(Updates with further comments from CEO, background, share price.)

 
   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

National Semiconductor Corp. (NSM) swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter loss - its first quarterly loss in six years - on large restructuring and impairment charges, though the analog chip maker said market conditions are improving.

Shares fell 0.5% to $14.40 in after-hours trading although the results topped both Wall Street and company expectations, and the Santa Clara, Calif., company predicted fiscal first-quarter revenue above analysts' estimates. The stock has lost about a third of its value since September, but is up 42% this year.

"Business conditions improved through the quarter. We saw increasing orders from our wireless handset customers as they began ramping production of new smartphone models," said Chief Executive Brian Halla.

Still, in a conference call to discuss the results, Halla remained cautious. Improvements in end-demand for tech products, he said, will be determined by the strength of the overall economy.

"We will leave it to someone else to call it a recovery," he said.

Rival Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN), which also is focusing on analog chips, on Monday sharply raised its fiscal second-quarter guidance, raising expectations for National Semi's results. TI said customers were reducing inventory at a slower rate than previously. Meanwhile, other companies also have pointed to signs of a bottom in demand.

For the quarter ended May 31, National Semi reported a loss of $63.7 million, or 28 cents a share, compared with a profit of $83.2 million, or 34 cents a share, a year earlier.

The latest results included $116.1 million in restructuring and impairment charges. The prior-year quarter included a $9.1 million charge for severance and factory modernization, $20 million in pretax stock compensation costs and $6 million in tax benefits.

Analysts estimated a loss of 38 cents a share, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

Revenue dropped 39% to $280.8 million. In March, National Semi predicted revenue of $263.2 million and $277.8 million.

Gross margin fell to 58.3% from 65.9%.

Bookings grew 30% from the fiscal third quarter on increased orders from manufacturers of wireless handsets and other personal mobile devices and from those serving the broader electronics market. Bookings were up sequentially in all regions except Japan, with the largest increase in the Asia Pacific region. Total company bookings exceeded billings.

Inventory decreased 9.4% from a year earlier.

Looking ahead, National Semi, which makes chips that help run cellphones, computers and high-definition televisions, expects fiscal first-quarter revenue of $285 million to $305 million. Analysts estimated $282.5 million.

National Semi has announced plans to eliminate 26% of its work force and close plants as it shifts focus from offering a broad line of low-priced chips to developing more lucrative products for specific markets, particularly energy management.

-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5975; Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com

(Jerry DiColo contributed to this report.)