IRVINE, CA -- Multi-Fineline Electronix today said its preliminary net sales in the fourth quarter would be at the high end of company guidance.

The flex circuit maker forecasts sales of approximately $209 million, compared to net sales of $211.7 million last year. Gross margin during the quarter is anticipated to beat guidance of approximately 14%, compared to 1.2% for the same period in the prior year.  The company expects its largest customer (Apple) to account for 76% of net sales and the company's newer customers to contribute 20%.

In a statement chief executive Reza Meshgin said, "We generated another quarter of solid profitability during the December quarter. Strong demand, including continued contribution from our group of eight newer customers, supported an anticipated 21% sequential increase in net sales. Anticipated gross margin exceeded our guidance range due primarily to 500 basis points attributable to favorable product mix during the quarter, as well as strong operational execution. We also generated strong cash flow bringing our cash and cash equivalents balance to approximately $130 million at Dec. 31. We expect to generate robust cash flow in 2015 given low capex requirements."

The firm guided for March quarter sales to decline due to seasonality in the mobility market. "We expect the magnitude of the sequential decline to be somewhat lower than recent years given the expected continued demand for current programs," Meshgin said. "We anticipate a sequential decline in gross margin given the expected sales level, as well as a more normalized product mix compared to the December quarter. Following the completion of our restructuring, we continue to reduce our cost structure, which should support our outlook for solid profitability in 2015."

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