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

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (2324)	4/25/2005 9:34:41 PM
From: Proud_Infidel	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2389

Guidance Boosts Altera By Chris Kraeuter TheStreet.com Staff Reporter 4/25/2005 6:01 PM EDT Click here for more stories by Chris Kraeuter Updated from 4:48 p.m. EDT Altera (ALTR:Nasdaq - commentary - research) beat its earnings and sales targets for the first quarter and predicted higher-than-expected growth for the second quarter. Altera shares rose 2.3% to $19.70 during the late-trading session Monday after the growth targets were issued during a conference call. Shares had dropped as much as 4% in late trading prior to the call, as investors focused on the company's first-quarter gross margins of 68.3% vs. an expected range of 68.5% to 69.5%. Chief Financial Officer Nate Sarkisian soothed investors by saying margins for the year will be between 68% and 69% -- in the top half of the company's original margin goal. For the quarter ended April 1, Altera reported net income of $63.8 million, or 17 cents a share, on sales of $264.8 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $58.8 million, or 15 cents a share, on sales of $242.9 million. Altera cited strong demand for its new products and strong sales into its communications customers. Altera makes microchips that can be programmed for various purposes by a broad range of customers. Analysts had expected earnings of 15 cents a share and sales of $254 million, on average, according to Thomson First Call. In early March, Altera said it expected sales of $254.3 million, more than its original target range of $242.3 million to $247.1 million. Gross margin was 68.3% vs. 69.8% in the fourth quarter and 68.8% during the same quarter last year. Sarkisian characterized the margin miss as "more statistical noise than real signal." Altera said its new-product sales increased 16% sequentially, to make up 34% of total sales. In the fourth quarter, new-product sales declined 6% sequentially. Inventory held by Altera and its distributors declined to 3.3 months vs. 4.2 months at the end of the fourth quarter. For the second quarter, total inventory was predicted between 3.3 and 3.6 months.