National Semiconductor Profit Falls

SAN FRANCISCO - National Semiconductor posted a lower quarterly profit on Thursday as high inventories among customers hit sales at the maker of power management and analog microchips.

    National Semiconductor said its second fiscal quarter net
profit was $91.4 million, or 27 cents per share, compared with
$114.7 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier. Revenue
was $501.6 million, down from $544 million a year earlier.