EL SEGUNDO, CA. - April 25, 2002 -- International Rectifier Corporation (IRF/NYSE) today reported net income of $12.2 million (or $0.19 per share) on revenues of $178.6 million for the quarter ended March, compared to net income of $10.8 million (or $0.17 per share) on revenue of $172.1 million in the immediately-preceding quarter. The company posted net income of $47.9 million (or $0.73 per share) on revenues of $276.0 million in the comparable prior-year quarter.

March-quarter orders climbed 13 percent quarter-to-quarter, the largest sequential increase since the quarter ended June 2000. Orders for proprietary products (analog ICs, advanced-circuit devices, and power systems) represented more than half of total bookings.

Revenues from proprietary products comprised half of total revenues, compared to 37 percent in the prior-year quarter.

IR revenues from the Information Technology market rose by 22 percent sequentially, reflecting the company's rising content in Pentium 4 systems. In the Industrial market, IR recorded a 19 percent sequential increase, reflecting a pick-up in capital equipment spending. In the Consumer Electronics market, IR posted 17 percent sequential revenue growth, led by new applications in leading-edge home appliances.

IR's March-quarter shipments into the distribution channel declined by 6 percent sequentially. In contrast, distributor sales of IR products rose by 7 percent sequentially, the largest increase in six quarters. These dynamics in the quarter further compressed channel inventories, stretched leadtimes, and triggered a 19 percent sequential rise in distributor orders, the strongest growth since the quarter ended March 2000.

March-quarter gross margin was 35.1 percent, compared to 35.2 percent in the prior quarter and 41.6 percent in the year-ago quarter. Strength in higher-margin proprietary products helped to counter the impact of lower production volumes for components, a 3 percent price decline, and lower royalties. Royalties were $11.5 million compared to $12.5 million in the immediately preceding quarter, consistent with company guidance.

Chief Executive Officer Alex Lidow noted, "Our drive to a richer business mix is increasing IR's structural profitability. As proprietary products form a growing share of our business and component pricing continues to stabilize, IR is showing higher gross margins on customer shipments and in our backlog. March-quarter gross margins remained just six points below peak levels."

IR continued to strengthen its franchise in target markets with significant new business that demonstrates the value of its proprietary technology.

• During the quarter, the first electronic steering program to incorporate a power system from IR went into production for a major European automaker. IR's analog ICs won multi-year sole source business with broad automotive applications at Bosch, where the first program will go into production in the current quarter.

• IR analog ICs won sole-source motion control designs in next-generation smart washers from Maytag, GE, and Whirlpool.

• IR technology won proprietary slots in new Intel-powered servers, Apple's iMac, and next-generation routers and switches for an industry leader in networking technology.

• IR power systems won sole-source designs on new missile and satellite programs at Raytheon, as well as a British Aerospace program for electronic countermeasure systems on military aircraft. Boeing selected proprietary advanced-circuit devices from IR for a new satellite design.

The company also announced three acquisitions that reflected its focus on proprietary technology for target markets. In March, IR acquired the assets of European Semiconductor Manufacturing (ESM), Ltd., which include 80,000 sq. ft. of wafer fabrication capacity with leading-edge mixed-signal and analog process capabilities to support growth in the company's most advanced proprietary products. Later in the month, the company added to its power management product offerings for defense and aerospace applications by acquiring the "high-reliability" power MOSFET line of Fairchild Semiconductor. Shortly after the close of the quarter, IR announced plans to acquire TechnoFusion GmbH, a leading maker of power generation systems for automotive electronics, from Royal Philips Electronics. The acquisition, which is expected to close by the end of June, complements IR's leadership in advanced automotive power systems with proprietary architectures, a highly-skilled staff, and an excellent customer base. All three acquisitions are expected to be accretive within the first year.

Alex Lidow noted, "These acquisitions enhance IR's position in strategic markets. At a time when market conditions show substantial improvement, our technology and manufacturing capabilities position the company to address the best opportunities in the field of power management. We closed the March quarter with the highest backlog in five quarters, and we expect to resume year-on-year revenue growth in the June quarter."

In its fourth fiscal quarter, ending June, IR expects to grow revenues sequentially by 10 percent, plus or minus a couple of points. For the next fiscal year, the company is raising its revenue target to about 35 percent from earlier guidance of 25 to 30 percent, with gross margins of 45 to 50 percent on incremental revenues and overall gross margins nearing peak levels by June 2003.

For the nine months ended March, net income of $32.6 million (or $0.50 per share) on revenues of $519.2 million compared to prior-year net income of $136.5 million (or $2.07 per share) on revenues of $793.5 million.

Unaudited Consolidated Statement of Income
Consolidated Balance Sheet

International Rectifier is a world leader in power management technology that improves functionality, speed, compactness, and portability in information technology and other end products. IR's analog ICs, advanced-circuit devices, power systems, and components enable Internet hardware to gain speed and reliability, allow portable electronics to run longer off a single charge, improve automotive fuel efficiency, and cut energy consumption in home appliances and industrial motors. The company is the pioneer and market leader in the $4 billion power MOSFET industry, and over 20 companies are licensed under its power MOSFET patents. IR serves market leaders around the world, and more than half its revenue comes from outside the United States.

The foregoing material includes some forward-looking statements made pursuant to safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We caution that such statements are subject to a number of uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially. Factors that could affect the company's actual results include the failure of market demand to materialize as anticipated; weakness or program or order postponements in the information technology segments of our business; the effectiveness of cost controls and cost reductions; litigation and other unexpected costs associated with cost-reduction efforts, including reductions in force and the transfer and consolidation of product lines and equipment; the effectiveness of integration of acquisitions into our operations; the ability or the timing of the company to achieve strategic acquisitions and the effect of associated costs; the accuracy of customers' forecasts; product returns and recalls; market and sector conditions that affect our customers, licensees, and suppliers; introduction, acceptance, availability, and continued demand and growth of new and high- performance products; delays in transferring and ramping production lines or completing customer qualifications; company and market impact due to the cancellation or delays in customer and/or industry programs and/or orders; the company's mix of product shipments; availability of adequate capacity and unanticipated costs of refurbishment or replacement of equipment; pricing pressures; failure of suppliers and subcontractors to meet their delivery commitments; unfavorable changes in industry and competitive conditions; impact of any disruption in, or increased cost of, electricity and/or other critical supplies; economic conditions in the company's markets around the world and the timing of changes in market conditions; changes in interest and investment rates; impacts on our business or financial condition due to changes in currency valuation or to the euro conversion; impact of changes in accounting methods; the impact of changes in laws and regulations, including tax, trade, and export regulations and policies; the actual results of any outstanding litigation; and other uncertainties disclosed in the company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent report on form 10-K. To the foregoing factors should be added the financial and other disruptive effects of terrorist actions..

NOTE: A conference call will begin today at 5:15pm Eastern daylight time (2:15 pm Pacific daylight time). Participants can join the call by dialing 212.896.6123 or by logging onto the Internet at Company contact: Steve Harrison, 310.252.7731