National Semiconductor Reports Results for Fourth Quarter Fiscal 2010

National’s fourth quarter sales were 10 percent higher than the third quarter of fiscal 2010, when the company reported $362 million in sales, and 42 percent higher than the $281 million reported in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. Increased sales of National’s analog and power management products to the personal mobile device and industrial markets boosted revenues in the fourth quarter.



Fourth quarter net income of $79.2 million, or 33 cents per diluted share, was an increase from the $53.2 million, or 22 cents per diluted share, in the third quarter of fiscal 2010. In last year’s fourth quarter, National reported a net loss of $63.7 million, or a net loss of 28 cents per diluted share, which included $116.1 million of pre-tax charges primarily for severance and asset impairments related to a corporate restructuring.



Gross margin increased to 68.8 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 driven by improvements in manufacturing cost performance and increased capacity utilization. National reported gross margin of 67.3 percent in the third quarter of fiscal 2010 and 58.3 percent in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. “Increased demand for our analog products for the wireless handset and industrial markets drove revenue growth in the quarter” said Don Macleod, National’s president and chief executive officer. “Looking forward to our summer quarter, we see these two end markets continuing to drive more revenue growth opportunities for our analog, and in particular, power management products.”



Bookings for Q4, Fiscal 2010

Sequentially, National’s total company bookings increased 12 percent as order rates increased from direct OEM customers and from distributors in all regions, especially Europe. Bookings exceeded billings in the quarter.



Notable Items in Q4

Fourth quarter fiscal 2010 results included a $7.3 million restructuring charge related to manufacturing consolidation. In addition, the company incurred a $2.1 million charge related to the early repayment of debt, which is included in other non-operating expenses. Both of these items are on a pre-tax basis.



Outlook for Q1, Fiscal 2011

The company is projecting first quarter of fiscal 2011 revenues to increase 3 to 5 percent (between $410 million and $418 million) from the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010.



Summary of Fiscal 2010

For fiscal 2010, National reported sales of $1.42 billion and GAAP net income of $209 million or 87 cents per diluted share. In fiscal 2009, National reported sales of $1.46 billion, GAAP net income of $73 million or 31 cents per diluted share. Gross margin of 65.9 percent in fiscal 2010 improved from fiscal 2009’s gross margin of 62.7 percent.