Shares of Photronics surged after the company delivered better-than-expected results for the fiscal third quarter and guidance for its fourth quarter.
The stock was up 19% at $34.95 in premarket trading. Share are on track to swing to positive territory year-to-date when the market opens.
The company, which makes microscopic stencils used by chipmakers for printing complex electronic circuits on computer chips, posted a profit of $28.9 million, or 49 cents a share, up from $22.9 million, or 39 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.
Stripping out one-time items, adjusted earnings were 50 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting 40 cents a share.
Revenue rose 2.7% to $216 million, topping its own guidance and analyst projections for $208.8 million. Chief Executive George Macricostas said the company managed to recover some previously delayed semiconductor design releases from the second quarter.
For the current quarter that started Aug. 3, the company said it is on track for $207 million to $227 million in revenue and adjusted earnings of 40 cents to 56 cents a share. At their midpoint, those figures exceed current analyst estimates.