TI revenue up 23 p.c. to $3.33 bn 

DALLAS: Texas

Instruments Inc (TI) today reported its first-quarter 2006 revenue of $3.33

billion, up 23 per cent from the corresponding quarter in 2005, as growth in the

company's semiconductor segment accelerated for the third consecutive quarter.






Earnings per share from continuing operations were $0.33, up 57 per cent from a
year ago, and included stock-based compensation expense of $0.04.






The company began expensing stock options in the third quarter of 2005 and,
therefore, equivalent stock-based compensation expense was not reflected in the

year-ago period when the company earned $0.21 per share from continuing

operations.






“This is a good start to the year. Demand was strong, and we expect it to
continue," said Rich Templeton, TI president and chief executive officer.

"Especially encouraging was our growth in digital signal processors and

analog semiconductors, increasing 32 per cent and 24 per cent respectively from

a year ago. These are the core semiconductors of today's electronics, including 3G

cell phones where our revenue doubled from a year ago; low-end cell phones

that are beginning to gain traction in large, emerging markets; and wireless

base stations where our revenue grew by more than half. We also built momentum

in consumer

awareness for high-definition televisions that use TI's DLP picture

technology."






TI's gross profit was $1.67 billion, or 50.1 per cent of revenue, an increase of
$15 million from the fourth quarter. Gross profit increased $428 million from

the year-ago quarter due to higher revenue. Stock-based compensation expense of

$18 million was included in cost of revenue in the first quarter of 2006.






Net Income from continuing operations was $542 million or $0.33 per share, which
includes $0.04 of stock-based compensation expense. Income from discontinued

operations was $43 million. Net income was $585 million or $0.36 per share.






TI orders of $3.60 billion increased $116 million sequentially due to seasonally
higher orders in the Educational and Productivity Solutions business in

preparation for the back-to-school retail season. TI orders increased $859

million from the year-ago quarter due to higher demand for Semiconductor

products.






Cash flow from operations of $522 million decreased $358 million sequentially
and increased $24 million from the year-ago quarter. At the end of the first

quarter, total cash (cash and cash equivalents plus short-term investments) was

$3.66 billion, down $1.67 billion from the end of the previous quarter and $1.47

billion from the end of the year-ago period.






During the quarter, the company repurchased 47 million shares of TI common stock
for $1.44 billion, paid $48 million in dividends and retired $311 million of

long-term debt. The company also acquired Chipcon in the first quarter for $177

million in cash, net of cash acquired.






TI intends to provide a mid-quarter update to its financial outlook on June 8,
2006. For the second quarter of 2006, TI expects revenue from continuing

operations to be in the following ranges:






Total TI, $3.46 billion to $3.75 billion. TI expects earnings per share from
continuing operations to be in the range of $0.38 to $0.43. This estimate

includes about $0.04, or about $90 million, for stock-based compensation

expense.