Littelfuse Expects Higher Fourth Quarter Earnings
16 December 1999
Littelfuse Expects Higher Fourth Quarter Earnings
DES PLAINES, Ill.--Dec. 16, 1999--Littelfuse, Inc. (NASDAQ/NMS:LFUS) today announced that earnings for the fourth quarter of 1999 are expected to be approximately 25% higher than the current analysts' consensus estimate of $0.27 per share."The higher fourth quarter earnings reflect strong sales and improved margins in our electronics business," said Howard B. Witt, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We continue to experience strong demand for our electronic products throughout the world, in some cases exceeding our near-term production capacity. The upward trend in sales to both distributors and end-use customers is encouraging, however we also believe there has been some Y2K contingency buying. Operating margins for our electronics business are higher than expected due to our ongoing cost reduction program and the allocation of capacity-limited products to higher margin applications," said Witt.
Witt said net sales for the fourth quarter of 1999 are expected to be about 11% higher than in the third quarter, continuing the sequential improvement in sales in each quarter of the year.
"The outlook for 2000 continues to be positive, with the growth in both sales and earnings expected to approach 20%. Slightly over half the sales growth will result from our acquisition of the Harris Suppression Products Group in October 1999, however the Harris business will not be as profitable in the first year as our core Littelfuse business," Witt said.
Littelfuse is a leading producer of electronic, power and automotive fuses. In addition to its Des Plaines world headquarters, Littelfuse has manufacturing facilities in England, Ireland, Switzerland, Mexico, Korea, China and the Philippines, as well as in Centralia and Arcola, Illinois. It also has sales, engineering and distribution facilities in the Netherlands, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Brazil and Farmington Hills, Michigan.
For more information, please visit Littelfuse's web site at www.littelfuse.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995:
Any forward looking statements contained herein involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, product demand and market acceptance risks, the effect of economic conditions, the impact of competitive products and pricing, product development and patent protection, commercialization and technological difficulties, capacity and supply constraints or difficulties, actual purchases under agreements, the effect of the company's accounting policies, and other risks which may be detailed in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.