ATI Reports Profitable Q1, Thanks To Changes In Canadian Tax Laws

ATI Technologies reported a first quarter adjusted net income of $11.8 million, due in no small measure to recent changes in the Canadian tax laws, which let it amortize certain intangible assets and adjust its bottom line. Without these changes, ATI would have reported a $16.2 million loss for the quarter. Nevertheless, that's an improvement over the $45 million loss recorded last quarter. During the same period last year, the company posted a $53.6 million profit. Revenue for the quarter was $350.5 million, up over 20% compared to Q4 2000. The company saw slightly higher gross margins than Q4 2000, and also shaved 6.8% off of operating expenses over last quarter. ATI executives said that softening demand and higher than usual inventories in the PC market have created a competitive business environment and volume uncertainty, and ATI management expressed a cautious financial outlook for the next two quarters.