Cree, Inc. announced financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2018, ended September 24, 2017. Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2018 was $360 million, which represents a 3% decrease compared to revenue of $371 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 and a slight increase compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017.
Cree also reported that Wolfspeed revenue grew 9 percent to close out the quarter with $66 million, above the company's targeted range, according to Chief Finance Officer Mike McDevitt
While current capacity "continues to be constrained," productivity improvements have allowed for increases already, he said. But it's the planned facilities improvements that will help Cree increase Wolfspeed's yields dramatically. In addition, Cree plans to double Wolfspeed's wafer capacity by the end of 2018.
"Demand for those products exceed our current ability to supply," McDevitt said. For the fiscal year, the company plans to spend about $220 million, "primarily driven by expanding Wolfspeed's production capacity to support forecasted customer demand."
"This plan is intended to double our power device capacity by the end of calendar 2018 from where we exited fiscal 2017," he said Tuesday. "Does it equate to double the revenue? Not necessarily - it will come down to what the mix is; but has a potential to possibly double the revenue."
Overall, Cree reported GAAP net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2018 was $20 million, or $0.20 per diluted share. This compares to GAAP net income of $566 thousand, or $0.01 per diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2017. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2018 was $4 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2017 of $15 million, or $0.15 per diluted share.
"Cree is a company that's known as an innovator with a long history of blazing new trails, and I'm excited to be part of this team," stated Gregg Lowe, Cree CEO. "There are a number of opportunities and challenges in front of us, and I look forward to working together with our talented team to maximize those opportunities while dealing with the challenges head on."
For its second quarter of fiscal 2018 ending December 24, 2017, Cree targets revenue in a range of $340 million to $360 million. GAAP net loss is targeted at $25 million to $31 million, or $0.25 to $0.31 per diluted share.
