Linear Technology Corp. (Milpitas, CA) announced that net sales for its first quarter ended September 29, 2002, were $142,011,000, an increase of 18 percent over net sales of $120,104,000 for the first quarter of the previous year. The company also reported net income for the quarter of $53,802,000, or $0.17 diluted earnings per share, an increase of 19 percent from $45,150,000, or $0.14 diluted earnings per share, reported for the first quarter of last year.
A cash dividend of $0.05 per share will be paid on November 13, 2002, to stockholders of record on October 25, 2002. During the quarter, the company purchased 4,870,448 shares of its common stock for approximately $125.0 million. Before the impact of these common stock purchases, the company generated approximately $43.0 million in additional cash and short-term investments. The company has purchased approximately seven million of the 10 million shares previously authorized by the board of directors. It has been authorized to purchase up to an additional 10 million shares of its outstanding common stock in the open market over the next two years.
