There's Nothing Fluky About Marvell's Fortunes
By Anders Bylund
March 7, 2008
Recommended (2)
It looks like Marvell Technology (Nasdaq: MRVL) has restarted its stalled growth engines.
The specialist in semiconductor designs for communications and connectivity reported breakeven GAAP earnings for the fourth quarter -- $0.00 per share, compared with a $0.24 loss per share in the year-ago quarter. Revenue came in 36% higher year over year, at $845 million, proving that last quarter's 46% sales increase wasn't a fluke.
Management gave props to the high demand for its low-power, low-cost hard-drive controllers, with a lesser shout-out to Ethernet transceivers. Marvell's biggest customer by revenue was hard-drive maker Western Digital (NYSE: WDC), and management seemed to say that WD grew its market share during the quarter. (Food for thought, if you're keeping an eye on the hard-drive market.)
That's a somewhat unexpected growth profile across Marvell's divisions, given that the company also is known for more obvious high-growth technologies, like Wi-Fi networking and digital media decoding. But hey, let Atheros (Nasdaq: ATHR) and Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) take the Wi-Fi market, if Marvell's design efforts are better spent elsewhere. Any growth is good growth, right?
The company does have a new video converter chip on the market that promises to put low-resolution videos into an eye-popping high-def format. High-def video from low-bandwidth sources -- what a buzzword-loaded combo! If makers of TV sets and set-top boxes warm up to this technology, it would be a definite growth driver that sets Marvell apart from video rivals like Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) and STMicroelectronics (NYSE: STM). It certainly feels like the right product at the right time to catch a big wave. But the consumer product announcements haven't exploded on the scene so far.
Keep 'em coming, Marvell. A couple more quarters like this, and you might even make a believer out of me.
Further Foolishness:
Want to make money in up, down, and rollercoaster markets? Find out how. Claim your private invitation to a breakthrough new service from Motley Fool Co-founder David Gardner and team. Simply enter your email below.
Terms & Conditions
RSS Headlines
Fool UK