Texas Instrumentsposted a 60 percent decline in its quarterly profit but revenue was slightly ahead of analysts' expectations and the chip maker said a prolonged inventory related decline in demand had come to an end. (Click here for after-hour quote.)
The semiconductor maker delivered first-quarter earnings excluding items of 32 cents per share, down from 55 cents a share in the year-earlier period.
The company, whose chips are used in products ranging from cellphones to industrial equipment, said profit fell to $265 million, or 22 cents per share, from $666 million, or 55 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter.
Quarterly revenue was $3.12 billion, an 8 percent decrease from $3.39 billion a year ago. Revenue in the quarter includes insurance proceeds of about $65 million related to interruption of TI's business operations as a result of the 2011 Japan earthquake.
"As we expected, our business cycle bottomed in the first quarter, and early signs of growth began to emerge," said CEO Rich Templeton in a statement. "Orders were up 13 percent, and backlog is growing again. Particularly encouraging is the breadth of increased orders across geographical regions and markets, including the industrial sector."
Analysts had expected the company to report earnings excluding items of 29 cents per share on revenue of $3.06 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.
The company is forecasting second quarter earnings excluding items to come between 36 and 44 cents per share, and revenues between $3.22 and $3.48 billion, inline with estimates of 40 cents per share, and $3.29 billion in revenues.