Chip-maker Texas Instruments Inc narrowed and slightly raised its third-quarter forecast on Tuesday, saying it expects earnings of US$0.49 to US$0.53 per share on revenue between US$3.56 billion and US$3.72 billion.
In July, the company said it expected fiscal third-quarter earnings between US$0.46 per share and US$0.52 per share on revenue between US$3.49 billion and US$3.79 billion.
Revenue in the company's education technology division, which includes handheld calculators, was unchanged and is expected to come in between US$200 million and US$220 million.
The company's semiconductor business should see revenue between US$3.36 billion and US$3.50 billion, compared to the previous range of US$3.29 billion to US$3.57 billion, a company statement said.
The July sale of a semiconductor product line associated with DSL equipment boosted the per-share earnings estimate by US$0.02, the company said.
Analysts polled by Thomson Financial predicted earnings of US$0.49 per share on revenue of US$3.66 billion for the third quarter.
Before the report was released, Texas Instruments shares rose US$0.50, or 1.4 percent, to close at US$35.72. The stock fell US$0.67 in after-hours trading.
Without getting into specifics, Ron Slaymaker, TI's vice president of investor relations, said the biggest growth area for the quarter has been high-performance analog chips used in cellular phones and other electronic gadgets.
Slaymaker told analysts in a conference call that wireless chips were seeing mixed demand depending on the customer, while the company's relatively small education technology division was flat.
Cody Acree, an analyst with Stifel, Nicolaus & Co, said he was encouraged by continued strength in Texas Instruments' analog sector.
"It's good to see but it's not surprising," he said.
The update came a day after Texas Instruments detailed plans to lay off 191 workers whose manufacturing jobs in Dallas are being eliminated and who couldn't find other positions at the semiconductor company.
The layoffs will begin in early November and be spaced out until the end of January, it said.
The workers will be put on paid leave for 60 days after their release, the company said.
Texas Instruments is also finishing the last of 233 layoffs from two other facilities in Dallas by the end of this year.
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