Cree, a manufacturer of LED lighting and semiconductors, beat Wall Street estimates for its fourth quarter earnings with an 8-cent per share profit.
Analysts polled by Reuters had estimated a 7 cent profit on revenues of $115.7 million.
Cree (NASDAQ: CREE) reported revenues of $111.2 million, up 4 percent from one year ago and a 23 percent jump from the previous quarter.
However, profits were down to $6.4 million from $13.2 million in the same quarter in 2006.
Cree attributed the profit decline to price pressures.
For the year, Cree produced revenues of $394.1 million, down 7 percent from 2006. Profits also dropped to $57.3 million, or 72 cents per share, from $76.7 million, or 98 cents a share.
“Fiscal 2007 was a challenging but successful year for Cree as we made great strides in our transformation from an LED chip and SiC materials technology company into a components company positioned to lead the LED lighting revolution,” Chuck Swoboda, Cree’s chairman and chief executive officer, said in a statement. “In the fourth quarter, we again delivered financial results that were in line with our previously announced targets, and the COTCO integration is off to a good start. We believe the combination of growing XLamp LED sales, our new high-brightness, packaged LED product line and a more stable LED chip business has put Cree in a strong position for growth in fiscal 2008.”
COTCO is the LED company Cree purchased as part of its strategy to enter the Chinese LED market.
Cree shares closed at $26.48 Tuesday before earnings were announced.
