Linear Technology reports revenue and net income similar to the second quarter of the previous fiscal year, but down sequentially from the September quarter
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Linear Technology reports revenue and net income similar to the second quarter of the previous fiscal year, but down sequentially from the September quarter

MILPITAS, Calif., Jan. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Linear Technology Corporation (NASDAQ: LLTC), a leading, independent manufacturer of high performance linear integrated circuits, today announced that revenue for its quarterly period ended December 31, 2006, was $267.9 million, an increase of 1% over revenue of $265.1 million for the second quarter of the previous fiscal year. Net income computed in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for the second quarter of fiscal year 2007 was $105.0 million, or $0.34 diluted earnings per share, and was similar to GAAP net income of $103.3 million or $0.33 diluted earnings per share reported in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year. On a pro forma basis excluding the effects of all forms of stock-based compensation, net income was $117.8 million, or $0.39 diluted earnings per share, an increase of $5.0 million over pro forma net income of $112.8 million, or $0.36 per share reported in the second quarter of the previous fiscal year. Sequentially, compared with the September quarter, sales were down 8%. GAAP income before tax was down 10%. The effective tax rate improved from 31% to 28%, primarily due to the reinstatement of the R&D tax credit, and consequently net income decreased by 7%. During the most recent quarter the Company's cash and short- term investments balance decreased $30.3 million net of spending $91.7 million to purchase 3.0 million shares of its common stock.

The Company also declared a 20% increase in its dividend from $0.15 per share to $0.18 per share for the quarter. This cash dividend will be paid on February 14, 2007 to stockholders of record on January 26, 2007.

According to Lothar Maier, CEO, "We are seeing an overall reduction in our inventories at our end customers, which coupled with some general market weakness, has resulted in a decrease in bookings, sales and profits for the December quarter. The upcoming March quarter is a challenge to accurately forecast. Visibility continues to be low and customers remain guarded in their forecasting and inventory management. The March quarter has historically been strong for Linear due to seasonal strength in industrial markets. However, with inventory reductions expected to continue and low market visibility, this year we expect will be an exception. It is likely that improvements in Europe and the USA may be offset by slowness in Asia, particularly in consumer related markets. Consequently, we currently expect revenue to be down 4% to 7% with profits slightly more impacted primarily due to an increase in the tax rate. However, any increase in confidence in the overall business environment would positively impact this outlook."

Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements. In particular, the statements regarding the demand for our products, our customers' ordering patterns and the anticipated trends in our sales and profits are forward- looking statements. The forward-looking statements are dependent on certain risks and uncertainties, including such factors, among others, as the timing, volume and pricing of new orders received and shipped, the timely introduction of new processes and products, general conditions in the world economy and financial markets and other factors described in our 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 2, 2006.

Company officials will be discussing these results in greater detail in a conference call tomorrow, Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Coast Time. Those investors wishing to listen in may call (719) 955-1566 before 8:15 a.m. to be included in the audience. There will be a live webcast of this conference call that can be accessed through www.linear.com or www.streetevents.com. A replay of the conference call will be available from January 17 through January 23, 2007. You may access this post view by calling (719) 457-0820 and entering reservation #6574365. An archive of the webcast will also be available at www.linear.com and www.streetevents.com as of January 17, 2007 until the second quarter earnings release next year.

Linear Technology Corporation was founded in 1981 as a manufacturer of high performance linear integrated circuits. Linear Technology products include high performance amplifiers, comparators, voltage references, monolithic filters, linear regulators, DC-DC converters, battery chargers, data converters, communications interface circuits, RF signal conditioning circuits, and many other analog functions. Applications for Linear Technology's high performance circuits include telecommunications, cellular telephones, networking products such as optical switches, notebook and desktop computers, computer peripherals, video/multimedia, industrial instrumentation, security monitoring devices, high-end consumer products such as digital cameras and MP3 players, complex medical devices, automotive electronics, factory automation, process control, and military and space systems.

    For further information contact Paul Coghlan at Linear Technology
Corporation, 1630 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, California 95035-7417,
408-432-1900.


                        LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
                      CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
                   (In thousands, except per share amounts)
                               GAAP (unaudited)


                             Three Months Ended         Six Months Ended
                          December 31,  January 1,  December 31,  January 1,
                             2006         2006         2006         2006
    Net sales             $267,854     $265,146     $559,970     $521,159
    Cost of sales (1)       59,313       58,765      123,640      114,764
      Gross profit         208,541      206,381      436,330      406,395

    Expenses:
      Research
       & development (1)    44,961       38,040       91,480       75,819
      Selling, general &
       administrative (1)   33,597       32,331       68,022       63,481
                            78,558       70,371      159,502      139,300
    Operating income       129,983      136,010      276,828      267,095
    Interest income, net    15,867       12,572       31,904       24,194

    Income before
     income taxes          145,850      148,582      308,732      291,289
    Provision for
     income taxes           40,838       45,318       91,331       88,844

    Net income            $105,012     $103,264     $217,401     $202,445

    Earnings per share:
      Basic                 $ 0.35       $ 0.34       $ 0.72       $ 0.66
      Diluted               $ 0.34       $ 0.33       $ 0.71       $ 0.64

    Shares used in the
     calculation of
     earnings per share:
      Basic                299,724      305,534      300,385      305,690
      Diluted              304,959      313,792      305,774      314,490

    Pro forma earnings
     per share excluding
     the effects of
     stock-based
     compensation:
      Basic                 $ 0.39       $ 0.37       $ 0.81       $ 0.72
      Diluted               $ 0.39       $ 0.36       $ 0.80       $ 0.71

    Pro forma shares
     used in the
     calculation of pro
     forma earnings per
     share:
      Basic                299,724      305,534      300,385      305,690
      Diluted              303,005      311,782      303,845      312,561

    (1) Includes stock-based compensation charges as follows:

    Cost of sales           $2,840       $2,306       $5,602       $3,513
    Research and
     development             9,281        5,530       18,183       11,453
    Sales, general
     and administrative      5,640        5,895       11,062       12,103

    Total stock-based
     compensation          $17,761      $13,731      $34,847      $27,069


                        LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
             RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO PRO FORMA NET INCOME
                   (In thousands, except per share amounts)
                               NON-GAAP (unaudited)


                            Three Months Ended         Six Months Ended
                          December 31,  January 1,   December 31,  January 1,
                             2006        2006          2006         2006

    Net income            $105,012     $103,264     $217,401     $202,445


    Adjustments to
      reconcile net
     Income to pro
      forma net income
       Stock-based
        compensation        17,761       13,731       34,847       27,069
       Tax effect          (4,973)      (4,188)     (10,308)      (8,256)
    Pro forma net income  $117,800     $112,807     $241,940     $221,258

    Pro forma earnings
     per share excluding
     the effects of
     stock-based
     compensation:
      Basic                 $ 0.39       $ 0.37       $ 0.81       $ 0.72
      Diluted               $ 0.39       $ 0.36       $ 0.80       $ 0.71

    Shares used in the
     calculation of
     pro forma earnings
     per share:
      Basic                299,724(1)   305,534(1)   300,385(2)   305,690(2)
      Diluted              303,005      311,782      303,845      312,561

    (1) Excludes 1,954 and 2,010 shares for the three months ended
        December 31, 2006 and January 1, 2006, respectively, to conform
        diluted outstanding shares calculated under FAS123R to diluted shares
        calculated under prior accounting standards.
    (2) Excludes 1,929 and 1,929 shares for the six months ended December 31,
        2006 and January 1, 2006, respectively, to conform diluted outstanding
        shares calculated under FAS123R to diluted shares calculated under
        prior accounting standards.

FAS123R -- Share-Based Payment became effective and was adopted by the Company during the quarter ended October 2, 2005. FAS123R requires the Company to estimate the cost of all forms of stock-based compensation, including employee stock options, and to record a commensurate expense in the income statement. To supplement our consolidated financial statements presented in accordance with GAAP, we have shown above a non-GAAP (pro forma) presentation of the Company's earnings per share, which is adjusted to reflect the GAAP results to exclude all stock-based compensation. This non-GAAP presentation of earnings per share is provided to enhance the user's overall understanding of the Company's historical financial performance and comparability between periods. We believe the non-GAAP results provide useful information to investors by excluding stock-based compensation.


                        LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
                    CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
                            (Dollars in thousands)

                                                 December 31,      July 2,
                                                     2006           2006
                                                 (unaudited)      (audited)
    ASSETS
     Current assets:
      Cash, cash equivalents and
       short-term investments                     $1,783,558     $1,819,587

      Accounts receivable, net of
       allowance for doubtful
       accounts of $1,797 ($1,808
       at July 2, 2006)                              151,093        154,297

      Inventories                                     45,365         39,031
      Deferred tax assets and
       Other current assets                           68,659         64,221
        Total current assets                       2,048,675      2,077,136

     Property, plant & equipment, net                260,800        247,969
     Other noncurrent assets                          65,891         65,790
    Total assets                                  $2,375,366     $2,390,895

    LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
     Current liabilities:
       Accounts payable                              $15,216        $14,574

     Accrued income taxes, payroll &
      other accrued liabilities                      157,159        174,239

     Deferred income on shipments
      to distributors                                 41,864         48,013
        Total current liabilities                    214,239        236,826

     Deferred tax and other long-term
      liabilities                                     46,913         49,571

    Stockholders' equity:

       Common stock                                1,107,567      1,063,446
       Retained earnings                           1,008,200      1,046,137
       Accumulated other
        comprehensive income                          (1,553)        (5,085)
         Total stockholders' equity                2,114,214      2,104,498
                                                  $2,375,366     $2,390,895

Web site: http://www.linear.com/