The company’s focus on analog and power management chips ensured that fab utilisation rates were in the mid-90s and it is looking for revenue in the current quarter to be flat to up 3% sequentially with a continued improvement in gross margins.
In the fourth quarter to May 30, net income was $126.4m, up from a loss of $4.4m. Revenues were $571.2m, up 34% on the year. For the year, it recorded net income of $315m, up from a loss of $33.3m on revenue that increased 18.6% to $1.98bn.
CEO Brian Halla boasted that gross margin in the quarter was 54% and was 51% for the year, an achievement he put down to increasing sales and market share in higher margin analog products.
Driven by its largest OEM customers, bookings increased 45% over last year’s level in the fourth quarter and showed a 2% sequential growth, though analog products were 50% above last year’s level. Strongest demand came from the Asia Pacific region and bookings from North America were down sequentially which the company said was primarily due to the distribution channel.
Halla said NatSemi’s aim was to improve its position in key analog areas such as power management, amplifiers and data converters.
