Xilinx Rises After Sales Forecast Beats Estimates

Xilinx Inc. (XLNX), a maker of programmable chips used in mobile-phone base stations, rose the most in more than three years after forecasting sales this quarter that may beat some analysts’ estimates.

Revenue will rise 1 percent to 5 percent from the $559 million reported in the fiscal fourth quarter, Xilinx said in a statement yesterday. That indicates revenue of $564.6 million to $586.9 million, and compares with the average analyst estimate of $555 million, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Xilinx is selling more chips to makers of mobile-phone equipment as their customers spend to upgrade networks, which are being strained by a surge in data demand from smartphones like Apple Inc.’s iPhone, Chief Executive Officer Moshe Gavrielov said. Increasing factory automation is also creating demand for Xilinx’s products, he said.

“You can’t keep selling iPhones and not upgrading the systems -- they’ll just be paperweights,” Gavrielov said in an interview. “There is growth in the industrial space. Factories are becoming more automated.”

Net income in the fourth quarter, which ended March 31, fell to $134.1 million, or 49 cents a share, from $160.1 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier, the San Jose, California- based company said. Sales declined 4.9 percent to $559 million. That compares with average analyst estimates for earnings of 40 cents and sales of $531.6 million.

The stock rose 6.8 percent to $36.65 at the close in New York, for the biggest gain since Dec. 3, 2008. The stock has climbed 14 percent this year.

Xilinx and rival Altera Corp. (ALTR), also based in San Jose, dominate the market for chips that can be reprogrammed after they’ve been installed in electronic devices. The use of their products, traditionally limited to expensive communications and industrial machinery, is spreading to new areas, such as automobiles and consumer electronics.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ian King in San Francisco at ianking@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net