(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Texas Instruments, the biggest maker of chips for mobile phones, narrowed its profit outlook for the third quarter without changing the midpoint of its previous forecast, made in July.
TI said it was benefiting from strong demand for chips used in mobile phones, high-definition televisions and other electronic devices.
The semiconductor bellwether said it expected to earn $0.44 to $0.46 per share from continuing operations, compared to July's prediction of $0.42 cents to $0.48 per share. Analysts were expecting $0.45 per share, according to a survey by Thomson Financial.
The Dallas-based company said earnings would range from $3.71 billion to $3.87 billion, compared to July's forecast of $3.63 billion to $3.95 billion.
Analysts were looking for $3.80 billion.
Semiconductor revenue is expected to account for $3.53 billion to $3.67 billion of the total, the same range as before.
Ron Slaymaker, TI's vice president of investor relations, said TI was benefiting from strong sales by handset customers such as Nokia, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson.
Slaymaker said chip inventories appeared to be lean. But he added that one customer, Japan's NTT DoCoMo, had raised its orders in the first half of the year as it prepared for number portability and might reduce orders in the second half.
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