TI Cuts 2Q Outlook

Semiconductor maker Texas Instruments Inc. on Wednesday lowered its forecast for second-quarter earnings and revenue, sending its shares lower in late trading.

A company executive said the lower forecast is due largely to weakness at one wireless-device manufacturer.

"With the exception of frankly one customer, things are tracking very closely to our expectations," Ron Slaymaker, TI's head of investor relations, told analysts on a conference call. He said the company expects a "strong" second half on improved demand for chips.

Texas Instruments did not name the customer, but analysts have said weakness at phone maker Nokia Corp. has affected TI. Nokia is facing tougher competition for both high-end phones and cheaper handsets, and it warned last week that second-quarter sales and profit margins would be much lower than expected.

TI, which makes chips for phones, cameras and a long list of other consumer products, said in April that second-quarter growth could be weakened by production interruptions due to the March earthquake in Japan, where the company has manufacturing plants. But Slaymaker said Wednesday that production at the most seriously damaged plant is returning faster than expected.

Texas Instruments said it now expects to earn 51 cents to 55 cents per share in the second quarter on revenue of $3.36 billion to $3.50 billion. That's down from TI's estimate in April for quarterly earnings of 52 cents to 60 cents per share on revenue of $3.41 billion to $3.69 billion.

Analysts have been expecting the Dallas-based company to post earnings of 57 cents per share on $3.55 billion in revenue, according to FactSet.

Texas Instruments shares fell 60 cents, or nearly 2 percent, to end regular trading at $32.67. After the reduced outlook was announced the stock tumbled more than 4 percent in late trading before paring some of its losses.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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