Contact: Paul Coghlan 5:00 EDT
Vice President, Finance Tuesday, July 20, 2004
(408) 432-1900 US1
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY REPORTS A STRONG YEAR WITH ANNUAL AND QUARTERLY INCREASES IN
SALES AND PROFITS.
Milpitas, California, July 20, 2004, Linear Technology Corporation
(NASDAQ-LLTC), a leading, independent manufacturer of high performance linear
integrated circuits, today announced that net sales for its fiscal year ended
June 27, 2004, were $807,281,000, an increase of 33% over net sales of
$606,573,000 for the previous year. The Company also reported net income for the
year of $328,171,000 or $1.02 diluted earnings per share, an increase of 39%
from $236,591,000 or $0.74 diluted earnings per share reported for fiscal 2003.
Net sales for the fourth quarter ended June 27, 2004 were $238,050,000, a 44%
increase from net sales of $165,767,000 for the fourth quarter of the previous
year. Net income for the quarter was $98,816,000 or $0.31 diluted earnings per
share, compared with $66,004,000 or $0.21 diluted earnings per share, an
increase of 50% from the fourth quarter of the previous year. Return on Sales
was 42% for the quarter and 41% for the year. A cash dividend of $0.08 per share
will be paid on August 18, 2004 to stockholders of record on July 30, 2004. The
Company generated additional cash and short-term investments of $395 million for
the year and $135 million for the fourth quarter before the purchase of common
stock. The Company purchased 8,411,200 shares of its common stock for $332
million for the year including 3,406,200 shares for $127 million in the quarter,
resulting in a net increase in cash and short-term investments of $63 million
for the year and $8 million for the quarter.
The Board of Directors authorized the Company to purchase up to 10
million shares of its outstanding common stock in the open market over the next
two years.
According to Robert H. Swanson, Chairman of the Board and CEO, "Fiscal
2004 was a very strong year for Linear with momentum building steadily as each
of the quarters had accelerated year over year growth in sales and profits.
Accordingly, we closed the year with our strongest quarter growing sales 14% and
profits 16% sequentially over the March quarter. Typically the summer quarter,
which we are entering, is the quarter with the lowest sequential growth,
generally low single digits. However, this year, given the broad based strength
we are experiencing in our marketplace, should these current trends continue, we
expect to have a seasonally strong start to our new fiscal year with sales
growing roughly 5% to 7% sequentially from 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, July 21, 2004 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific Coast
Time. Those investors wishing to listen in may call (913) 981-4900 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
July 21 through July 27, 2004. You may access this post view by calling (719)
457-0820 and entering reservation #522791. An archive of the webcast will also
be available at www.linear.com and www.streetevents.com as of July 21, 2004
until the fourth 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)
Three Months Ended Year Ended
------------------- -------------------
(unaudited) (audited)
June 27, June 29, June 27, June 29,
2004 2003 2004 2003
-------- -------- -------- --------
Net sales $238,050 $165,767 $807,281 $606,573
Cost of sales 53,178 40,455 185,960 155,066
-------- -------- -------- --------
Gross profit 184,872 125,312 621,321 451,507
-------- -------- -------- --------
Expenses:
Research & development 28,660 24,396 104,620 91,410
Selling, general and
administrative 22,607 16,241 79,971 65,586
-------- -------- -------- --------
51,267 40,637 184,591 156,996
-------- -------- -------- --------
Operating income 133,605 84,675 436,730 294,511
Interest income, net 5,574 8,288 25,483 38,715
-------- -------- -------- --------
Income before income taxes 139,179 92,963 462,213 333,226
Provision for income taxes 40,363 26,959 134,042 96,635
-------- -------- -------- --------
Net income $ 98,816 $ 66,004 $328,171 $236,591
======== ======== ======== ========
Basic earnings per share $ 0.32 $ 0.21 $ 1.05 $ 0.76
======== ======== ======== ========
Shares used in the
calculation of basic
earnings per share 309,479 312,907 312,063 313,115
======== ======== ======== ========
Diluted earnings per share $ 0.31 $ 0.21 $ 1.02 $ 0.74
======== ======== ======== ========
Shares used in the
calculation of diluted
earnings per share 317,984 321,847 321,456 321,375
======== ======== ======== ========
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
(Dollars in thousands)
June 27, June 29,
2004 2003
(audited) (audited)
----------- -----------
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash, cash equivalents and
short-term investments $ 1,656,540 $ 1,593,567
Accounts receivable, net of
allowance for doubtful
accounts of $1,762 ($1,762
at June 29, 2003) 79,142 80,094
Inventories 32,704 32,094
Deferred tax assets and other
current assets 63,709 70,245
----------- -----------
Total current assets 1,832,095 1,776,000
----------- -----------
Property, plant & equipment, net 201,080 223,444
Other non current assets 54,528 57,435
----------- -----------
Total assets $ 2,087,703 $ 2,056,879
=========== ===========
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
(Dollars in thousands)
June 27, June 29,
2004 2003
(audited) (audited)
----------- ----------
LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS ' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 14,410 $ 7,480
Accrued income taxes, payroll &
other accrued liabilities 146,342 109,871
Deferred income on shipments
to distributors 41,862 44,678
----------- -----------
Total current liabilities 202,614 162,029
----------- -----------
Deferred tax and other long-term
liabilities 74,484 79,921
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock 815,472 740,397
Retained earnings 997,593 1,067,582
Accumulated other comprehensive
income (2,460) 6,950
----------- -----------
Total stockholders' equity 1,810,605 1,814,929
----------- -----------
$ 2,087,703 $ 2,056,879
=========== ===========