Diodes Incorporated (Diodes), a US based designer, manufacturer, and supplier of application specific standard products, has provided guidance for the first quarter of 2009. The company expects the revenue to be in the range of $71 million to $75 million for the first quarter of 2009, compared with the guidance of about $69.5 million in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin is anticipated to remain within the prior guidance range of 16% to 20%.

The upward revision is due primarily to an increase in demand for the company’s products used in mobile phone handsets and LCD televisions as well as stronger than likely demand in the China market. The company remains cautious about the global economy and will continue to carefully monitor the market conditions and the demand environment in the coming months.

The company continues to anticipate to generate positive cash flow from operations as well as positive free cash flow in the first quarter of 2009. Additionally, the company said that its previously announced cost reduction initiatives have been fully implemented and will result in a quarterly operating expense run rate of between $21 and $23 million.