Texas Instruments' profit plummets 97%

Texas Instruments posted a 97-percent drop in income, but the company said it is seeing signs of stabilization in the troubled chip market.

TI posted a net income of just $17 million, compared with a net profit of $662 million in the year-ago quarter. Revenue dropped 36 percent to $2.1 billion, down from $3.3 billion last year.

The company said it is seeing an increase in orders, but said there are no signs of a wide-ranging recovery on the horizon yet. However, the chipmaker sounded a positive note about the market: "Demand for our products has begun to stabilize after sharp drops in the past two quarters," CEO Richard Templeton said in a statement. "Many customers have increased orders for TI products as they have begun to slow down their inventory reductions. However, we remain sensitive to continuing weakness in the global economy, and we have yet to see signs of a broad-based recovery in our business."

In late January, TI cut 3,400 jobs, or 12 percent of its workforce, in a bid to cut costs amid declining profits. Longtime TI customer Nokia recently expanded its work with other chipset makers, including Broadcom.

For more:
- see this article
[1]- see the conference call transcript [1]

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