Business conditions were stronger than we had originally anticipated. We reached our interim goal of 60 percent gross margin earlier than we expected and at the same time continued to gain market share in the analog standard linear market. |
But the overall economy is still sluggish. As a result, our near-term outlook remains cautious. |
Early indications of consumer demand for the holiday season are not strong at this point, and although we have pockets of opportunity -- driven mostly by our specific product programs -- they may not be enough to offset weak end-user demand for this quarter. |
I'm pleased with another quarter of strong growth in which our core business revenues increased by 26 percent over last year's second quarter, led by 36 percent growth in analog sales. |
Our third quarter typically reflects a post-holiday seasonal decline in revenues. Although bookings picked up in October and November, it is too early to tell whether that momentum will carry over enough to offset the normal seasonal pattern. |
We are ahead of schedule on the return to profits plan we announced on May 5. |
We ended the year with over a billion dollars in cash reserves, a 21 percent return on invested capital and a stronger analog portfolio. Our goal in fiscal 2006 is to drive gross margins even higher. |
We have entered the fall with much better backlog in place for delivery in the second quarter. We are looking for continued meaningful improvement in both revenue and profitability in the second quarter. |
We will immediately cease slugging it out in the PC processor market, which has been dragging down our financial performance for several quarters. |