Applied Materials delivers Q4 beat, but reported DOJ investigation weighs

Investing.com -- Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) has posted fiscal fourth quarter results that beat estimates, although shares in the largest U.S. semiconductor equipment maker were weighed down in premarket trading on Friday on a report that it is under investigation.

The U.S. Justice Department has launched a criminal probe into the California-based company for possibly evading export restrictions on Chinese chipmaker SMIC, Reuters reported on Thursday, citing unnamed sources.

Investigators are looking into whether Applied Materials sent equipment to SMIC via South Korea without export licenses, the sources told Reuters, with one of the people claiming that equipment worth hundreds of millions of dollars is involved.

In a call with analysts, Chief Financial Officer Brice Hill noted that the firm had received a subpoena last year from U.S. authorities requesting information related to certain shipments to China.

"[W]e're fully cooperating with the government on this matter, and [...] we remain committed to complying to all of the trade rules. And as you can imagine, because this is an ongoing legal matter, we can't add to any of the comments that are out there at this point," Hill said.

The news comes as the group reported fourth-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.12, up from $2.03 from the prior year, while revenue fell to $6.72 billion from $6.75B. That was ahead of expectations for EPS of $1.99 on revenue of $6.52B.

Adjusted gross margin rose to 47.3% during the period from 46% a year earlier.

Looking ahead, the company projected fiscal first-quarter sales of approximately $6.47B, plus or minus $400M, and adjusted diluted EPS in the range of $1.72 to $2.08.

Yasin Ebrahim contributed to this report.

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