Wolfson with operating loss of USD 24 million for 2011

Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results to 1 January 2012 Commenting on the results, Mike Hickey, CEO of Wolfson Microelectronics, said: "Last year was characterised by strong first half growth, followed by a weak second half, resulting in flat year-on-year revenues for 2011. We delivered a record year for design-ins driven in part by establishing technology leadership over our competitors in the fast growing smartphone and tablet markets." "Looking ahead, favourable technology trends coupled with the right products, customers and markets are improving the fundamentals of the business. These factors, plus record design-ins with leading brands, position the Company well to achieve a step-up in revenues as 2012 progresses, along with a return to both top line growth and underlying profitability." Full year financial summary: - Revenue of $156.9m (2010: $157.3m) - Gross margin of 48.5% before exceptional charges (2010: 49.5%) - Underlying operating loss of $7.5m (2010: $1.5m loss) - Net exceptional charges of $7.6m (2010: nil) - Operating loss of $24.2m after exceptional charges (2010: $11.3m loss) - Underlying diluted loss per share of 4.9 cents (2010: 0.4 cents earnings) - Diluted loss per share of 15.4 cents (2010: 5.7 cents loss) - Cash and short-term deposits at 1 Jan 2012 of $53.4m (2 Jan 2011: $97.1m) and no debt Fourth quarter summary: - Revenue of $36.9m (Q4 2010: $45.8m) - Gross margin of 49.9% (Q4 2010: 47.0%) - Underlying operating loss of $2.9m (Q4 2010: $1.3m profit) - Exceptional charge of $2.4m on inventory write-off following supply chain realignment - Operating loss of $7.2m (Q4 2010: $1.0m loss) - Net cash inflow from operating activities of $7.7m (Q4 2010: $11.7m inflow) - Strong design-in performance with 110 new design-ins