Broadcom’s net slides; firm expects sales drop

Broadcom Corp. posted lower fourth-quarter profit Thursday as the maker of microchips for mobile phones and other devices felt the repercussions of a broader industry slowdown and booked costs related to stock awards.

The Irvine company said it expected sales in its current quarter to fall about 3% from the previous quarter.

Net income in the fourth quarter was $45.1 million, or 8 cents a share, compared with $186.7 million, or 32 cents, a year earlier, the company said.

It was Broadcom’s first regular quarterly earnings report since it concluded an internal investigation into how it accounted for stock option grants.

Excluding charges related to the review of past stock awards, Broadcom earned 15 cents a share, the average analysts’ forecast according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue rose 12.5% to $923.5 million, exceeding analysts’ forecast of $911.6 million.

Shares in Broadcom rose 1% to $34.03 in extended trading after the company released its results. The stock had closed up 17 cents at $33.67.