Avago Posts Upbeat Q2 Earnings, Plans To Buy Acquire For $37B

reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal second quarter. The company also announced its plans to acquire

in a deal valued at $37 billion. The Singapore-based company posted quarterly earnings of $344 million, or $1.21 per share, compared to $158 million, or $0.61 per share, in the year-ago period. Excluding one-time items, the company earned $2.13 per share. Its revenue jumped 130 percent year-over-year to $1.61 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $2.01 per share on revenue of $1.64 billion. The average estimate among 20 Estimize users was for a loss of $2.05 per share and revenue of $1.64 billion. Its gross margin climbed to $846 million, or 52 percent of net revenue, from $357 million, or 51 percent of net revenue. Operating expenses jumped to $428 million from $197 million, while operating income gained to $418 million from $160 million. At the end of the quarter, Avago's cash balance was $2.5 billion, versus $2.6 billion at the end of the previous quarter. "We delivered solid second quarter revenue while significantly exceeding gross margin and EPS expectations for the quarter," said Hock Tan, President and CEO of Avago Technologies Limited. "We expect to resume revenue growth in the third quarter driven by strength in our wireless and enterprise storage segments". Avago shares rose 0.01 percent to $141.50 in pre-market trading.