Update: Maxim CEO sees record quarter

SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Despite a lull in the IC market, Maxim Integrated Products Inc. remains bullish.

The analog chip maker expects to see another ''record quarter,’’ due to demand on a number of fronts, said Maxim CEO Tunc Doluca, during a presentation here.

Sales are projected to range from $600-to-$630 million in its first fiscal quarter, Doluca said.  According to Yahoo Finance, Maxim is projected to earn $0.37 a share on sales of $614.54 million for the quarter.

Maxim (Sunnyvale, Calif.) recently reported record sales of $566 million for the previous quarter ended June 26, up 11 percent compared with the previous quarter and up 43 percent compared with the year-ago quarter.

The company posted a net income in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) of $58.5 million, or 19 cents per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $33.9 million in the prior quarter and a net income of $8 million in the year ago quarter.      

Still, there are fears of a slowdown in the market. The PC, LCD and other market are slowing.

But analog is ''holding steady’’ despite the lull, said Susie Inouye, an analyst at Databeans. “Obviously, the third quarter is softer,’’ she said.  

The IC market is projected to grow 24 percent in 2010, she said. Of that, the analog market is expected to grow 30 percent this year.    

Meanwhile, Maxim is seeing growth amid a transition phase for the analog chip maker. For years, the company was mainly competing in the industrial market. As part of its second phase of growth, Maxim has ''expanded its focus,'' Doluca said.

Today, it focuses on seven key markets: mobility, consumer, energy, security, high definition video, auto and health.

At the same time, the company has been on a buying spree. In 2008, Maxim entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mobilygen Inc., a developer of H.264 video compression chips.

In January of 2009, Maxim acquired Innova Card, a fabless semiconductor company specializing in the design and development of secure solutions for terminals, for an undisclosed sum.Also in 2009, Maxim acquired Zilog Inc.'s secure transaction product line. This features the Zatara 32-bit, ARM-based microcontroller family for use in payment terminals.

Last last year, analog chip maker Maxim has sold some RFID intellectual-property (IP) to Intelleflex Corp. In return, Maxim received an equity position in Intelleflex, a developer of RFID products. In total, seven engineers from Maxim will be joining Intelleflex.

Moving into a new and emerging market, Maxim recently entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Teridian Semiconductor Corp. for approximately $315 million in cash.The acquisition positions Maxim in the smart meter chip market.  

Continuing on its buying spree, analog chip maker Maxim recently acquired Phyworks Ltd. for approximately $72.5 million in cash. The acquisition expands Maxim's portfolio in the optical networking front. Phyworks’ transceivers and transimpedance amplifiers span the entire spectrum of data rates, from 1- through to 10-Gbps. Founded in 2001, Phyworks is a fabless company, based in Bristol, U.K.