LED chip maker Cree announces second quarter earnings

LED chip maker Cree announced the second quarter (April-June) financial report after the US stock market closed on the 9th: Revenue was US$ 243 million; diluted earnings per share reached US$ 0.28, which was lower than US$ 0.55 in the same period of last year; gross profit margin from last year In the same period, 49.9% fell to 38.8%, which was lower than the 42.4% in the previous quarter. Inventory stocks increased by 6.9 million US dollars to US$176.65 million in quarters, and inventory days decreased by 13 days to 106 days. According to the Thomson Reuters survey, analysts had originally expected the company's revenue and earnings per share for the April-June period to be 233 million U.S. dollars and 0.27 U.S. dollars, respectively.

Looking forward to the third quarter (July-September), Cree expects revenue to reach $245-255 million, gross margins of around 38-39%, and earnings per share of $0.25-0.28. According to the Capital IQ survey, analysts had expected the company’s revenue and earnings per share from July to September to be US$250.98 billion and US$0.31, respectively.

Cree chairman and chief executive officer Chuck Swoboda pointed out in the earnings news release that the financial results are in line with expectations, and the 11% increase in revenue for the quarter is even more encouraging. Looking ahead this season, Cree believes that demand has improved over the beginning of this year (2011), and the company will also lead the LED lighting industry to continue to reform.

Cree surged 10.66% to close at $29.49 on normal trading on the 9th, and further advanced 7.49% to $31.70.