KLA-Tencor Profit Falls 46%

(RTTNews) - Chip-gear maker KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) said Thursday after the markets closed that its fourth quarter profit fell 46% from last year, as revenue declined 19%.

However, the company's quarterly earnings per share, excluding items, came in above analysts' expectations as did its quarterly revenue.

Rick Wallace, KLA-Tencor's president and CEO. "These results highlight a continuation of the trend of high levels of process control adoption as the increasing cost and complexity associated with managing yields makes process control critical to our customers' success."

KLA-Tencor shares are currently losing 2.99% in after hours trading after closing the day's regular trading session at $59.79, up 34 cents. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $43.21 to $60.94. The Milpitas, California-based company reported net income for the fourth quarter of $134.8 million or $0.80 per share, compared to $247.9 million or $1.46 per share for the year-ago quarter.

Excluding items, adjusted net income for the fourth quarter was $138.6 million or $0.82 per share, compared to $253.4 million or $1.49 per share in the prior year quarter.

On average, 14 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.79 per share for the fourth quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Revenue for the fourth quarter fell 19% to $720.03 million from $892.47 million inn the same quarter last year. Fourteen analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $705.212 million for the fourth quarter.