Product category: Analogue and Mixed Signal ICs
News Release from: National Semiconductor
Edited by the Electronicstalk Editorial Team on 12 September 2005
Margins continue to rise for National
National Semiconductor has reported GAAP net income of $85.6 million, or 24 cents per share, on revenues of $493.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2006, which ended on 28th August 2005.
National Semiconductor has reported GAAP net income of $85.6 million, or 24 cents per share, on revenues of $493.8 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2006, which ended on 28th August 2005 On a sequential basis, National's Q1 revenues rose 5.7% from the fourth quarter, when the company reported $467 million in revenues and earnings of 36 cents per share
This article was originally published on Electronicstalk on 5 Jan 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Dual-port Gigabit Ethernet transceiver
National Semiconductor has announced the DP83862, a low-cost, highly integrated dual-port 10/100/1000 physical layer transceiver.
World's smallest multifunction supervisory ICs
National Semiconductor has announced a family of supervisory ICs with a variety of factory-programmable features that can be configured in hundreds of possible combinations.
Year over year, National's first quarter sales declined 10% from the first quarter of fiscal 2005, when the company reported sales of $548 million, net income of $117.7 million and earnings of 31 cents per share.
First quarter gross margin rose 1.5% to a record 56.2% on the strength of increased sales of National's higher-value analogue products.
This compares to the 54.7% gross margin reported in Q4 and 52.7% gross margin reported in Q3.
Further reading
Leadless leadframe package shrinks LDO
National Semiconductor has introduced a full-featured 500mA LDO regulator for medium-current applications in computing devices and portable products.
Boomer shrinks stereo headphone amplification
New from National Semiconductor, the LM4811 Boomer audio amplifier is a 105mW stereo headphone amplifier for use in 3 and 5V systems requiring a headphone output and volume control.
Frugal dual-channel A/D conversion
National Semiconductor has introduced a dual-channel 8bit A/D convertor with record low-power dissipation levels.
"Our business was stronger than expected in the first quarter", said Brian L Halla, National's Chairman and CEO.
"Sales were up, bookings were up and our backlog was up going into the second quarter".
"Overall, we're seeing strong demand for analogue products, particularly from our wireless and flat panel display customers".
National's Q1 net results included several noteworthy pre-tax financial events, including a $28 million charge (primarily for severance) related to the in-progress closure of National's assembly and test plant in Singapore; and a $24.3 million gain related to the sale of National's cordless business unit in Europe.
National's income tax expense in Q1 also included additional one-time provisions of approximately $5 million of expense relating to notable items in the quarter.
National's Q4 2005 net results included several notable financial items, including an $86.1 million write-off of goodwill; a $51.1 million gain from the sale of National's PC Super /IO business; and a $2.6 million charge for cost reduction actions; all of these on a pre-tax basis.
In addition, the company's income tax provision was a net tax benefit of $55.9 million, primarily related to deferred tax assets.
National's Q1 worldwide bookings increased 18% sequentially from Q4.
Excluding bookings that came from two recently divested businesses, bookings grew 13%.
The bookings rate in Q1 benefited from higher-than-anticipated turns orders.
Total company bookings exceeded billings in the first quarter.
Bookings for National's analogue standard linear products grew 14% sequentially.
New orders for portable power management and audio products grew much higher than the company average due primarily to strong demand from customers in the mobile phone and flat panel display markets.
Regionally, bookings increased in North America and Asia Pacific.
The majority of the bookings increase came from National's OEM customers.
Bookings from major distributors in Q1 were consistent with the prior quarter.
Distributor resales of National products to end customers increased in North America and Asia Pacific but were seasonally lower in Europe.
National continued its repositioning towards a richer analogue portfolio by divesting itself of businesses that do not align with the company's business model.
In May 2005, the company sold its PC Super I/O business to Winbond Electronics.
In June, the company sold its cordless business unit in Europe to HgCapital.
And in July, the company announced that it would close its assembly and test plant in Singapore in a phased shutdown.
The Singapore plant had specialised in high-pin-count packages.
"Our actions are consistent with National's ongoing programme to maximise resources and support for National's core analogue business", Halla said.
"They also demonstrate our commitment to increase the return on invested capital for our shareholders".
National expects that revenues in the second quarter will increase approximately 5% from first-quarter levels.
The company also predicts that gross margin in Q2 will be similar to or slightly higher than Q1's gross margin.
In addition to announcing first-quarter earnings, National has declared a cash dividend of 2 cents per outstanding share of common stock.
The dividend is payable in 11th October 2005 to stockholders of record at the close of business on 20th September 2005.
National's Board of Directors has also authorised a new programme to buy back an additional $400 million of National's stock.
During Q1, the company purchased $275 million worth of National's stock authorised under a prior buyback programme.
• National Semiconductor: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
Search the Pro-Talk network of sites
