InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

[nieves]

InterDigital posts 4Q profit



MAR. 9 1:07 P.M. ET InterDigital Communications Corp., a maker of communications chips, posted a fourth-quarter profit Thursday thanks to a large tax benefit, as revenue rose.

The company earned $45 million, or 80 cents per share, compared with a loss of $164,000, or less than a penny per share, during the same period a year ago. The latest-quarter results included tax benefits of $43.7 million, or about 76 cents per share.

Sales climbed 19 percent to $40.5 million from $33.9 million a year ago.




Analysts, on average, were looking for earnings of 6 cents per share and revenue of $40.9 million, according to a Thomson Financial poll. Analysts typically exclude one-time items from their estimates.
For the full year, the company earned $54.7 million, or 96 cents per share, compared with $89,000, or less than a cent per share, a year ago. Sales jumped 57 percent to $163.1 million from $103.7 million a year ago.

For the first quarter, the company said it expects sales between $50 million and $52 million.

Separately, the company said its board approved the repurchase of $100 million of its shares, without giving a specific time frame.

InterDigital has about 53.9 million shares outstanding.

Shares fell 66 cents, or 2.4 percent, to $26.38 in midday trading on the Nasdaq.