TI Q3 net soars 60 p.c. YoY at $859 mn

NEW YORK, USA: Chip maker Texas Instruments Inc on Monday posted a third-quarter profit of $859 million, or 71 cents per share, 60 per cent up from $538 million, or 42 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter and ahead of Wall Street expectations for 69 cents per share.

Revenue rose about 30 per cent to $3.74 billion, beating analyst expectations for $3.69 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. But the company thinks the fourth quarter results would be impacted by the slow down in consumer demand is tepid.

It said fourth-quarter revenue would range from $3.36 billion to $3.64 billion, implying a midpoint of $3.5 billion, in line with the average analyst expectation. It forecast current-quarter earnings per share of 59 cents to 67 cents, also in line with average expectations for 63 cents.

TI was not the only chip maker flagging current quarter weakness on Monday. Atheros Communications Inc, which makes wireless chips for laptops and phones, warned its sales could fall as much as 11 per cent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter, worse than analysts expected.

Power-supply chipmaker Volterra Semiconductor Corp also said its sales could dip in the last quarter of the year.

TI shares, which closed the day up 1 per cent, or 32 cents, at $28.98 on the New York Stock Exchange, fell to $28.66 in extended trading.

Davenport analyst Drake Johnstone said that, since the numbers held little surprise, investors were selling the stock only because it had risen about 26 per cent since August.