Power Integrations Results Miss Estimates; Stock Up 5%

(RTTNews) - Power Integrations Inc (POWI), a maker of analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits, on Wednesday reported first-quarter net earnings of $6.3 million or $0.21 per share compared with $12.4 million or $0.40 per share last year.

Excluding stock-based compensation expense and other one-time items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.43 per share compared with $0.56 per share a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter were $82.6 million compared with $83 million in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.45 per share on revenues of $84.6 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Gross margin fell to 51.2 percent from 55.3 percent a year ago, and operating margin slid to 8.4 percent from 15.3 percent, the company said.

"First-quarter revenues were within the expected range, albeit toward the lower end, largely reflecting continued softness in the desktop PC market," said CEO Balu Balakrishnan.

For the second quarter, the company expects revenues to grow sequentially by 5 to 10 percent. Analysts expect revenues of $92.3 million.

"While the overall demand environment appears somewhat mixed, we expect growth in key focus areas in the months ahead, including rapid-charging and high-power applications," Balakrishnan said.