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Xilinx said that pro-forma revenues for the quarter ended September 2001, (which it calls Q2, 2002) were USD224.6 million down 22 percent from the previous quarter and 44 percent below revenues for the same period last year. On a GAAP basis (which includes exceptional items) its operating loss for the quarter was USD115 million, net loss was USD176 million and USD0.53 per share. Xilinx said that both pro-forma and GAAP results included a "sizeable" inventory write-down.
According to the maker of programmable logic devices (PLD), sales in its two major markets, Europe and North America, fell sharply during the quarter. Sales to European customers decreased by 48 percent sequentially and now represent just 19 percent of its total sales, and sales in North America dropped by 16 percent sequentially, with that market accounting for just over 50 percent of total revenues.
This would seem to be bad news for the company's Irish operation, which is regarded as an international flagship facility. However, a Xilinx spokesperson said that it had no intention of laying-off any of its 360 employees in Ireland. "We have always said that we will do everything to avoid letting staff go as these people will be needed when the market turns around," the spokesperson told ElectricNews.Net.
Indeed, Xilinx has previously said that it intends to recruit an additional 500 staff in Ireland. The company's spokesperson did admit though that while it was still going to bring in this level of extra employees, it would take longer than originally planned. "Our recruitment plans remain in place, but in the current climate it is prudent to plan such expansion carefully."
Most of the 500 new recruits will be housed in Xilinx's IEP41 million expansion at its Citywest facility. The extension is due to be completed in mid 2002 and the spokesperson confirmed that plans for the facility's construction remain on track. Xilinx established its facility in Ireland in 1995 and it houses advanced research and development as well as engineering operations.
Xilinx's president and chief executive officer, Wim Roelandts, said that the latest quarter was another difficult one for the company and the semiconductor industry. However, Roelandts commented that the business has seen growth in sales in "non-traditional" applications such as digital video technology and home networking.
The PLD maker's stock dropped USD1.04 to USD26.44 on the Nasdaq before it results were released on Thursday, and the firm's shares have fallen more than 40 percent this year as the tech sector continues to feel the effects of the slowdown.
Xilinx can be found at http://www.xilinx.com.
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