Altera, RFMD offer disappointing sales targets

SAN FRANCISCO—Programmable logic vendor Altera Corp. and radio frequency and compound semiconductor vendor RD Micro Devices Inc. (RFMD) each reported sales for the most recently concluded quarter that were in line with analysts' expectations but offered sales targets for the current quarter that disappointed Wall Street.

Altera (San Jose, Calif.) reported fourth quarter sales of $457.8 million, down 12 percent from the previous quarter and down 18 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010. The company reported a net income of $146.6 million for the quarter, or 45 cents per diluted share, down 21 percent from the previous quarter and down 37 percent compared with the year-ago quarter.

Sales for the quarter came in ahead of consensus analysts' expectations, which projected Altera's fourth quarter revenue at $447.5 million, according to Yahoo Finance.

For the full year, Altera reported revenue of $2.06 billion, up 6 percent from 2010. The company posted a net income of $770.7 million for the year, down 2 percent from 2010.

"While industry conditions led to sequential sales declines in the fourth quarter, Altera grew 6 percent in 2011—well ahead of most of the semiconductor industry," said John Daane, Altera's chairman, president and CEO, in a statement.

But Altera said it expects revenue for the first quarter of this year to decline 5 to 9 percent sequentially to between $416.6 million and $434.9 million, well below consensus analysts' expectations of $455.5 million, according to Yahoo Finance.

RFMD (Greensboro, N.C.) reported sales of $225.4 million for its fiscal third quarter, ended Dec. 31, down 7.5 percent compared with the previous quarter and down 19.2 percent compared with the year-ago quarter. The company reported a net loss of $9.4 million for the quarter, compared with net incomes in both the previous and year-ago quarters.

Sales for the quarter were in line with consensus analysts' expectations, according to Yahoo Finance.

For the current quarter, RFMD said it expects sales to decline to about $185 million. The company said it expects a greater-than-seasonal decline in sales to cellular handset manufacturers in China, primarily as a result of the impact of lunar new year on order visibility and the projected impact of channel inventory.

Consensus analysts' expectations for the current quarter called for RFMD's sales to be about $204.4 million, according to Yahoo Finance.

Altera, RFMD offer disappointing sales targets

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