Zoran said Wednesday (Jan. 12) it would take a non-recurring charge of between US$13 million and US$15 million in the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2004 to correct excess DVD inventory.

The company added that it would also incur a US$1 million to US$2 million restructuring charge related to a decision to discontinue development efforts on CMOS image sensor products and that fourth quarter revenues are expected to be at the lower end of its previous guidance of US$73 million to US$78 million. Losses are now expected to be below previous guidance the company said.

"Continued declines in average selling prices as well as the worldwide inventory correction occurring in the DVD market have driven the preliminary results we are announcing today," said Levy Gerzberg, Zoran's president and chief executive officer, in a statement. "We believe that as we transition to newer generation products and sell through of our products picks up in the supply chain, Zoran will return to revenue growth and profitability."