DURHAM, N.C. — Cree, Inc. (CREE) today announced financial results for its first quarter of fiscal 2019, ended September 23, 2018. Revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 was $408 million, which represents a 13% increase compared to revenue of $360 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2018. GAAP net loss for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 was $11 million, or $0.11 per diluted share. This compares to a GAAP net loss of $20 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, for the first quarter of fiscal 2018. On a non-GAAP basis, net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 was $22 million, or $0.22 per diluted share, compared to non-GAAP net income for the first quarter of fiscal 2018 of $4 million, or $0.04 per diluted share.
“Fiscal year 2019 is off to a strong start, with first quarter non-GAAP earnings per share that exceeded the top end of our target range driven by another quarter of robust growth in Wolfspeed combined with strong gross margin improvement in LED Products and Lighting,” stated Gregg Lowe, Cree CEO. “This is an excellent result given the headwinds facing the businesses related to tariffs and global trade tensions. While these headwinds may persist for some time, we remain optimistic about the opportunity to increase shareholder value over the long term by executing our strategic plan.”
Business Outlook
For its second quarter of fiscal 2019 ending December 30, 2018, Cree targets revenue in a range of $398 million to $418 million. GAAP net loss is targeted at $5 million to $10 million, or $0.05 to $0.10 per diluted share. Non-GAAP net income is targeted to be in a range of $15 million to $19 million, or $0.15 to $0.19 earnings per diluted share. Targeted non-GAAP income excludes $25 million of expenses, net of tax, related to stock-based compensation expense, the amortization or impairment of acquisition-related intangibles and interest accretion on our convertible notes’ issue costs and fair value adjustments. The GAAP and non-GAAP targets do not include any estimated change in the fair value of Cree’s Lextar investment.