin in the third quarter fell to 38.7 percent from 47 percent in the same quarter last year largely due to costs associated with the start-up of a second wafer fabrication plant. However, the third quarter's margins topped analysts expectations and rose from 37 percent in the previous quarter. Priddy said fourth-quarter margins should be flat, but could decline as much as a couple points.