Just as your pulse is checked during a routine physical, free cash flow is used as an indicator of a company's health. It equals the cash brought in from operations minus the money needed to pay the bills. Think about leftover money in your checking account after you pay this month's bills.

Investors and analysts see this leftover money as a gauge of a company's ability to perform. It is available for transactions such as handing out dividends and working on new products.

Some argue free cash flow is wrongly overshadowed by the emphasis often placed on earnings. Earnings numbers can be manipulated and don't always tell the whole story -- and earnings don't mean much if there's nothing left over after a company pays its expenses. Even if you bring in a six-figure salary, but no money left after paying the bills, are you in great financial shape?

You don't have to be Einstein to figure out free cash flow. To calculate the number, subtract the company's expenditures and dividends from its operating cash flow.

If the free cash flow is written in red ink, it doesn't necessarily signal curtains. This is common for young companies looking to grow. It also could be a result of heavy investments, which in the long run could be worth a standing ovation.

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Friday, June 27, 2008

Intersil's 2A, 3A and 4A, 1MHz Synch Buck Regulators Provide High-Efficiency, Small Form-Factor Power Solutions

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MILPITAS, CA, Jun 27, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) ----Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance analog semiconductors, today introduced the ISL8012, ISL8013, and ISL8014. This family of monolithic synchronous step-down DC/DC regulators provides a compact, efficient power solution for a wide range of consumer, computer, industrial and instrumentation applications.

The ISL8012/13/14 perform high-efficiency DC/DC control and conversion while supporting a continuous load of 2A, 3A and 4A, respectively. The selectable operation mode between forced PWM mode and automatic PWM/PFM mode maximizes battery life in portable and handheld applications. The low quiescent current of 35uA to 40uA in a light-load/stand-by condition makes this regulator family ideal for battery powered and other "green power" applications. The supply voltage range of 2.7V to 5.5V allows the use of single Li+ cell, three NiMH cells or a 3V/5V input.

The ISL8013 and ISL8014 are pin-to-pin compatible, while the ISL8012 comes in a 25% smaller 3mm x 3mm 10-lead DFN package.

In addition to integrating a pair of low ON-resistance switching MOSFETs, the ISL8012/13/14 can be synchronized to an external clock (up to 4MHz) allowing use of smaller external components. These devices also feature internal current mode compensation to minimize the number of external components while enabling a fast transient response and high duty cycle/low drop-out operation. Inherent output voltage monitoring and power sequencing can be realized using features such as Power-On-Reset (POR), PGOOD (Power OK) and Enable (EN) to provide output voltage monitoring and power sequencing capabilities without the need of additional discrete ICs.

The ISL8012/13/14 also feature less than 1uA logic-controlled shutdown current, peak current limiting and hiccup mode short circuit protection for reliable operation under adverse conditions. External synchronization up to 4MHz (for ISL8013 and ISL8014) reduces electromagnetic emissions between multiple rails on the system board.

The ISL8012/13/14 family is an ideal power solution for a wide range of applications such as digital cameras, media players, portable medical instruments, broad range of computing applications including servers, storage drives, KVM modules, industrial programmable logic controllers, data acquisition systems, etc.

Pricing and Availability

The ISL8012 is available now in a 10 Ld. 3x3 DFN package and is priced at $1.85 in 1,000-unit quantities. The ISL8013 and ISL8014 are available now in a 16 Ld. 4x4 QFN package and are priced at $2.71 and $3.71, respectively, in 1,000-unit quantities. More information on the ISL8012/13/14 is available at:

ISL8012 - http://www.intersil.com/cda/deviceinfo/0,1477,ISL8012,0.html

ISL8013 - http://www.intersil.com/cda/deviceinfo/0,1477,ISL8013,0.html

ISL8014 - http://www.intersil.com/cda/deviceinfo/0,1477,ISL8014,0.html

Note to editors: To view a high-resolution downloadable photo of the ISL8012, visit Intersil's photo room at http://www.intersil.com/pressroom/photoarchives.asp.

About Intersil's Power Management Portfolio

Intersil is a recognized global leader in power management solutions, offering a broad portfolio of products that simplify a variety of power designs. Intersil's family of power management ICs ranges from building blocks such as charge pumps, to highly-integrated, multiple-output and multiphase PWMs, to quad-voltage hot-swap controllers. As a leading supplier of PWM controller ICs with over two billion units shipped, Intersil addresses a broad range of power management needs for applications that include computing, communications, peripherals, display, networking, telecommunications, industrial, instrumentation and battery-powered products. To learn more, visit Intersil's Power Management Web site at http://www.intersil.com/power.

About Intersil

Intersil Corporation is a leader in the design and manufacture of high-performance analog semiconductors. The Company's products address some of the industry's fastest growing markets, such as, flat panel displays, cell phones, other handheld systems, and notebooks. Intersil's product families address power management functions and analog signal processing functions. Intersil products include ICs for battery management, hot-swap and hot-plug controllers, linear regulators, power sequencers, supervisory ICs, bridge drivers, PWM controllers, switching DC/DC regulators and power MOSFET drivers; optical storage laser diode drivers; DSL line drivers; video and high-performance operational amplifiers; data converters; interface ICs; analog switches and multiplexers; crosspoint switches; voice-over-IP devices; and ICs for military, space and radiation-hardened applications. For more information about Intersil or to find out how to become a member of our winning team, visit the Company's web site and career page at www.intersil.com.

 Media
   Contact: Rob Purdie Senior Marketing Representative Intersil Corporation (321) 724-7688 rpurdie@intersil.com

SOURCE: Intersil

mailto:rpurdie@intersil.com

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