Micron Technology posts 1st-quarter profit as sales jump 24 percent on higher volume, prices
By APTuesday, December 22, 2009
Micron Technology posts 1Q profit on higher sales
BOISE, Idaho — Semiconductor maker Micron Technology Inc. reported Tuesday it moved to a profit in its fiscal first quarter as sales jumped 24 percent, driven by higher volume and prices.
In the quarter that ended Dec. 3, Micron reported profit of $204 million, or 23 cents per share, compared to a loss of $718 million, or 93 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected profit of 7 cents per share in the most recent quarter.
Revenue rose 24 percent to $1.74 billion from $1.4 billion, compared to an analyst prediction of $1.6 billion. The company said its gross margin on sales of memory products improved to 27 percent from 12 percent in the prior quarter as it raised prices.
The company said it generated $326 million in cash flow in the quarter and ended the quarter with cash and investment worth about $1.6 billion.
Micron is based in Boise, Idaho. Its shares rose 16 cents to $9.57 in after-hours trading Tuesday after closing at $9.41, up 10 cents from a day earlier.
