More chip makers top analyst estimates

SAN FRANCISCO—Chip makers Atmel Corp., Microchip Technology Inc., Skyworks Solutions Inc. and International Rectifier Corp. Thursday (Nov. 4) all reported sales for their most recently concluded quarters that exceeded consensus analyst expectations.

Atmel (San Jose, Calif.) reported third quarter sales of $444.3 million, up 13 percent sequentially and up 40 percent year-to-year. The company posted a net income in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of $219.8 million, including a tax benefit of $150.4 million, compared to losses in the previous and year-ago quarters.

"Our microcontroller business achieved record revenues again in the third quarter and gained substantial market share as our products continue to be the preferred choice among design engineers," said Steve Laub, Atmel's president and CEO, in a statement. "Atmel’s touchscreen shipments experienced a particularly strong ramp as customers continue to demand the superior performance offered by our maXTouch products."

Atmel did not publish guidance for fourth quarter sales.

Microchip (Chandler, Ariz.) reported net sales of $382.3 million for the quarter ended Sept. 30, up 7 percent sequentially and up 69 percent compared with the year ago quarter. The company report a net income of $103.1 million, up 132 percent from the year ago quarter.

Microchip said it also completed the restructuring and integration of Silicon Storage Technology Inc., which it acquired April 8. Steve Sanghi, Microchip’s resident and CEO, said through a statement that management has decided to integrated the SuperFlash Memory and RF businesses of SST into the ongoing businesses of Microchip. The company originally said it would hold those businesses for sale.

"After operating the SST business for two quarters, we have found synergies between SST’s RF business and Microchip’s wireless, microcontroller and analog businesses," Sanghi said. After divesting SST's low margin business in July, the company said it has substantially improved the rest of the SuperFlash Memory business.

The RF and SuperFlash businesses added $40 million to Microchip's sales in the most recent quarter, Sanghi said.

"We have found that running some volume on the memory business is critical to proving out the technology before it can be licensed," Sanghi said. "There are also significant operational synergies with Microchip’s memory business and technology synergies with Microchip’s microcontroller business."

Microchip said it expects revenue for the current quarter to be between $351.7 million and $374.6 million. The company said it expects to report a net income for the quarter of $91.6 million to $99.8 million.