A strong market for communications processors was reflected in solid earnings for two of its significant players last week, as Conexant Corp and Broadcom Corp each beat Wall Street expectations. Conexant, the Newport Beach, California-based semiconductor unit spun-off by Rockwell International Corp at the end of last year, reported third-quarter net income of $24.4m on revenue up 36.9% at $380.3m, compared to a net loss of $33.4m in the year-ago period. Earnings per share amounted to $0.24, beating the First Call consensus by $0.05.
The personal computing segment of the business brought in 41% of revenue, while Network access and wireless communications products accounted for 22% and 18%, respectively. Geographically, North America accounted for 43% of revenue, with Asia-Pacific at 38% and Europe just 8%. Total revenue for the quarter was up 20% sequentially from the March quarter, when the company posted net income of $7.6m, or $0.08 per share.
Meanwhile, Broadcom Corp, the Irvine, California-based maker of communications chips, reported second-quarter net income down 41.9% at $2.8m on revenue up 157% at $116.3m. Earnings per share dropped 40% to $0.05. Results for the quarter include merger- related charges of $11.1m and litigation settlement costs of $17m, without which, earnings were $0.19 per share, or $0.03 better than the consensus estimate. Six-month net income rose 79.8% to $18.6m on revenue up 163% at $212.6m, while EPS rose 54.5% to $0.17.
