Micron Technology, Inc. today announced results for its fourth quarter and full year of fiscal 2019, which ended August 29, 2019, and also gave a disappointing quarterly profit forecast and warned that global trade tensions may prolong a memory-chip industry slump.

Fiscal Q4 2019 highlights

• Revenues of $4.87 billion versus $4.79 billion for the prior quarter and $8.44 billion for the same period last year
• GAAP net income of $561 million, or $0.49 per diluted share
• Non-GAAP net income of $637 million, or $0.56 per diluted share
• Operating cash flow of $2.23 billion versus $2.71 billion for the prior quarter and $5.16 billion for the same period last year

The company projected adjusted earnings of 46 cents a share, plus or minus 7 cents, in the fiscal first quarter. Revenue will be $5 billion, plus or minus $200 million, Micron also said.

The chipmaker’s guidance means sales are on course to decline by more than 20% year-on-year for a fourth consecutive quarter.

The company warned that it’s vulnerable to the U.S.-China trade war and said recent improvements in orders may not be driven by sustainable demand. Micron has been particularly hurt by U.S. export restrictions that limit sales to China’s Huawei Technologies Co.

Fiscal 2019 highlights

• Revenues of $23.41 billion versus $30.39 billion for the prior fiscal year
• GAAP net income of $6.31 billion, or $5.51 per diluted share
• Non-GAAP net income of $7.31 billion, or $6.35 per diluted share
• Operating cash flow of $13.19 billion versus $17.40 billion for the prior fiscal year
• Share repurchases of $2.66 billion under the authorized buyback program

"Micron delivered fourth quarter results ahead of expectations, capping a fiscal 2019 in which we executed well in a challenging environment, significantly improved our competitive position, and returned cash to shareholders through share repurchases," said Micron Technology President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra. "We are encouraged by signs of improving industry demand, but are mindful of continued near-term macroeconomic and trade uncertainties. As markets recover, Micron is well positioned to address the robust secular demand for memory and storage solutions."

Mehrotra said the company has applied for licenses to ship more products to Huawei, but there have been no decisions on those requests yet. If “restrictions against Huawei continue and we are unable to get licenses, we could see a worsening decline in our sales to Huawei over the coming quarters,” he added.

“In recent months, we have seen increased demand from customers headquartered in mainland China, some of whom could be making strategic decisions to build higher levels of inventory in the face of increased trade tensions between the U.S. and China, as well as Japan and Korea,” Mehrotra said.

Micron expects investments in capital expenditures, net of amounts funded by partners, to be in the range of $7 billion to $8 billion for fiscal 2020.