ATMI 4th-quarter net income more than doubles with higher revenue and lower operating expenses

ATMI 4Q net income more than doubles

DANBURY, Conn. — ATMI Inc., which provides specialty materials to semiconductor makers, said Wednesday that its fourth-quarter net income more than doubled, thanks to higher demand for certain products combined with a tighter grip on operating expenses.

Earnings for the three months ended Dec. 31 jumped to $7 million, or 22 cents per share, from $3.2 million, or 10 cents per share in the same period last year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters had forecast earnings of 20 cents per share.

Revenue jumped 21 percent to $84.6 million from $70.1 million in the year-ago quarter. That’s better than the $76.8 million analysts had predicted.

The company said its revenue grew faster than the overall market because of strong demand for products used in copper processes and in flat panel displays.

ATMI cut operating expenses in the quarter by 11 percent to $27.6 million.

Shares of ATMI jumped 47 cents, or 2.9 percent, to close Wednesday at $16.97.

Last year “was a challenging year in all markets and regions,” ATMI CEO Doug Neugold said in a statement. “We were fortunate to enter the downturn in a strong position, which allowed us to maintain the pace of our strategic investments, in particular, keeping R&D (research and development) spending consistent year over year.”

For the full year, ATMI posted a net loss of $6.7 million, or 21 cents per share. That’s compared with net income of $33.3 million, or $1.04 per share in 2008.

Revenue dropped 25 percent to $254.7 million from $339.1 million in 2008.