Income at LED and semiconductor firm Cree (Nasdaq: CREE) soared in fiscal year 2012, but at the same time profits plunged.
The Durham-based firm reported fourth quarter income jumped 26 percent from a year ago to $306.8 million.
For the year, revenues soared 18 percent to $1.16 billion.
Profits for the quarter after one-time and other expenses fell, however, to $29.2 million, or 25 cents a share, for the quarter. That was a drop of 4 percent.
The annual profit, meanwhile, tumbled 42 percent to $109 million, or 95 cents per share.
The quarterly performance did top analysts’ expectations of $306 million and earnings of 23 cents per share.
The news, coupled with Cree’s forecast for revenue in the current quarter, sent shares up 60 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $26.34 in after-hours trading.
“We finished the year strong in our fiscal fourth quarter with record revenue and non-GAAP earnings per share on the high end of our target range,” said Chuck Swoboda, Cree’s chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement.
“Overall, LED lighting adoption continues to increase and we remain focused on being the leader in innovation to grow our business by enabling our customers to realize the tremendous benefits of LED technology,” he added. “While we are encouraged by our progress, the macroeconomic environment is impacting our growth outlook in the near term.”
Looking ahead, Cree forecast quarterly revenue in a range between $305 million and $325 million with earnings of between 23-28 cents per share.
However, analysts had expected a forecast of $326 million and a profit of 28 cents per share.
