National Semiconductor's share took a 35 per cent tumble after the company issued a profit warning for the second and third quarters.

Ericsson, one of NatSemi's largest cell phone customers, cut sales targets on Friday last week because of losses from manufacturing the phones and NatSemi said that orders for PC products were also lower than seasonally expected.

The chipmaker earned $149.4 million, or 76 cents a share, in the first quarter excluding one-off charges and expenses. Forecasts for Q2 profits were originally set at 77 cents per share and up even a little more by Q3 at 79 cents a share.

However, the company now expects profits to fall between six and eight per cent in the second quarter. Sales were expected to resume sequential growth in the second quarter. ®