SAN JOSE, Calif., February 2, 1999 – With an uninterrupted  record of financial growth, return on shareholder investment, profitability, market expansion and technical achievement solidly behind it, Xilinx, Inc., (NASDAQ:XLNX) today officially marked the fifteenth anniversary of the company's founding. 

Incorporated in 1984, Xilinx pioneered what was then an unknown and untested new product category -- the field programmable gate array (FPGA).  Today, the FPGA is regarded as a key enabling technology for virtually every segment the electronics equipment industry.  FPGAs greatly reduce risk for electronics manufacturers.  FPGAs also help manufacturers get products to market much faster than conventional approaches to creating custom chips known as application specific integrated circuits, or ASICs.  Today, designs done with Xilinx FPGAs have vaulted the company to a position among the world's top ten ASIC suppliers, according to market researcher Dataquest, Inc. 

For its last fiscal year ended March 1998, Xilinx reported net income of $126.6 million, up 15 percent, on revenues of $613.6 million, up 8 percent, compared to the previous year. For its most recent quarter ended January 2, 1999, Xilinx reported record revenue of $167.4 million and net income of $33.9.  Xilinx has been on a non-stop march of sales growth since its formation with an average annual compounded growth rate of more than 30 percent.  Since its initial public offering, Xilinx has also proved to be a worthwhile investment for shareholders.  An investment of $100 in Xilinx common stock made at the time of the company's IPO in June 1990 would be worth about $2,000 today, more than four times the return of a comparable investment made in the Standard & Poors 500 stock index over the same period of time. 

“The many stakeholders in Xilinx, including our customers, employees, investors, and strategic partners, can take great pride in what we all have accomplished together over the last 15 years,” said Wim Roelandts, Xilinx president and CEO.  “The future of programmable logic has never been brighter, and I'm confident that Xilinx will continue its long tradition of excellence.” 
Over the years, Xilinx has delivered a number of product “firsts” for the programmable logic industry, including distributed on-chip memory for FPGAs, Flash-based complex programmable logic devices, Internet-enabled design tools, predefined software cores, software core generation tools, and support for all common and emerging I/O standards. 

A key part of the company's leadership strategy is to be at the leading edge of semiconductor process technology in order to offer the fastest, highest performance and lowest power programmable logic devices.  Working with its foundry partners, for example, Xilinx in 1997 was the first PLD industry supplier to announce what was then the most advanced process technology – 0.35 micron and 0.25 micron devices.  In 1998, Xilinx demonstrated 0.18 micron technology and expects to ship products using this process, which is currently the most advanced technology available, during 1999. 

Xilinx has set the standard for continuous improvement in programmable logic technology. Xilinx shipped its first FPGA, the XC2064, in 1985.  That device offered 800 gates, sold for $55 and was produced on a 2.0 micron process.  The same part, though slated for obsolescence, now sells for $5. 

By comparison, the latest generation of Xilinx FPGAs, the Virtex family, today offers up to one million gates and is produced on a 0.22 micron process.  Virtex FPGAs offering 50,000 gates will sell for as little $10 in high volumes later this year. 

Xilinx has also established a reputation for excellence in software tools that allow digital designers to easily create complex circuits on the company's FPGA and CPLD devices. 

Equally important to the company's success has been the creation of world class technical support and field engineering organizations that help customers achieve their design goals. 
 
Xilinx continues to plan for growth.  In recent years the company has opened new manufacturing facilities near Dublin, Ireland, and Boulder, Colorado. This year construction of a fourth building at the Xilinx San Jose campus is expected to be completed, giving the company further room to expand.  Xilinx currently employs more than 1,400 people worldwide. 

“Xilinx is to be applauded for the many contributions it has made over the last 15 years to the semiconductor industry and to the economy of Silicon Valley,” said 15th  District Congressman Tom Campbell.  “I congratulate the company and all its employees on their great success. I'm sure they will be a tremendous asset to the community during the next century.” 

Xilinx is the leading innovator of complete programmable logic solutions, including advanced integrated circuits, software design tools, predefined system functions delivered as cores, and unparalleled field engineering support.  Founded in 1984 and headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Xilinx invented the field programmable gate array (FPGA) and commands more than half of the world market for these devices today.  Xilinx solutions enable customers to reduce significantly the time required to develop products for the computer, peripheral, telecommunications, networking, industrial control, instrumentation, high-reliability/military, and consumer markets. For more information, visit the Xilinx web site at www.xilinx.com. 

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Editorial contact:
Mike Seither	Kathy Keenan
Xilinx, Inc.	Oak Ridge Public Relations
(408) 879-6557	(408) 253-5042
mike.seither@xilinx.com	kathy@oakridge.com