SAN JOSE, Calif., June 14, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Power Integrations (Pink Sheets:POWI) today announced that it has filed a patent-infringement lawsuit against BCD Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, a Chinese semiconductor company, and its U.S. affiliate BCD Semiconductor Corporation. The suit, filed today in the U.S. Federal District Court for the Northern District of California, alleges that certain PWM controller chips produced by BCD infringe upon Power Integrations U.S. patent nos. 5,313,381, 6,107,851 and 6,249,876. The company is seeking damages as well as an injunction against the infringing products.
Also today, the company issued revised revenue guidance for the second quarter of 2007. The company now expects revenues for the second quarter to be between $41 million and $43 million, as compared to the company's previous guidance of $44 million to $46 million. The revision to the company's guidance is principally the result of lower-than-expected shipments to suppliers of chargers for a major cellphone OEM. The company believes that a new charger design incorporating infringing BCD parts has recently gone into high-volume production, displacing a significant portion of Power Integrations' business related to this OEM.
"We will continue to enforce our patents against infringing competitors, as we have done successfully on multiple occasions," said Balu Balakrishnan, president and CEO of Power Integrations. "The intellectual property embodied in our patent portfolio is the foundation of our company, and we will not permit competitors to take advantage of our innovations.
"We are confident that we can win in the marketplace against these infringing products by out-innovating our competition, as we have done repeatedly in the past," continued Balakrishnan. "Furthermore, we continue to see strong design-win momentum throughout our end markets, including a recent high-volume design for a top-tier cellphone OEM, which we expect to ramp over the next several quarters."
Conference Call Today at 2:00 PM PT
Power Integrations management will hold a conference call for members of the investment community today at 2:00 pm Pacific time. Members of the investment community may access the call by dialing 800-819-9193. A replay of the call will be available for one week by dialing 888-203-1112 and entering access code 7127746. The call will be available via webcast on the investor section of the company's website, http://investors.powerint.com.
About Power Integrations
Power Integrations, Inc. is the leading supplier of high-voltage analog integrated circuits used in power conversion. The company's breakthrough integrated-circuit technology enables compact, energy-efficient power supplies in a wide range of electronic products, in both AC-DC and DC-DC applications. The company's EcoSmart(r) energy-efficiency technology, which dramatically reduces energy waste, has saved consumers and businesses around the world more than an estimated $2.2 billion on their electricity bills since its introduction in 1998. For more information, visit the company's website at www.powerint.com.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
The statements in this press release relating to the company's second-quarter revenue forecast, as well as statements regarding future events in the lawsuit against BCD Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited and its U.S. affiliate and the company's ongoing competitive position, are forward-looking statements reflecting management's current views and expectations. These forward-looking statements are based on current information that is, by its nature, subject to rapid and even abrupt changes. For instance, patent litigation is inherently uncertain, and thus the outcome of such litigation cannot be predicted with certainty. Also, due to risks and uncertainties associated with the company's business, actual results could differ materially from those projected or implied by management's forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: changes and shifts in customer demand away from products that utilize the company's ICs to products that do not incorporate the company's ICs; the effects of competition; and the outcome of patent litigation. In addition, new product introductions and design wins are subject to the risks and uncertainties that typically accompany development and delivery of complex technologies to the marketplace, including product development delays and defects and market acceptance of the new products. These and other risk factors are more fully explained in the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 7, 2006. The company is under no obligation (and expressly disclaims any obligation) to update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.