Altera Posts Weak Guidance as Sales Fall 6%

By Angela Chen 

Altera Corp. on Thursday posted downbeat guidance for the current period, as results missed expectations and sales fell 6% in the first quarter.

Shares fell 3% in recent aftermarket trading.

"While we had anticipated a weak start to the year, the first quarter was more challenging than expected," Chief Executive John Daane said. For the current period, Altera expects sales to be down 4% to 8%, compared with analysts' expectations of flat revenue.

San Jose-based Altera manufactures silicon chips. In late March, The Wall Street Journal reported that Intel Corp was in advanced talks to buy Altera, in what would be the semiconductor giant's biggest-ever acquisition. But more recently, talks between the Silicon Valley chip makers have broken off, people familiar with the matter said.

Overall, Altera posted a profit of $94.9 million, or 31 cents a share, down from $117 million or 37 cents a share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 6% to $436 million.

Analysts had expected per-share earnings of 32 cents on revenue of $471 million, according to Thomson Reuters.

Operating expenses grew to $176 million from $175 million a year earlier.

Write to Angela Chen at [e-mail]

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