Analog Devices meets estimates

Analog Devices on Thursday posted first-quarter earnings that met analyst expectations and revenue that fell just short of estimates.

The maker of integrated circuits for computers and communications devices reported fiscal first-quarter net income of $190.2 million, or 50 cents per share, on revenue of $772 million. Analyst consensus predicted a profit of 50 cents per share on revenue of $773.8 million, according to earnings tracking firm First Call.

Revenue was also slightly below the company's own lowered expectation forecast last month, when Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) predicted first quarter sales of $775 million.

Shares of Analog Devices traded at $49.50 in after-hours activity on the Island ECN, immediately following the release of quarterly results. Analog Devices rose 55 cents to $51.51 in Thursday's regular trading ahead of the news.

Also Thursday, the company cut its financial targets for the second quarter and full year. Analog Devices now expects to earn 43 cents to 44 cents per share, on revenue of $710 million to $725 million, for the quarter ending in April. First Call consensus was predicting a second quarter profit of 49 cents per share.

About half of the decline in second-quarter sales will come from lower sales of automatic testing equipment, said Jerald G. Fishman, president and CEO.

Analog Devices sees a 2001 profit of $1.85 to $1.90 per share. First Call predicted full-year earnings of $2.02 per share.

Sales of analog products increased 1 percent sequentially in the first quarter, though the amount sold through distributors fell 9 percent. Analog sales to communications equipment manufacturers rose 10 percent from the fourth quarter.

"The analog business continues to be a great business for ADI," Fishman said. "We believe we are in an excellent position to further strengthen our competitive position during the current slowdown and resume growth in analog product revenues when conditions improve."

Analog Devices has more than 40 percent of the market for data converters and high-performance amplifiers, Fishman said.

Digital signal processor sales fell 18 percent sequentially, because of cancellations and inventory adjustments from customers in North America and southeast Asia, Fishman said.

"Our DSP business has gained significant market share over the past two years," he said. "With our strong product portfolio and the major design-ins we have won in some of the fastest-growing end markets, we believe that our DSP sales growth could resume during the second half of the year.">