Nvidia Forecasts Revenue Below Estimates On Sluggish Demand

(Reuters) - Graphic chipmaker Nvidia Corp forecast current-quarter revenue below analysts' estimates as it continues to struggle with high competition in a slowing PC market.

Nvidia, which gets majority of its sales from PCs, has been a late entrant in the market for smartphone chips.

But the company has been investing on its Tegra mobile processor business as it bets on its graphics expertise to make high-performance processors for mobile devices.

The company said it expects current-quarter revenue of $1.05 billion, plus or minus two percent. Analysts on average estimated $1.09 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Nvidia said it does not expect current-quarter GAAP gross margin to increase from the 56 percent it reported in second quarter.

The company said in April it expected its Tegra business to remain flat this year as it focuses on integrating Long Term Evolution (LTE) features on upcoming Tegra versions, making them compatible with high-end carrier networks.

Analysts, however, expect the Tegra business to be down compared with last year, as smartphone and tablet makers opt for more sophisticated chips such as those made by Qualcomm Inc.

Second-quarter revenue fell 6.4 percent to $977.2 million.

Net income fell to $96.4 million, or 16 cents per share in the second quarter, from $119 million, or 19 cents per share, a year earlier.

Excluding items, the company earned 23 cents per share.

Analysts on average expected second-quarter earnings of 13 cents per share on revenue of $976.4 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Nvidia shares were trading up about a percent at $14.80 in after-market trading. They closed at $14.69 on the Nasdaq on Thursday.