RFMD sees hope in next-generation phones
US-based GaAs chip maker RF Micro Devices reported revenue of $168.9 million for its third fiscal quarter of 2004, up $19.8 million sequentially, but down 12.5% year-on-year.
The company put the decline down to continued weakness in the Asian GSM/GPRS cellphone handset market coupled with a fall in demand for TDMA handsets in the US.
RFMD's net profit in the seasonally-strong December quarter, as reported under standard accounting procedures, was $0.6 million. That's an improvement on the $6.7 million loss in the previous quarter, but down from the $28.2 million profit netted this time last year.
"RFMD is benefiting from the evolution to next-generation air interface standards, such as W-CDMA and EDGE," remarked company CEO Bob Bruggeworth. "We are growing our dollar content in next-generation handsets through increased customer adoption of our cellular transceivers and highly-integrated transmit modules."
Dean Priddy, RFMD's CFO, added: "During the December quarter we began ramping in-house module assembly at our facility in Beijing, which we believe will improve power amplifier module margins beginning mid-2005."
RFMD expects its next-generation products to partly offset seasonal decline in the current quarter. It predicts revenue in the low- to mid- $150 million range and a loss of $4-6 million.