SanDisk Q1 Revenue Soars 88%

By Staff On May 19 2003 - 6:00am

Flash memory card products supplier SanDisk notched revenue of $174.5 million in the first quarter, an 88 percent increase over the $92.6 million registered in the year-ago first three months.

Breaking out product revenue from licensing and royalty revenue in the first quarter, SanDisk reported $155.4 million in sales, up 80 percent from the $86.5 million recorded in the same three months in 2002.

First-quarter net income put SanDisk into the black, with the company posting $24.9 million in profit, compared with a net loss of $3.7 million in the same period a year earlier.

SanDisk said first-quarter results were better than expected, considering the normal seasonal decline in retail sales, compared with its traditionally strong fourth quarter.

Revenue from licenses and royalties hit $19 million in the first quarter, up from $6.2 million year-on-year.

SanDisk expects second-quarter revenue to be about the same as in the first quarter in 2003.

Product gross margin is projected in the range of 26 percent to 30 percent in the second three months, due to incremental costs expected in the period. First-quarter 2003 gross margin was 34 percent.