Altera Reports Record First Quarter `99 Results; Sales Increase 8% Sequentially; Net Income Up 11% Sequentially.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 1999--

Altera Corporation (Nasdaq: ALTR) today reported record first quarter sales of $186.4 million, up 8% from the previous quarter and up 19% over the same period last year.

First quarter sales growth of 8% was achieved by double digit sequential gains in North America; up 13%, Japan; up 14% and Asia/Pacific; up 17%. Europe declined by 10%. New and mainstream products made up 59% of sales for the quarter. New product revenues were 22% of sales and grew 34% sequentially and 350% over the same period last year. Mainstream product revenues were 37% of sales and grew 4% sequentially and 62% over the first quarter of last year. Mature product sales showed a sequential decline of one percent.

First quarter net income of $47.0 million was a record and represented an increase of 11% from the previous quarter and an increase of 34% from the first quarter of 1998. First quarter earnings per share, on a diluted basis, were $0.46, an increase of $0.04 from the prior quarter and up $0.09 over the same period last year.

First quarter earnings included a $1.2 million charge to other income attributed to the Company's write-off of an investment. During the quarter, the Company invested $37.5 million to increase its ownership position in WaferTech (a joint venture with TSMC to manufacture wafers in a state-of-the-art facility in Camas, Washington) by five percent, bringing Altera's total equity position in WaferTech to 23 percent. First quarter earnings included after-tax charges of $2.0 million or $0.02 per share representing the Company's share in the start-up losses of WaferTech. Excluding WaferTech results, diluted earnings per share for the first quarter were $0.48.

Altera added $11.8 million of cash to its balance sheet during the quarter, after the repurchase of 260,000 shares of its common stock for $12.8 million, the increase of its equity position in WaferTech for $37.5 million, and routine capital expenditures of $5.7 million.

First quarter highlights: -0-

-    The rollout of Altera's new APEX(TM)family of devices began with
     shipments of the first family member, the EP20K400. The
     revolutionary APEX MultiCore(TM)architecture, featuring the
     unique Embedded System Block (ESB), combines look-up table logic,
     product-term logic and a variety of advanced embedded memory
     structures and I/O interfaces on a single piece of silicon for
     System-on-a-Programmable-Chip(TM)applications. The EP20K400
     features 400,000 usable gates (1 million maximum system gates)
     and provides 16,640 logic elements, 212,992 bits of embedded
     memory, and up to 1,664 product-term macrocells. The Company
     plans to introduce six APEX family members during the year with
     densities ranging from 100,000 to 1 million usable gates (4,160
     to 42,240 logic elements).

-    With the introduction of APEX, Altera started customer deliveries
     of Quartus(TM), its fourth generation design software platform.
     In a series of technical seminars that Altera hosted worldwide,
     over 2700 design engineers were introduced to the powerful
     capabilities that Quartus design software and the APEX family
     bring to high-density design. The Quartus software is a totally
     new design platform and has been specifically developed to
     address the System-on-a-Programmable-Chip designs that are
     possible with the APEX family of devices.

-    Altera continued the rollout of the 2.5-volt FLEX(TM) 10KE family
     with the introduction of the EPF10K100E, manufactured on an
     advanced 0.22-micron, five-layer-metal process. The EPF10K100E
     with 100,000 usable gates and 49,152 bits of on-chip dual-port
     RAM addresses the density "sweet spot" of many gate array
     designs. The Company plans to complete the five member FLEX 10KE
     family rollout next quarter. The FLEX 10KE family of devices is
     fully compliant with 64-bit, 66 MHz PCI specifications and
     provides densities ranging from 30,000 to 200,000 usable gates
     (1,728 to 9,984 logic elements)

-    Altera and Synopsys Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) put in place an exclusive
     arrangement where Synopsys will provide free of charge FPGA
     Compiler(TM) II - Altera Edition to all of its Design Compiler
     customers. FPGA Compiler II - Altera Edition utilizes the
     advanced programmable logic synthesis algorithms of Synopsys'
     FPGA Express and FPGA Compiler II to support Altera's FLEX 10K,
     FLEX 6000 and APEX programmable logic devices within the Design
     Compiler flow. This enables ASIC designers to easily target
     Altera's FLEX and APEX devices and obtain optimum speed and area
     results without modifications to their ASIC design files.

-0-

Rodney Smith, President and CEO, stated, "We are very pleased with the record performance achieved in the quarter, with growth exceeding our expectations due directly to the market success of our new FLEX and MAX(TM) products. Moreover, APEX and Quartus are the most significant new product introductions in Altera's history. These products provide Altera customers with true System-on-a- Programmable-Chip capabilities and their introduction represents a significant milestone in Altera's pursuit of greater share in the ASIC market."

This press release contains "forward looking statements" which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements are generally written in the future tense and/or are preceded by words such as "expects", "believes", "offers", "anticipates", "projects", "provides", "plans" "addresses" or "intends". Investors are cautioned that all forward looking statements in this release involve risks and uncertainty, including without limitation the risk that future performance is dependent on FLEX 10KE and APEX 20K product development, Quartus and FPGA Compiler II - Altera Edition software development, market acceptance of the Company's new products, market growth in 1999, development of technology and manufacturing capabilities, and third-party wafer suppliers meeting the Company's wafer requirements. Please refer to the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, copies of which are available from the Company without charge, for further information.

Fax on Demand:

Copies of Altera's announcement are available from its fax-on-demand service. In the U.S. and Canada to request a copy call 1-800-789-ALTR. International users can dial their local International Access Code followed by 1-408-894-0466.

Altera Corporation, The Programmable Solutions Company(TM), was founded in 1983 and is a leading supplier of programmable logic devices and associated logic development software tools. Programmable logic devices are semiconductor chips that can be programmed on-site, using software tools that run on personal computers or engineering workstations. User benefits include ease of use, lower risk, and fast time-to-market. Altera's CMOS-based programmable logic devices address high-speed, high-density and low-power applications in the telecommunications, data communications, computer peripheral, and industrial markets. Altera common stock is traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol ALTR. More information on Altera can be obtained on the Internet at http://www.altera.com. -0-

                          Altera Corporation
            Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
                 (In thousands, except per share data)
                              (Unaudited)

                                        Three Months Ended
                               Mar. 31       Mar. 31        Dec. 31
                                 1999         1998            1998

Net sales                     $ 186,399     $ 157,216     $ 172,432

Costs & expenses:
Cost of sales                    69,154        60,090        65,182
Research and development         17,023        14,407        16,001
Selling, general and
 administrative                  32,320        28,138        29,309
Total costs and expenses        118,497       102,635       110,492

Income from operations           67,902        54,581        61,940
Interest & other
 income, net                      4,618           152         5,458

Income before
 income taxes and
  equity investment              72,520        54,733        67,398
Provision for
 income taxes                    23,569        17,787        21,905

Income before
 equity investment               48,951        36,946        45,493
Equity in loss
 of WaferTech                    (1,976)       (1,811)       (3,000)

Net income                    $  46,975     $  35,135     $  42,493
Basic earnings
 per share:
   Net income                 $    0.48     $    0.40     $    0.44

Diluted earnings
 per share:
  Income before
   equity investment          $    0.48     $    0.38     $    0.45

   Net income                 $    0.46     $    0.37     $    0.42

Shares used in computation:

   Basic                         97,933        88,885        97,414
   Diluted                      102,687       101,961       101,899


Tax rate                           32.5%         32.5%         32.5%
% of Sales:
  Gross margin                       63%           62%           62%
  Research and development            9%            9%            9%
  Selling, general & administrative  18%           18%           17%
  Income from operations             36%           35%           36%
  Net income                         25%           22%           25%


                          Altera Corporation
                 Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
                            (In thousands)
                              (Unaudited)


                                     Mar. 31            Dec. 31
                                      1999                1998
Assets

Current assets:
  Cash and short-term
   investments                  $   590,895          $   579,106
  Accounts receivable, net           52,167               56,138
  Inventories                        74,530               69,869
  Other assets                       92,183               94,420
Total current assets                809,775              799,533
Property and equipment, net         151,732              152,320
Investments & intangibles           172,251              141,478
                                  ---------            ---------
                                $ 1,133,758          $ 1,093,331

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity

Accounts payable
 and current liabilities        $    52,656          $    50,450
Deferred income on sales
 to distributors                    145,620              161,160
   Total current liabilities        198,276              211,610
Stockholders' equity                935,482              881,721
                                  ---------            ---------
                                $ 1,133,758          $ 1,093,331

Key Ratios & Information

Current Assets/Current
 Liabilities                            4:1                  4:1
Liabilities/Equity                      1:5                  1:4
Annualized Quarterly
 Return on Equity                        21%                  20%
Quarterly Depreciation Expense        6,250                6,249
Quarterly Capital Expenditures        5,663                5,587
Annualized Sales per Employee           632                  605