EXHIBIT 99.1
Contact: Paul Coghlan 5:00 EDT
Vice President, Finance Tuesday, October 12, 2004
(408) 432-1900 US1
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY REPORTS INCREASED SALES AND PROFITS OVER BOTH THE PRIOR YEAR
AND THE PRIOR QUARTER
Milpitas, California, October 12, 2004, Linear Technology Corporation
(NASDAQ-LLTC), a leading, independent manufacturer of high performance linear
integrated circuits, today announced that net sales for its first quarter ended
September 26, 2004, were $253,028,000, an increase of 45% over net sales of
$174,077,000 for the first quarter of the previous year. The Company also
reported net income for the quarter of $103,476,000 or $0.33 diluted earnings
per share, an increase of 49% from $69,471,000 or $0.22 diluted earnings per
share reported for the first quarter of last year. During the quarter, the
Company's cash and short-term investments increased by $48.1 million, net of
spending $54.6 million to purchase 1,500,000 shares of common stock. A cash
dividend of $0.08 per share will be paid on November 10, 2004 to stockholders of
record on October 22, 2004.
According to Robert H. Swanson, Chairman of the Board and CEO, "Sales
grew 6% sequentially from the June quarter and we continued to be cash flow
positive and strongly profitable as evidenced by our 41% return on sales.
However, during the quarter bookings softened moderately. End-demand appeared to
ease as shipments from both our international and domestic distributors to their
end customers decreased slightly. These changes were moderate. Therefore it is
difficult to conclude whether these trends reflect mostly tightening of
inventory in these various channels combined with minor seasonal end-demand
reductions, or whether end-demand will soften more substantially in the coming
quarter. Specific to Linear Technology, we presently view this tightening as
temporary. Our ending on-hand inventory at distributors is lean; cancellations
are still minimal; and, lead times have remained unchanged at 4 to 6 weeks.
These are challenging times to forecast. Looking ahead to the December
quarter, we expect continued cautiousness in the marketplace relative to
inventory levels. However we expect end-demand to be relatively stable, with
bookings increasing slightly over the quarter. Consequently we expect sales to
be largely unchanged from the prior quarter with sequential revenues ranging
from slightly down to flat."
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
27, 2004.
Company officials will be discussing these results in greater detail in
a conference call tomorrow, Wednesday, October 13, 2004 at 8:30 a.m. Pacific
Coast Time. Those investors wishing to listen in may call (913) 981-4902 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
October 13 through October 19, 2004. You may access this post view by calling
(719) 457-0820 and entering reservation # 835490. An archive of the webcast will
also be available at www.linear.com and www.streetevents.com as of October 13,
2004 until the first 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
(unaudited)
September 26, September 28,
2004 2003
-------- --------
Net sales $253,028 $174,077
Cost of sales 54,839 41,409
-------- --------
Gross profit 198,189 132,668
-------- --------
Expenses:
Research & development 30,634 24,335
Selling, general and administrative 23,058 17,571
-------- --------
53,692 41,906
-------- --------
Operating income 144,497 90,762
Interest income, net 5,468 7,085
-------- --------
Income before income taxes 149,965 97,847
Provision for income taxes 46,489 28,376
-------- --------
Net income $103,476 $ 69,471
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Earnings per share:
Basic $ 0.34 $ 0.22
======== ========
Diluted $ 0.33 $ 0.22
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Shares used in the calculation of
earnings per share:
Basic 308,201 313,409
======== ========
Diluted 316,918 322,894
======== ========
LINEAR TECHNOLOGY CORPORATION
CONSOLIDATED CONDENSED BALANCE SHEETS
(Dollars in thousands)
September 26, June 27,
2004 2004
(unaudited) (audited)
----------- -----------
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash, cash equivalents and
short-term investments $ 1,704,657 $ 1,656,540
Accounts receivable, net of
allowance for doubtful
accounts of $1,762 ($1,762
at June 27, 2004) 91,629 79,142
Inventories 31,418 32,704
Deferred tax assets and other
current assets 63,934 63,709
----------- -----------
Total current assets 1,891,638 1,832,095
----------- -----------
Property, plant & equipment, net 206,395 201,080
Other non current assets 53,113 54,528
----------- -----------
Total assets $ 2,151,146 $ 2,087,703
=========== ===========
September 26, June 27,
2004 2004
(unaudited) (audited)
----------- -----------
LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS ' EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 15,161 $ 14,410
Accrued income taxes, payroll &
other accrued liabilities 160,916 146,342
Deferred income on shipments
to distributors 43,835 41,862
----------- -----------
Total current liabilities 219,912 202,614
----------- -----------
Deferred tax and other long-term
liabilities 74,430 74,484
Stockholders' equity:
Common stock 832,290 815,472
Retained earnings 1,025,436 997,593
Accumulated other comprehensive
income (922) (2,460)
----------- -----------
Total stockholders' equity 1,856,804 1,810,605
----------- -----------
$ 2,151,146 $ 2,087,703
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