Dallas, Texas 02/19/2014 (FINANCIALSTRENDS) – From its first quarter operations, Applied Materials, Inc.(NASDAQ:AMAT) reported earnings per share of 23 cents per share. This was on the back of close to 39 percent increase in quarter revenue to $2.19 billion. The EPS and the Revenue for the quarter were both well ahead of the analyst expectations which were pegged at 22 cents and $2.13 billion, when polled before the earnings call.
Forecast For 2Q14
For its second quarter operations, the firm forecasts earnings per share which would range between 25 to 29 cents. If these earnings are achieved, it would mean that the firm would have managed to post a sequential 10 percent increase over its 1Q14 EPS numbers. It has pegged its 2Q revenue to come in the range of $2.25 to $2.4 billion.
The big jump in revenue has been ascribed to the huge increase in demand for flash memory by digital device manufacturers, which in turn has resulted in increased demand for Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) products which are used to manufacture semiconductors.
CEO Speak
Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) President and CEO Gary Dickerson while commenting on the strong beginning to the fiscal year has been quoted to have said that, “In our first fiscal quarter of 2014 Applied Materials delivered earnings near the high-end of our guidance range, while demonstrating momentum in revenue, orders and market share. This performance reflects healthy investments by our semiconductor and display customers and major technology trends that are playing to our strengths in precision materials engineering.”
2014 Focus Areas
The transformation was achieved on the back of changes brought in the spending patterns and funnelling additional investments into research and development geared towards new product development. Highlighting the focus areas for the full year 2014, Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT) has identified continued building up in momentum to achieve profitable growth from its operations. “Fine tuned financial model, shorter time to market with new products and low cost innovation” are the other themes that the firm has flagged out as areas of focus for 2014.
