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TowerJazz said on Wednesday it earned 70 cents a share in the
last three months of 2015, excluding one-off items, compared
with 54 cents in the same period of 2014. Revenue rose 8 percent
to a record $254.6 million.
The maker of chips for smartphones, battery chargers, AC/DC
adapters and image sensors, was expected by analysts to report
earnings of 63 cents a share on revenue of $252.4 million,
according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Estimates.
Including one-off items, on a GAAP accounting basis, TowerJazz
posted a basic EPS of 28 cents versus 1 cent a year ago.
"Our GAAP net growth is sustainable and growing," Chief
Executive Russell Ellwanger told Reuters.
TowerJazz lost money for years following heavy investments in a
second chip plant in Israel, while also paying high interest on
its debt. It has since slashed its debt while adding, through
acquisitions and joint ventures, plants in Japan, California and
San Antonio, Texas.
The company predicted it would generate revenue of $276 million
in the current quarter, plus or minus 5 percent, equating to
year-on-year growth of 22 percent and above analysts' average
forecast of $256.4 million. Ellwanger expects revenue of over $1
billion in 2016.
This expected growth is partly attributed to the inclusion of
revenue from its San Antonio plant in the beginning of February.
TowerJazz acquired the plant from Maxim Integrated Products <MXIM.O>,
which committed to buy chips from the plant for 15 years.
Ellwanger also attributed the growth to being "focused on the
right sectors and having the right customers".
TowerJazz had growth of over 25 percent in its main markets -
camera sensors, power management and radio frequency (RF)
wireless connectivity.
"Our product strategy surrounds the trends that drive the
Internet of Things," Ellwanger said. "If you look at how much
computing power is in a phone ... you have to have power
efficiency, you have to have sensors."
He said about 20 percent of the company's end products go to the
automotive sector as cars become increasingly connected. Its
chips, for example, are used in sensors in collision avoidance
systems.
(Editing by Greg Mahlich)
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