Cree reports stronger sales of LEDs

Cree, the company whose LEDs lit up dazzling light shows during the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics, reported stronger-than-expected sales today.

The Durham-based company posted revenue of $135.9 million in its latest quarter, up 22 percent from the same period a year ago. Analysts expected revenue to hit $131.2 million for the fiscal fourth quarter that ended June 29, Bloomberg News reported.

Cree posted a profit of $8.4 million, or nine cents per share, versus $6.4 million a year ago. Profit from continuing operations in the latest quarter was seven cents per share.

In a prepared statement, CEO Chuck Swoboda declared the quarter “a strong finish to a very successful year. Revenue exceeded our previously announced guidance due to strong LED sales. ... We have executed our strategy to transform Cree into a broad-based LED company with chips, components and systems that are leading the LED lighting revolution.”

In the past the company was best-known for light-emitting diodes, or tiny chips, that illuminate car dashboards, cell phones and signs. But it has been making a broader push into the expanding market for energy-efficient lighting.

Today its LEDs are being used to light parking garages in Raleigh and high-end homes in Durham, as well as Asian offices and Anchorage street lights. And last week billions of Olympic fans around the world got to see more than 750,000 red, blue and green LEDs — made at Cree’s factory in Durham — that were part of computerized light shows involving the famed Bird’s Nest and Water Cube buildings at the Olympics.

Earlier this year, revenue from LED lighting components outpaced sales of LED chips for the first time in Cree’s 21-year history.

LEDs are more expensive than incandescent and fluorescent lights, but prices are falling. On the plus side, they are more energy-efficient and last much longer than traditional light bulbs.

Cree released its earnings late this afternoon after the markets closed. Earlier today, its stock closed at $19.17, down 67 cents. The company’s shares are down 26 percent over the past 12 months.