News

LTC Reports Quarterly and Fiscal Year Increases in Revenues and Net Income

July 23, 2014 by Jeff Shepard

Linear Technology Corporation (LTC) reported financial results for the fiscal quarter and fiscal year ended June 29, 2014. Quarterly revenues of $365.4 million for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014 increased $17.4 million or 5.0% over the previous quarter's revenue of $348.0 million and increased $38.2 million or 11.7% over $327.3 million reported in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013. Net income of $129.7 million increased $12.1 million or 10.3% over the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 and increased $27.8 million or 27.3% over the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013. Diluted earnings per share of $0.53 per share in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2014 increased $0.05 per share or 10.4% over the third quarter of fiscal year 2014 and increased $0.10 per share or 23.3% over the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013.

Revenue for fiscal year 2014 was $1,388.4 million, an increase of 8.3% or $106.2 million over revenue of $1,282.2 million in the prior fiscal year. Net income of $460.0 million for fiscal year 2014 increased $53.0 million or 13.0% over $406.9 million reported in the previous fiscal year. The results for fiscal year 2014 benefited from lower interest expense as a result of the bond redemption in May 2014 offset by a slightly higher effective tax rate of 23.5% compared to 23.0% in fiscal year 2013. Diluted earnings per share for fiscal year 2014 was $1.91, an increase of $0.19 per share or 11.1% over the prior fiscal year.

According to Lothar Maier, CEO, “We completed our fiscal year with a good fourth quarter as revenues were at the high end of our guidance, up 5% sequentially. Each of our end-markets grew over the preceding quarter led by a particularly strong industrial market. We continued to improve our industry leading gross margin and operating margin, which increased to 76% and 47%, respectively. Effective May 1, 2014, we redeemed with internally generated funds our outstanding 3.00% Convertible Senior Notes with a principal value of $845.1 million, which led to lower interest expense for the period.

“For the fiscal year, we grew revenues 8% to $1.39 billion. We believe we have good momentum heading into the new fiscal year as our book to bill ratio for the quarter was positive and improved over the previous quarter. We are excited about our position and growth prospects heading into the new fiscal year. We believe we are in the right end-markets with the right innovative products to take advantage of our positioning. Historically, the first fiscal quarter is a seasonally weaker period for us, but given our current bookings level and backlog we are currently forecasting revenue growth in our first quarter of fiscal 2015 of 1% to 3% sequentially over the prior quarter which would be 8% to 11% on an annual basis over the same quarter in the prior year,” Maier concluded.