* Q3 EPS ex-items 18 cents vs Street view 4 cents
* Q3 revenue $578.4 mln vs Street view $555.7 mln
* Sees Q4 EPS ex-items 7-13 cts, rev $605-645 mln
* Shares up 4 pct
(Adds analyst comment, background, byline)
By Gabriel Madway
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Microchip maker LSI Corp
(LSI.N) reported better-than-expected results on broad-based
demand and set a forecast for the current quarter above Wall
Street's estimates, sending its shares up more than 4 percent
on Wednesday.
The results from LSI, whose chips are used in hard drives
and other networking hardware, are just the latest positive
sign from the semiconductor industry as demand for technology
products begins to recover, particularly spending on personal
computers.
LSI said the economy is showing signs of a modest recovery,
and that it saw healthy growth across its businesses.
Kaufman Bros analyst Suji de Silva said it appeared as if
much of the strength came in hard drive chips, although other
parts of the business also likely outperformed.
"With this kind of upside, it's hard to imagine it's just
one of those segments."
Hard drive makers such as Seagate Technology (STX.O) have
posted better-than-expected results this earnings season, as
the PC market begins to recover from lows seen earlier in the
year.
Seagate, together with International Business Machines
(IBM.N), accounted for around one-third of LSI's sales last
fiscal year.
LSI reported net income of $52.5 million, or 8 cents a
share, in the third quarter ended Oct. 4, up from $11.4
million, or 2 cents a share, in the year-ago period.
Excluding items, LSI earned 18 cents a share, ahead of the
average analyst estimate of 4 cents a share, according to
Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Revenue fell 19 percent to $578.4 million, versus the Wall
Street target of $555.7 million.
LSI forecast earnings excluding items for the current
quarter of 7 to 13 cents a share on revenue of $605 million to
$645 million.
Wall Street was expecting earnings of 6 cents a share on
revenue of $587.5 million.
Shares of Milpitas, California-based LSI rose 4 percent to
$5.19 after closing at $4.99 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Gabriel Madway; Editing by Gary Hill and Matthew
Lewis)
