RF Micro Devices Swings to 2Q Profit

For the quarter ended Sept. 29, the company earned $14.5 million, or 7 cents per share, compared with a loss of $20 million, or 10 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago. Excluding certain charges and gains, adjusted earnings slipped to $23.4 million, or 11 cents per share, from $23.7 million, or 11 cents per share.

Revenue rose 4 percent to $255.8 million from $246.9 million.

Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected profit of 7 cents per share on revenue of $241 million.

Gross margin was 32.2 percent in the quarter, down from 34.9 percent a year ago.

"In the current quarter, RF Micro Devices is benefiting from higher-than-anticipated demand for Polaris 3 and record demand for our transmit modules. The aggressive demand is temporarily impacting gross margin, as Polaris 3 startup yields are low," said Chief Financial Officer Dean Priddy in a statement.

The company's Polaris 3 Total Radio technology is designed to improve overall handset performance.

The company said it began high volume shipments of its Polaris 3 RF technology and expanded its Polaris customer base to include an additional top-tier handset manufacturer during the quarter.

Shares of the company fell 54 cents, or 7.5 percent, to $6.68 in after-hours trading, after adding 9 cents to end the regular trading session at $7.22. The stock has ranged from $5.56 to $8.60 over the past year.