ARM HOLDINGS has warned of a slowdown in the growth of royalty sales of its chip designs in the second quarter, but promises a stronger second half as the semiconductor industry recovered from a recent trough.
“From the second half of February onward, people’s demeanour changed,” Warren East, chief executive of Arm, has said. “The mood out there in the semiconductor industry is much more positive.”
The silicon chip industry saw a slowdown at the end of last year after too much inventory had built up in the system, but new orders are now beginning to come through. Texas Instruments, for example, has delivered an upbeat forecast for second-quarter revenues.
Arm has continued to see growth despite the recent lull in demand, thanks to its chip designs being used in top-selling products such as Apple’s iPhone and iPad. The Cambridge-based companys first-quarter pre-tax profits rose by two-thirds to £51.3 million, while revenues rose to £132.5 million, up from £116 million a year ago.
However, Arm has warned there would be little growth in the second quarter. – Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2012
