By Michael Calia
Altera Corp.'s (ALTR) second-quarter earnings dropped 38% as the
chip maker's sales dropped in the Americas and the Asia-Pacific
regions.
Altera, which makes chips that can be programmed for specific
jobs, had seen its profit slide for more than a year. Its results
have been hurt by U.S. defense-budget cuts, as well as weak demand
from some wireless customers.
Altera reported a profit of $101.5 million, or 31 cents a share,
down from $162.7 million, or 50 cents a share, a year earlier.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting a profit of 31
cents a share.
Revenue declined 9.3% to $421.8 million, in line with Altera's
downbeat guidance of $410.5 million to $426.9 million.
Gross margin narrowed to 68% from 69.6%.
Sales in Asia-Pacific, which accounted for 39% of net sales in
the quarter, fell 22% year over year, while sales in the Americas
fell 12%. Sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region,
accounting for 28% of net sales in the quarter, improved by
11%.
Sales in the wireless segment, which accounted for 42% of net
sales in the quarter, dropped 16% year over year.
Shares, up 3.14% this year through the close, rose 1.78% to
$36.10 after hours.
Write to Michael Calia at michael.calia@dowjones.com
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