Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) reported first-quarter revenue of $3.40 billion, net income of $997 million and earnings per share of 97 cents. Earnings per share include an 8-cent discrete tax benefit not in the company's original guidance. Regarding the company's performance and returns to shareholders, Rich Templeton, TI's chairman, president and CEO, made the following comments:
"Revenue increased 13 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Demand for our products continued to be strong in the automotive market and continued to strengthen in the industrial market.
"In our core businesses, Analog revenue grew 20 percent and Embedded Processing revenue grew 10 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Operating margin increased in both businesses.
"Gross margin of 63.0 percent reflected the quality of our product portfolio, as well as the efficiency of our manufacturing strategy, including the benefit of 300-millimeter Analog production.
"Our cash flow from operations of $4.8 billion for the trailing 12 months again underscored the strength of our business model. Free cash flow for the trailing 12 months was up 11 percent from a year ago to $4.2 billion and represents 30.7 percent of revenue, up from 29.5 percent a year ago.
"We have returned $3.8 billion to owners in the past 12 months through stock repurchases and dividends.
"Our balance sheet remains strong with $3.0 billion of cash and short-term investments at the end of the quarter, about 80 percent of which was owned by the company's U.S. entities. Inventory ended the quarter at 132 days.
"TI's second-quarter outlook is for revenue in the range of $3.40 billion to $3.70 billion, and earnings per share between $0.89 and $1.01, which includes an estimated $30 million discrete tax benefit," projected Templeton.
