SOUTH PORTLAND (AP) – Fairchild Semiconductor International Inc. on Wednesday said it expects fourth-quarter sales to decrease by less than previously estimated, helped by improved bookings during the first half of the period.

The company now anticipates a quarterly sales decline at the low end of a projected 5 percent to 10 percent decrease from the prior quarter.

The company posted sales of $409.7 million in the third quarter.

Fairchild, however, said its gross margin will come in toward the lower end of a range of 26 percent to 28 percent because of pricing pressure and continued efforts to offload an inventory build-up from earlier this year.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call predict Fairchild will earn 14 cents per share on sales of $378.7 million, nearly flat compared with a profit of 14 cents on sales of $369.2 million a year earlier.

End-market demand surged in consumer, computing and power supply segments, the company said. Orders increased from the previous quarter but still fell below unusually high booking rates in the first half of the year, Fairchild said, and added that demand from Asia – particularly China – has improved significantly.

“During the fourth quarter, pricing pressure has been greatest on standard components and products with higher availability,” chairman, president and chief executive Kirk Pond said in a statement. “We’ve seen a return to a more normal pricing environment for our recent 2005 contracts.”

Shares of Fairchild rose 13 cents to $15.43 during premarket activity on the New York Stock Exchange.

AP-ES-12-01-04 1022EST