On news that graphics chipmaker Nvidia Corp. will announce record revenues and earnings for its first quarter FY2003, the company also announced that it’s restating financial results in accordance with a request from the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC). The company also announced it was looking for a new chief financial officer.
The preliminary Q1 2003 results show that Nvidia will report net income of US$79 million to $84 million on revenues of $570 to $580 million, or about $0.45 to $0.48 per diluted share. The company plans to release final results for the quarter on May 22.
Nvidia CEO and president Jen-Hsun Huang credited his company’s success as the result of its employees’ focus and hard work and the strength of its business model. “We are executing on the deepest and richest product transition in the Company’s history, and we are making terrific progress in each of our markets.”
The transition Huang refers to was first publicly unveiled in February when Nvidia took the wraps off its new GeForce4 product line, which is comprised of separate graphics processing units (GPUs) intended for various segments of the desktop and mobile graphics markets. Apple was the first major computer maker to announce support for the new graphics processors — the company uses GeForce4 MX-based cards in several of its Power Mac G4 systems. While Apple also has been offering the top-end GeForce4 Ti as a configure-to-order option for Power Macs, it has yet to ship the cards, despite several PC card makers’ delivery of equivalent products.
Nvidia also announced that it’s restating its financial results for all of 2000, 2001, and the first three quarters of fiscal 2002. Total net income reported for the period will increase overall by $1.3 million, although the company noted that its net income for FY2001 would decrease by $3.7 million.
Nvidia explained that the restatement is the result of “an extensive review” performed by the company’s own independent Audit Committee, accountants at KPMG LLP, and the law first of Cooley Godward LLP. The restatement was done at the behest of the SEC, according to Nvidia.
Huang said that the review is “complete and thorough” and that Nvidia now has in place “all the necessary systems and staff today to ensure the integrity of [its] financial reporting.”
In a related story, Nvidia Corp. announced today that its Chief Financial Officer, Christine B. Hoberg, is taking a leave of absence. The company’s corporate controller, Mary Dotz, is taking the role in the interim while Nvidia’s Board of Directors searches for a permanent replacement.