1st-Quarter Sales Reach $15.6 Million at Diodes Inc.

Diodes Inc. in Westlake Village said that first-quarter sales were $15.6 million, compared with $16.8 million in the same period last year and $14.5 million in the fourth quarter of 1998.

Net income for the quarter ended March 31 was $686,000 or 13 cents per diluted share, compared with $1.6 million or 22 cents per diluted share in the first quarter of 1998. For the fourth quarter of last year, the company reported net income of $412,000 or 8 cents per share.

Michael Rosenberg, president and chief executive, said that although sales were lower than in the same period a year ago, they were 8% higher than in the immediately preceding quarter. He attributed that increase to higher unit sales in Asia.

“We are certainly encouraged by the sequential 8% increase in sales experienced in the first quarter,” Rosenberg said. “In fact, Diodes-China, which had its best month ever in March, is now running at close to 100% of capacity, and we are optimistic that an [increase] in demand for our products will warrant a further investment in additional capacity.”

Diodes provides semiconductor devices and customer support to manufacturers in the automotive, electronics, computer and telecommunications industries.