OmniVision forecasts second-quarter revenue above Street, shares rise

(Reuters) - Image sensor maker OmniVision Technologies Inc (OVTI.O) reported first-quarter revenue that beat analysts' expectations, and the company forecast current-quarter sales well above estimates, sending its shares up 9 percent in extended trade.

The company, which makes back-lit image sensors for most of Apple Inc's (AAPL.O) products, forecast second-quarter adjusted earnings of between 21 cents to 37 cents per share on revenue of $355 million to $390 million.

Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 33 cents per share on revenue of $268.6 million, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

"While we are successful in rebuilding revenues momentum, our gross margins remain under pressure as a result of our current cost structure," Chief Executive Shaw Hong said in a statement.

The company's first-quarter net profit fell to $2.3 million, or 4 cents per share, from $42 million, or 68 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue fell 7 percent to $258.1 million.

Excluding items, OmniVision, which pioneered imaging sensors that use both sides of a chip to deliver better quality in a smaller-sized camera, earned 21 cents per share.

Analysts on average had expected adjusted earnings of 22 cents per share on revenue of $243.8 million.

OmniVision shares were up at $17.40 in extended trading. They had closed at $15.91 on the Nasdaq on Thursday.

(Reporting by Chandni Doulatramani and Supantha Mukherjee in Bangalore; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)