By Tess Stynes
OmniVision Technologies Inc.'s (OVTI) fiscal third-quarter
earnings surged as the chip maker's revenue more than doubled.
However, shares fell 9.2% to $14 in after-hours trading as the
company's fiscal fourth-quarter outlook was sharply below
expectations. Through the close, the stock is up 9.4% this
year.
For the current quarter, the company forecast per-share earnings
of 14 cents to 29 cents on revenue of $300 million to $330 million,
well below recent estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters
for 32 cents and $371 million, respectively.
OmniVision generates the biggest chunk of its business in the
smartphone sector, and its results have been closely linked to that
market. Its products include camera sensors for phones, including
Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone.
The company has seen high manufacturing costs put pressure on
its margins, an area OmniVision has been seeking to improve. In the
latest quarter, gross margin fell to 16.9% from 24.2%. However,
that represented a small improvement from 16.6% during the fiscal
second quarter.
For the quarter ended Jan. 31, OmniVision Technologies reported
a profit of $21.3 million, or 40 cents a share, up from $111,000,
or break-even on a per-share basis, a year earlier. Excluding items
such as stock-based compensation, adjusted earnings were up at 56
cents from 13 cents. Revenue more than doubled to $423.5
million
The company in November expected earnings of 33 cents to 46
cents on revenue of $390 million to $425 million.
Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires