By Michael Calia
Altera Corp.'s (ALTR) third-quarter earnings dropped 24% as the
chip maker's sales sagged across most of its markets.
Shares of Altera were down 5.1% to $35.40 in after-hours trading
as the company's revenue estimate for the current quarter came in
below expectations.
The company said it expects fourth-quarter sales to be down 3%
to up 1% from the most recent quarter, or a range from about $432.6
million to $450.4 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters
recently expected revenue for the quarter to come in at $475
million.
Altera, which makes chips that can be programmed for specific
jobs, had seen its profit slide for more than a year. Results have
been hurt by U.S. defense-budget cuts and weak demand from some
wireless customers.
For the quarter, Altera reported a profit of $119.4 million, or
37 cents a share, down from $157.5 million, or 49 cents a share, a
year earlier. Revenue declined 9.9% to $445.9 million.
Gross margin narrowed to 68.3% from 72.7%.
Sales in Asia-Pacific, which accounted for 39% of net sales in
the quarter, fell 18% year over year, while sales in the Americas
fell 11%. Sales in the Europe, Middle East and Africa region,
accounting for 28% of net sales in the quarter, declined by 1%.
Japan, which accounted for 15% of net sales in the quarter, was the
only region to post sales growth, at 2%.
Write to Michael Calia at michael.calia@wsj.com
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