Revenue exceeded the company's previous forecast and increased sequentially by 4%, according to Joe King, vice chairman and chief executive of the Lisle, Ill. interconnect supplier. Gross margin also rose sequentially to 34.1% from 33.7% the previous quarter, King noted.

Sales improved in the Far East due to strong demand from consumer, PC, and mobile phones. However, sales remained flat in North and South America.

"The overall level of new orders during the September quarter was encouraging, and we believe that a majority of our global markets are now in an initial phase of cautious expansion," King said in a statement. "Our operations in the Far East continue to drive our results. We believe that inventory in the majority of our worldwide sales channels remains below normal levels, and when combined with expanding demand should lead to continued improvement in our financial results."

In a separate development, Molex announced that Diane Bullock would assume the position of chief financial officer, effective January 1, 2004. Bullock will replace Bob Mahoney, who will move to Singapore as Molex's Regional President of the Far East South.

Molex expects revenue for the second fiscal quarter ending December 31 to range from $500 to $510 million, with earnings per share of 18 to 19 cents, up 20 to 26% over the last year's second fiscal quarter.

By: DocMemory
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