SAN JOSE, Calif., Jan 26, 2010 -- Altera Corporation (NASDAQ:ALTR) today announced fourth quarter sales of $365.0 million, up 27 percent from the third quarter of 2009 and up 16 percent from the fourth quarter of 2008. New product sales increased 30 percent sequentially. Fourth quarter net income was $103.0 million, $0.34 per diluted share, compared with net income of $56.7 million, $0.19 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2009 and $83.0 million, $0.28 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Sales for 2009 were $1.20 billion, a decrease of 13 percent compared with $1.37 billion in 2008. Net income was $251.1 million, $0.84 per diluted share, versus net income of $359.7 million, $1.18 per diluted share, in 2008.
For the year, cash flow from operating activities was $372.7 million. Altera ended 2009 with $1.5 billion in cash and short-term investments, an increase from $1.2 billion at 2008 year end.
Altera's board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.05 per share payable on March 1, 2010 to shareholders of record on February 10, 2010.
"The fourth quarter produced extraordinary growth driven by customer program ramps and better end demand across all of our markets," said John Daane, president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board. "Our new products were the growth leaders in a quarter that saw sequential improvements across all product and market segment categories. We believe that in 2010 our 40-nm product leadership will create an additional growth driver for the company as customers shift from the prototype stage to production-based demand."
Several recent accomplishments mark the company's continuing progress.
- Altera is now shipping production-qualified 40-nm Stratix(R) IV GT FPGAs, the industry's first FPGAs to feature integrated 11.3-Gbps transceivers. Stratix IV GT FPGAs are the only single-chip devices available today that meet the high-speed bandwidth requirements for next-generation framer, MAC, bridging and switching applications for 100-Gigabit Ethernet and 100-Gigabit Optical Transport Networks. Five of the top seven advanced optical transport suppliers have now selected Stratix IV GT FPGAs for their 100G development. Altera's 100G solutions include production silicon, 100G intellectual property, 100G reference designs and development boards supporting 100G applications.
- Altera's Stratix IV GT FPGAs were recognized by EDN China with its prestigious "Best Product Award." EDN China annually honors the products and people that shape the electronics industry. Finalists are nominated by a panel of judges that includes technical experts from industry, universities and institutes, as well as EDN China editors. The final award winners are selected by EDN China's 40,000 readers and website users. Altera's Stratix IV GT FPGAs received the most votes and won EDN China's "Best Product Award" in the programmable logic devices category.
- Altera's Arria(R) II GX FPGAs were awarded the "Embedded System Editor's Choice Award" as the Best FPGA Product of the Year 2009 by China's Electronic Engineering & Product World (EEPW) Magazine. The award was presented during the Electronic Forum held at China's Tsinghua University in Beijing. The award is based on a combination of a judging committee made up of EEPW's editorial team, experts and engineers from industry associations and online votes.
- Expanding on the success of the Cyclone (R) FPGA series and extending its transceiver leadership, the new Cyclone IV FPGA family has been announced. This new FPGA family responds to increased low-cost bandwidth needs driven by the demand for mobile video, voice, and data access, and the hunger for high-quality 3D images. With low power consumption and small packages, these devices address cost-sensitive, small form-factor applications in the wireless, wireline, broadcast, industrial and consumer markets. With a focus on low cost, the smallest Cyclone IV GX device is the industry's smallest FPGA with transceivers. Production shipments of the first Cyclone IV devices will begin in the first quarter of 2010.
- Altera has released its Quartus(R)II software version 9.1, the industry's number-one software in performance and productivity for CPLD, FPGA and HardCopy (R)ASIC designs. New features and enhancements within Quartus II software v9.1 reduce compile times 20 percent versus the previous software release, while continuing to deliver on average 2X to 3X faster compile times compared to competing high-density 40-nm and 65-nm designs. Quartus II software v9.1 builds upon the productivity advantage Altera consistently delivers with its design software. The software provides the industry's fastest compile times for high-end FPGAs, averaging a 20 percent reduction annually over the past five years.
Business Outlook for the First Quarter 2010
| Sequential Sales Growth | Up 5 to 10% |
| Gross Margin | 67.5% to 68.5% |
| Research and Development | $66 to 68 million |
| SG&A | $59 to 61 million |
| Tax Rate | 14 to 16% |
Financial Tables
To read financial tables, click here
Conference Call and Quarterly Update:
A conference call will be held today at 1:45 p.m. Pacific Time to discuss the quarter's results and management's current business outlook. The webcast and subsequent replay will be available in the Investor Relations section of the company's website at http://www.altera.com. A telephonic replay of the call may be accessed later in the day by calling (719) 457-0820 and referencing confirmation code 258712. The telephonic replay will be available for two weeks following the live call.
Altera's first quarter business update will be issued in a press release available after the market close on March 3, 2010.
About Altera
Altera programmable solutions enable system and semiconductor companies to rapidly and cost-effectively innovate, differentiate and win in their markets. Find out more about Altera's FPGA, CPLD and ASIC devices at http://www.altera.com.
