Analog Devices Profit Tops Estimate

(RTTNews) - Semiconductor company Analog Devices Inc (ADI), Tuesday reported a plunge in fourth-quarter profit, hurt by acquisition-related charges and other expenses, even as sales climbed 20 percent on strength in industrial and communications segments. Earnings for the quarter topped Wall Street estimates by a penny, and sales also surpassed expectations.

The company provided earnings and sales guidance for the current quarter, the midpoint of which is indicated to miss analysts' expectations.

"We are carefully managing factory utilization rates and expenses, and positioning ADI for better operating leverage, which is likely to come as early as our second quarter," said CEO Vincent Roche.

The company also declared a cash dividend of $0.37 per share. Analog Devices shares are up more than 2 percent in after-hours trade on the Nasdaq.

Analogy Devices, based in Norwood, Massachusetts, posted fourth-quarter net earnings of $108.7 million or $0.34 per share, compared with $201.6 million or $0.64 per share last year.

Results for the quarter include charges of $0.25 per share related to the June acquisition of Hittite Corp.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.69 per share, compared with $0.63 per share a year ago.

On average, 27 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.68 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Sales for the quarter climbed 20 percent to $814 million from $678 million in the prior year, and included contribution from Hittite. Twenty-four analysts had a consensus sales estimate of $804.58 million for the quarter.

In June, Analog Devices agreed to buy Hittite Microwave Corp (HITT) for an enterprise value of about $2 billion. Hittite makes integrated circuits, modules, subsystems and instrumentation for RF, microwave and millimeter wave application.

Among segments, sales at the company's industrial segment rose 19 percent from last year, communications jumped 56 percent, automotive inched up 2 percent, while consumer segment edged down 3 percent.

Gross margin for the quarter slid to 59.7 percent from 65.6 percent last year, and operating margin dropped to 18.4 percent from 29.5 percent.

For the first quarter, Analog Devices expects adjusted earnings of $0.58 to $0.64 per share on sales of $745 million to $775 million. Analysts currently expect earnings of $0.62 per share on sales of $766.4 million for the quarter.

ADI closed Tuesday at $51.71, down $0.09 or 0.17%, on a volume of 2 million shares on the Nasdaq. In after hours, the stock traded at $1.19 or 2.30%.