Chipmaker Rambus Inc. reported its earnings today, capping off a transition year for the venerable memory maker with solid growth on topline revenue and strong projections for 2014. Rambus' stock jumped nearly 7 percent to close at $9.58.

Rambus reported GAAP earnings for the year of $271.5 million, up about 16 percent from a year ago. Fourth quarter earnings were $73.4 million, basically flat from Q3 but up a whopping 26 percent over Q4 2012. Most of that new business came from the numerous licensing deals the company signed for its memory and cryptography technology in 2013. Those included SK Hynix, Micron Technology, ST Microelectronics and LSI Corporation.

It wasn't all good, though — the company's expenses jumped slightly in Q4 to $67.2 million, a big chunk of which was a $9 million impairment charge related to the company's restructuring. On a GAAP basis, the company is still running at a loss — it was at about $0.09 per share, compared to a loss of $0.05 the quarter before, but much narrower than the $0.14 per share loss it recorded in Q4 2012. On a non-GAAP basis, the company actually pulled a profit — $16.5 million or a per share income of $0.47.

The company also announced strong projections for 2013, expecting revenue between $295 million and $305 million.

For CEO Ron Black, the positive earnings come as a validation of his new strategy for the company — he's tried to move the company, famous as an attack dog when it came to patent litigation, into a more collaborative direction. I wrote extensively about Rambus' efforts to reform its patent troll image in a cover story in print, which you can read here.

By: DocMemory
Copyright © 2023 CST, Inc. All Rights Reserved