LSI Logic Corp has been forced to concede some ground in its unequal battle with the depressed semiconductor market. The Milpitas, California-based ‘system-on-a-chip’ company warned investors on Wednesday that its third quarter results would show declines in both revenues and profits. After battling through several quarters of flat revenues, LSI has now downgraded its own forecast of last month which predicted a flat third quarter by announcing that revenues will actually decline up to 10% and earnings per share will likely fall by as much as 40%. Last quarter, LSI reported earnings per share of $0.23 on revenues of $330m. Less than anticipated order input during the first six weeks of the third quarter is expected to result in 5%-10% lower revenues and EPS in the low to mid teens, said chief executive Wilfred Corrigan. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $0.24 per share and by 10:30 Eastern Time LSI’s shares had plunged 14%. A spokesperson for the company said that no single customer or vertical market could be held responsible for the decline, but that demand from North American customers in the communications and computer industries had been partially responsible. LSI sells chips that combine microprocessor and memory functions into a single unit. The company also explained that these latest financial estimates do not include any adverse effects or one-time charges associated with LSI’s recent acquisition of Symbios Inc, Hyundai Electronics Co’s semiconductor and storage systems unit.
