Maxim 3Q revs up 63%, net surges

Electronic News, May 6, 1996

Sunnyvale, Calif.--Maxim Integrated Products Inc. reported 3Q96 net revenues grew 63.6 percent to $109 million from $66.6 million in 3Q95. Net income for the quarter ended March 31, 1996 surged to $34.2 million, or 48 cents per share, from $10.1 million, or 15 cents per share.

Operating income was 47.2 percent of net revenues versus 22.3 percent in the year-ago quarter.

The maker of analog products reported nine-month revenues rose to $311.6 million from $174.8 million in the year-earlier period, and net income rose to $88.6 million, or $1.25 per share, from $27.4 million, or 42 cents per share.

Maxim also reported cash and short-term investments rose by $4.5 million after payment of $23 million-plus in property, plant and equipment.

During the quarter, Maxim said it saw strong demand for advanced CMOS products and communications products; nevertheless, end-market booking rates were flat with prior quarter's levels, it noted. Maxim backlog shippable in the next 12 months declined $13 million to about $182 million, largely due to $28 million in order cancellations, primarily from U.S. distributors.

CEO Jack Gifford said: "...We are pleased that our manufacturing capacity has now risen to the point that, if we continue the progress we have been making, we should be able to meet the demand on 80 percent of our product lines by the end of the fourth quarter. As we enter FY97, we expect to continue to be manufacturing-constrained on our advanced CMOS products that have been introduced over the past two years and our communications products manufactured on our state-of-the-art high-frequency processes.

"Together these products now account for approximately 20 percent of our current demand. We believe that we will be able to make significant progress on the manufacturing capacity issues related to these technologies over the next two quarters."

Also noted: "Last summer we made estimates of end-market demand for FY96, attempting to separate out the effects of the sudden surge in orders experienced at that time, which was being exaggerated primarily by orders from U.S. distribution. Our prediction, at that time, of end-market demand for FY96 appears to have been relatively accurate."