National Semi’s Earnings Beat Forecasts

National Semiconductor Corp. posted earnings well above analysts’ expectations for its fiscal second quarter, on higher sales of analog chips and lower costs. Profit from operations in the quarter ended Nov. 28 was $70.4 million, or 37 cents a share, contrasted with a loss from operations of $48.6 million, or 29 cents, the chip maker said. Sales edged up 1% to $514 million. National Semi was expected to earn 27 cents a share, according to First Call Corp. The company also benefited from the sale earlier this year of its money-losing Cyrix unit, which manufactured microprocessors for personal computers. National Semi said worldwide bookings, or orders, jumped 43%, with bookings in the analog segment up 60%. National said in September that it was poised for very strong profit in its fiscal second quarter as it was seeing strong sales of both its analog and wireless chip products. The Santa Clara-based company is now focusing on its strongest business--analog chips--sales of which are booming because of the growth of wireless phones and strong personal computer sales. After one-time items, National posted net income of $92 million, or 49 cents per share. National Semi shares jumped $5.06 to close at $51 on the New York Stock Exchange.