Wolfson

I've seen shares fall on good results before but this is just silly!

Surely this has got to be a buying opportunity!

Financial Highlights

Revenue increased by 94% to $56.9m (H1 2003, $29.3m)
Gross margin improved to 50% (H1 2003, 46.4%)
Profit before tax increased by 123% to $9.3m (H1 2003, $4.2m)
Diluted earnings per share increased 94% to 5.77c (H1 2003: 2.98c)

Operational Highlights

158 design wins in the period
9 new products introduced in the period
Continued strong uptake of products by major OEMs
Increased sales in Japan and Korea to 29% of group turnover
31 new technical and commercial staff

Why the drop today profit taking maybe? I feel sure that this will return to it's IPO price.

MS

This was the year the iPod finally took off. The original version of the digital music player had been around since October 2001, and it had repeatedly won applause for its stylish design and ease of use. But until this year, the media acclaim had run far ahead of sales.

With the iPods status as a fashion icon assured, Jobs and Apple have continued to drive sales with constant promotion and fresh innovation. This has led to the 1,000-song mini iPod even sleeker and more fashionable than its grown-up sibling, and just the right size for a girls handbag. More recently there has been the iPod photo, which besides music can store and display 25,000 pictures.

Sales have accelerated through the year, reaching 2m units and $537m in the third quarter. With many American and British teenagers putting an iPod at the top of their Christmas wish-lists, analysts are forecasting that sales in the Christmas quarter could double again to 4m units.

This growth is supported by, and is encouraging, a revolution in the music industry. Jobs was in London in June for the European launch of Apples iTunes online store, which has almost single-handedly created a market for the legal downloading of music over the internet.

Despite numerous attempts to replicate iTunes simple pricing, Apple claims it retains a 70% share of the market in legal downloads. Ten days ago the company announced that more than 200m songs had now been bought and downloaded from iTunes.

Combined, iPod and iTunes have transformed the profile of Apples business. After several years of flat sales, Apples turnover has doubled in 18 months from about $6 billion to about $12 billion


http://business.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8209-1415496,00.html

From the Sunday Herald:

Former glamour stock Wolfson Microelectronics will demonstrate that it is still firmly on the growth track in 2005 even if some of the numbers do not match up to the stock markets early inflated expectations.

While its customers in the DVD market may have experienced a disappointing Christmas, brokers still expect a modest profits increase to around 16m for 2004 while Evolution Securities reckon that the group could make as much as 31m in the current period.

Wolfson shares have shown signs of recovery at the current level of around 14lp down from a peak of 322p although some remain wary of its exposure to China and the Far East.

And more good news centered really around Apple and its new products..........

SAN FRANCISCO (AFX) -- Shares of Intel Corp. gained more than 2.7 percent Wednesday as analysts applauded higher-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings and an upbeat outlook for 2005.

Intel revenue rose 9.8 percent compared with the fourth quarter a year ago on better-than-expected sales of its computer chips.

Shares of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel closed trading up 62 cents at $23.16 Wednesday. More than 140 million shares traded hands compared to the company's normal daily volume of 68.8 million.

Piper Jaffray on Wednesday upgraded Intel to 'outperform' from 'market perform,' saying its improved outlook on the stock is driven primarily by 'a strong gross margin ramp during 2005 and a higher absolute level during 2006,' even though the company might lose processor share in 2005.

The stock was also upgraded to a 'strong buy' by JMP Securities. Analyst Krishna Shankar described the quarter's results as a 'blow out' and said Intel 'is finally entering the sweet spot of its margin expansion and earnings acceleration phase as the company aggressively ramps new products.'

Wells Fargo Securities kept its 'sell' rating on the stock, which it believes is overvalued above $19 per share. In a note, analyst Tad LaFountain said the extent of the company's overvaluation has been 'substantially reduced' thanks to Intel's doubling of its cash dividend to 8 cents per share for 2005.

With results better than expected, Merrill Lynch raised is 2005 earnings target for Intel 'significantly' to $1.21 per share from $1.06 per share, but also questioned the chip company's estimates for the second half of the year.

'Intel deserves credit for its ability to maintain margins at the level it has. In the end, though, we're still looking at a company that is stretching in order to achieve 4 percent earnings growth this year,' Merrill's Wednesday note to investors said.

The stock remained a favorite for Goldman Sachs, which said Intel was currently 'selling below fair value.' Goldman Wednesday raised its earnings estimate for 2005 to $1.25 to $1.14 while cautioning that the bellwether stock's earnings might give only a temporary lift to the sector.

'We expect the company's positive outlook on 2005 demand may improve near-term sentiment in the sector. However, we continue to believe that overall semiconductor growth in 2005 will be in the low single digits, and that Q1 guidance will be seasonal or worse for many companies,' according to a research note.

Net income at Intel for the period ended Dec. 25 was $2.12 billion, down 2 percent from $2.17 billion for the same period a year ago. Earnings per share were 33 cents, unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2003, as Intel reduced the number of its shares outstanding through a stock buyback program.

Revenue rose to $9.6 billion from $8.7 billion a year earlier. Analysts were expecting earnings of 31 cents a share on revenue of $9.4 billion, according to consensus estimates from Thomson First Call.

Intel's semiconductors are used in more than 80 percent of the world's PCs and laptops, and the company benefited as consumers bought more computers during the quarter. The chipmaker also cut its inventory more than expected as it worked off a product glut that hurt its results in prior quarters.

Based on the revenue number, 'PC demand was a little bit stronger than people thought,' Jeremy Lopez, an analyst with the research firm Morningstar, said Tuesday.

Intel issued a sales forecast for the first quarter that was in line with analysts' estimates, cheering investors.

For the first quarter of 2005, Intel forecast sales would be in the range of $8.8 billion and $9.4 billion -- in line with analysts' consensus target of $8.9 billion. Gross margins for the quarter are expected to be about 55 percent.

Leaner inventory, narrower margins

The company cut inventory levels by more than 18 percent to $2.6 billion, compared with $3.2 billion at the end of the previous quarter. The $560 million reduction was significantly more than the $350 million to $400 million expected by analysts.

'The most important thing for them is that they cut their inventory levels,' said RBC Capital Markets analyst Apjit Walia, who has a 'sector perform' rating on Intel. 'And it was a much deeper than the expected cut.'

In fact, Intel executives said during the conference call that inventory levels, which had surged to $3.2 billion in mid-2004, had gotten a little too low during the quarter.

'My personal opinion is that we tried to slam the door hard on inventory and maybe went a little hard,' Intel CFO Andy Bryant said during the call. 'In this business not being able to fill an order is a much bigger deal than to have inventory sit around an extra few days.'

Intel's gross margin, or the percentage of revenue left after deducting product costs, fell sharply from a year ago -- to 56 percent of sales from 63.6 percent, as it lowered prices on some products to fight off a challenge from smaller rival Advanced Micro Devices. .

AMD shares plunged 26 percent Tuesday after it warned that fourth-quarter sales were below forecasts.

ThinkEquity analyst Eric Ross, who has a 'buy' rating on Intel, said gross margins have continued to be a concern at the company. But he said that is offset by the company's growing revenue base in the laptop market and its continued strength in the server market, despite fierce competition from AMD.

'Gross margins are an issue. But with everything else going on, I feel pretty good about where the company is going,' Ross said.

Mobile, desktop chips drive growth

The company said revenue from its core microprocessor business was $6.8 billion, up nearly 5 percent from last year's fourth quarter. Intel's communication business -- which includes its popular Centrino line for laptops -- saw revenue of $1.4 billion, up 32 percent from a year ago.

'We saw strong Centrino demand from consumers in the holiday season in established markets in the U.S., where notebook sales reached one half of retail PC unit sales,' Intel President Paul Otellini said on a conference call with analysts.

Flash memory sales totaled $643 million, up 61 percent from last year. But the company said this segment remained flat with the third quarter while other units posted sequential growth.

The company ended the quarter with about $14.1 billion in cash and short-term investments, a gain of more than 3 percent over the $13.6 billion reported at the end of the previous period. Intel said it used about $2 billion in cash on share buybacks during the fourth quarter.

This story was supplied by CBSMarketWatch. For further information see www.cbsmarketwatch.com.

cheers GF.

good one Gold... WLF is preparing for the next leg up.

When OBV is not an OBV.

When you look at the ratio of buys to sells %`s for WLF you will see that the big boys are buying. As on many 90% plus buy days the price is down by 1p or so, this makes your traditonal OBV indicator grossly inaccurate because the way it is constructed.

I have contacted moneyAM and asked them to design a TRUE OBV indicator based on their computerised interpretation of buy/sell action irrespective of end of day prices.

Any comments on this?

Friday, January 21, 2005
(The Nikkei Business Daily Friday edition)

Sony To Triple Monthly PSP Output To 3mn On Surging Demand

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. plans to increase production of its PlayStation Portable video-game console to 3 million units a month by year-end, Ken Kutaragi, president of SCE, said in Tokyo Thursday.

Since the Dec. 12 introduction in Japan, the PSP supply has lagged behind the strong demand, and the release of the console in the U.S. and Europe is scheduled for this March.

At a press conference held at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan, Kutaragi, known as the father of the PlayStation, said that SCE has shipped 800,000 units of the PSP in Japan but that the company is still unable to catch up with swelling orders.

By the Christmas shopping season this year, when demand for the PSPs is expected to peak, "SCE will be prepared for monthly production of 3 million units," Kutaragi said.

Current production is estimated at slightly less than 1 million a month, which is expected be increased to more than 1 million by spring.

"We also wish to release more software products for the PSP as early as possible," Kutaragi said.

Moreover, taking advantage of PSP's Internet connectivity, console users are able to utilize the machine as a telecommunications terminal, Kutaragi said, suggesting SCE's intention to stress the machine's versatility as a multifunctional digital entertainment platform.

(The Nikkei Business Daily Friday edition)

http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/AC/TNKS/Nni20050121D21HH900.htm

FT market report:

Wolfson Microelectronics, the electronic components maker, climbed 12.9 per cent to 158p after Sony said it would increase production of its Portable PlayStation to 2m units in 2005. PlayStation contains Wolfson-designed components. Cazenove reiterated its outperform rating and said Wolfsons valuation was low compared with its US peers.

PSP sales hit 800,000 as Sony pledges higher production
Rob Fahey 10:37 21/01/2005
Output to reach 1 million in April, with three million long-term target

Shipments of the PlayStation Portable console have reached 800,000 in Japan since the system launched last month, and Sony has now pledged to increase output by April in order to accommodate overseas launches.

The new shipment figure was announced by Sony Computer Entertainment boss Ken Kutaragi at a press conference in Tokyo, where he also reaffirmed the company's commitment to launching the PSP in North America and Europe by the end of March.

Monthly production of the PSP is set to increase by 100,000 units to a million units a month in April, which will help to meet the demand of the overseas launches, according to Kutaragi.

Production levels will continue to ramp up throughout the year, with two million units a month being targeted by Summer, and a final target of three million units per month thought to be the goal for next Christmas.

Addressing the low shipment numbers of the PSP to date, Kutaragi confessed that the sales figures are disappointing, but pointed out that this is down to lack of supply rather than lack of demand.

"I must admit (sales) are not big enough yet," he commented. "But demand is so strong that we already do not have enough supply... [800,000 units] is not a small volume, but it's not good enough to satisfy the market either."

Kutaragi also confirmed that Sony is hoping to add mobile phone technology and communications functions to the PSP "in the not too distant future," and said that a web browser for the device is on the way - but he downplayed rumours of a word processor and spreadsheet module, saying that these programs would be difficult to operate on a handheld console.

LONDON (AFX) - UK chip designer ARM Holdings PLC said it expects dollar
revenues to grow by at least 20 pct in 2005 after it unveiled robust results in
the fourth quarter of 2004.
It ended 2004 with a 30 pct rise in order backlog, proof that the group's
stand-alone business is in "robust" shape, said chief executive Warren East.
"Against a likely flatter trading environment in our industry, we expect
dollar revenues in the underlying businesses to grow by at least 20 pct in
2005," he said.
East gave the comment after the group reported a profit before tax and other
one-off and acquisition-related charges of 13.5 mln stg in the three months to
December, up from 8.9 mln last time and in line with analysts' forecast.
Revenues grew 22 pct to 41.5 mln stg from 34 mln previously.
ARM is paying a final dividend of 0.42 pence, taking the total for the year
to 0.7 pence, up 17 pct.
mbe/ec

Wolfson Microelectronics PLC
15 February 2005

Wolfson Microelectronics plc

Termination of the ITC investigation

Further to the announcement made on 16 November 2004, Wolfson Microelectronics
plc ('Wolfson or 'the Company'), a leading supplier of high performance mixed
signal semiconductors, announces that the U.S. International Trade Commission
(ITC) has terminated its investigation regarding the two patent infringement
allegations made by Cirrus Logic, Inc. (Cirrus).

In its Final Determination, the ITC confirmed the Initial Determination made in
November 2004 by the Administrative Law Judge.

Cirrus' US Patent No 6,492, 928 (the '928 patent) is unenforceable
because the inventors intentionally withheld highly material prior art from
the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. There will therefore be no restriction
on Wolfson or its customers from the sale into the U.S. of the Wolfson
products that were alleged to have infringed.


A limited exclusion order has been issued relating to Wolfson audio
digital-to-analogue converter products that infringe Cirrus' US Patent No
6,011,501 (the '501 patent) which are shipped directly into the U.S. The
order does not extend to any third party product that incorporates any
Wolfson product.


As we stated in our statement in November 2004, the limited exclusion
order will have no effect on Wolfson's business as two of the three affected
products were made obsolete in early 2004 due to a lack of market demand.
The third product was modified to remove the disputed feature.

The proceedings in the US District Court of Southern California in San Diego are
ongoing and the Company continues vigorously to defend these.

David Milne, CEO of Wolfson, said: 'The ITC investigation is now over and the
Commission agreed with Wolfson's position that the '928 patent is unenforceable.
Since the Company no longer markets any products affected by the '501 patent
allegations, the decision has no material effect on our business. We continue to
defend the District Court proceedings.'

Enquiries:

Wolfson Microelectronics plc 0131 272 7000
David Milne, CEO; George Elliott, CFO

Corfin Communications 020 7645 2990
Harry Chathli, Neil Thapar




This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

DO WE SEE ANY ACTIVITY BEFORE TUESDAYS FINALS,LETS HOPE ITS POSITIVE NEWS.

Article in todays Express says Wlf will beat analysts expectations by increasing their profits by more than 28% to 8.4 million for the fists 12 months since it's float and surging demand for digital portable devices has offset the slowdown in DVD's....

New chip from wolfson for smartphones.

http://www.scottish-enterprise.com/sedotcom_home/stn/scottishtechnology/scottishtechnologynews/scottishtechnologynews-roundup.htm#wolfson_feb05

The Independant today has 8 million as the figure with a great outlook.

"Wolfson Microelectronics has disappointed the City in the past 12 months but its annual results will not: word has it the figures from the semiconductor group are likely to come in at the top end of expectations. Wolfson's share price performance over the past three months supports this theory. Its stock is up by about 40 per cent since December. Investors can expect a 28 per cent rise in pre-tax profits to $16m (8m) for 2004."

http://news.independent.co.uk/business/analysis_and_features/story.jsp?story=613172

OVERVIEW

Wolfson is pleased to report another year of strong growth in revenues and
profits in 2004, the first full 12-month period of trading since the Company's
flotation on the London Stock Exchange. This has been achieved against
challenging market conditions in some areas of the Company's business, notably
sales to DVD manufacturers in China.

For the year, revenues increased 58% to $119.3m (2003: $75.7m) and pre-tax
profits increased by 34% to $16.8m (2003: $12.5m). This is also the first time
Wolfson's annual revenues have exceeded the $100m revenue mark consolidating our
position as a leading supplier of high quality, mixed signal semiconductors for
many of the world's consumer electronics brands.

Gross margins for the year improved from 46.8% in 2003 to 49.3% in 2004
reflecting a change in product mix and better manufacturing yields

Wolfson surges on MP3 sales

UK semiconductor group Wolfson Microelectronics reported stronger-than-expected full-year results after soaring demand for MP3 players offset some weakness in the DVD player market.

Wolfson, whose semiconductors are used in a range of gadgets including Apple's iPod and Sony's portable PlayStation, said revenues for 2004 rose 58% to $119.3m with pre-tax profits up 34% to $16.8m.

The full-year performance topped the consensus forecast, which called for earnings of $16m on turnover of $115m.

Wolfson said the 2004 results were underpinned by strong demand for its chips from MP3 player makers like Apple, with sales to manufacturers of games consoles also buoyant in the the second half of the year.

This offset a slowdown in sales to DVD player makers, who were struggling against 'challenging market conditions', particularly in China. Late last year, Wolfson warned that stockpiling of unsold DVD players in China meant the normal pre-Christmas surge in surge in DVD chip sales simply did not materialise.

'Despite the disappointing downturn in sales in the Chinese DVD sector in the second half of 2004 ... the company has entered 2005 with the widest product range and design wins in its history, which we believe provides a solid platform to deliver further growth during 2005,' said CEO, David Milne, in a statement to the stock exchange.

Milne went on to say that current trading was 'encouraging', and that Wolfson was 'confident' of delivering year-on-year growth in sales for both the first half and the full year. Wolfson had previously forecast revenue growth of 20% for 2005.

Looking further ahead, Wolfson said the growing popularity of multi-media and third-generation phones would spur demand for its wireless semiconductors.

'While the market for multimedia phones is still relatively small, and growth in this market was disappointing last year, the introduction of 3G networks is expected to produce substantial growth over the next few years,' said the company.

Gross margins for the year improved from 46.8% in 2003 to 49.3% in 2004, reflecting healthier manufacturing yields and a rising sales of higher-margin chips.

UK smallcap opening - Wolfson Micro up on forecast-breaking FY numbers

LONDON (AFX) - Buyers came for Wolfson Microelectronics, 9-3/4 pence better at 170, after the UK semiconductor group released forecast-breaking full-year numbers.

The news prompted Citigroup to step up its price target to 195 pence and reiterate its 'buy' stance on the stock. The house also increased its 2005 revenue forecast to 140 mln stg from 132 mln, and its 2006 prediction to 189 mln from 180 mln.

Elsewhere, Cazenove repeated its 'outperform' recommendation on Wolfson

http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=202622005&20050223040609

Gone back into Woolfson WLF having waited to see if there were the usual sell offs after results. No problem and outlook statement looks very encouraging.................

Outlook

The Company has entered 2005 with the widest product range and design wins in
its history which we believe provides a solid platform for the Company's
prospects. Demand for digital consumer electronics products, in particular
portable devices, remains buoyant. Although early in the new year, current
trading is encouraging and the Board is confident of delivering year-on-year
growth in sales for both the first half and the full year

cheers GF.