Asian hunger for chips boosts TI Q1 numbers

Texas Instruments posted a surprise quarterly profit on better-than-expected revenue as demand for its chips improved in Asia, and it gave a rosier-than-expected outlook for the current quarter.

Shares rose 2 percent in late trade after the company said on Monday that business was better than expected in the last few weeks of the quarter, particularly in China, even though it is not seeing improvements in its US or European business.

"It appears that the industry and TI in particular are putting in a bottom for the March quarter," said Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Collins Stewart.