Chip firm Xilinx, which employs over 400 people in west Dublin, has reported a 6pc dip in profits of US$87.5m on third-quarter revenues of US$450.7m, which were down 4pc on last year.
Xilinx sales from products manufactured using 90 nanometre and 65 nanomettre process technologies increased to a record 24pc of total sales, up from 11pc a year ago.
Based on cumulative revenues, Xilinx is now supplying 70pc of the world’s 90 nanometre field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) and 100pc of the world’s 65-nanometre FPGAs.
The company said that sales from all end markets were weaker than anticipated with the exception of its Industrial and Other end market, which increased 3pc due to strong sales from defence and test measurement applications offsetting a decline in sales from industrial, scientific and medical applications.
Sales from the communications end market decreased 7pc driven by softness in telecoms.
The company said that the decrease in third-quarter profits of US$87.5m included stock-based compensation of US$21.4m.
The company said that in the past 12 months it has invested over US$376m in research and development (R&D) of new technologies, an area in which over 30pc of the company’s 3,300 employees are involved.
Regarded as a jewel in the crown of Ireland’s ICT community, Xilinx designated Ireland as its regional headquarters for Europe, which now accounts for 21pc of group turnover.
Xilinx employs more than 400 people at the facility in Citywest Business Campus in Dublin and expects to increase that number to 500 over the coming years. In March 2003 the company unveiled a new €52m extension to its R&D, design and operations centre in Dublin.
By John Kennedy
