ARM posts strong financial results for Q1

CHIP DESIGN HOUSE ARM has posted its financial results for the first quarter of 2011, revealing significant increases in revenue and profit.

The company brought in £116 million for the first three months of the year, a 26 per cent increase from the £92.3 million it booked in the first quarter last year.

Much of the increase in revenue is attributed to licensing deals with 39 firms, including Broadcom and LG, giving ARM proccessors a large market. The growth of the smartphone and tablet sectors has helped propel sales of the UK firm's chip designs, resulting in shipments of 15 billion mobile ARM chips.

Profit before tax was up from £37.6 million to £50.8 million, an increase of 35 per cent from the first quarter of 2010.

Earnings per share were also up 34 per cent from 2.04 pence to 2.73 pence.

ARM said that it expects seasonal shifts and the Japanese earthquake to affect its second quarter revenue, but its full year revenue should be in line with market expectations.

Despite the increased revenue and profit for the first quarter, ARM's share price slipped today, dropping $7 to $618.50, a fall of 1.12 per cent. µ