National Semiconductor announces Q3 earnings, job cuts

Posted Mar 11th 2009 10:30AM by Mark Fightmaster
Filed under: Earnings Reports

At roughly 7:30 AM EST, National Semiconductor (NYSE: NSM) released its third-quarter earnings report. The semiconductor company announced earnings of 9 cents per diluted share -- down from 16 cents per share in the second quarter.

In last year's third quarter, NSM reported earnings per diluted share of 29 cents per share. According to MarketWatch, the Street expected NSM to post a loss of 5 cents per share. Quarterly revenue dropped to $292 million, short of the consensus estimate of $296.8 million.

The company added that the current economic conditions call for it to cut 850 positions in its product lines, sales and marketing, and manufacturing and support functions. NSM will also close an assembly and test plant in China along with a Texas-based fabrication plant.

These closures will cost the company an additional 875 jobs. Reportedly, NSM will jettison roughly 26% of its workforce through these cuts.

NSM's chairman and chief executive Brian Halla noted, "The worldwide recession has impacted National's business as demand has fallen considerably ... However, the actions we announced today will help us remain competitive."

Looking ahead, the company forecast fourth-quarter sales to decline sequentially by 5% to 10%.

The semiconductor manufacturer has seen its stock price fall from the $22 region in September to its current perch in the $12 region. The shares may enjoy support from their 10- and 20-week moving averages, but they still face resistance at $12. This level has rejected the stock in nearly every week since the start of February.

Tags: earnings, inthenews, job cuts, job losses, JobCuts, JobLosses, National Semiconductor, NationalSemiconductor, NSM, semiconductorstocks