RF Micro Devices Inc. said its financial performance improved in the March ended quarter with revenue falling in line with "historical seasonal declines in the handset industry," and sees capacity utilization trending upward as demand continues to strengthen.
The wireless semiconductor vendor did not provide actual sales figures but said orders improved during the quarter even as it reaped the benefits from cost-cutting activities, including tamping down on manufacturing to reduce inventories.
RF Micro's announcement provides the latest indication conditions might be improving in the semiconductor industry and especially in the wireless market, a once red hot sector that is now forecast to report a double-digit decline in volume during 2009 as consumers pare back purchases in response to the economic downturn.
Analysts are on average expecting RF Micro to report March quarter revenue of $162 million, down 27 percent from $222 million in the comparable year-ago quarter. The company's revenue dropped 25 percent in the December quarter, to $202 million from $268 million and its net loss widened to $813 million on special charges from net loss of $11.8 million in the final quarter of 2007.
RF Micro said improving demand for its products from wireless OEMs will help it increase free cash flow to approximately $80 million to $120 million in the current fiscal year ending March 2010.
The company increased its cash and short-term investments during the first quarter of this year by $28 million and sees this continuing throughout the year.
"RFMD achieved March 2009 quarterly revenue in-line with historical seasonal declines in the handset industry," the company said in a statement. "Order activity improved as the quarter progressed and, as a result, factory utilization rates at quarter-end were at significantly higher levels than when the quarter began."
The company is slated to announce results for the March quarter on April 28.
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