LSI 1Q Profit Down 55% On Discontinued Operations, Charges

   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

LSI Corp.'s (LSI) first-quarter profit fell 55% on charges and a loss from continued operations.

LSI has transformed itself in recent years from a diversified chip maker with handset and manufacturing operations, among other offerings, to a provider of chips for networking and storage. The company last month shed its external storage systems business for $480 million to data-storage gear maker NetApp Inc. (NTAP) as part of its strategy of becoming a pure-play semiconductor company.

LSI reported a first-quarter profit of $10.2 million, or 2 cents a share, down from $22.5 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding stock-based compensation and other items, per-share earnings were 10 cents, down from 12 cents. Revenue edged up 0.1% to $473.3 million. Revenue would have fallen about 1% to $629 million if discontinued operations were included.

The company's January guidance had called for a per-share profit of 7 cents to 13 cents on revenue of $605 million to $635 million.

Gross margin widened to 52.4% from 51.8% as revenue costs declined slightly.

The company also projected second-quarter earnings from continuing operations of 7 cents to 13 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were projecting 11 cents.

Shares were down 0.4% at $6.93 after hours. The stock has gained 10% over the past year through the close.

-By Drew FitzGerald, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2909; [e-mail]