National Semiconductor Corp.

National Semiconductor Corporation (NSM - Analyst Report) is seeing bullish Street forecasts after posting fiscal fourth-quarter results. Analysts’ earnings estimates for the year ending May 2010 are up 192% over the past 2 months.

Company Description

National Semiconductor, which is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, makes energy-efficient analog and mixed-signal semiconductors.

Its PowerWise® products are part of systems that consume less power, extend battery life and generate less heat.

The company’s products include power management circuits, display drivers, audio and operational amplifiers, communication interface products and data conversion solutions.

National Semiconductor saw sales of $1.89 billion for fiscal 2008, which ended May 25, 2008.

Estimates are on the Rise

The company is seeing bullish Street forecasts after posting fiscal fourth-quarter results. Analysts’ earnings estimates of 38 cents per share for the year ending May 2010 are up 192% over the past 2 months.

For the following year, earnings forecasts of 62 cents per share are up 44% over the past 2 months.

Results for the Fourth Quarter

In early June, National announced fourth-quarter results. Earnings came in at a loss of 26 cents per share, which translated into underperformance when compared to the previous year’s 35-cent profit. However, the result was 41% ahead of analyst’s projections.

Sales of $281 million, slipped by 39% on a year-over-year basis.

Management said bookings were up 30% sequentially from the third quarter, noting that the advance was attributable to increased orders from manufacturers of wireless handsets and other personal mobile devices as well as increased bookings from distributors who serve the broader electronics market.

The company also stated that sales in the first quarter will range from $285 million to $305 million, or an increase of approximately 2% to 9% sequentially.

“Business conditions improved through the quarter. We saw increasing orders from our wireless handset customers as they began ramping production of new smartphone models,” said Brian L. Halla, National’s chairman and CEO. “We are well positioned to enable greater energy efficiency in a wide range of products with our analog and power management circuits.”

National declared dividend of 8 cents per share, which was paid on July 13. The company offers an industry-leading dividend of 2%.

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