Financial Releases

RFMD Delivers Record Revenue and Exceeds Earnings Guidance in 4th Quarter of Fiscal 2006

RFMD Delivers Record Revenue and Exceeds Earnings Guidance in 4th Quarter of Fiscal 2006Quarterly Highlights:
  • Record Quarterly Revenue Of $225.9 Million

  • Sales Of POLARIS™ TOTAL RADIO™ Solutions Grow Approximately 78% Sequentially And Exceed 25% Of Total Quarterly Revenue

  • Two New POLARIS™ Customers Book Orders For Shipments In June 2006 Quarter

  • GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share Of ($0.01), Including $20.9 Million Of Non-Cash Share-Based Compensation Expense And $0.5 Million Of Non-Cash Amortization Of Intangibles

  • Non-GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share Of $0.09 And Operating Income Of $19.8 (8.7% Of Quarterly Revenue), Excluding Non-Cash Share-Based Compensation And Amortization

  • RFMD Currently Expects June Quarterly Revenue Of $230 Million To $245 Million

  • RFMD Currently Expects June Quarterly Earnings Per Share Will Be Approximately $0.05 To $0.07 On A GAAP Basis And Approximately $0.08 To $0.10 On A Non-GAAP Basis

GREENSBORO, N.C., April 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RF Micro Devices, Inc. (Nasdaq: RFMD), a leading provider of proprietary radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for wireless communications applications, today reported financial results for its fiscal 2006 fourth quarter ended March 31, 2006.

RFMD's results for the March 2006 quarter reflect strength at the world's leading handset manufacturers, share gains in RF semiconductors and increased sales of transceiver modules and transmit modules, which have higher average selling prices and increase RFMD's average dollar content per handset. During the March 2006 quarter, sales of RFMD's POLARIS™ TOTAL RADIO™ solutions increased sequentially approximately 78% compared to the December 2005 quarter and represented more than 25% of total quarterly revenue.

Both GAAP and non-GAAP earnings per share for the March quarter exceeded the Company's quarterly financial guidance previously provided on January 24, 2006. The March 2006 GAAP guidance excluded share-based compensation expense arising from the impact of variable accounting associated with RFMD's option exchange program. This non-cash variable accounting expense, which totaled $19.9 million, or $0.09 of diluted earnings per share, in the March quarter, was impossible to predict because it was dependent on the Company's closing stock price at the end of the March quarter. The financial statement portion of this release provides additional detail on the effect of share-based compensation on expenses.

GAAP and non-GAAP financial measures are presented in the tables below and are reconciled to the corresponding GAAP measures in the financial statement portion of this press release.

                                 GAAP RESULTS
    (in millions,
     except
     percentages
     and per      Q4 Fiscal   Q3 Fiscal   % Change    Q4 Fiscal   % Change
     share data)     2006        2006    vs. Q3 2006     2005    vs. Q4 2005

    Revenue        $225.9       $208.0       8.6%       $150.4       50.2%
    Gross Margin     33.6%        36.1%     (2.5) ppt     29.8%       3.8 ppt
    Operating (Loss)
      Income        $(1.7)       $17.1    (109.9)%      $(62.9)      97.3%
    Net (Loss)
      Income        $(1.6)       $14.7    (110.7)%      $(63.0)      97.5%
    Diluted EPS    $(0.01)       $0.07    (112.5)%      $(0.34)      97.5%


     NON-GAAP RESULTS (excluding share-based compensation, amortization,
                     restructuring and lease adjustments)

    (in millions,
     except
     percentages
     and per      Q4 Fiscal   Q3 Fiscal   % Change    Q4 Fiscal   % Change
     share data)     2006        2006    vs. Q3 2006     2005    vs. Q4 2005

    Revenue        $225.9       $208.0       8.6%      $150.4       50.2%
    Gross Margin     35.0%        36.2%     (1.2) ppt    30.1%       4.9 ppt
    Operating
     Income(Loss)  $ 19.8       $ 18.8       5.1%     $ (16.5)     219.5%
    Net Income
    (Loss)         $ 19.9       $ 16.4      21.5%     $ (16.6)     219.8%
    Diluted EPS     $0.09        $0.08      18.7%     $ (0.09)     204.9%


    Business Highlights

    Revenue
    * Revenue grew 50% year-over-year and 8.6% sequentially to a record $225.9
      million
    * Revenue reflected market share gains in cellular transceivers and
      transmit modules and increasing requirements for GaAs content in mobile
      devices
    * Growth was driven by all three business units (Cellular, Wireless
      Connectivity and Infrastructure)
    * Average selling prices within RFMD's Cellular business unit increased by
      approximately 8%

    Transceivers
    * POLARIS(TM) transceiver sales grew 78% sequentially and exceeded 25% of
      quarterly revenue
    * Two new POLARIS(TM) customers placed production orders in the March
      quarter
    * RFMD is experiencing increased order activity -- from new and existing
      customers -- for its POLARIS(TM) Radio Module for EDGE

    Power Amplifiers
    * RFMD extended its market share leadership in power amplifiers in the
      March quarter, based upon continued share gains in transmit modules
      across multiple leading customers
    * RFMD is booked for sequential growth in CDMA, GSM/GPRS, EDGE and
      WCDMA/HSDPA

    Investment Businesses
    * RFMD launched a wireless connectivity platform that enables the
      integration of multiple wireless technologies, such as FM tuners and
      Bluetooth functionality, in mobile phones
    * RFMD extended its leadership in WLAN power amplifiers for handsets with
      production shipments of the industry's first front-end module designed
      for embedded WLAN in handsets
    * RFMD is booked for sequential growth in GPS, WLAN and Bluetooth
      components

    Manufacturing Capacity
    * RFMD announced a 40% expansion of its industry-leading GaAs wafer
      fabrication capacity to support forecasted revenue as the handset market
      grows and as GaAs content requirements increase with the adoption of
      transmit modules and multimode handsets
    * RFMD is expanding its internal assembly capacity in Beijing by over 100%

    Financial Guidance And Business Outlook


In the June 2006 quarter, RFMD anticipates continued market share gains and increased sales of higher dollar content products, such as cellular transceiver modules and cellular transmit modules. Beyond June, RFMD expects revenue, margins and earnings will be impacted favorably by customer momentum, new product launches and recent design wins.

    * Revenue in the June 2006 quarter is expected to be in the range of $230
      million to $245 million, representing year-over-year growth of
      approximately 44% to 54%.
    * Quarterly GAAP net income in the June 2006 quarter is expected to be in
      the range of $0.05 to $0.07 per share, including estimated share-based
      compensation expense and amortization of intangibles of approximately
      $6.5 million.  The methodology used to estimate share-based compensation
      expense does not factor in items such as new grants, exercises,
      terminations or amounts that may be capitalized in inventory, and the
      methodology used to estimate intangible amortization assumes no
      additional intangible assets are recorded.  The Company currently cannot
      estimate the impact of share-based compensation on gross margin or
      operating expenses and will provide this information with its first
      quarter results.  Accordingly, actual quarterly results may differ from
      these estimates, and such differences may be material.
    * Quarterly non-GAAP net income is expected to be in the range of $0.08 to
      $0.10 per share. Non-GAAP net income excludes share-based compensation
      and intangible amortization.

    Comments From Management

Bob Bruggeworth, president and CEO of RFMD, said, "RFMD is achieving record financial performance as the world's leading handset manufacturers continue to select our best-in-class RF semiconductor solutions. During the March quarter, shipments of our cellular transmit modules continued to increase substantially, and sales of our POLARIS™ transceiver solutions grew to over 25% of total revenue. We've rapidly taken market share in cellular transceivers and transmit modules, and we expect this trend will continue during the remainder of calendar 2006 and into calendar year 2007. In the June 2006 quarter we are currently booked for growth in cellular transceivers and transmit modules, as well as in power amplifiers, Bluetooth products, GPS products and WLAN components."

Bruggeworth concluded, "We enter fiscal 2007 with a robust handset market, exceptional customer relationships and a broad-based product portfolio. We believe we are positioned exceptionally well to leverage these advantages and grow our revenue and earnings per share as the year progresses."

Dean Priddy, CFO and vice president of administration, said, "We're pleased with our ability to generate an increase of $8.7 million in cash and short-term investments during the March quarter, even as we made substantial investments in wafer fab and assembly capacity. We believe that these investments will enable RFMD to increase revenue and earnings per share as the year progresses by continuing to capture the growing demand for our GaAs and silicon products. Specifically, the 40% increase in our industry-leading GaAs fab capacity will position us to capture our customers' increasing requirements for multiple power amplifiers and switches in their handsets and wireless LAN applications. Additionally, our growing position as a mainstream fabless silicon supplier should enable us to expand our dollar content as our cellular transceivers, Bluetooth components and GPS products continue to ramp."

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

RFMD reports gross margin, operating income, net income and earnings per share (EPS) on a GAAP basis and non-GAAP basis. RFMD believes non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information to investors and facilitate a better understanding of results of operations as seen through the eyes of management. RFMD has chosen to provide this supplemental information to enable investors to perform additional comparisons of operating results and analyze financial performance without the impact of certain non-cash expenses or unusual items that may obscure trends in the Company's underlying performance. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally to make strategic decisions, forecast future results and evaluate the Company's current performance. These non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative for, GAAP and may differ from non-GAAP financial measures used by other companies.

RF Micro Devices will conduct a conference call at 5:00 p.m. ET today to discuss today's press release. The conference call will be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed by any interested party at http://www.earnings.com or http://www.rfmd.com (under Investor Info). A telephone playback of the conference call will be available approximately one hour after the call's completion by dialing 303-590-3000 and entering pass code 11058061.

About RF Micro Devices

RF Micro Devices, Inc., an ISO 9001- and ISO 14001-certified manufacturer, designs, develops, manufactures and markets proprietary radio frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) for wireless communications products and applications. The Company is a leading supplier of power amplifiers, one of the most critical radio frequency (RF) components in cellular phones. The Company is also the leading manufacturer of GaAs HBT, which offers distinct advantages over other technologies for the manufacture of current- and next- generation power amplifiers. The Company's products are included primarily in cellular phones, base stations, wireless local area networks (WLANs), cable television modems and global positioning systems (GPS). The Company derives revenue from the sale of standard and custom-designed products. The Company offers a broad array of products including amplifiers, mixers, modulators/demodulators and single-chip transmitters, Bluetooth® products and receivers and transceivers that represent a substantial majority of the RFICs required in wireless subscriber equipment. The Company's goal is to be the premier supplier of low-cost, high-performance integrated circuits and solutions for applications that enable wireless connectivity. RF Micro Devices, Inc. is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol RFMD. For more information about RFMD, please visit http://www.rfmd.com.

This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about our plans, objectives, representations and contentions and are not historical facts and typically are identified by use of terms such as "may," "will," "should," "could," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue" and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently. You should be aware that the forward-looking statements included herein represent management's current judgment and expectations, but our actual results, events and performance could differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. We do not intend to update any of these forward-looking statements or publicly announce the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, other than as is required under the federal securities laws. RF Micro Devices' business is subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, including variability in quarterly operating results, the rate of growth and development of wireless markets, risks associated with the operation of our wafer fabrication facilities, molecular beam epitaxy facility, our assembly facility and our test, tape and reel facilities, our ability to attract and retain skilled personnel and develop leaders, variability in production yields, our ability to reduce costs and improve gross margins by implementing innovative technologies, our ability to bring new products to market, our ability to adjust production capacity in a timely fashion in response to changes in demand for our products, dependence on a limited number of customers and dependence on third parties. These and other risks and uncertainties, which are described in more detail in RF Micro Devices' most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any of these forward- looking statements.

RF MICRO DEVICES®, RFMD® and POLARIS™ TOTAL RADIO™ are trademarks of RFMD, LLC. BLUETOOTH is a trademark owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc., U.S.A. and licensed for use by RF Micro Devices, Inc. All other trade names, trademarks

    and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners.



                   RF MICRO DEVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
                    (In thousands, except per share data)

                                                 Three Months Ended March 31,
                                                      2006           2005
                                                  (Unaudited)     (Unaudited)

    Total revenue                                   $225,885       $150,406

    Costs and expenses:
     Cost of goods sold (1)                          149,902        105,602
     Research and development (1)                     52,034         45,127
     Marketing and selling (1)                        16,080         12,899
     General and administrative (1)                    9,505          7,285
     Other operating expense                              53         42,414

     Total costs and expenses (1)                    227,574        213,327

    Operating loss                                    (1,689)       (62,921)
    Other income (expense), net                          654             64

    Loss before income taxes                         $(1,035)      $(62,857)
    Income tax expense                                  (533)          (116)

    Net loss                                         $(1,568)      $(62,973)

    Net loss per share, diluted                       $(0.01)        $(0.34)

    Weighted average outstanding diluted shares      189,599        187,547


    (1) The following table shows the share-based compensation expense
        included in the cost and expense items shown for the periods
        presented:

                        Three Months Ended             Three Months Ended
                          March 31, 2006                 March 31, 2005

                                Share-                        Share-
                       As        Based               As        Based
                    Reported  Compensation  Net   Reported  Compensation  Net
    Total costs
    and expenses:
     Cost of goods
      sold           $149,902   $2,992   $146,910   $105,602   $226   $105,376
     Research
      and development  52,034   11,132     40,902     45,127    276     44,851
     Marketing
      and selling      16,080    4,196     11,884     12,899    457     12,442
     General and
      administrative    9,505    2,623      6,882      7,285    269      7,016
     Other
      operating
      expense              53        -         53     42,414     -      42,414
    Total costs
     and expenses    $227,574  $20,943   $206,631   $213,327 $1,228   $212,099


                   RF MICRO DEVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF OPERATIONS
                    (In thousands, except per share data)

                                                Twelve Months Ended March 31,
                                                      2006           2005
                                                  (Unaudited)      (Audited)

    Total revenue                                   $770,247       $634,204

    Costs and expenses:
     Cost of goods sold (1)                          501,224        417,079
     Research and development (1)                    168,858        156,464
     Marketing and selling  (1)                       52,121         47,409
     General and administrative (1)                   29,589         25,053
     Other operating expense (income)                   (251)        49,469

     Total costs and expenses (1)                    751,541        695,474

    Operating income (loss)                           18,706        (61,270)
    Loss in equity method investee                         -         (1,761)
    Other income (expense), net                        1,505         (2,433)

    Income (loss) before income taxes                $20,211       $(65,464)
    Income tax expense                                (3,881)          (581)

    Net income (loss)                                $16,330       $(66,045)

    Net income (loss) per share, diluted               $0.08         $(0.35)

    Weighted average outstanding diluted shares      192,781        186,985


    (1) The following table shows the share-based compensation expense
        included in the cost and expense items shown for the periods
        presented:

                         Twelve Months Ended           Twelve Months Ended
                            March 31, 2006              March 31, 2005
                                 Share-                       Share-
                        As        Based               As       Based
                     Reported  Compensation  Net   Reported  Compensation  Net
    Total costs
     and expenses:
     Cost of
      goods sold       $501,224   $3,760  $497,464  $417,079    $959  $416,120
     Research and
      development       168,858   12,261   156,597   156,464   1,273   155,191
     Marketing
      and selling        52,121    5,532    46,589    47,409   2,223    45,186
     General and
      administrative     29,589    3,472    26,117    25,053     921    24,132
     Other operating
      expense (income)     (251)       -      (251)   49,469       -    49,469
    Total costs
     and expenses      $751,541  $25,025  $726,516  $695,474  $5,376  $690,098


                   RF MICRO DEVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
            RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
                    (In thousands, except per share data)
                                 (Unaudited)

                                               Three Months Ended
                                       March 31,   December 31,    March 31,
                                          2006          2005          2005

    GAAP operating expenses             $77,672       $57,855      $107,725
     Share-based compensation expense    17,951           708         1,002
     Amortization of intangible assets      289           274           983
     Lease adjustment                         -             -         1,483
     Discontinuation of WLAN
      chipset development efforts            53           380        42,414
    Non-GAAP operating expenses          59,379        56,493        61,843

    GAAP operating (loss) income         (1,689)       17,126       (62,921)
     Share-based compensation expense    20,943           862         1,228
     Amortization of intangible assets      457           442         1,255
     Lease adjustment                         -             -         1,483
     Discontinuation of WLAN
      chipset development efforts            53           380        42,414
    Non-GAAP operating income (loss)     19,764        18,810       (16,541)

    GAAP net (loss) income               (1,568)       14,678       (62,973)
     Share-based compensation expense    20,943           862         1,228
     Amortization of intangible assets      457           442         1,255
     Lease adjustment                         -             -         1,483
     Discontinuation of WLAN
      chipset development efforts            53           380        42,414
    Non-GAAP net income (loss)           19,885        16,362       (16,593)

     Plus: Income impact of assumed
           conversions for interest on
           1.50% convertible notes        1,060         1,036             -
    Non-GAAP net income (loss) plus
     assumed conversion of notes -
     Numerator for diluted income
     per share                          $20,945       $17,398      $(16,593)

    GAAP weighted average outstanding
     diluted shares                     189,599       222,565       187,547

    Adjustments:
     Dilutive stock options               6,002             -             -
     Assumed conversion of 1.50%
      convertible notes                  30,144             -             -
    Non-GAAP weighted average
     outstanding diluted shares         225,745       222,565       187,547

    Non-GAAP net income (loss) per
     share, diluted                       $0.09         $0.08        $(0.09)

    GAAP gross margin percentage           33.6%         36.1%         29.8%
     Adjustment for share-based
      compensation                          1.3%          0.1%          0.1%
    Adjustment for intangible amortization  0.1%          0.0%          0.2%
    Non-GAAP gross margin percentage       35.0%         36.2%         30.1%


                   RF MICRO DEVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
            RECONCILIATION OF GAAP TO NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES
               (In thousands, except per share data)(Unaudited)

                                                       Twelve Months Ended
                                                             March 31,
                                                         2006          2005

    GAAP net income (loss)                             $16,330      $(66,045)

        Share-based compensation expense                25,025         5,376
        Amortization of intangible assets                1,706         6,223
        Discount and issuance cost write-off
         related to the extinguishments of the
         3.75% convertible debt                              -           642
        Lease adjustment                                     -         1,483
        In process research and development charge           -         6,201
        Customer related payment                         5,000             -
        Discontinuation of WLAN chipset development
         efforts (adjustment)                             (251)       42,414
        Impairment charge                                    -           391
    Non-GAAP net income (loss)                          47,810        (3,315)

      Plus: Income impact of assumed conversions
       for interest on 1.50% convertible notes           4,188             -
    Non-GAAP net income (loss) plus assumed
     conversion of notes - Numerator for
     diluted income per share                          $51,998       $(3,315)

    GAAP weighted average outstanding
     diluted shares                                    192,781       186,985

    Adjustments:
        Dilutive stock options                               -             -
        Assumed conversion of 1.50%
         convertible notes                              30,144             -
     Non-GAAP weighted average
      outstanding diluted shares                       222,925       186,985

     Non-GAAP net income (loss) per
      share, diluted                                     $0.23        $(0.02)

    GAAP gross margin percentage                         34.9%         34.2%
       Adjustment for share-based compensation            0.5%          0.2%
       Adjustment for intangible amortization             0.1%          0.2%
    Non-GAAP gross margin percentage                     35.5%         34.6%


                   RF MICRO DEVICES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
                    CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
                                (In thousands)

                                                 March 31,          March 31,
                                                    2006               2005
                                                (Unaudited)         (Audited)
    ASSETS
    Current assets:
        Cash and cash equivalents                 $81,588            $26,016
        Short-term investments                     68,949            134,828
        Accounts receivable, net                  115,715             74,545
        Inventories                               116,782             75,090
        Other current assets                       23,355             15,970
            Total current assets                  406,389            326,449

    Property and equipment, net                   341,293            339,624
    Goodwill                                      117,218            119,694
    Investment in Jazz                             59,265             59,265
    Semiconductor, Inc.
    Long-term investments                             584                365
    Intangible assets, net                         10,849             11,316
    Other assets                                    2,086              3,033
        Total assets                             $937,684           $859,746


    LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
    Current liabilities:
        Accounts payable and accrued
         liabilities                             $102,772            $74,684
        Other short-term liabilities, net             260              4,968
          Total current liabilities               103,032             79,652

    Long-term debt, net                           226,876            226,168
    Other long-term liabilities                     8,419              5,876
         Total liabilities                        338,327            311,696

    Shareholders' equity:
        Total shareholders' equity                599,357            548,050

        Total liabilities and shareholders'
         equity                                  $937,684           $859,746

SOURCE: RF Micro Devices, Inc.

CONTACT: Dean Priddy, Chief Financial Officer, +1-336-931-7975, Doug DeLieto, VP, Investor Relations, +1-336-678-5091, both of RF Micro Devices, or Joseph Calabrese of Financial Relations Board, +1-212-827-3772