Aliso Viejo-based chipmaker Microsemi Corp. turned in a strong June quarter, growing sales in three of its four key markets.
The biggest gains were in industrial, which grew 14% from a year earlier to $73 million, and data center, which grew the top line 23% to $113 million. The data center business, buoyed by the company’s $2.5 billion buy of PMC-Sierra Inc. last year, accounted for a quarter of total sales, up from 15% a year earlier.
The industrial segment, led by medical radio shipments and equipment applications, accounted for 16% of sales, up from just 2%.
Microsemi in the quarter posted sales of $458 million, up 6.2%, while adjusted profits hit $116.4 million, up 38.5%. Excluding one-time items, profits were $13.6 million, in line with estimates.
Chief Executive Jim Peterson signaled three big takeaways from the quarterly performance.
“We are growing and taking market share. We are delivering on our profitability targets,” he told analysts on a conference call. “We are driving cash flows and delivering.”
Under the third prong, the company initiated a $250 million share repurchasing plan. Microsemi shares are down 2.5% this year to a recent market cap of about $6 billion, a near historical high.
WD-Toshiba Development
Western Digital Corp. will get a 14-day notice if flash development partner Toshiba Corp. sells their joint venture to a potential suitor, according to a directive from the Superior Court in San Francisco County.
The notice preserves consent rights until WD subsidiary SanDisk’s request for injunctive relief is heard by the International Chamber of Commerce International Court of Arbitration.
Consider the ruling a temporary win for Western Digital, which wants a seat at the bidder’s table and a say in Toshiba’s flash memory business sale.
The sale, expected to fetch about $18 billion, could save the Japanese conglomerate from financial ruin stemming from its bankrupt U.S. nuclear business.
Western Digital has contended Toshiba violated terms of the joint venture in agreeing to sell its flash memory business to a consortium led by SK Hynix Inc. in South Korea and the Japanese operation of Bain Capital, with funding from state-run Innovation Network Corp. of Japan and Development Bank of Japan Inc.
Toshiba has dismissed the claims and filed a lawsuit seeking a permanent injunction and $1.1 billion in damages for interfering with the sale.
Toshiba indicated it plans to invest $1.8 billion in the joint venture without WD, setting up another potential legal battle.
The developments could have long-term ramifications for Orange County, where Western Digital and Toshiba operate major hubs. Toshiba entered the year as the third biggest foreign-owned company, with 1,745 local employees, and Western Digital, which recently changed its headquarters designation from Irvine to Silicon Valley, had an estimated 1,700 local employees, putting it at No. 50 on the Business Journal’s annual list of the largest employers here.
D-Link in High-Def
D-Link Systems Inc. in Fountain Valley has released a router geared for 4K HD streaming, gaming and multiple-device usage.
The AC2600 EXO router, which costs $150, features USB 3.0 and 2.0 ports for private storage to stream videos, photos, music, and files, as well as AC SmartBeam technology, which tracks connected devices for enhanced Wi-Fi speed and range.
D-Link Systems is the North American unit of Taiwan-based D-Link Corp., which generates about $1 billion in annual sales. It’s the sixth largest consumer electronics maker in OC, with about 200 local employees.
