Marvell’s 4Q profit exceeds analyst estimates, but stock falls as CEO remains cautious

Marvell’s 4Q tops analyst views; stock still sags

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Marvell Technology Group Ltd.’s fiscal fourth-quarter profit topped analyst estimates as sales revived of its chips for data storage and communications products.

The company said Thursday that it earned $204.8 million, or 31 cents per share, for the three months that ended Jan. 30. In the same period a year earlier, it reported a loss of $65 million, or 11 cents per share.

Marvell said it would have earned 40 cents per share if not for costs unrelated to its ongoing business. On that basis, the results exceeded the average forecast from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters for profit of 37 cents per share.

Marvell’s revenue increased 64 percent to $843 million, slightly better than analysts predicted.

But investors weren’t impressed: Marvell shares slid $1.18, or 5.9 percent, in trading after hours Thursday. They finished the regular session at 20.13, up 17 cents.

The cautious tone of Marvell CEO Sehat Sutardja may have discouraged investors.

“While I am proud of the progress we have made, we continue to be mindful of the challenging economic environment we operate within and the effect macro-economic events could potentially have on our business,” Sutardja said.

Marvell has been cutting its costs to cope with the worst recession in 70 years. The company’s operating expenses in the fourth quarter fell 10 percent to $297 million.

For its full fiscal year, Marvell $353.5 million, or 54 cents per share, on revenue of $2.8 billion. In the previous year, the company’s income totaled $147.2 million, or 23 cents per share, on revenue of $2.95 billion.