mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636
DURHAM -- Light maker Cree Inc. announced record revenues for the second quarter in a row Tuesday.
The Durham-based LED maker reported $169.1 million in revenue for first quarter of fiscal year 2010 after stock markets closed Tuesday afternoon.
First-quarter revenue increased by 20 percent from first quarter of fiscal 2009 and by 14 percent from the past quarter, fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. Net income for the first quarter also more than doubled year-over-year to $21 million, compared with the net income of first quarter 2009, $5.9 million.
The company generated $61.2 million of operating cash flow and $40.8 million of free cash flow during the first quarter.
In an earnings call, Cree Chairman and CEO Chuck Swoboda attributed the revenue growth to strong sales of LED lights and chips, which are used in laptop computers.
The company will continue to try to boost production in factories to keep up with the demand as well as keep pushing for adoption of light-emitting diodes in the second quarter, according to Swoboda.
Cree also recently closed a stock offering of 12.65 million shares, resulting in $434.2 million generated in cash.
"As a result of the recent equity offering, we have the balance sheet to invest in the growth of our business as we look to continue to lead the LED lighting revolution," Swoboda said in a statement.
Of that, up to $160 million could be used to expand LED chip productions, and Swoboda referred to "potential strategic investments to strengthen Cree's leadership position."
The company has steadily pushed for LED adoption with its LED Cities program. Earlier this month, Gov. Beverly Perdue visited the company's headquarters in Durham's Research Triangle Park to speak on the importance of green technology to the state's economic growth.
Perdue had mentioned that her home in New Bern is being upfitted with LED lights, which use less electricity and have longer life spans.
At the same event, Cree had announced that it expects to expand its manufacturing capacity in Durham and through contracting with electronics manufacturing services provider Flextronics in the Charlotte area.
Analysts on Wall Street had expected the company to post $164.5 million in revenue, or 22 cents per share, for the first quarter, the Associated Press reported.
In the past quarter, Cree released the XLamp XP-G, the brightest and highest-efficiency lighting LED and announced plans to add 575 jobs to the company's RTP facility by the end of 2012. Of that, the company is already on track to hire 275 new workers this year.
For its second quarter of fiscal 2010 ending Dec. 27, Cree is targeting revenue in a range of $180 million to $190 million, with net income of $21 million to $23 million, or $0.20 to $0.22 per share.
Cree shares closed up a nickel at $41.16 at 4 p.m. Tuesday, shortly before the release of the company's first-quarter earnings.
In after hours trading, Cree shares rose to $42.60 per share.
