SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Applied Materials Inc. on Wednesday posted a drop in quarterly profit, and announced that it was cutting up to 1,500 jobs as part of a restructuring plan. Shares of Applied rose more than 1% in after-hours trading. The Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor-equipment company reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $138 million, or 10 cents a share, compared with a profit of $231 million or 17 cents a share for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $1.53 billion, down from $2.04 billion for the same quarter last year. Adjusted income was 13 cents a share. Analysts had expected the company to report earnings of 3 cents a share on revenue of $1.32 billion, according to a consensus survey by FactSet Research. Applied said it expects net sales to grow by more than 30% in fiscal 2010. In addition, it unveiled a plan to eliminate roughly 1,300 to 1,500 jobs, or 10% to 12% of its workforce, over an 18-month period. The company expects a pretax cost of between $100 million and $125 million related to the plan, which is expected to lead to savings of $450 million. Chief Executive Mike Splinter said the company was "adapting our operating structure to align" with changes in the market.