Altera Reports Record Quarterly Results

First Quarter Sales Increase 4% Annually and 12% Sequentially, Net Income Up 8% Annually and 16% Sequentially

San Jose, Calif., April 9, 1997 - Altera Corporation (Nasdaq: ALTR) today reported record levels of sales, operating income, net income, and earnings per share for the quarter ended March 31, 1997.

First quarter sales of $142.4 million were up 4% over the same period last year, and 12% over the previous quarter.

Gross margin, as a percentage of sales for the first quarter was 62.0%, up 0.7 percentage points over the same period last year and up 0.5 percentage points over the previous quarter. Gross margin improvements are attributed to improved yields and wafer price reductions.

Net income for the first quarter was a record $34.1 million, up 8% over the first quarter of 1996 and 16% above the previous quarter. First quarter earnings per share, on a fully diluted basis, were $0.35, an increase of $0.02 from the same period last year and up $0.04 from the previous quarter.

Altera added $81.9 million of cash to its balance sheet during the quarter, after expenditures of $18.7 million toward the construction of the new San Jose headquarters facility, and $4.6 million for routine capital expenditures.

Rodney Smith, President & CEO stated, "The financial results for the March quarter are indicative of our continued success in the marketplace. The Domestic channel provided the strongest sales growth and the International business also contributed another solid increase. Although the communications marketplace continued to provide the largest component of our results, the computer sector significantly paced our growth."

Mr. Smith concluded, "Sales for new products were up significantly from the prior quarter. We believe that our aggressive price moves, especially with these products, have allowed us to maintain our design win leadership."

Forward-looking statements in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty, including without limitation risks of dependence on third-party wafer suppliers, intellectual property rights and litigation, market acceptance of and demand for the Company's products as well as general market conditions, competition and pricing, and development of technology and manufacturing capabilities. 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, founded in 1983, is a world-wide leader in high-performance, high-density programmable logic devices and associated computer aided engineering (CAE) logic development tools. Programmable logic devices are semiconductor chips that offer on-site programmability to customers. The chips are programmed with tools that run on personal computers or engineering workstations. User benefits include ease of use, lower risk, and fast time-to-market. The Company offers the broadest line of CMOS programmable logic devices that address high-speed, high-density, and lower power applications. Altera products serve a broad range of market areas, including telecommunications, data communications, computers, and industrial applications. Altera common stock is traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market using the symbol ALTR.