NatSemi warns of profit, sales dip

National Semiconductor yesterday admitted it will report significantly reduced sales and earnings for its current, third fiscal quarter, which ends later this month.

Anticipating a dip of around 24 per cent on last quarter's figures, NatSemi officials said the company's revenues will lie somewhere between $475 million and $480 million. During Q3 2000, the company made sales of $548.9 million.

NatSemi's projected earnings for the quarter are 20-22 cents a share, well down on Q3 2000's 51 cents a share and Q2 2001's 56 cents a share. Wall Street was expecting a dip, but not to the extent NatSemi reckons investors will now see. First Call/Thomson Financial's analyst average is 31 cents a share.

The company's earnings will be down because of a fall in shipments caused, it reckons, by "demand uncertainties and inventory corrections in the distribution channel and personal computer and wireless handset markets". All that is reducing the number of orders the company has received during the quarter for fulfilment in the same three-month period. At the same time, NatSemi's gross margins have dropped, to between 47 and 48 per cent. ®