Contact: Paul Coghlan 6:30 EDT
Vice President, Finance Tuesday, April 13, 2004
(408) 432-1900 US1
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY REPORTS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED SALES AND PROFITS OVER BOTH
THE PRIOR YEAR AND THE PRIOR QUARTER
Milpitas, California, April 13, 2004, Linear Technology Corporation
(NASDAQ-LLTC), a leading, independent manufacturer of high performance linear
integrated circuits, today announced that net sales for its third quarter ended
March 28, 2004, were $209,133,000, an increase of 36% over net sales of
$153,750,000 for the third quarter of the previous year. The Company also
reported net income for the quarter of $85,549,000 or $0.27 diluted earnings per
share, an increase of 41% from $60,622,000 or $0.19 diluted earnings per share
reported for the third quarter of last year. During the quarter the Company's
cash and short-term investments decreased by $38.4 million, net of spending
$121.2 million to purchase 2,950,000 shares of its common stock. A cash dividend
of $0.08 per share will be paid on May 12, 2004 to stockholders of record on
April 23, 2004.
According to Robert H. Swanson, Chairman of the Board and CEO, "This
was another strong quarter for us. Sales grew 12% and profits 15% sequentially
over the December quarter. Demand for our products has continued to be robust,
increasing in each major end-market, led by industrial and communications, and
increasing also in every major geographical area. Our return on sales was 41%.
We generated approximately $83 million in cash and short-term investments,
before purchasing the shares of our stock referred to above. In each of the last
three quarters we have accelerated our year over year sales and profit growth.
Looking forward, we are experiencing very broad based strength in our market
place and, should these current trends continue, we expect to grow sales by
roughly a similar percentage in the June quarter to the quarter just completed."
Except for historical information contained herein, the matters set
forth in this press release are forward-looking statements. In particular, the
statements regarding the demand for our products, our customers' ordering
patterns and the anticipated growth of our sales and profits are forward-looking
statements. The forward-looking statements are dependent on certain risks and
uncertainties, including such factors, among others, as the timing, volume and
pricing of new orders received and shipped, the timely introduction of new
processes and products, general conditions in the world economy and financial
markets and other factors described in our 10-K for the fiscal year ended June
29, 2003.
Company officials will be discussing these results in greater detail in
a conference call tomorrow, Wednesday, April 14, 2004 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Coast
Time. Those investors wishing to listen in may call (913) 981-5571 before 8:15
a.m. to be included in the audience. There will be a live webcast of this
conference call that can be accessed through www.linear.com or
www.streetevents.com. A replay of the conference call will be available from
April 14 through April 20, 2004. You may access this post view by calling (719)
457-0820 and entering reservation #743820. An archive of the webcast will also
be available at www.linear.com and www.streetevents.com as of April 14, 2004
until the third quarter earnings release next year.
Linear Technology Corporation was founded in 1981 as a manufacturer of
high performance linear integrated circuits. Linear Technology products include
high performance amplifiers, comparators, voltage references, monolithic
filters, linear regulators, DC-DC converters, battery chargers, data converters,
communications interface circuits, RF signal conditioning circuits, and many
other analog functions. Applications for Linear Technology's high performance
circuits include telecommunications, cellular telephones, networking products
such as optical switches, notebook and desktop computers, computer peripherals,
video/multimedia, industrial instrumentation, security monitoring devices,
high-end consumer products such as digital cameras and MP3 players, complex
medical devices, automotive electronics, factory automation, process control,
and military and space systems.
For further information contact Paul Coghlan at Linear Technology
Corporation, 1630 McCarthy Blvd., Milpitas, California 95035-7417, (408)
432-1900.
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
------------------ -----------------
March 28, March 30, March 28, March 30,
2004 2003 2004 2003
--------- --------- ---------- ----------
Net sales $ 209,133 $ 153,750 $ 569,231 $ 440,806
Cost of sales 47,596 39,390 132,782 114,611
--------- --------- ---------- ----------
Gross profit 161,537 114,360 436,449 326,195
--------- --------- ---------- ----------
Expenses:
Research & development 26,633 22,609 75,960 67,014
Selling, general and
administrative 20,553 15,916 57,364 49,345
--------- --------- ---------- ----------
47,186 38,525 133,324 116,359
--------- --------- ---------- ----------
Operating income 114,351 75,835 303,125 209,836
Interest income, net 6,140 9,548 19,909 30,427
--------- --------- ---------- ----------
Income before income
taxes 120,491 85,383 323,034 240,263
Provision for income taxes 34,942 24,761 93,679 69,676
--------- --------- ---------- ----------
Net income $ 85,549 $ 60,622 $ 229,355 $ 170,587
========= ========= ========== ==========
Basic earnings per share $ 0.27 $ 0.19 $ 0.73 $ 0.54
========= ========= ========== ==========
Shares used in the 311,993 312,782 312,924 313,184
calculation of basic ========= ========= ========== ==========
earnings per share
Diluted earnings per share $ 0.27 $ 0.19 $ 0.71 $ 0.53
========= ========= ========== ==========
Shares used in the 321,507 320,842 322,614 321,217
calculation of diluted ========= ========= ========== ==========
earnings per share
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
(Dollars in thousands)
March 28, June 29,
2004 2003
(unaudited) (audited)
---------- ----------
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash, cash equivalents and
short-term investments $1,648,387 $1,593,567
Accounts receivable, net of
allowance for doubtful
accounts of $1,762 ($1,762
at June 29, 2003) 98,419 80,094
Inventories 33,056 32,094
Deferred tax assets and other
current assets 67,380 70,245
---------- ----------
Total current assets 1,847,242 1,776,000
---------- ----------
Property, plant & equipment, net 199,019 223,444
Other non current assets 55,067 57,435
---------- ----------
Total assets $2,101,328 $2,056,879
========== ==========
March 28, June 29,
2004 2003
(unaudited) (audited)
---------- ----------
LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 8,933 $ 7,480
Accrued income taxes, payroll &
other accrued liabilities 122,541 109,871
Deferred income on shipments
to distributors 46,178 44,678
---------- ----------
Total current liabilities 177,652 162,029
---------- ----------
Deferred tax and other long-term
liabilities 77,202 79,921
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock 801,552 740,397
Retained earnings 1,041,847 1,067,582
Accumulated other comprehensive
income 3,075 6,950
---------- ----------
Total stockholders' equity 1,846,474 1,814,929
---------- ----------
$2,101,328 $2,056,879
========== ==========