Cree reports falling revenue; blue LED prices in Japan stabilize
On April 11, Cree announced that its revenue for the March 2002 quarter was $33.4 million. This represents a sequential fall of 19% compared to the $41.2 million recorded in the quarter ended December 23, 2001. One year ago, Cree reported revenue of $53.4 million for the first quarter of 2001.
The company had a net loss of $68 million, or 94 cents a share, for the March 2002 quarter. However, the results included a one-time pretax charge of $82.5 million related to the downsizing of Cree s UltraRF business. Excluding these charges, the company recorded a net income of $320,000.
Looking forward, Cree predicted a 5% sequential revenue increase in the current quarter and also reported order bookings for 70% of the expected revenue for its LED business.
Blue LED prices stabilizing in Japan
According to the Nikkei Business Daily, expectations are rising that price declines for blue LEDs will slow as demand increases in products such as home information appliances and mobile phones.
The Japanese newspaper says that for the April-June period, a price of around 40 yen (around 30 cents) per unit has been agreed by large consumers, such as cellular phone manufacturers, and LED manufacturers, including Nichia and Toyoda Gosei. This is down about 11%, or 5 yen, from the previous period.
Users are hoping for a 5%, or 2 yen, decline in prices for the July-September period. This represents a smaller decline than has been seen in recent quarters.
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