There was more bad financial news on Friday for National Semiconductor , which reported a $US783.5 million loss for the fourth quarter ending May 30, primarily due to costs associated with its recently announced decision to exit the PC processor market.
The reported loss amounts to $4.65 per share on revenue of $477 million Without one-time charges of $688.4 million related to the PC processor decision, National Semiconductor lost $40 million or 24 cents a share on revenue of $486 million for the fourth quarter.
A year ago, the company posted a loss of $212.4 million or $1.29 a share including one-time charges on $510 million of revenue. Without the one-time charge in the year-ago quarter, National Semiconductor lost $69.3 million or 42 cents per share, the company said in a statement.
The company announced last month that it will stop manufacturing PC-socket-compatible microprocessors. National Semiconductor has made two separate lines of Intel-compatible x86 processors, including a line obtained through the acquisition of Cyrix in November 1997. The company will cut its workforce by 5 percent as a result of the move out of the PC processor business.
The company is on target to have a profitable quarter ending in November, Brian Halla, president and chief executive officer said in the statement. Its unprofitable PC processor business accounted for $45 million in losses during the fourth quarter, he said, adding that National Semiconductor will be out of that business soon.
In terms of its year-end financial picture, the company posted a loss of $220.6 million or $1.32 per share on revenue of $2 billion , before the one-time charges. Including those charges, National Semiconductor lost $1 billion or $6.04 cents per share during the 1999 fiscal year. That compares to $98.6 million or 60 cents per share, including one-time charges, for the previous fiscal year. Without those charges, the company had a net profit of $72.7 million or 44 cents per share on revenue of $2.5 billion in fiscal 1998.
National Semiconductor, in Santa Clara, California, can be reached at +1-408-721-5000 or at http://www.national.com.