Parthus Technologies shares jumped 22 per cent to 421/2p in heavy volume after the company said it would produce modest revenue growth in the current quarter, break-even in mid-2002, and turn in a profit in the second half of the year.
The shares, which have fallen from a high of 419p sterling in September 2000, hit a day's high of 51.5p sterling.
Third-quarter figures were broadly in line with expectations but the market reacted to positive trading comments from the company. UK brokers, Teather and Greenwood, upgraded the shares from "sell" to "hold".
Company broker Davy said it would cut revenue and cost forecasts on the back of the figures but analyst Mr Paul Phelan said the results showed Parthus Technologies was one of the few companies in its sub-sector finding buyers for its products.
Describing the outcome as "good results in a very difficult environment", his break-even target of mid-2002 remains unchanged.
The company reported a net loss before amortisation of acquisitions and research and development charges of $3.25 million (E;3.58 million) for the three months to the end of September, down from a second-quarter loss of $3.33 million.
After amortisation and R&D costs, the reported net loss was $18.4 million, bringing the loss for the nine months to end-September to $26.6 million from $13.2 million to end September 2000.
Parthus said it expected continuing growth in key licensing revenue. "In the fourth quarter, we expect higher margin licensing revenue to continue to grow and, despite the severe downturn, we expect modest sequential growth in our overall revenues," chief financial officer Ms Elaine Coughlan said.
Total third-quarter revenue increased by 2.8 per cent to $10.5 million from $10.2 million in quarter two. Licensing fees and ongoing royalties were up to $8.3 million from $7.2 million. The company signed five licensing agreements in the third quarter bringing its customer base to more than 40 key accounts. Active cost control was evidenced by a 10 per cent drop in costs on quarter two to $2.8 million. Gross margins rose by 3 per cent to 73 per cent.
Parthus designs chips and software for mobile telephones and other devices such as hand-held computers. With the results, Parthus announced a new licensing agreement with US wireless group Motorola for the development of technology to reduce the power required by mobile devices. Chief executive Mr Brian Long said the company was well placed with cash of $127 million to make acquisitions.
