Atmel Beats EPS Estimates By $0.09 And Beats Revenue Estimates (ATML)

Atmel

today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2010. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2010 were $457.8 million, a 3% increase compared to $444.3 million for the third quarter of 2010, and a 33% increase compared to $343.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2009. Fourth quarter results for 2010 exclude the Smart Card business which was divested at the end of the third quarter of 2010. Adjusting for the Smart Card divestiture, fourth quarter revenues increased 10% sequentially and 44% from the fourth quarter of the prior year. For the full year 2010, revenues increased 35% to $1.64 billion, compared to $1.22 billion for 2009. Net income, on a GAAP basis, totaled $223.1 million or $0.47 per diluted share for the fourth quarter of 2010. Included in fourth quarter 2010 results was a tax benefit of $133.1 million, which included $118.1 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, primarily from releasing reserves for certain deferred tax assets. The fourth quarter 2010 net income compares to net income of $219.8 million or $0.47 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2010, which included a $150.4 million, or $0.32 per diluted share tax benefit related to the resolution of an IRS tax audit, and a net loss of $83.3 million or $0.18 per diluted share for the year-ago quarter, including one-time charges. For the full year of 2010, net income was $423.1 million or $0.90 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $109.5 million or a loss of $0.24 per diluted share for 2009. “Our fourth quarter results exceeded our expectations as we continued to experience strong customer demand and improved product mix across all business segments,” said Steve Laub, Atmel's President and Chief Executive Officer. “Microcontroller revenues reached new records as both our 8-bit and 32-bit products continued to benefit from broad-based strength in the market. Atmel's market leading touchscreen solutions, led by our maXTouch™ products, continued their strong growth, easily surpassing our goal of $140 million in revenues during calendar 2010. We remain confident in our business with continuing design win momentum in our microcontroller products and recently announced new generation of touch solutions.”