Cree LED revenue close to $100 million for quarter

Jan. 23, 2008
LEDs sales at Cree exceeded $350 million for calendar year 2007, according to the company's latest financial results.
LED maker Cree's total revenue was $119 million for its fiscal second quarter ended December 30, 2007. This represents a sequential 5% increase compared to the previous quarter, and a 34% increase compared to revenue of $88.8 million reported one year ago.

LED revenue increased by 6% sequentially to reach $98.9 million. In the year ago quarter, Cree's LED revenue was $65.5 million. In calendar 2007, the company's total LED revenue was approximately $351 million.

GAAP net income for second quarter was $6.6 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, compared to net income of $16.5 million or $0.21 per diluted share for the year-ago quarter.

“Q2 was a strong quarter for Cree, as we continued to execute our strategy and delivered revenue and earnings at the high end of our previously announced target range,” stated Chuck Swoboda, Cree chairman and CEO.

“The revenue growth was driven by higher LED sales, with XLamp® orders and shipments growing double digits sequentially as we were successful in bringing on-line additional XLamp capacity in China. Looking ahead, the global momentum for sustainable, energy-efficient lighting products continued to build with the passage of the new U.S. Energy bill, which will require the use of more-efficient lighting technology and should further accelerate the adoption of LEDs.”

Recent business highlights for Cree, all of which have been reported by LEDs Magazine, include:
• Revealed plans to convert all lighting at Cree’s Durham headquarters and manufacturing facility to LED lighting.
• Launched the Cree Solutions Providers network.
• Announced that Ann Arbor, MI, will join Raleigh, NC, and Toronto in the growing LED City™ initiative.

For its third quarter of fiscal 2008 ending March 30, 2008, Cree targets revenue in a range of $120 million to $125 million with GAAP earnings of $0.07 to $0.09 per diluted share.