Micron Technology Q4 Profit Up - Update

(RTTNews) - Micron Technology Inc., (MU) Thursday reported an increase in profit for the quarter as revenues and gross margins improved.

Boise, Idaho-based Micron's fourth-quarter profit rose to $4.33 billion or $3.56 per share from $2.37 billion or $1.99 per share last year.

On an adjusted basis, earnings rose to $4.31 billion or $3.53 per share from $2.39 billion or $2.02 per share last year. On average, 26 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters estimate earnings of $3.34 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude one-time items.

Revenues for the quarter rose to $8.44 billion from $6.14 billion last year. Analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $8.25 billion for the quarter.

Gross margin for the quarter improved to 61.0 percent from 50.7 percent last year.

"Micron delivered an exceptional fourth quarter and capped record fiscal year results by becoming the second largest semiconductor company in the U.S.," said CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.

"In the fourth quarter, we set revenue records across all our major markets, from automotive and industrial to mobile and cloud datacenters. The secular and diversified growth drivers in our industry combined with accelerating pace of transformation of the new Micron form a tremendous catalyst for us to create enduring value for our customers and investors in 2019 and the years ahead."

Separately, Micron announced it has appointed Mike Bokan as senior vice president of Worldwide Sales, effective October 1, 2018. Bokan succeeds Steve Thorsen, who is retiring from Micron after 30 years with the company but will remain as an adviser through early November 2018 to ensure a smooth transition. Bokan is being promoted to senior vice president and will report directly to Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra.

MU closed Thursday's trading at $46.06, up $1.00 or 2.22%, on the Nasdaq. The stock, however, dropped $1.06 or 2.43% in the after-hours trade.