Seasonal demand sees TriQuint revenue grow
Oregon-based RF device manufacturer TriQuint Semiconductor, Inc, has reported its highest quarterly revenue for three years.
For the quarter ended December 31, 2003, the company saw revenue grew 13% sequentially to $89.0 million on the back of strong seasonal demand for wireless handsets and wireless LAN products. TriQuint said that it also enjoyed increased revenue from the infrastructure market.
With a record number of SAW filters shipped and the first volume shipments of GSM power amplifier modules in the quarter, the result was an after-tax profit of $8.9 million.
On the optoelectronics side there was a continued improved financial performance, with a third consecutive quarterly increase in revenue.
Overall, revenue was up 22.4% year-on-year. Encouragingly, the company recorded an operating income of $2.6 million compared with operating losses in each of the previous eight quarters.
Full-year results
TriQuint’s full-year revenue was $312.3 million for 2003, an increase of 16.8% over the 2002 figure. This was partly due to inclusion of the results from TriQuint Optoelectronics for the full year. Despite the improvement, TriQuint still recorded a yearly loss of $73.0 million, down from a loss of $158.6 million in 2002.
Commenting on the results, Ralph Quinsey, TriQuint’s president and CEO, said: “We believe our strategic focus and the investments we put in place last year are beginning to yield results. In 2004, we expect to see continued success with our new products and the favorable impact of a stronger economic environment across our diversified markets.”
Outlook
For the next quarter, which ends March 31, TriQuint raised revenue guidance from the $77-80 million range that was previously predicted to a range of $81-83 million.
The company expects to produce breakeven to a slight operating loss for the first quarter of 2004, with a resulting net loss after interest expense and taxes to between $1 million and $3 million.
For 2004, TriQuint forecast an improvement on its 2003 revenue, thanks to continued strength in the wireless handset market, coupled with stability in the optical network market. In addition, it predicts a recovery in the wireless network infrastructure market and a stable outlook for the company’s defense business.
Full-year revenue is expected to come in at least 10% over the 2003 results at around $350 million.