STMicroelectronics Posts Q3 Profit

STMicroelectronics NV

posted a net profit in the third quarter. The Geneva, Switzerland-based company posted a quarterly net profit of $72 million, or $0.08 per share, versus a year-ago net loss of $142 million. On an adjusted basis, net of related taxes, the company posted non-US GAAP net income of $0.13 per share. Its net revenue dropped to $1.89 billion from $2.01 billion. Sense & Power and Automotive Products net revenue rose 1.3% sequentially, while Embedded Processing Solutions net revenue gained 1.0% sequentially. Third quarter gross profit came in at $646 million, while gross margin was 34.3%. STMicro announced a plan to achieve $100 million in annualized savings in its digital business over the next year. Net cash from operating activities was $281 million in the quarter, versus $14 million in the year-ago quarter. The company expected revenue to fall in the fourth quarter versus the third quarter. "We had a solid quarter in terms of performance across a number of metrics and year-over-year improvement: from gross margin to operating margin progression and from net income to cash flow generation. At the same time, the softening of demand towards the end of the quarter, specifically in the mass market and in microcontrollers, slowed our anticipated sequential revenue progress," said ST President and CEO Carlo Bozotti. STMicroelectronics shares gained 3.88% to close at $7.22 yesterday.