The Company also declared a 20% increase in its dividend from $0.15 per share to $0.18 per share for the quarter. This cash dividend will be paid on February 14, 2007 to stockholders of record on January 26, 2007.
According to Lothar Maier, CEO, "We are seeing an overall reduction in our inventories at our end customers, which coupled with some general market weakness, has resulted in a decrease in bookings, sales and profits for the December quarter. The upcoming March quarter is a challenge to accurately forecast. Visibility continues to be low and customers remain guarded in their forecasting and inventory management. The March quarter has historically been strong for Linear due to seasonal strength in industrial markets. However, with inventory reductions expected to continue and low market visibility, this year we expect will be an exception. It is likely that improvements in Europe and the USA may be offset by slowness in Asia, particularly in consumer related markets. Consequently, we currently expect revenue to be down 4% to 7% with profits slightly more impacted primarily due to an increase in the tax rate. However, any increase in confidence in the overall business environment would positively impact this outlook."
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release are forward-looking statements. In particular, the statements regarding the demand for our products, our customers' ordering patterns and the anticipated trends in our sales and profits are forward- looking statements. The forward-looking statements are dependent on certain risks and uncertainties, including such factors, among others, as the timing, volume and pricing of new orders received and shipped, the timely introduction of new processes and products, general conditions in the world economy and financial markets and other factors described in our 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 2, 2006.
Company officials will be discussing these results in greater detail in a conference call tomorrow, Wednesday, January 17, 2007 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Coast Time. Those investors wishing to listen in may call (719) 955-1566 before 8:15 a.m. to be included in the audience. There will be a live webcast of this conference call that can be accessed through www.linear.com or www.streetevents.com. A replay of the conference call will be available from January 17 through January 23, 2007. You may access this post view by calling (719) 457-0820 and entering reservation #6574365. An archive of the webcast will also be available at www.linear.com and www.streetevents.com as of January 17, 2007 until the second quarter earnings release next year.
Linear Technology Corporation was founded in 1981 as a manufacturer of high performance linear integrated circuits. Linear Technology products include high performance amplifiers, comparators, voltage references, monolithic filters, linear regulators, DC-DC converters, battery chargers, data converters, communications interface circuits, RF signal conditioning circuits, and many other analog functions. Applications for Linear Technology's high performance circuits include telecommunications, cellular telephones, networking products such as optical switches, notebook and desktop computers, computer peripherals, video/multimedia, industrial instrumentation, security monitoring devices, high-end consumer products such as digital cameras and MP3 players, complex medical devices, automotive electronics, factory automation, process control, and military and space systems.
For further information contact Paul Coghlan at Linear Technology Corporation, 1630 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, California 95035-7417, 408-432-1900. LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME (In thousands, except per share amounts) GAAP (unaudited) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended December 31, January 1, December 31, January 1, 2006 2006 2006 2006 Net sales $267,854 $265,146 $559,970 $521,159 Cost of sales (1) 59,313 58,765 123,640 114,764 Gross profit 208,541 206,381 436,330 406,395 Expenses: Research & development (1) 44,961 38,040 91,480 75,819 Selling, general & administrative (1) 33,597 32,331 68,022 63,481 78,558 70,371 159,502 139,300 Operating income 129,983 136,010 276,828 267,095 Interest income, net 15,867 12,572 31,904 24,194 Income before income taxes 145,850 148,582 308,732 291,289 Provision for income taxes 40,838 45,318 91,331 88,844 Net income $105,012 $103,264 $217,401 $202,445 Earnings per share: Basic $ 0.35 $ 0.34 $ 0.72 $ 0.66 Diluted $ 0.34 $ 0.33 $ 0.71 $ 0.64 Shares used in the calculation of earnings per share: Basic 299,724 305,534 300,385 305,690 Diluted 304,959 313,792 305,774 314,490 Pro forma earnings per share excluding the effects of stock-based compensation: Basic $ 0.39 $ 0.37 $ 0.81 $ 0.72 Diluted $ 0.39 $ 0.36 $ 0.80 $ 0.71 Pro forma shares used in the calculation of pro forma earnings per share: Basic 299,724 305,534 300,385 305,690 Diluted 303,005 311,782 303,845 312,561 (1) Includes stock-based compensation charges as follows: Cost of sales $2,840 $2,306 $5,602 $3,513 Research and development 9,281 5,530 18,183 11,453 Sales, general and administrative 5,640 5,895 11,062 12,103 Total stock-based compensation $17,761 $13,731 $34,847 $27,069 LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO PRO FORMA NET INCOME (In thousands, except per share amounts) NON-GAAP (unaudited) Three Months Ended Six Months Ended December 31, January 1, December 31, January 1, 2006 2006 2006 2006 Net income $105,012 $103,264 $217,401 $202,445 Adjustments to reconcile net Income to pro forma net income Stock-based compensation 17,761 13,731 34,847 27,069 Tax effect (4,973) (4,188) (10,308) (8,256) Pro forma net income $117,800 $112,807 $241,940 $221,258 Pro forma earnings per share excluding the effects of stock-based compensation: Basic $ 0.39 $ 0.37 $ 0.81 $ 0.72 Diluted $ 0.39 $ 0.36 $ 0.80 $ 0.71 Shares used in the calculation of pro forma earnings per share: Basic 299,724(1) 305,534(1) 300,385(2) 305,690(2) Diluted 303,005 311,782 303,845 312,561 (1) Excludes 1,954 and 2,010 shares for the three months ended December 31, 2006 and January 1, 2006, respectively, to conform diluted outstanding shares calculated under FAS123R to diluted shares calculated under prior accounting standards. (2) Excludes 1,929 and 1,929 shares for the six months ended December 31, 2006 and January 1, 2006, respectively, to conform diluted outstanding shares calculated under FAS123R to diluted shares calculated under prior accounting standards.