Cree Inc. reported Tuesday a 142.9 percent bigger loss in its fiscal third quarter than it did in the same quarter a year ago, sparked by a huge expense relating to its lighting products business.
The LED lighting and semiconductor producer reported net loss of $240.5 million, or $2.40 per share, down from net loss of $99 million, or $1.02 per share, in the same quarter a year ago. The company’s operating expenses came out to $367.1 million, a 246.4 percent increase.
The increase in expenses was primarily due to a $247.4 million goodwill impairment charge. According to the filing, this charge was connected to certain assets in Cree’s lighting products business being less valuable than the company had expected.
Excluding that and other non-operations-related costs, Cree reported net income of 4 cents per share for the quarter. Those results beat analyst expectations of 1 cent per share.
“While we still have a lot of work to do and the progress won’t happen in a straight line, Q3 was a good first step and we are committed to executing our new strategic direction going forward,” said CEO Gregg Lowe in a statement.
Revenue for the quarter rose 4.2 percent, to $355.9 million from $341.5 million in 2017. That was higher than analyst expectations of $347.6 million in sales.
Cree saw a 46 percent increase in its wireless business unit Wolfspeed’s revenue, to $81.9 million from $56.1 million in its 2017 third quarter. That increase came after the company acquired part of Infineon Technologies AG on March 6 in an effort to bolster its wireless market opportunity.
Cree’s biggest source of revenue came from its LED products business, at nearly $143.3 million. That accounted for 40 percent of its overall revenue for the quarter.
The company’s biggest seller in last year’s third quarter, its lighting products business, took a hit. Cree saw a 15.1 percent decrease in lighting products revenue for the quarter.
Cree filed its third quarter earnings after trading hours Tuesday. The company’s shares jumped to $42.76 in after-hours trading, up 8.6 percent, or $3.40, from the day’s close.
The filing can be found here.
