Xilinx Inc., a maker of programmable chips used in mobile-phone base stations, rose as much as 8.5 percent in late trading Wednesday after new products helped generate more sales and profit than analysts had estimated.
Excluding some items, fiscal third-quarter profit was 41 cents a share, the San Jose, California-based company said Wednesday in a statement. Sales were $511.1 million in the period, which ended Dec. 31. Analysts had projected earnings of 37 cents a share and revenue of $496.5 million on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
While third-quarter sales were hurt by weaker demand from makers of communications equipment, the company is getting strong growth from its newer products, Chief Executive Officer Moshe Gavrielov said in the statement. Xilinx and rival Altera Corp. dominate the market for chips that can be reprogrammed after they’ve been installed in electronic devices.
The stock rose as high as $38.30 in late trading following the announcement. The shares, up 11 percent in the past year, had gained 5.9 percent to $35.30 at the close in New York.
Xilinx predicted that sales will rise 2 percent to 6 percent in the current period from the preceding three months. That indicates revenue of as much as $541.8 million, compared with an average analyst estimate of $505.7 million. Gross margin, or the percentage of sales remaining after deducting the cost of production, will be 64 percent to 65 percent. Analysts had projected a margin of about 64 percent.
© Copyright 2013 Bloomberg News. All rights reserved.