Associated Press

Chip maker Texas Instruments Inc. raised expectations for its second-quarter profit and revenue on Monday, sending its shares higher in after-hours trading and signaling that demand may be improving for the battered semiconductor industry.

Dallas-based Texas Instruments now expects a profit in a range of 14 cents to 22 cents per share for the current quarter that runs to the end of June. Revenue is expected to be between $2.3 billion and $2.5 billion.

Analysts, on average, are expecting a profit of 10 cents per share on sales of $2.21 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters.

In April, the company forecast a second-quarter profit of 1 cent to 15 cents a share. The company's previous revenue estimate was between $1.95 billion and $2.4 billion.

In a conference call with analysts, Ron Slaymaker, vice president and head of Texas Instruments' investor relations, said the company's analog segment is "by far the biggest driver of sequential growth this quarter, although all major product lines are growing."

Slaymaker added that orders were strong in both April and in May.

Texas Instruments makes cell phone chips, as well as analog chips used in digital music players and other gadgets, and embedded chips used in automobiles. The recession and the reduced consumer spending it brought with it has dampened demand for semiconductors.

The company's shares rose 81 cents, or 4 percent, to $20.58 in after-hours trading. The stock had closed up 9 cents at $19.77 in regular trading.