Cree Inc. Tuesday posted first-quarter earnings and revenue well above market expectations, and forecast strong second-quarter results.
The LED lighting manufacturer reported net income of $21 million, or 23 cents per share, on $169.1 million in revenue for its fiscal 2010 first quarter, ended Sept. 27. That's up from net income of $5.9 million, or 7 cents per share, on $140.4 million in revenue in the same period a year ago.
Excluding special items, Cree earned 30 cents per share in the latest quarter, up from 15 cents a year earlier. Wall Street analysts on average had expected the company to earn 22 cents per share on $164.5 million in revenue for the period.
Looking ahead, Cree said it expects second-quarter earnings of $21 million to $23 million, or 20 to 22 cents per share, on revenue of $180 million to $190 million.
Analysts, on average, predict quarterly profit of 23 cents per share on revenue of $173.2 million.