Freescale Semiconductor Ltd, which makes chips for cars and machinery, reported a narrower quarterly loss and said it would restructure its businesses as part of its new chief executive's drive to cut costs and turn around the business. The chipmaker said it would combine its manufacturing operations under a single management group to cut down on costs, and focus research and development on select product groups.Freescale has been struggling with falling prices, shrinking margins and factories operating at reduced capacity.Chief Executive Gregg Lowe, who joined Freescale in June this year, had promised to rein in costs with an eye on shoring up margins. One of his first moves in that direction was the elimination Freescale's corporate jet program.Lowe, a Texas Instruments Inc veteran has set a long-term target of 53-55 percent gross margins. Third-quarter gross margins came in at 42 percent.
Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) designs and makes semiconductors, which it sells to electronics designers and manufacturers globally. Shares of TXN traded higher by 1.55% or $0.43/share to $28.13. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $26.06 and as high as $34.24. On average, 8848990 shares of TXN exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 9339743.
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