PMC-Sierra 3Q profit up six-fold on one-time items

PMC-Sierra 3Q profit rises six-fold on one-time items; revenue drops

• On 8:47 pm EDT, Thursday October 22, 2009

SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) -- PMC-Sierra Inc. on Thursday said its third-quarter earnings rose more than six-fold even as revenue fell because last year's quarter was deflated by an investment loss and other charges.

The maker of communications and storage chips earned $27.8 million, or 12 cents per share, compared with $4.5 million, or 2 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

Last year, PMC-Sierra booked $11.8 million in investment losses and set aside $4.3 million for taxes, among other one-time items.

Excluding one-time items, PMC-Sierra earned $34.5 million, or 15 cents per share, in this year's third quarter compared with 13 cents a share last year.

Revenue came to $130.9 million compared with $139.4 million. The company had restated its year-ago third quarter earnings due to an accounting change in December.

The performance of the just-concluded quarter beat the forecasts of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who on average were expecting earnings of 14 cents per share on revenue of $130.8 million. Analysts typically exclude one-time items from their estimates.

Shares of PMC-Sierra fell 6 cents to $9.18 in after-hours trading. The stock ended the regular session down 5 cents at $9.24.