Power Integrations Results Top Estimates

(RTTNews) - Semiconductor company Power Integrations (POWI) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter net earnings of $14.4 million or $0.48 per share compared with $16.1 million or $0.52 per share last year.

Excluding items, adjusted earnings for the quarter were $0.59 per share compared with $0.66 per share a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter were $86.6 million compared with $90.4 million in the prior year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimated earnings of $0.52 per share on revenues of $86 million for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company's gross margin for the quarter fell to 52.9% from 53.5% a year ago, and operating margin slid to 13.7% from 16.7%.

For the first quarter, the company expects revenues of $82 million to $88 million, while analysts expect $85.8 million.

The company's CEO Balu Balakrishnan said, "While disappointed with our 2014 results overall, we closed out the year with a solid quarter and now look forward to renewed growth in 2015."

"We are embarking on a promising new product cycle led by the revolutionary InnoSwitch family... At the same time, secular trends such as energy efficiency, renewable energy and faster charging of mobile devices continue to drive adoption of our highly integrated power-conversion products," Balakrishnan said.