Quarterly Revenue increased 23% year-over-year to a record $349 million
Quarterly Net Income increased 134% year-over-year to $22.2 million

Cree, Inc. today announced revenue of $348.9 million for its third quarter of fiscal 2013, ended March 31, 2013. This represents a 23% increase compared to revenue of $284.8 million reported for the third quarter of fiscal 2012, and a 1% increase compared to the second quarter of fiscal 2013. GAAP net income for the third quarter was $22.2 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, an increase of 134% year-over-year compared to GAAP net income of $9.5 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, for the third quarter of fiscal 2012. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2013 was $40.8 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, an increase of 75% year-over-year compared to non-GAAP net income for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 of $23.3 million, or $0.20 per diluted share.

"Fiscal Q3 was another good quarter with record revenue and earnings per share that were on the high-end of our target range," stated Chuck Swoboda, Cree Chairman and CEO. "Overall company backlog is ahead of this point last quarter and we are targeting solid growth for Q4. We remain focused on using new product innovation to grow our business and build the Cree brand."

•    Gross margin decreased 40 basis points from Q2 of fiscal 2013 to 38.1% on a GAAP basis and decreased 40 basis points to 38.8% on a non-GAAP basis.

•    Cash and investments increased $51.2 million from Q2 of fiscal 2013 to $937.1 million.

•    Accounts receivable (net) increased $37.3 million from Q2 of fiscal 2013 to $181.9 million, with days sales outstanding of 47.

•    Inventory increased $10.7 million from Q2 of fiscal 2013 to $195.7 million, with days of inventory of 82 days.
Recent Business Highlights:
•    Introduced the Cree LED Bulbs, a game-changing series of LED bulbs at a retail price point that gives consumers a reason to switch to LED lighting;

•    Announced the availability of a new product family, XLamp® XQ LEDs, which are Cree's smallest lighting-class LEDs and 57 percent smaller than Cree's XLamp XB package;

•    Introduced the CR Series LED Architectural High-Efficiency (HE) troffer, with an industry-leading 130 lumens per watt and 90 CRI;

•    Released a second-generation SiC MOSFET that delivers industry-leading power density and switching efficiency at half the cost-per-amp of Cree's previous generation MOSFETs;

•    Set a new R&D performance record with a 276 lumen-per-watt white power LED;

•    Appointed Mike McDevitt as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Business Outlook:
For its fourth quarter of fiscal 2013 ending June 30, 2013, Cree targets revenue in a range of $365 million to $385 million with GAAP gross margin targeted to be 39.0%+/- and non-GAAP gross margin targeted to be 39.5%+/-. Our GAAP gross margin targets include stock-based compensation expense of approximately $2.3 million, while our non-GAAP targets do not. Operating expenses are targeted to increase by +/- $4 million on a GAAP basis and +/- $5 million on a non-GAAP basis. The tax rate is targeted at 20.0%+/- for fiscal Q4. GAAP net income is targeted at $25 million to $31 million, or $0.20 to $0.26 per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income is targeted in a range of $41 million to $47 million, or $0.34 to $0.40 per diluted share. The GAAP and non-GAAP net income targets are based on an estimated 119.6 million diluted weighted average shares. Targeted non-GAAP earnings exclude expenses related to the amortization of acquired intangibles and stock-based compensation expense of $0.14 per diluted share.