TI profit doubles on strong sales

Texas Instruments on Monday reported strong third-quarter revenue growth, fueled by rising demand for semiconductors.

The semiconductor giant posted a net income of $447 million, or 25 cents a share, compared with $188 million, or 11 cents per share, a year ago.

TI's revenue rose to $2.53 billion for the period ending Sept. 30, up 13 percent from a year ago. Analysts expected the company to report revenue of $2.44 billion, according to First Call.

Semiconductors, which account for the largest portion of TI's revenue, reached $2.12 billion in the quarter, up 16 percent from a year ago and a 10 percent increase sequentially.

Chip sales for the wireless market rose 30 percent compared with a year ago and climbed 22 percent from the last quarter. Broadband-related semiconductor sales increased 74 percent from a year ago.

"We were encouraged by the momentum in our semiconductors during the third quarter, and we expect it to continue in the fourth quarter," Kevin March, chief financial officer, said during a conference call with analysts. "We expect wireless to continue to be a contributor in the fourth quarter, but we try not to be specific as to which areas will grow more or less than the average."

TI said expects its fourth-quarter revenue to reach between $2.49 billion and $2.7 billion and net income to be between 14 cents and 19 cents a share.

Investors applauded TI's fourth-quarter outlook, pushing its shares up 7 percent in after-hours trading to $27.50. During the regular session, the stock closed up 71 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $25.67.

The company plans to issue a midquarter update Dec. 8.